THE SIGN THAT GREETED US AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE PAPPAS HOUSE DRIVEWAY ON THE AFTERNOON OF SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2023 IN ST. LOUIS.

Theodore A. and Bette Pappas Residence

1955

865 Masonridge Rd.
St. Louis, Missouri 63141

Dorothy and I paid a “drive-by” visit to the Pappas House on the afternoon of Saturday, March 25, 2023.  We had finished our tour of the Kraus House at Ebsworth Park and drove over to the address of the Pappas House on Masonridge Rd., which was about 15 minutes away.  From the driveway, the house was not visible, but from an adjacent street, I was able to take a few pictures of the house from the road without trespassing.  While planning our trip, I had spoken to the owners of the Pappas House, Mike and Carol Miner, and learned that it would not be available for tours until sometime in May, 2023.  I also learned that they had a non-profit called The Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative, which, as part of its activities, helps arrange tours to FLW sites that are not normally available to tour.  In fact, they arranged for our tour of the Bott House in Kansas City.  If you are interested in Frank Lloyd Wright, I would encourage you to look at their website.  Mike is a film maker and has done several films about FLW and his work.

Like most FLW homes, there is an interesting story that comes with the house.  The Pappas family wrote to FLW and he designed them a “Usonian Automatic” block home.  They did a lot of the work themselves and it took them over four years to finish the home.  They had trouble finding accurate molds for producing the blocks, but Wes Peters found them at a couple of other homes and sent them to St. Louis. Two dozen different forms for blocks were used on the home.  It is an amazing story of perserverance!  I am grateful that the Miners are preserving this home and helping to preserve many others.  Thank you Mike and Carol!

Here are the pictures I was able to take of the outside of the Pappas house during our drive-by.  I hope to take a proper tour of it someday!

IN THIS PHOTO OF THE PAPPAS HOUSE, YOU CAN SEE THE ENTRY AREA, AND THE CLERESTORY.
THIS PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS THE BEDROOM "CLUSTER". THE THREE BEDROOMS FOR THE PAPPAS CHILDREN WERE CLUSTERED TOGETHER ON THE EAST END OF THE HOUSE.
DETAIL OF THE BLOCK CONSTRUCTION OF THE PAPPAS HOUSE, A "USONIAN AUTOMATIC" STYLE HOME. THE FACIA BLOCK IS PLACED ON THIS HOME WITH THE "U" DESIGN FACING UP, WHEREAS IN AT LEAST ONE OTHER HOME (TONKEN RESIDENCE, S.386) THE "U" DESIGN IS FACING DOWN.
FLOOR PLAN OF THE PAPPAS HOUSE. NOTE THAT THE PLANS REFLECT THAT WHEN THE PAPPAS FAMILY HAD TO FIND A NEW LOT, THE PLAN HAD TO BE ROTATED 180 DEGREES TO ACCOMODATE THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE NEW LOT.