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'{{Refimprove|date=April 2011}} {{Infobox building | name = Lemp Mansion | image = Lemp Mansion 2012.jpg | image_alt = Front of the Lemp Mansion | image_size = | caption = Front of the Lemp Mansion | address = 3322 DeMenil Place (formerly 3322 South 13th Street) | location_town = [[St. Louis, Missouri]] | location_country = United States | completion_date = 1868 | coordinates = {{Coord|38.5932|-90.216|type:landmark_region:US-MO|display=inline,title}} | website = {{URL|lempmansion.com}} }} The '''Lemp Mansion''' (3322 DeMenil Place, St. Louis, Missouri) is a historical house in [[Benton Park]], [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. It is also the site of three suicides by Lemp family members after the death of the son Frederick Lemp, whose [[Lemp Brewery|William J. Lemp Brewing Co.]] dominated the St. Louis beer market before [[Prohibition]] with its [[Falstaff Brewing Corporation|Falstaff beer]] brand. The mansion is said to be haunted by members of the Lemp family. ==Architectural history== The house was built in 1890.<ref>{{cite web |title=Address and Property Information Search |url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/data/address-search/index.cfm?parcelId=15390000200&amp;lat=901432.67169&amp;long=1004980.42597&stnum=3322&CategoryBy=form.start,form.RealEstatePropertyInfor,form.BoundaryGeography,form.TrashMaintenance&firstview=true#address-search |website=stlouis-mo.gov |language=en}}</ref> In 1911, the house underwent major renovations including conversion of some space into offices for the [[Lemp Brewery]], which then ceased all production when it was sold to International Shoe Company at auction in 1922. The Lemps lived in the house until 1949 when Charles Lemp died by [[suicide]] in his bed. In 1950, the mansion became a [[boarding house]]; throughout the next decade, it lost much of its ornate charm. The construction of [[Interstate 55]] during the 1960s led to the destruction of much of the grounds and one of the carriage houses. Although many of the original details of the home have been replaced, there are still some remaining pieces.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = The Lemp Mansion // St. Louis, Missouri // 314-664-8024|url = http://www.lempmansion.com/history.htm|website = www.lempmansion.com|accessdate = 2015-10-21}}</ref> The decorative iron gates from the open-air elevator can be viewed from the basement restaurant.<ref name=":0" /> In the office where William Lemp, Jr. died by suicide, there is still an Italian marble mantel.<ref name=":0" /> The ceiling in the parlor is hand-painted, and the mantels are intricately carved African mahogany.<ref name=":0" /> The main bathroom includes a glass-enclosed shower that Lemp brought back to St. Louis from an Italian hotel.<ref name=":0" /> The three vaults where the Lemps stored their art pieces are located in the rear of the home.<ref name=":0" /> ==Lemp family history== ===Adam Lemp and the Western Brewery=== The patriarch of the Lemp Family was Johann "Adam" Lemp, born in 1798 in [[:de:Grüningen (Pohlheim) |Grüningen (Pohlheim)]], [[Germany]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lemplager.com/lemp/history.asp |title=Rise of the Lemp Dynasty |publisher=LempLager.com |accessdate=2012-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208052353/http://lemplager.com/lemp/history.asp |archive-date=2012-02-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He became a [[Naturalization|naturalized citizen]] in November 1841.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collections.mohistory.org/archive/ARC:A0891 |title= Lemp Family. Papers (1841–1910.) |work= collections.mohistory.org| publisher=[[Missouri History Museum]] |accessdate=2012-03-18| quote= John Adam Lemp became a naturalized citizen in November 1841. He is listed as a grocer in the St. Louis city directory of 1840–41. He later founded the Lemp Brewery.}}</ref> He arrived in the [[United States]] in 1836, eventually settling in St. Louis in 1838. In the St. Louis city directory of 1840–41, he is listed as a [[grocer]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keemle |first1=Charles |title=The St. Louis directory for the years 1840-1 : containing the names of the inhabitants, their occupations, and the numbers of their places of business and dwellings, with a sketch of the city of St. Louis |date=1840 |publisher=C. Keemle, Book and Job Publisher |location=St. Louis |page=[https://archive.org/details/stldirectory1840/page/n80 35] |url=https://archive.org/details/stldirectory1840 |accessdate=15 August 2018}}</ref> Adam Lemp started a grocery store at Sixth and Morgan, called A. Lemp & Co., family grocery. This site is now occupied by the middle of the south side of [[The Dome at America's Center]]. In addition to typical groceries, Lemp sold his own vinegar and [[beer]]. By 1840 he focused solely on the manufacture and sale of beer, forming Western Brewery at 37 South Second Street (about where the south leg of the [[St. Louis Arch|Arch]] now stands). Adam Lemp’s beer became very popular due to the increase of German population in the area. Lemp was one of the first in the country to produce [[Beer in Germany|German]] [[lager]], which was a great difference from the [[Pale ale|English ale]] and [[Porter (beer)|porters]].