St. Louis County voters should know that what’s described in Proposition D simply as “a building and surrounding grounds” in Queeny Park that would be leased and converted for a pre-primary and a primary grade school, and rented to the public, is not just any building. That “building” is the historic 1854 Jarville House, and later part of the Edgar Queeny estate property in the park.
The Jarville House is one of the oldest houses in St. Louis County, a rare example of Greek Revival architecture remaining in Missouri, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the “most imposing example” of Greek Revival style architecture in the county.
If Proposition D passes, Jarville House and unspecified surrounding grounds would be leased to the Raintree Foundation for its schools for at least 40 years, and the county could rent out its gym, dining hall and other areas. Jarville House was already altered for a dog museum that is no longer there.
Surely, we can stop erasing our architectural heritage and find something better for Jarville House than more alterations for school use, more cars in the park and traffic on two-lane Mason Road.
Charlene Prost • Town and Country
