November 12, 2000                                                                           the History  of the Lemp Mansion

the Mansion

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“Like the creased and crackled skin of a wizened old face, the white paint chipping away on the old brick house reflects the years of pain and tragedy suffered inside”

                                                - N.L. Hammen

 There is no building in St. Louis that the phrase “if these walls could talk” fits better.  The intricately carved walls have seen countless suicides and the demise of one of the wealthiest families in St. Louis. The Lemp Mansion was built in the 1860’s and was purchased by William Lemp in the 1880’s. At the time the mansion was impressive and stood out from all other mansions, but William used his fortune to remodel the mansion into a Victorian showplace. The remodeling of the 33-room mansion was very impressive. The interior walls are two and half feet thick. The first project was to install a radiator system, which was only invented five years earlier. Then they removed the grand staircase and installed a passenger lift, and then they installed an Italian freestanding showers that Lemp saw in an Italian hotel. Probably the most impressive renovation was the addition of three vaults to store the growing fortune of the family. Each vault is fifteen feet wide, twenty -five feet deep and thirteen feet high. There are also many small additions to the house. For example, it wasn’t unusual for the Lemps to import craftsmen and their families to make furniture for the home. By 1904 the house’s renovation was complete.

            As you walk in the main entrance of the mansion the former brewery office is just to the left. This is the office that William Lemp committed suicide in. It is very hard not to notice the amazing marble mantle above the fireplace. Directly across from this room is the parlor. This parlor contains intricately carved African mahogany and hand painted ceilings. The entire main floor had hand painted ceilings, which can be seen through the chipping paint.  Behind the parlor is the Lemp’s personal atrium that housed many exotic plants and birds. It also contains a mosaic floor and fountain.

            At the rear of the house are three massive faults. The Lemp family collected so many pieces of art that they could not stow them all at once. As you wander through the house strangely the most fascinating rooms are the bathrooms.  In the main bathroom there stands a massive glass-enclosed freestanding shower that the Lemps found in Italy. This room also posses a barber chair and a sink with glass legs. On the second level there is another bathroom with a white granite shower and a marble and cast iron mantle.

            The third floor was the servant’s floor. This floor contains cedar walk-in closets and observations decks along with a skylight.

            The mansion does not have a traditional ballroom because the Lemp’s built a ballroom, auditorium and a swimming pool in an underground cavern. This cavern was accessible through a now sealed tunnel in the basement. A second tunnel went from the mansion to the brewery.

            After the death of Charles Lemp the mansion was turned into a boarding house. However, it did not last long. After a few years the house began to deteriorate until Dick Pointer purchased it. Once again the mansion underwent enormous remodeling and renovations in 1975. During the remodeling many strange occurrences began to happen. Many workers were seen running from the mansion and never returned to explain why.

            However many guests and employees have witnessed these apparitions and are very willing to tell their story. Often times people report seeing images of the “lavender lady,” Lillian Handlin and the monkey boy. The monkey boy is believed to be the soul of the unknown grave at the family’s cemetery. Stories tell of the child being one of the Lemp’s illegitimate children. He was believed to be mentally challenged. These apparitions are not the full extent of the supernatural occurrences at the mansion. Richard Pointer tells of hearing strange noises in the middle of the night along with the piano playing with no one there. A couple years ago a séance was conducted in the mansion. As pointer watched he saw a pencil hanging from a pendulum write “Charles” and “gun.” In another séance conducted in the mansion a woman heard a voice say “I hate those damn democrats.” The Lemps were known as avid Republicans, because they believed that President Franklin Roosevelt and the Democratic party were responsible for Prohibition and thus responsible for the demise of the family fortune.

            Not only is the Lemp Mansion one of the most beautiful in St. Louis it also has the stories to make it one of the most fascinating.