SLU Proposes Destruction of St. Louis Landmark: Pevely Dairy

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Saint Louis University has asked the city's Preservation Board for demolition permits to raze the old Pevely Dairy complex on the southwest corner of Grand and Chouteau.

The brick campus -- complete with its signature smokestack and giant P-E-V-E-L-Y -- was built around 1915 and served as headquarters for Pevely Dairy until 2008. In 2009 a fire swept through part of the complex, causing one building to collapse. That same year the building was placed on the National Historic Register.

But as Landmark's Association noted last month, inclusion on the register doesn't mean the building cannot be demolished.

It's unclear what exactly SLU plans for the building. The Preservation Board meets later this month.

The university's track record is mixed when it comes to historic preservation. It successfully turned the Morgern's Brothers building into a boutique hotel in Grand Center. It also razed numerous homes last year to make way for expansion of its medical school campus.