With the reopening of the Old Courthouse set for May 3, after a major $26 million renovation, it is a fitting time to revisit one of the building’s quieter but important connections: the story of Louis D. Brandeis, the Jewish legal legend who briefly launched his career in St. Louis.
Brandeis’ ties to the city are modest in length but rich in meaning—and for decades, the Jewish Light has celebrated his legacy. Writers like Bob Cohn, Burton Boxerman and Dale Singer have explored how Brandeis’ short stay in St. Louis planted roots that echo today inside the Old Courthouse.
Brandeis’ early legal career in St. Louis
Much of what we know about Brandeis’ time in St. Louis comes from Cohn’s reporting in a 2011 Jewish Light article, part of his “Cohnipedia” series. He detailed how, in November 1878, a 22-year-old Brandeis arrived in St. Louis to take a $50-a-month job with local attorney James Taussig. Brandeis set up his practice at 505 Chestnut St. and boarded with the Nagel family at 2044 Lafayette St. On Nov. 21, 1878, he was formally admitted to the Missouri Bar during a proceeding held inside the Old Courthouse—a historic moment now quietly commemorated by the bust and plaques visitors can still find there today.
His parents had hoped he would return to Louisville, but Brandeis had other ideas. As he later wrote to his mother, “Man is a strange animal. He does not enjoy what he has—and he always wants what he does not have…and ambition was something for which one is always ready to offer a sacrifice.”
Brandeis quickly made friends, attended dances and formally entered the local bar after appearing before Judge James J. Lindsey. But the work wasn’t what he hoped for. Frustrated by the lack of challenging cases, he left within months to take a clerkship with Chief Justice Horace Gray of the Massachusetts Supreme Court—a move that would launch him toward a national reputation.
Still, St. Louis left a footprint. In 1936, the local bar association installed a plaque at Brandeis’ first office site, marking the start of his legal career.
Old Courthouse renovation brings history back to life
The original plaque had a rocky history. Because the 1936 building owner didn’t like Brandeis, it was placed on the sidewalk instead of the building. Later rededicated and eventually destroyed during renovations, the plaque was painstakingly replaced thanks to local advocates like Burton C. Bernard, a local attorney and authority on Brandeis. Today, it stands at 101 N. Broadway.
Louis D. Brandeis began his practice of law in St. Louis affixed to
the front of the building at 101 N. Broadway. It replaced
the former plaque, which had been placed in 1936 on the sidewalk in
front of the building at 505 Chestnut where Brandeis began his law
practice. File photo: David Henschel
And inside the Old Courthouse—just steps from where Brandeis joined the Missouri Bar—a bronze bust of the justice still watches over visitors. Sculpted by Eleanor Platt and donated by the St. Louis Bar Association in 1966, the bust shows Brandeis, his expression sharp and thoughtful.
The bust is located inside one of the building’s historic courtrooms, a space that is not always fully accessible to the public depending on scheduled events and tours. Still, its presence is a fitting tribute among the echoes of Dred Scott, Virginia Minor and other giants of American legal history.
Now, after years of restoration, the Old Courthouse will reopen to the public on May 3, offering visitors a chance to experience the newly revitalized interior—and to rediscover figures like Brandeis, whose stories are etched into the building’s deeper history.
Writing about Brandeis
In addition to Cohn’s writing about Brandeis, Jewish Light contributors Dale Singer and Burton Boxerman also helped illuminate his life and legacy—especially through their coverage of the major biographies written about him. In 2009, Singer reviewed Melvin Urofsky’s “Louis D. Brandeis: A Life,” calling it a sweeping portrait of a man who reshaped American law and Jewish identity.
In 2016, Boxerman followed with a review of Jeffrey Rosen’s “Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet,” highlighting how Brandeis’ progressive values still resonate today.
Brandeis and St. Louis: a lasting legacy
And here’s one more St. Louis connection worth knowing: when a group of civic and Jewish leaders founded Brandeis University in 1946, it was a St. Louis native, Abram Leon Sachar, who became its first president. So as the Old Courthouse reopens, it’s a good time to remember how one young Jewish lawyer’s brief stop here still resonates, in our institutions, our history and the pride we’ve carried for generations.
Grand Reopening of the Old Courthouse
When: Friday, May 3, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Old Courthouse, 11 N. 4th St., St. Louis, MO 63102 (Part of Gateway Arch National Park)
More Info: Admission is free and open to all.
