Eliot Chapel, Kirkwood
Formerly Grace Episcopal Church, Eliot Unitarian Chapel took over this beautiful Gothic Revival church just east of downtown Kirkwood in 1961. The Eliot comes from the same man who helped found Washington University.
Central County
Parkview, Revisited
Yes, it’s sort of weird, but a couple hundred feet of Parkview is in St. Louis, in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood, and the vast majority is in University City. The community has its own website. But one thing is for sure;… Continue Reading
Richardson Headstone Resetting
The story began when an employee of the Troy School District, Brian Chrismer, found a tombstone in a dumpster on district property. He reached out to Ginger Collins-Justus, and she discovered the stone belonged in Oak Hill Cemetery in Kirkwood. On… Continue Reading
Major Monuments, Oak Hill Cemetery
There aren’t a huge number of mausolea in Oak Hill, but there are a couple nice ones. The stars, however, are some interesting family plots, such as this one below. I like the benches around this one, bringing people together… Continue Reading
Oak Hill Cemetery
Oak Hill Cemetery was founded way out in the country, along the old main-line railroad tracks, near the recently founded city of Kirkwood. It’s a beautiful setting, full of wonderful trees (which are in many ways the stars of the… Continue Reading
Eighth Church of Christ, Scientist
This Christian Scientist church is interesting; it is primarily a Gothic Revival structure, but its front portico has echoes of the Romanesque or even the Renaissance. I also find it interesting, as earlier churches by this denomination had actively rejected… Continue Reading
The Delmar Loop and its Environs, Revisited
The Loop still has some great architecture, and the street is still busy with the construction of the trolley moving further east. Narrowing the street to encourage pedestrian traffic is a winning formula, even as it is still considered to… Continue Reading
Valley Between Two Ridges, Cragwold Estate
Across what is clearly an old ford over a creek that feeds just to the left of the picture into the Meramec, my father and I found an interesting discovery. Beyond a doubt, there are the well-preserved remnants of an… Continue Reading
Western Ridge, Cragwold Estate Animal Park
Proceeding south from the field surrounding the mansion, the original animal park that Edwin Lemp used to breed and keep exotic animals is largely intact, and the crags that gave the name to his estate still awe visitors along the… Continue Reading
Cragwold, December 2015
Continuing a somewhat regular Christmas tradition, my father and I took a drive on the holiday out to look for more remnants of the Lemp estates out along the Meramec River. We returned to our search for more ruins or… Continue Reading