Gorlock Building

Constructed in 1910, the Gorlock Building was initially home to government offices, the post office, and a jail. The building was a cornerstone of Webster Groves in the early 20th century, and the decision to place these important offices here was related to a desire by influential citizens to make sure that this remained the center of the community's commercial district. The building opened at a time when Webster Groves had experienced robust growth, with a population rising from just under 1,900 people in 1900 to more than 7,000 by 1910. By the 1920s, with the town population approaching 16,000 people, the jail and post office moved to new locations, allowing for more retail space, such as a Woolworth's store occupying part of the space; the middle class routinely flocked to the district for its shopping opportunities.

The area has been part of Spain, France, and Native Americans and fur trappers knew the United States, and the area as Dry Ridge until around 1845. The area grew during the second half of the nineteenth century as a suburban community with railway access to St. Louis. People moved from downtown St. Louis city to cleaner areas further away from the urban center, commuting on the Pacific Railroad. A commercial center, or business district, emerged after the Civil War,

The Missouri Pacific Railroad arrived in the Webster Groves area in 1853, and subdivisions and businesses appeared shortly thereafter. By the 1870s, the now-historic Old Webster Commercial District began to materialize. One building, the wood-framed S.A. Moody Real Estate Office, hosted meetings that led to Webster Grove's incorporation in 1896. In 1910, the Gorlock Realty Company tore down the S. A. Moody building and replaced it with a large commercial building. Initially, the structure consisted of distinct, symmetrical parts: large, square, two-story wings on either side of a central one-story section. The center was home to the Webster Groves Post Office, while the west wing of the two-story units hosted city hall on the second floor and the city jail in the basement (until the early 1920s); the first floor catered mainly to retail.

The appearance of the Gorlock Building had a profound effect on the town's commercial center. Webster Grove's first city hall had operated in Moody's real estate office on that same property until 1907, but it had moved to another nearby, temporary location by 1907. When merchants learned of a plan to build a new train station for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and a new post office near there, it angered them because they knew the commercial center would gravitate towards those new structures. So, the merchants persuaded officials to move the post office into the new Gorlock Building along with municipal offices, effectively preventing the heart of the commercial district from moving.

The town celebrated the opening of the Gorlock Building with a dedication ceremony in the spring of 1911. U.S. Representative Richard Barthold, U.S. Postmaster Thomas Akins, and Mayor Edward Hart gave speeches.

"Early History of Old Webster." Warner Properties. 2020. https://www.warner-properties.com/old-webster-history.

"History of Webster Groves." Webster Groves Historical Society. Accessed May 12, 2023. https://historicwebster.org/history-of-webster-groves/.

Morris, Ann. "Nomination Form: Gorlock Building." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1983.https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Gorlock%20Bldg.pdf.