HALL STREET · MUSEUM HILL · PATEE TOWN · CATHEDRAL HILL
Repairing a House in St. Joseph's Historic Districts
St. Joseph has sixteen National Register historic districts, but only two local districts, Hall Street and Museum Hill, are regulated by the city's Landmark Commission, along with ten individually designated landmarks. There, exterior changes visible from the street need approval. In the rest, including Patee Town, Cathedral Hill and the Harris and Kemper additions, National Register listing doesn't trigger Landmark Commission review. Downtown has its own Downtown Review Board, and pre-1900 buildings anywhere in the city have a demolition waiting period.
Even in Hall Street and Museum Hill, most handyman work is ordinary maintenance, and the city's guidelines say it needs no certificate at all.
Local district or National Register district?
| Local historic district | National Register district only | |
|---|---|---|
| Which ones | Hall Street and Museum Hill, plus 10 designated landmarks (listed below) | Robidoux Hill, Cathedral Hill, Patee Town, Harris Addition, Kemper Addition, Krug Park Place, Dewey Avenue–West Rosine and others |
| Landmark Commission review of exterior changes | Required for changes visible from a public place (city code Sec. 31-175) | Not required. The guidelines say "mandatory review by the Landmark Commission is not required within National Register districts" |
| Design guidelines | Apply | Encouraged, not enforced |
| Ordinary repair in kind | No certificate needed | No certificate needed |
The boundaries don't match. The legal boundaries of the Hall Street and Museum Hill local districts aren't the same as the National Register districts with the same names. Check your address on the city's historic district maps or with the Historic Preservation Planner before assuming either way.
National Register districts and when they were listed
| District | Listed | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Hall Street HD | 1979 | Isadore, Corby, 6th and 9th Sts. |
| Robidoux Hill HD | 1989 | Franklin, Robidoux, 4th, Louis and 5th Sts. |
| Museum Hill HD | 1991 (expanded 2009) | 9th, Francis, 12th, Jules, 15th and Messanie Sts. |
| Cathedral Hill HD | 2000 | N. 9th St., Powell St. and N. 13th St. |
| Dewey Avenue–West Rosine HD | 2002 | Prospect Ave., Auguste St., Dewey Ave., W. Rosine St. |
| Krug Park Place HD | 2002 | St. Joseph Ave., Myrtle, Clark and Magnolia |
| Patee Town HD | 2002 | Penn St., S. 11th, Lafayette and S. 15th Sts. |
| Kemper Addition HD | 2002 | Portions of Clay, Union, Kemper and Bon Ton Sts. |
| Harris Addition HD | 2003 | 16th, Dalton, 22nd and Edmond Sts. |
Plus the downtown commercial districts, Wholesale Row, the Park and Parkway System and the Nelson-Pettis Farmsteads. Source: the city's National Register page and National Register listing records.
The three tiers of work in Hall Street and Museum Hill
The city's Design Guidelines sort exterior work into three levels.
1. Regular maintenance: no certificate
"Normal maintenance and repair of any exterior architectural feature which does not involve a change in material or the design of a building or site does not require a Certificate of Appropriateness." Listed examples include:
- "Spot removal of paint on wooden surfaces by hand-scraping and hand-sanding"
- "Repainting of existing painted surfaces"
- "Replacement of broken glass and glazing with matching glass and glazing"
- Replacing a damaged individual element in kind, e.g. a "porch post, spindle, individual or small patches of decorative shingles, and siding boards"
- "Repair of an existing fence in-kind"
- "Replacement or repair of existing guttering in-kind"
- Re-roofing with the same or better material, as long as it doesn't "cover, obscure, or remove historic elements such as built in gutters and roof cresting"
- Patching areas under 25 square feet on the rear, out of public view, with fiber-cement board, but "only if the original building material is too deteriorated to paint and repair"
- "Removal of incongruous synthetic siding/sheathing where original siding/sheathing exists underneath"
Paint color: the guidelines say "the Landmark Commission does not govern paint color selection," though they recommend colors found on the block and warn against "Radically changing the type of paint or coating or its color."
2. Minor works: staff approval, no hearing
These need advance approval from the Historic Preservation Planner but don't go before the Commission:
- "Installation of compatible porch stair railings that match the style and character of existing porch railings"
- "Installation of wood or aluminum storm windows and doors with painted finish where the size of the storm window matches the size of the original opening"
- "Fence and masonry retaining wall installation in side and rear yard areas"
- "Repointing masonry with a suitable and compatible mortar mixture"
3. Major works: Landmark Commission certificate
"Alterations to a building or site such as a restoration, new construction, and demolition." Applications are due at least 20 days before the Commission's meeting, held the first Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. No building permit is issued until the certificate is, and the building permit must then be obtained within 60 days (Sec. 31-175).
