 "The staid exterior featuring a monumental double-height portico with Corinthian columns gives no hint of the richness within - an interior embellished with exotic woods, South African pink marble, and Tiffany glass.The owner's business connection in lumber and construction presumably helped control building costs, which are nevertheless reported to have been $125,000.A St. Louis newspaper cited it as the finest residence in the state soon after [he, his wife and four daughters] moved into the house in 1900.