Sheila - haven't pulled up the current plywood floor yet, but it looks like it is framed underneath (and not concrete like it appears from outside the house). I'll get to that this afternoon.

I'm probably not messing with the wall behind the appliances, since asbestos siding over wood siding over wood panels (whatever the 1920 equivalent of plywood was) stuffed with newspaper is probably as insulated as that is going to get without mold issues. I'll cover the plumbing back with plywood and add a little insulation under that and probably do blown-in insulation on the exterior walls this summer.

And the only article I can read is on a celebration of St. Louis's 100-year anniversary (it was incorporated in 1822).