Today, when you stand at the corner of Nebraska Avenue and Meramec Street and look to the southwest, you see the Maryville Gardens Station of the United States Post Office. But if you were to travel back in time to the 1870s, you would have seen the original location of Maryville College, back when Dutchtown was out in the country, far to the south of the settled parts of St. Louis.
Founded by members of the of the Sacred Heart, itself a creation of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, the imposing Second Empire edifice designed by James McNamara in 1872 was a girl’s finishing school that featured a rigorous education that included the fine arts and the French language. But it certainly did not just feature cotillions; the Sisters petitioned and received the accreditation to grant first a two year and then a four year college degree.
The photo below is remarkable as it was taken only a year or so after the building was constructed. Furthermore, as a testament to the college’s relevance, the Second Empire was only in its infancy in St. Louis in 1872 when it was constructed.
As there’s not really a Second Empire style of religious interiors, logically there was a stunning chapel in the Gothic Revival style.
There were large halls for studying and other pursuits such as painting and sculpting, all required for the proper education of a wealthy young lady. There were also numerous spots for young women of lesser means, as well.
As everyone knows, Maryville College moved out to Town and Country in 1961; you can read more of the chronology of the college here at the university’s website. Perhaps my one regret is that the buildings built to replace the old college building are not the most memorable and will surely be demolished in turn one day.
Historic aerials show the historic buildings were demolished between 1971 and 1974, and the current drab apartments were built by 1985, which stylistically would make sense.
Part of what is so interesting about the campus is that it is so integrated into the neighborhood; I looked at the north side of Meramec on the other side of the street from the former Maryville campus here and here back in October of 2021, and what is notable is that the street wall is intact. There are no parking lots blighting the neighborhood, laid out on the ruins of houses bought up and demolished for commuters. Perhaps it was for the best that the university moved to more spacious confines out west.