Richard W. Lemen, Northeast Corner of Compton and Gravois, c. 1930, Lemen Streets and Sewers Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, St. Louis Public LibraryIn my dreams I have this fantasy where I win the lottery, and among other things, I… Continue Reading
When you factor in the little hump in front, and the half basement, your average house in St. Louis has a basement floor that is sitting at street level. It is no better illustrated than with this beautiful four-family at… Continue Reading
What I really like about Benton Park West is that unlike some neighborhoods in St. Louis, the the perpendicular streets to not suffer for the “dominant” streets. Frequently perpendicular streets are just the sides of houses, but not here. Wyoming… Continue Reading
There are still some interesting four-family buildings north of Utah on Nebraska such as the one on the northwest corner above, but then the block turns over to two-family houses. As I’ve frequently remarked before, St. Louis builders were masters… Continue Reading
Heading north up Nebraska Avenue from Cherokee Street, there is a row of four-family flats on the west side of the street. They are technically identical in form, but they are individualized in their front facade ornamentation. One of things… Continue Reading
North of Wyoming Street, California Avenue has the normal Benton Park West style houses, influences by the German immigrants who settled here around 1900. There is the heavy influence of the Romanesque Revival. My friends nicknamed the houses below “cyclops”… Continue Reading
Those little bungalows from after World War II pop up on Ohio Avenue just north of Wyoming, but then the normal architecture one would expect appears in two story Second Empire houses. There is also a mixture of other housing… Continue Reading
Texas Avenue in Benton Park West in between Arsenal and Wyoming streets is due west of Benton Park, and it sits on top of a huge old sinkhole, which was still largely visible in Compton and Dry’s Pictorial St. Louis,… Continue Reading
Benton Park West is easily one of the most beautiful and most balanced urban neighborhoods in the city of St. Louis. It is just the mix of densities to provide something for everybody. Its future and health will help determine… Continue Reading
Houses that had been abandoned for years have been rehabbed and occupied on Texas Avenue in between Pestalozzi and Arsenal on the east side of the street. A trend I am not happy about is the painting of the beautiful… Continue Reading