Frederick's Music Lounge
4456 Chippewa Ave
Outline of Presentation

I.    Introduction by Fred Boettcher, owner 1975-2000
      Typical and untypical lounge
      History of building-roots in Hungary

II.   History of ownership
       Plat book and deed tracing back to Christy Clay Products Co.
       1924-Bergauers buy
       1964-Bergauers sell to niece
       1975-Boettcher buys

III.  Bergauer Family on Chippewa by George, Eva, Mickey

       A. Bergauers come to St. Louis, life on Lafayette
           1. Roots in Hungary-family, discrimination, farmers
           2. George and Eva come to St. Louis-1904/1906
           3. German neighborhood on Lafeyette/S. 8th
           4. Stories by Eva-sandbox, grocery store

       B. Bergauers go to Chippewa
           1. 1924 basement
           2. Building house-friends, family, cooking, strong house
           3. Structure and layout of house

       C.  Bergauers' life on Chippewa
           1.  Going to work: George to Sieloff's, Eva to Webster Groves:
                streetcar
           2. Eva lived there w/Fred-Betty born there 1931

       D.  Neighborhood
           1. Open fields
           2. August Durand's-tightwad
           3. Mesmers

       E.  Bergauers move out of neighborhood
           1. John to Jennings
           2. Eva & 2nd husband
           3. George worked part-time
           4. George fell out of tree
           5. George died
           6. Eva had to move out-problems on moving day; Mickey
           7. Visits by Bergauers since then

IV.  Frederick's Restaurant and Lounge

        A. Buying and building the Restaurant (1975-1980)
            1.Lumber and floors
            2. A tree in the restaurant
            3. Murals, etc.

        B. Frederick's Restaurant (1980-87)
            1. German menu/wine list
            2. Success -- $1000-$2000/night: tips
            3. Celebrities--John Auble's party

        C. The night of the raid
            1. Video poker games
            2. Vice Squad drinking buddies
            3. Search and confiscation
            4. Post-Dispatch articles

        D. The night of the crazy guy
            1. Fight w/waitress'es ex-husband
            2. Shootings--2 days later: Fred's LTD

        E. Fred's House and Lounge today (1993)
            1. Changes in house
            2. Basement operations--GLobal Foods yogurt: Russia, etc.
            3. 1987--phlebitis--shut restaurant down
            4. Regular crowd
            5. 1990's revival

        F. The future
            1. Fred, Sr.'s passing and reopening by Fred, Jr.
 

Frederick's Music Lounge owned by Fred Boettcher, Sr.
Residence at 4456 and lounge in addition to east
House- 2 story wood frame with brick front
Addition brick

Typical bar in many ways
Dimly lit, tables and bar stools, jukebox, friendly barmaid, regular crowd,
beer signs, trivia game at bar, drinks, snacks, etc.

Untypical in some ways
Step down several steps to bar
Built onto old house/residence of owner
Paintings/murals on walls
Bumper pool instead of regular pool table
Tree inside-big tree

Like all buildings and homes there's a story behind this house-story goes
back to early 1900s and traces roots to a small town in what was then Hungary.

Explore past of land and building and what's happened to it over the years-
explain how it looks and how it works today

II. HISTORY OF OWNERSHIP

Lot is on Chippewa just east of Kingshighway before Morganford.
Land originally owned for years by Christy Clay Products, CO
1905 Plat book shows it as Lot 8 on Chippewa on page 783-C
1916-Deeded by Christy Clay Products, CO to Algonite Stone Mfg., CO
1922-Owned by Agnes Ashby
1924-Land bought by George and Eva Bergauer
        Began building house: moved in 1926
1924-1963 (per city directory) Owned and occupied by George Bergauer
    family. Sold at time of Eva's death to Wickells (George and
    Eva's  niece)
1964-65 Occupied by Margaret Hale as tenant
1966 Vacant
1967-69 Occupied by George Anderson as tenant
1970-71 Vacant
1972 Occupied by Fred Theima as tenant
1974 Occupied by Terry Mueller as tenant
1975-2000 Bought by Fred Boettcher, Sr. and occupied until his death in May 2000
2000-  Occupied by Fred Boettcher, Jr.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1938
Sheet #15
Frame dwelling building; auto house in back; 2 doors in front; 1 door in
back; nothing on lots on either side

IV. BUYING AND BUILDING THE RESTAURANT
Bought in 1975 from:
Used house as a base for business as manufacturer's rep for Lenco
and work for Global Foods
Built addition in 1980
Lumber from south Missouri: carpenter named Blankenship needed work;
bought cedar and oak logs and hauled to St. Louis in a couple of loads and
built the bars, ceiling beams, etc.
Floors-12" of 16lb mix concrete
Tree-black locust that was at the edge of the lot. When addition was built he
brought it in, used steel rods to brace it, and sprayed it with pinta. It is
real but it is dead
Original art murals on the wall by Fred and son
Used to paint customers and put on the walls but they were bought
Found in wall and electrical inspection notice from Aug 17, 1926 signed by HJ
Wilson

