Alexander Lyle House

The Alexander Lyle House is one of the oldest frame houses in the city of St. Louis, and it sits in Carondelet Park. The land on which the house was built was originally a part of the common fields for Carondelet. The king of Spain had granted land to Amos Custis Lyle on the land that is now in Carondelet Park in the year 1770, just three years after the founding of Carondelet. In 1840, his grandson Alexander Lyle moved back to this plot of land from their former home in Virginia. Lyle was a master carpenter who built his own house on the land in 1842. The design of the house was in the Italianate country style, although federal style elements are present in the design as well. Lyle and his family were able to avoid the cholera epidemic in 1849 due to being in Carondelet instead of St. Louis, as it was 8 miles south of downtown. Lyle was also a business partner of Henry Taylor Blow, another prominent Carondelet resident whose daughter founded the first kindergarten in the US. During the Civil War, the Lyle family was forced to abandon the house due to their support of the confederacy, and the house was then transferred in ownership to Eugene Field. In 1870, the city of St. Louis annexed Carondelet putting this estate within the city limits. In 1876, when the city reached its current boundaries, it was decided that there would be three new public parks on largely rural and undeveloped land. With the city expansion, the central corridor would receive Forest Park, the North side would be given O’Fallon Park, and the South side would be given Carondelet Park. The park was formally dedicated on July 4, 1876 on the nation’s centennial. The Lyle house was used as a residence for the park director in the early years of the park, but it has since been used as a senior center, starting in 1931. The house remains in good condition today and is maintained by the park.

1940s photo of the Lyle House by William G. Swekosky