Original Emil Frei stained glass likely beyond saving, along with North City church after large fire
By Nathan Vickers
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — The former St. Augustine church building on Hebert Ave will likely have be demolished after a fire this week.
The fire department said on Tuesday that the structure had been completely gutted by a fire, and was no longer secure. On Wednesday, the church had caution tape around it to keep people from getting too close to the weakened brick walls.
The church, constructed in the 1870s by German Catholic immigrants, had once hosted crowds of nearly 1,000 people for mass. The Catholic Church had parted with the building around 1980. A Baptist congregation worshipped there for several years after, but the building had been unused for at least 20 years, part of the city’s Land Reutilization Authority’s (LRA) bank of vacant properties.
For many preservationists, the destruction of the building represented a piece of historic architecture lost. Part of that loss included 20 ft. tall stained glass panels, original works by Emil Frei, Sr., the founder of Emil Frei Studios.
Frie’s great-great-grandson, Aaron Frei, now runs the Kirkwood-based workshop. The company has installed more than 5,000 stained glass windows across the world, including dozens in the St. Louis area.
“When we hear of a church going down like St. Augustine, there’s something that’s now lost,” Frei said.
Frei said he had previously been approached by various interests to try and salvage the glass. But even before the fire, he said, retrieving them wasn’t a viable option.
“The building had structural issues even before the fire,” he said. “It wouldn’t be safe.”
The loss of St. Augustine is part of a broader trend in St. Louis. As people and congregations have left the city, buildings have sat empty.
Chris Naffziger, the blogger behind the St. Louis Patina, said population decline in north St. Louis has recently left more buildings unsecured, highlighting a need to restore neighborhoods where property vacancy has spread.
“A lot of other congregations took over and became stewards of them,” Naffziger said. “But they’re now closing as well.”
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