The Cast Iron Building - Lacledes Landing - Downtown St Louis
Built in 1874 as a warehouse for traffic along the Mississippi River,The Cast Iron Building it is one of the oldest commercial buildings in St. Louis
The Cast Iron Building is named for its historic cast iron facade is located at 712-714 N. Second Street on Historic Laclede's Landing in Saint Louis, Missouri.
The Cast Iron Building is located near the center of Laclede's Landing, one of St. Louis' most established and stable real estate markets and one of St. Louis' most thriving business and social marketplaces.
The history of our building actually includes three addresses, 712 N. 2nd Street, 714 N. 2nd Street and 716 N. 2nd Street. These have all been combined into one parcel, now known as 712 N. Second Street.
Colonial and Territorial St Louis
In 1763, a French entrepeneur named Pierre Liguest Laclede, along with Auguste Chouteau, set out from
New Orleans to explore the Louisiana Territory to establish a trading post. In 1764, he chose the west
bank of the Mississippi River, north of the River des Peres and south of the Missouri River. Upon
choosing the site for the trading post, Laclede declared that, "This settlement will become one of the
finest cities in America."
Laclede's decision to expand the post was made and lots were assigned verbally to the first 40 colonists
who had accompanied the exploration in 1764. French settlers from the east bank villages Kaskaskia,
Cahokia, Prairie du Rocher, St. Philippe, and Fort de Chartres moved to the new settlement following
receipt of news of pending British rule.
The settlement expanded rapidly into what came to be known as Laclede's village. However, the official
name of St. Louis was given to the village by its founder in honor of the Crusader King, Louis IX of
France. The original village contained three north-south streets, La Grande Rue (Main Street), Rue
d'Eglise (Church Street) and Rue des Granges (Barn Street); now First, Second, and Third Streets. There
were several narrower east-west streets including La Rue de la Tour, Rue de la Place and Rue Missouri;
now Walnut, Market, and Chestnut Streets. In addition to a block for the post house, squares were set
aside for a church and a public place. A fort was built on the hill overlooking the village, at what is now
Fourth and Walnut Streets.
The custom of making land grants verbally continued until 1766, when Captain Louis St. Ange de
Bellerive, the French Lieutenant Governor, arrived and established administration of the settlement's
affairs. He required the land grants to be recorded in the "Livre Terrien" or Register of Deeds. This
custom was continued after the Spanish obtained dominion over the territory in 1768 until the Louisiana
Purchase in 1804. Louis Deshetres received a land grant on February 7, 1769 for the northwest quarter
(120 by 150 French feet) of city block 26.
Louis Deshetres, a Native American interpreter and trader, arrived in St. Louis from Cahokia in 1764.
He received grants of land in city blocks 32 and 64 from Laclede upon arrival and subsequently acquired
property in the northwest quarter of city block 26. He built a small house of posts on the property in
1769. This early French log construction was known as poteaux-en-terre, where upright hewn logs were
driven in the ground and the spaces between posts filled with stone and mortar chinking. Deshetres
died in 1770, leaving no heirs. Portions of his property were sold at auction in 1771.
Building Amenities