Most of what we'd do on a Hall Street or Museum Hill house is maintenance that needs no certificate. Send us the address and list so we can identify changes to confirm with the Historic Preservation Planner before work starts. Get a quote →
Common jobs and which tier they fall in
| Job | Tier in a local district | More |
|---|---|---|
| Rehang sash cords, reglaze, free painted-shut sash | Maintenance, no certificate | Doors and windows |
| Replace broken glass to match | Maintenance | Doors and windows |
| Add wood or painted aluminum storm windows sized to the opening | Minor work, staff approval | Doors and windows |
| Replace windows visible from the street | Certificate. New units need "true divided light muntins or three-dimensional grilles" inside and out | Ask the Historic Preservation Planner whether an exact in-kind wood replacement counts as maintenance |
| Replace a rotted porch post, spindle or floorboard to match | Maintenance | Porch repair |
| Add porch stair railings that match the existing porch railings | Minor work | Porch repair |
| Replace a wood porch floor or steps with concrete or brick | Not recommended: "Do not replace deteriorated wood porch floor and steps with concrete or brick" | Porch repair |
| Replace individual siding boards to match | Maintenance | Old house repairs |
| Cover wood siding with vinyl or aluminum | "Generally prohibited" | — |
| Repoint brick | Minor work | See the mortar note below |
| Repair an existing fence in kind | Maintenance | Deck and fence repair |
| New fence in a side or rear yard | Minor work | Deck and fence repair |
| Repaint existing painted surfaces | Maintenance | — |
| Paint brick that has never been painted | Advised against | — |
| Strip paint with a torch or sandblaster | "Not recommended" | Lead and older homes |
Three things the guidelines get specific about
Mortar. The guidelines give a mix that "has been used in St. Joseph on pre-1900 buildings": 9 parts sand, 4 parts Type S lime, 1 part Type II Portland cement. Standard modern mortar is much harder, and hard mortar in soft brick makes the brick the part that wears away. → Soft brick and foundations
Storm windows. Aluminum storms are allowed with "a painted or baked-on enamel finish that matches the color of the window sash or the paint scheme of the building," sized to the original opening.
Stained and leaded glass. St. Joseph had its own art-glass makers. Paul Wolff's St. Joseph Art Glass Works was the city's leading 20th-century stained-glass maker until it closed in 1965, though the guidelines note "many windows were undoubtedly out-of-town commissions." They also warn that some protective coverings "may accelerate the deterioration of the lead caming." Ask before anyone screws plexiglass over a leaded panel.
If you're thinking about demolition
Anywhere in the city, a building constructed before 1900 must be offered for sale for 60 days "to a buyer who is willing to preserve the building" before a demolition permit is issued, unless it's a danger or another exception applies (Sec. 7-383). Demolishing one without a permit carries a $400 fine per day (Sec. 7-385).
Help paying for historic repairs
For the city's Save Our Heritage Grant, owners may request up to $24,000 per structure per year; awards are typically limited to $10,000. Approved work is reimbursed with a 1-to-1 match and must follow the design guidelines. The program generally calls for three itemized bids from city-licensed contractors, with documented-effort and sole-source provisions to discuss with staff. The listed August 1, 2026 deadline has passed; ask the Historic Preservation Planner about the next round. → St. Joseph home repair grants and application steps
What the nominations record
- Museum Hill: 244 contributing buildings on about 92 acres, from about 1860 to 1931, with stone foundations and brick walls. About a third are Victorian: Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne.
- Hall Street: the mansion street. "Very few of the mansions or large homes remain as single family dwellings," and many have "stone retaining walls, some quite decorative." "An 1870 home may stand next to a 1910 one."
- Patee Town: shotgun cottages, T-plan and double shotguns, foursquares and bungalows from about 1858 to 1939. The nomination says "much of the original brick paving remains in place under the current surface of asphalt," and many of the lettered concrete corner pylons from about 1920 still mark the intersections.
The ten local landmarks
Listed in city code Sec. 31-190 (last amended January 2025): the Frank L. Goetz residence (2902 Frederick Ave.), the Nelson/Pettis Farmstead (4401 Ajax Rd.), Second Presbyterian Church (1122 S. 12th St.), the Albert and Flora Goetz residence (2603 Francis St.), the Charles A. and Annie Buddy House (424 S. 9th St.), the Lewis C. Burnes House (1923 Francis St.), 809 Hall St. (the Nathan Phipps Ogden mansion), the McNeely House (701 S. 11th St.), First Baptist Mt. Union Church (4604 King Hill Ave.) and the Joseph Pfeiffer Home (1701 S. 20th St.).
Questions
Do I need approval to paint my house in Museum Hill?
Not to repaint existing painted surfaces. That's maintenance, and the Commission doesn't govern color. Painting brick that has never been painted is different: the guidelines advise against it.
Can I replace my old windows with vinyl in Hall Street?
Window replacement visible from the street in a local district needs a certificate, and new units there must have true divided lights or three-dimensional grilles inside and out. The guidelines prefer keeping and repairing the original sash.
My house is in Patee Town. Do I need Landmark Commission approval?
No mandatory review. Patee Town is a National Register district, not a local one, so the guidelines are recommended there, not required. Confirm your exact address, since boundaries differ.
Who do I ask?
The city's Historic Preservation Planner, in the Planning & Community Development Department at City Hall, 1100 Frederick Ave. See the city's Certificate of Appropriateness page.
Own an older house in one of the districts?
Tell us the address, what's failing and what you want to keep original.
Get a historic-home repair quote →