On the Cover: The Jack C. Taylor Music Center
Photo by Alise O’Brien
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A comprehensive guide to non-profit organizations and charitable giving in St. Louis.
Highlights from the September/October 2025 Issue
Mad About Marble
Love at first sight might happen to a stranger across a crowded room. But then again, a person can be totally gobsmacked by the sight of the perfect house.
In 2010, fresh out of her husband's medical residency, she and her husband started looking for their “forever home.” Then she found a Ladue house languishing on the market that she knew instantly had to be hers.
Text: Christy Marshall
Photo: Alise O’Brien
Cover Story: Something Old, Something New
When the St. Louis Theatre first flung open its doors in 1925, no one had any notionthat someday it would be reincarnated as Powell Hall, home to the renowned St.Louis Symphony Orchestra, the second-oldest symphony in the U.S. The building on Grand Avenue was built for vaudeville shows and a few years later, the new-fangled talkies.
Then in 1966, the theatre was bought by the St. Louis Symphony Society and after a two-year $2 million renovation, debuted on January 24, 1968, as Powell Hall, named after Walter S. Powell, an executiveat Brown Shoe Co.
While a vast improvement on the original, it still had shortcomings. No practice rooms. No space to store valuable instruments. No loading dock. Few restrooms. No women’s dressing room.
When Marie-Hélène Bernard, then executive director and CEO of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston,came to interview for the job as chief executive of the St. Louis Symphony, she immediately noticed a problem—not with the symphony but with its residence.
Text: Christy Marshall
Portrait: John Lore
Sweet Dreams are Made of This
Summertime on a Thursday, minutes after opening, there’s a line at the door. Inside, Joe Eisenbraun is putting out chocolate snappers, Zach Thomas is at the soda fountain wafting clouds of cream over a banana split and back in the kitchen another smiling somebody is piling a pound of bacon into a BLT.
This is how it is at Crown Candy Kitchen.
Text: Alexa Beattie
Photo: Carmen Troesser
In a world increasingly driven by digital convenience and mass production, there is something singularly seductive about analog craftsmanship —the imperfect hum of a tube amplifier warming up, the vibrato of a guitar tone swirling through a room, the whisper of legacy stitched into sound. Ted Kornblum, founder of the resurrected Magnatone amplifier company, understands this allure intimately. His is a story not just of entrepreneurial daring but of reverence —for sound, for heritage and for the enduring value of things built to last.
Text: Craig Kaminer
Photo: John Lore
Strings Attached
Blessings and Baskets
Out of a time of nothing but heartache, Theresa Carrington took her blessings and created a business with women in Africa
Text: Alexa Beattie
Photo: John Lore
The Power of What’s Possible
The Garfield Elementary School in Pine Lawn tells a story of transformation that extends far beyond its weathered brick walls. Built in 1937 and designed by architect William Ittner, the building now houses the offices of Beyond Housing, an organization that's proving comprehensive community development can work —if you're willing to think big, get creative and take the long view.
When Beyond Housing bought this building along with five other vacant school properties for just under $3 million over a decade ago, they weren't just acquiring real estate. They were making a declaration about the power of anchor institutions and the importance of preserving community assets, even when —especially when —those communities are struggling.
Text: Christy Marshall
Photo: Kate Munsch
Getting the Royal Treatment
We love our dogs and cats. We treat them as we would want to be treated. Jessica Cooke, founder of Yuppy Puppy, knows this very well. Her company is fast becoming the gold standard in pet care.
Yuppy Puppy is an elegant spa and resort for pampered pooches ... and fine felines. The upscale pet resort has separate wings for dogs and cats. Every inch of the establishment is designed to envelope one’s precious pet in luxury.
Text: Grayling Holmes
Photo: John Lore
Event Calendar, Presented by Spirit Jets
Happenings of note in September & October
Share your celebrations with us, or let us know what events you want to see featured on our pages by emailing editorSTL@slmag.net.
Sophisticated Celebrations
Presented by
Opera Theatre of St. Louis 50th Anniversary Gala
Variety Club’s Believe Gala
The Illumination Gala
Grazing at the Zoofari Gala
Rung’s Drag Me to Brunch
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last two decades of publishing Sophisticated Living St. Louis, it’s this: creativity in St. Louis never sits still. It doesn’t wait for permission. It doesn’t follow trends —it sets them. From hidden studios in Fox Park to buzzing collaborative spaces in Midtown, our creative community continues to reimagine what’spossible —not only in the arts, but in architecture, design, fashion, food, media and beyond.
St. Louis has always been a city of inventors, thinkers and doers. But what we’re witnessing now is something special: a surge of creative energy fueled by collaboration, diversity and a new generation of visionaries who are deeply invested in both aesthetic excellence and social impact. This isn’t just about creating beautiful things; it’s about creating a more thoughtful, inclusive and expressive city.
At Sophisticated Living, we’re committed to documenting and celebrating the people and ideas driving this creative momentum. In this issue, you’ll meet tastemakers and trailblazers shaping everything from digital art to sustainable design. You’ll see how legacy institutions are being reimagined by bold new leadership, and how emerging voices are finding platforms to share their stories with the world.
Text: Craig Kaminer
From the Publisher
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At Sophisticated Living, we are dedicated and passionate about all the finer things life has to offer. Whether your interests are close to home or in far-flung places, each issue shares highlights of the good life in St. Louis and beyond.
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