<ref name=Shepley>{{cite web|last=Shepley|first=Carol Ferring|title=The Lemp Family of St. Louis|url=http://www.mhmvoices.org/2008FallFeature1.php|work=Voices, the online magazine of the Missouri History Museum|publisher=Missouri History Museum|accessdate=15 April 2012|archive-date=23 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423235936/http://www.mhmvoices.org/2008FallFeature1.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> The business prospered, and when a large storage space became necessary, a [[Caves of St. Louis|cave in south St. Louis]] was used for this purpose as it provided natural refrigeration. The cave was below the eventual locations of the Lemp and Chatillon-DeMenil House and the Lemp Brewery on [[Cherokee Street (St. Louis)|Cherokee Street]]. By the 1860s there were 40 breweries in the St. Louis area taking advantage of the caves along the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]], with the Western Brewery emerging as one of the most successful.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Louis Beer History |url=https://explorestlouis.com/discover/st-louis-beer-brewing/st-louis-beer-history/ |website=Explore St. Louis |accessdate=16 August 2018 |date=25 February 2011}}</ref> ===William J. Lemp Sr.=== Adam's son William J. Lemp was born in Germany in 1835. After completing his education at [[Saint Louis University]], he worked at the Western Brewery until he left the company to form a partnership with another brewer. In 1861, he enlisted in the [[United States Army]],<ref name="WJLBC">{{cite web |title=William J. Lemp Brewing Company |url=http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/lemp1.shtml |website=www.beerhistory.com |accessdate=16 August 2018}}</ref> and achieved the rank of Orderly Sergeant. On December 3, 1861, he married Julia Feickert.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Their daughter [[Annie Lemp Konta]] became a writer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naffziger |first=Chris |date=2017-06-14 |title=When a Lemp argued against Prohibition—and for the German Empire |url=https://www.stlmag.com/api/content/22551092-5084-11e7-95e3-0aea2a882f79/ |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=www.stlmag.com |language=en-us}}</ref> On August 23, 1862, Adam Lemp died, and William returned to the Western Brewery as owner and operator. In 1864 he began building a larger [[brewery]] above the caves where Western had been storing its goods. Under William Lemp, the Western Brewery became the largest brewery in St. Louis, and then, the largest outside of New York with a single owner.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}} William began to brew and bottle the beer in the same facility to meet growing demand, a practice that was rare at that time. Further demonstrating his innovation and business sense, in 1878 he installed the first refrigeration machine in an American brewery, and then extended the idea to refrigerated railway cars, in a successful attempt to be the first [[beer in the United States]] with a national reach. Soon, Lemp Beer was sold worldwide.<ref name="WJLBC" /> In 1892, the William J. Lemp Brewing Company was founded from the Western Brewery with William as President, his son William Jr. as Vice-President, and his son Louis as Superintendent. William J. "Billy" Lemp, Jr., was born on August 13, 1867. Like his father, he went to St. Louis University and then studied the art of brewing. However, it was William Sr.'s fourth son, Frederick, born in 1873, whom he hoped to groom to take over the company. Unknown to William Sr. and his family, Frederick had significant health problems. On December 12, 1901, Frederick died of heart failure due to complication of diseases. William Sr. became despondent and slowly declined. He was dealt another blow on January 1, 1904, when his best friend [[Frederick Pabst]] died.<ref>Shepley, Carol Ferring. <u>Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes: Tales from Bellefontaine Cemetery.</u> Missouri History Museum: St. Louis, 2008.