Alan Spilker dreamed big as a young boy growing up in St. Louis. “I always said if I ever came back when I was older, I wanted to get a house by Forest Park and one at the Lake of the Ozarks,” he says. He made both dreams a reality. Spilker moved away for college and says he kept heading west, eventually meeting his wife Jennifer in California. But when his mother became ill, they returned to his native St. Louis, a move he never thought would happen.
The couple initially bought a house in Ladue, but Spilker remained committed to living in the Central West End. The historic property on Lindell Boulevard, formerly the home of radio legend Jack Carney, caught their eye when they walked through it during a sale of his personal items. “There are a lot of beautiful houses on Lindell, but this one has a very unique style,” Spilker says. “And we particularly liked this end of the street because of its proximity to the Central West End and the Chase, where we often went for dinner.”
When the couple bought the house in 2008, it had sat untouched for the most part since the ’80s. “It was in disrepair,” Spilker says. “It was by far our biggest project to date—a complete restoration. We bought the 
house in early January and didn’t move in until the end of October.” Everything was redone, from all the major systems (electric, plumbing, heating/cooling) to the landscaping and exterior grounds. The home was built in 1897 by Weber & Groves, and Spilker says they tried to maintain the integrity of this period on the first floor. “We imagined what it would have looked like back then and added modern conveniences,” he says.
They arranged the second floor to have both a master suite and a guest suite, and the third floor offers more bedrooms. “Jennifer really gets credit for picking everything out. Depending on the day you ask her, she would say it was fun,” Spilker jokes. They often entertained family and friends, and for guests planning to stay awhile, the renovated carriage house features two separate apartments. “It’s been called the nicest carriage house in the area,” 
Spilker says. “Carney kept horses, so the first floor has three stables, which we restored along with the blacksmith shop.”
The house, which was featured on the Central West End Association House & Garden Tour in 2011, has one of the few front porches on the street, which Spilker says is perfect for “watching the world go by”—and for taking in parades and festivals at Forest Park. “I enjoy taking something and making it better, and we did that to this house,” he says. “We restored it to something it had fallen from, which was very rewarding.”
listing price | $1,695,000
listing agent | jim human and kevin hurley of janet mcafee real estate
Photos: Steven B. Smith Photography
