Mr. Stifel required that the building be fireproof, so steel, brick, concrete and block were used throughout. All the floors, including the attic floor, are poured concrete; interior walls, some eight inches thick, are concrete. The structural system to support this massive structure is concrete enclosed steel I-beams supported by piers and bearing walls. This unique construction makes the Stifel Fine Arts Center distinctive because in 1910, when the home was being built, such construction techniques would have been limited to skyscrapers and large commercial buildings, not a single family’s private residence.
