The Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association Century Homes Program is dedicated to preserving the local historic integrity and character of our neighborhood. Using city property records, the program recognizes homes that have reached 100 years old and qualify for Century Home status.

Century Home Program

About the Plaque

LPNA Century Home Plaque. Click the image to enlarge.

The LPNA offers a way to honor your Century Home through the sale of a custom-made plaque. Each plaque displays the Century Home logo and the year of construction. Eligible homeowners will be invited to purchase a pre-drilled plaque to mount on the exterior of the home. The plaque showcases the history of the home and provides a visual marker in the community. Proceeds from the Century Homes Program are earmarked for LPNA beautification projects and other neighborhood activities. If your home is at least 100 years old, the LPNA will mail an announcement with details on how to purchase a Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association Century Home plaque.

Plaque Details: 8 inches wide by 6.25-inch high oval; Stainless Steel; 10.38 oz.
Each plaque displays the year that the home was built.

Order Form

Click this link to order your century home plaque.

For more information on the Century Homes Program, please email us at centuryhomes@lindenwoodpark.org.

Mary Toy’s Century Home

Mary Toy grew up in St. Louis – attending Wash U for undergrad and SLU for law school – before embarking on nearly 20 years in Belize as owner of a saltwater fly fishing guide service and travel agency. But St. Louis remained home and she returned in 2020 where she still owns and runs Destinations Belize.

When asked what she loves about her Century Home (1921) and her Lindenwood Park Neighborhood, she shared the following:

I’m so happy I found my little house on Fyler – just 999 light and airy square feet with beautiful wood moldings and floors. It’s my very own cottage in the middle of the Lou.

And I love the Lindenwood Neighborhood for so many reasons.
– It’s just the right amount of quirky! Pizza a Go Go across the street from a private church bowling alley anyone??
– Good restaurants and friendly bars within easy walking distance (Musers, Babe’s, Bubba’s, Vinnie’s, Farmhaus, Biggie’s, Afghan Kabob House, El Paisano – and more – so, so many more.
– Close proximity of services – dentist, vet, grocery stores, etc.
– Great parks
– And most of all the people!

Meet Our First LPNA Century Home Plaque Owners

Ed Spevak and Mary Brong display their newly minted LPNA century home plaque.

After living in St. Louis for the better part of 20 years—most recently in Dogtown—the husband and wife team of Ed Spevak and Mary Brong were looking for a larger home in a quiet neighborhood. Also on their wishlist? An older home—perhaps a farmhouse—with plenty of space for gardening.

After nearly two years of searching, they found the large grey 1889 farmhouse anchoring a corner of the 6900 block of Pernod. The easy commute to the St. Louis Zoo—where Mary works as Director of Exhibits and Interpretation and Ed as Curator of Invertebrates & Director-Center of Native Pollinator Conservation—was appealing. The home’s nearly 11′ ceilings and hardwood floors sealed the deal.

Neighbors have told them this house sat on one of the oldest and largest farms in the Lindenwood Park Neighborhood. Some of the original features of the home were lost during a prior modernization, but there remain intriguing hints it may also have been converted to a multi-family dwelling during one period in its past. Features include a partially renovated attic accessible only through a trapdoor and a staircase to the basement hidden in a closet. The couple plans more research into the entire history of their home.

Century home owner Mary Brong explains her bee houses. — Century homeowner Mary Brong explains her bee houses.

Since moving in three years ago, Mary and Ed have created a home reflective of things important to them while respecting the home’s history. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases in an unused nook hold their book collection. A “cat fence” encloses the backyard assuring safety for their three beloved cats and the neighborhood songbirds. Look closely and you’ll notice bee houses and habitat for native pollinators. Perhaps most notable as you walk the neighborhood, are the solar panels (added to the roof in December 2019), and the many native plants, flowers, and trees throughout the yard.

Ed and Mary acknowledge “zoo people” tend to be conservationists and they are no different. The phone app included with their solar panel installation shows 14,000 lbs of CO2 saved to date…the equivalent of planting 105 trees. Each year they increase the number of native plantings toward their ultimate goal of having 70% supporting native birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. Their wild plum, serviceberry, and other fruiting plants produce food for the birds (and humans) plus create habitat for hungry caterpillars which are critical to the songbird diet as they build their nests and raise their young.

The native garden at McCausland and Pernod.

In addition to the native neighborhood garden at Wabash and Oleatha, the Spevak’s have noticed an increase in native plantings throughout the neighborhood and note the importance of creating these habitat corridors. Ed and Mary encourage anyone interested in learning more about native plants and creating wildlife habitat to check out GrowNative.org, DarkSky.org, and the St. Louis Audubon Society’s “Bring Conservation Home” program.