I first spotted the beautiful copper roof of SLU Hospital’s Firmin Desloge Tower from the windows of the Gateway Arch in the first couple of days I lived in St. Louis, back in the Christmas of 1985/early January 1986. It… Continue Reading
The far western corner of Benton Park West is far from its eponymous park, but it did once have a landmark nearby: Falstaff Plant No. 2, which is now mostly demolished. There is a mix of multi-family apartments, and cool… Continue Reading
This house, on St. Louis Avenue at Hamilton, is in that interesting moment when the Art-Deco style transitioned into Modernism. I still don’t feel satisfied with that definition of this house’s style; it was built in 1939, right when a… Continue Reading
You got to have perspective sometimes.
Built for Eastman Kodak, this small building that now houses the Thaxton on Olive Street shows that not all wonderful buildings in downtown are huge. Some are quite small, and quite beautiful.
The Casa Loma Ballroom continues to be a landmark on Cherokee Street. While the Cinderella continues the replacement of its original terracotta. But an old Anheuser-Busch pub still sits in limbo, its owner holding out.
If I could accomplish anything, it would be convincing people how beautiful the houses built right after the Civil War were: urban, compact, and useful. As it is, these wonderful houses will end up as piles of rubble, as part… Continue Reading
Kingshighway, the busiest traffic artery in St. Louis, comes to a rather anticlimactic end at a group of beautiful buildings on Gravois Avenue. But again, occupancy is good, and there is an interesting mix of building stock. There’s this cool… Continue Reading
Gravois Avenue tries to keep its urban character right up to the city limits, but the Missouri Department of Transport has done its best to make this stretch of historic buildings about as inhospitable to human beings as possible. It’s… Continue Reading