</ref> On the morning of February 13, 1904, William Lemp died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 10:15&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="Tacoma">[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085187/1904-02-13/ed-1/seq-1/ MILLIONAIRE BREWER W.J. LEMP SUICIDES WHILE DESPONDENT], in ''[[the Tacoma Times]]''; published February 13, 1904; retrieved December 26, 2014 (via [[Chronicling America]])</ref> ===William J. Lemp, Jr.=== On November 7, 1904, William J. "Billy" Lemp, Jr., took over the brewing company as president. Billy had married Lillian Handlan five years earlier, and they moved to a new home at 3343 South 13th Street. Lillian Handlan Lemp was, allegedly, nicknamed the “Lavender Lady” for her lavender-colored wardrobe and carriages. She filed for divorce in 1908, charging Billy with desertion, cruel treatment and other indignities. Their divorce proceedings lasted 11 days and ended in Lillian being granted her divorce and custody of William III - their only child - with Billy given only [[Contact (law)|visitation]] rights. After the trial, Billy built "Alswel" - his country home overlooking the [[Meramec River]] near what later became [[Sunset Hills, Missouri]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naffziger |first=Chris |date=2015-04-01 |title=The History of Falstaff, Part Two: Prohibition—and The Glory Years that Followed |url=https://www.stlmag.com/api/content/47dd5a1e-d727-11e4-adba-22000a4f82a6/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=www.stlmag.com |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=“Alswel” 12720 Alswel Rd., Sunset Hills, 1911-1914 |url=https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/parks/about/st-louis-county-landmarks/sunset-hills/ |website=St. Louis County, Missouri}}</ref> By 1914, he lived at Alswel full-time. The Lemp Brewery suffered in the early 1920s when [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] began. The brewery was shut down and the [[Falstaff Beer|Falstaff]] trademark was sold to Lemp's friend, "Papa Joe" Griesedieck. The brewery complex was sold at auction to [[International Shoe|International Shoe Company]] for $588,000.<ref name="WJLBC" /> On December 29, 1922, Billy Lemp shot himself in his office.<ref name="ONeil">{{cite web |last1=O'Neil |first1=Tim |title=A Look Back • Lemp Mansion, home of beer dynasty and suicide |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/a-look-back-lemp-mansion-home-of-beer-dynasty-and/article_3f697156-1b22-54b8-947c-f582edcf702e.html |website=stltoday.com |accessdate=16 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1922-12-29 |title=William J. Lemp kills himself in brewery office. Post Dispatch. Dec. 29. 1922. Page 1. |pages=1 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-post-dispatch-william-j-lemp/78259346/ |access-date=2023-09-06}}</ref> ===Elsa Lemp Wright=== Elsa Lemp Wright, the youngest child of William Sr. married Thomas Wright, president of the More-Jones Brass and Metal Company in 1910. They separated in 1918 and in February, 1919, Elsa filed for divorce. She cited, among other things, damage to her mental and physical health. The divorce was granted after a trial, but Elsa and Thomas soon reconciled and remarried in March 1920. Later that month on March 20, Elsa shot herself while in bed at their house at 13 Hortense Place.<ref name="ONeil" /> Some suspect her death to be a murder masked as a suicide; a feature film exploring this idea, ''The Case for Elsa Lemp'', is in development.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.stlmag.com/history/profiles/get-the-first-look-at-the-trailer-for-the-case-for-elsa-lemp/|title=Get the first look at the trailer for "The Case for Elsa Lemp"|last=Naffziger|first=Chris|date=2017-07-14|work=St. Louis Magazine|access-date=2019-11-25}}</ref> Some suspect her death to be a murder masked as a suicide; a feature film exploring this idea, ''Lemp's Last Wright'', previously titled ''The Case for Elsa Lemp'', is in development.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Naffziger |first=Chris |date=2017-07-14 |title=Get the first look at the trailer for "The Case for Elsa Lemp" |work=St. Louis Magazine |url=https://www.stlmag.com/history/profiles/get-the-first-look-at-the-trailer-for-the-case-for-elsa-lemp/ |access-date=2019-11-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lemp's Last Wright |url=https://www.shiftfilms.net/events/lemps-last-wright |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Shift Films |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilkinson |first=Melissa |date=2020-03-04 |title=Exploring A Lemp Mansion Mystery |url=https://www.timesnewspapers.com/westendword/exploring-a-lemp-mansion-mystery/article_14480610-5d8f-11ea-ae8d-d70995bc6099.html |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=WKTimes LLC |language=en}}</ref> ===William Lemp III=== {{Unreferenced section|date=March 2012}} In 1939, William J. Lemp III, the only