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ACROSS THE BOARD
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The Eugene
Field House and St. Louis Toy Museum
Little Boy Blue Would Be Pleased
By Pam Droog
In 1850, attorney Roswell Martin Field leased a row house at 634
South Broadway in St. Louis. That same year, in that same house,
Field’s wife, Frances, gave birth to a son, Eugene, who went on
to become a beloved poet and renowned journalist.
Above:
Eugene Field House Board of Directors (front row): Adrienne Palazzo,
Estelle Powers, Dr. Soraya Nouri Wolverson (second row): museum
director Frances Walrond, Kay Burns, Ruth Finkenkeller, vice president
Marianne Gleich, Margaret Grigg (third row): secretary Russell Viehmann,
Julie O’Gorman, fundraising consultant Wendy Dyer, William B. Sheldon
(fourth row): president William R. Piper
The house is the only one of the row of 12 to survive. Today it
thrives, thanks to the dedicated board members of the Eugene Field
House Foundation. The group diligently preserves and promotes the
legacy of the Field family and their fascinating home, the oldest
residence in downtown St. Louis, which also houses the St. Louis
Toy Museum.
“Our board members participate because they truly care about the
house or some aspect of it,” says Museum Director Frances Walrond.
“They’re attracted to the house because it’s multifaceted, encompassing
Black history, literature, decorative arts and St. Louis’ past.”
Adds board President William Piper, partner at Rassieur, Long, Yawitz
& Schneider, “The board consists of community volunteers, corporate
executives, interior designers, attorneys, others. What unites them
is a love of historic preservation and an interest in Eugene or
Roswell Field,” who represented the slave Dred Scott in his bid
to win his freedom.
Piper has been board president for 10 years. His involvement in
the Eugene Field House is “something of a family project,” he says.
His father, Vernon, was actively involved with the house through
the Landmark Association, which managed the property from 1967 to
1980, when the foundation was established. Prior to 1967, the property
was administered as a museum by the St. Louis Board of Education
and overseen for many years by Elizabeth Goltermann, who headed
the audio-visual department.
With 24 members, the board is full for the first time. “We’ve gradually
grown so we could add some people we wanted to have join us,” Piper
says. Members serve on various committees that meet quarterly or
as necessary. The full board meets monthly.
Among their current topics of discussion is the top-to-bottom restoration
of the house’s exterior and interior. The exterior renovation was
recently completed, including tuckpointing, cleaning and painting.
“Back when coal was used for heat, it blackened everything in St.
Louis,” Walrond says. “Now the house probably looks like it did
when the Fields lived here,” the dark-red bricks having been restored
to their original salmon color. Repairs had to be done in the 1850s
style, so the house could retain its National Register standing.
Now the board’s attention has moved indoors, where the wear and
tear of more than 8,000 annual visitors is obvious. “The Eugene
Field House has a national and international reputation,” Walrond
says. “At one time, there were 1,200 schools named for Eugene Field,
so people want to see his childhood home.” Interest in Roswell Field
also continues to grow, she notes, adding to the traffic.
As a result, last summer the board commissioned Victorian-interior
authority William Seale to research what the house looked liked
when the Field family lived there. He presented his report, “a big,
thick book,” Walrond says, earlier this year.
“His recommendations are very thorough and raise some issues we
weren’t aware of,” Piper says. “It’s exciting to consider the possibilities,
but frustrating, too, because we don’t have a bottomless money pit.”
Walrond explains, “In a sense, we are a public institution, but
we’re not maintained by the city or state or federal government.
So when the water main breaks or the electrical system needs updating,
we have to come up with the money.” For those types of emergencies,
the board is working on establishing an endowment. For the renovations,
grants from foundations, corporate gifts and individual donations
help pay the bills. So do fundraisers, like the memorable evening
that featured Seale, who discussed his work at the White House,
with food by a St. Louis Club chef who had cooked for the White
House.
A formal capital campaign is in the works but not likely to be launched
for a couple of years, Piper says. “The stadium issue affects us
tremendously, so it’s hard to ask for money when we’re not sure
what the future holds.”
One thing’s certain, and that’s expansion of some sort. The board
recently acquired the land directly to the north of the house. “We
found out it was available when a For Sale sign showed up one day!”
Piper says.
Ultimately, possible uses may include recreating the façade of the
12-house row as it appeared in the 1850s. For now, the board hopes
to triple the size of the existing house. “Presently if we have
75 visitors, I can only have 25 per floor,” Walrond says. “I can’t
accommodate another group showing up at the same time.” The new
space also would allow more room for the museum’s 3,000 toys, dating
from 1790 to the present. “We are bursting at the seams with toys
right now,” Walrond adds.
As the only full-time employee, she relies on help from a part-time
assistant, volunteers and, above all, board members. They spend
a lot of time on the premises, Walrond says. But that doesn’t surprise
her, she says. “The atmosphere at the Eugene Field House is so fascinating
and challenging.”
Pam Droog is a frequent contributor to St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
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