FREDERICK'S RESTAURANT: PHASE ONE (1980-87)
Well known German Restaurant
Wine list
Specials
Waitresses wear uniforms from Frederick's of Hollywood
$100/night in tips
Restaurant $1000-2000/night
Beer Garden
Capacity of 46 but 150 sometimes in garden and restaurant
Private parties
Big shots like Russell Von der Ahe (family was famous many years ago-beer co
mentioned in SIDEWALK OF ST. LOUIS); John Auble: Joe Farris
Von der Ahe would pull up in a Rolls Royce
Channel 2's elegant party; Fred carried a chair over head and knocked dirt
from a hanging plant onto ladies and into dresses. Never forgave him
Had to wear suit and tie in restaurant
See party Notices, menus, photos, etc.
Piano bar-Fred and others played. Fred wrote songs
# of wives/waitresses

THE NIGHT OF THE RAID (Thursday Jan. 17, 1985)
Tuesday Jan 15, 1985, MO> Supreme Court let stand lower court ruling that
video poker games are illegal as gaming machines. St. Louis police dept. vice
squad conducted a series of raids on Thursday Jan 1/17 on taverns downtown
and NW and south St. Louis
One of George Peach's raids
Fred heard court ruling and put it in his basement storage area
Cops came in and were drinking and "taking advantage of my hospitality" till
closing
Then they pulled out a search warrant for the house and suddenly cop cars,
trucks with 2-wheelers, and Channel 5 pulled up. Searched basement under
house and took out machine and tool a lot of liquor with them (which he never
got back)
Ran customers out and took him downtown.
Post-Dispatch Fri 1/18/85-front page article
Police trying to confiscate machines before vending machine companies took
them
Picture on page 7 of police taking machine out of Frederick's

THE NIGHT OF THE CRAZY GUY
1985/1986
Ex-husband of waitress came in with 2 guys. Had guns and knives and tried to
get at her.
Fred intervened with billy club-hitting him, breaking bottles, waitress was
slashed but ran out back.
Fred finally knocked him out with a rather large bottle of Barbeque Sauce.
George Peach never prosecuted
Few days later Fred's new LTD was shot up in bar driveway.
3 days later in Maplewood, guy was shot in leg by someone in a car. Crippled
now.
Guy left Fred alone because he thought Fred had it done. (He didn't.)

FRED'S HOUSE AND LOUNGE TODAY (1993)
House-Fred lives in by himself though his children stop in occasionally to
stay with him.
FRONT
Eva's old bedroom is dining room and recording studio
Front sitting room is still a sitting room
BATHROOM
KITCHEN
Replaced porcelain sink that was there when he moved in. New wallpaper
BACK BEDROOM
Fred's bedroom
UPSTAIRS
Still kept as a spare bedroom for visitors, maybe rent it out
Roof is still old
BASEMENT-GLOBAL FOODS
Yogurt mix
Ships it out all over the world
200 crates sent to Russia (label)
Had to paint crates opaque black and mark "poison" so black marketeers would
not steal them
Only home yogurt mix set up licensed by the state of MO

LOUNGE
1987-88- Fred, Sr. developed phlebitis and was ordered by doctor to be off feet
more. Closed restaurant operations and turned into a bar.
Instead of $1000-2000 a night as a restaurant, he now pulls in $200 a night.
Fred, Sr. tends bar. 1 bar maid Stephanie who also helps during day with packing
up yogurt mix crates, etc.
Small devoted crowd that comes in to share a drink and shoot bumper pool and
challenge Fred, Fred (who usually wins)

Since Ed's original document was presented, Frederick's Music Lounge developed
a revival in the mid to late 1990's.
His clientle changed to a group of predominantly 25-35 year olds.
In 1999 he brought back live music in the form of a very successful, weekly
"Hootenanny" open mic night, hosted by Bob Camp.
A major highlight of this weekly event was a vocal set
by Fred, Sr. on guitar, often accompanied by Bob Rowe on piano.

In spring of 1999 Fred, Sr. was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Although his life expectancy was only a few months, he continued to operate
the bar, (without a day off except Sunday) for more than another year.
He opened and closed the bar every working day until and including the night of his passing
in May 2000.

The property at 4454/56 Chippewa was inherited by his six children, and the lounge
 reopened on  July 6th, 2000 under the ownership of his son, Fred Boettcher, Jr.
(AKA Fred E. Friction), with help from friends Paul Stark, Erika Weinke, & Kathy Stacy.

Since reopening, Frederick's has received much notoriety in local and regional music press
as the coolest place to drink , listen to, and play music in St. Louis.
 

...more later.