son of Billy Lemp, licensed the Lemp name to Central Breweries of East St. Louis. Central Breweries renamed itself the William J. Lemp Brewing Company and began a grand marketing campaign resulting in increased sales of the new Lemp Beer. The contract was terminated by Ems Brewing, which bought out Lemp in 1945. ===Charles Lemp=== Charles Lemp, the third son of William Sr., was the final Lemp to live in the mansion, starting in 1929. He had left the brewery in 1917, to go into banking and finance. He had also dabbled in politics, influencing many southside wards. He never married and lived with his dog in the mansion with two servants, a married couple. April 1941, Charles Lemp sent a letter to a south St. Louis funeral home requesting that in case of his death, his remains should be taken by ambulance to the Missouri Crematory. His body should not be bathed, clothed, or changed. His ashes should be put into a wicker box and buried on his farm. There were to be no funeral held or a notice put in the papers. Eight years later, he shot himself in the head, leaving the following [[suicide note]]: "St. Louis Mo/May 9, 1949, In case I am found dead blame it on no one but me. Ch. A. Lemp".<ref name="ONeil" /> ===Edwin Lemp=== After Charles' death, the only surviving son of William Sr. was Edwin Lemp. (Louis Lemp, the second oldest son, had died of [[Death by natural causes|natural causes]] in 1931.) Edwin, the youngest son, had worked in the brewery until 1913. He then retired at "Cragwold", the estate he had built overlooking the [[Meramec River]] in 1911."[[Cragwold]]", in western Kirkwood, had an [[observation tower]], two servants' houses, and a collection of birds, antelope, sheep, yaks, buffalo and other animals. After his retirement, Edwin dedicated himself to many charitable causes, primarily the [[St. Louis Zoo]]. He donated family portraits and items related to the history of the brewery to the [[Missouri History Museum]]<nowiki/>in the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naffziger |first=Chris |date=2018-07-24 |title=Another mystery enters the Lemp family saga |url=https://www.stlmag.com/api/content/4d28c204-8c4d-11e8-a956-12408cbff2b0/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.stlmag.com |language=en-us}}</ref> In 1970, Edwin died at the age of 90. His final order to his caretaker was to destroy his art collection and family heirlooms. ==In popular culture== In 2010 the mansion was investigated by [[The Atlantic Paranormal Society]], which was featured on the September 29 episode of ''[[Ghost Hunters (TV series)|Ghost Hunters]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Merwin |first1=Laura |title=Ghost Hunters do a 'stand up' investigation of Lemp Mansion |url=https://www.masslive.com/television/2010/09/ghost_hunters_do_a_stand_up_in.html |website=masslive |accessdate=21 November 2019 |language=en |date=30 September 2010}}</ref> == Further reading == * [https://www.stlmag.com/news/the-last-lemp/ "The Last Lemp"] -- ''[[Riverfront Times]]'' article about a Lemp descendant impostor * ''Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places'' by [[Colin Dickey]]. Viking, 2016. <nowiki>ISBN 9781101980194</nowiki>. Pages 81-92. * ''Ghosts of St. Louis: The Lemp Mansion and Other Eerie Tales'' by Bryan W. Alaspa. Schiffer Publishing, 2007. * ''Missouri's Wicked Route 66: Gangsters and Outlaws on the Mother Road'' by Lisa Livingston-Martin. The History Press, 2013. Pages 31-36. * ''The History & Haunting of Lemp Mansion'' by Rebecca F. Pittman. Wonderland Productions, Inc., 2015. * ''Suicide & Spirits: The True Story of the Rise and Fall of the Lemp Empire'' by Troy Taylor. Whitechapel Productions, 2011. * ''Wicked St. Louis'' by Janice Tremeear. The History Press, 2011. {{ISBN|9781609492984}}. Pages 73-77. * ''Lemp: The Haunting History'' by Stephen P. Walker. Lemp Preservation Society, 1989; Paranormal Press, 2019. * ''America's Most Haunted Hotels: Checking in with Uninvited Guests'' by Jamie Davis Whitmer with Robert Whitmer. Llewellyn Publications, 2016. Pages 169-189. ==See also== * [[List of suicides]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.lempmansion.com/ The Lemp Mansion Restaurant and Inn] {{St. Louis mci}} {{Restaurants in St. Louis}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemp Mansion}} [[Category:Houses in St. Louis]] [[Category:Falstaff Brewing Corporation]] [[Category:Restaurants in St. Louis]] [[Category:Drinking establishments in Missouri]] [[Category:German-American culture in St. Louis]] [[Category:Houses completed in 1868]] [[Category:Reportedly haunted locations in Missouri]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in St. Louis]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in St. Louis]] [[Category:1868 establishments in Missouri]]'