Historic Florissant, Inc. Honors Ed Bennett, John Caravelli, Florissant Valley Fire Protection District

Post author:independentnws
Post published:June 2, 2009
Post category:Florissant
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NEW FIRE STATION and administration building under construction on St. Ferdinand. Photo was taken during the Valley of Flowers parade this year. JANE BANASZEK PHOTO

Ed Bennett of Hendels Market CafÃ© was the recipient of Historic Florissantâ€™s third annual Lois Zimmerman Preservation Award at a ceremony held at the Franz Gittemeier House, 1067 Dunn Road, on May 31. The Zimmerman Award is named for Lois Zimmerman, one of the original members of Historic Florissant, Inc., established in 1969.

Bennett was honored for his recent addition to Hendels Market CafÃ© at 599 rue St. Denis. Bennett carefully designed the addition to compliment the original structure which was built in 1876 by Henry Bockrath. Used old bricks from a razed St. Louis building of a similar age and recycled wood flooring were used. The end result is a beautiful building that the entire city can be proud of., said Gretchen Crank of HFI.

In addition to the Zimmerman Award, two other Historic Florissant Awards were presented at the ceremony. The Florissant Valley Fire Protection District received an award for the new fire station and administration building being built along St. Ferdinand Street adjacent to the historic Spanish Land Grant Park. This new building shows that infill is possible within the historic district by following the guidelines established by the city.

The other Historic Florissant Award was presented to John Caravelli, president of Citizens Bank of Florissant, without whose support many preservation projects would have failed. Caravelli represented all those financial institutions who have supported HFI in its past 40 years.

For more information, call Historic Florissant at 314-921-7055.