Well, then. There was a cottonwood tree that was snowing on Benton Park on the day I was photographing the neighborhood, so you’ll see little white dots in a lot of the photographs in the next week. Pestalozzi Street is… Continue Reading
The local news is reporting that the City has gotten a grant to tear down more abandoned buildings in the St. Louis Place and JeffVanderLou neighborhoods. If Las Vegas were open right now and taking wagers on St. Louis blight,… Continue Reading
It’s hard to believe it, but the houses above were once an almost completely ruined pile of smoking timbers and collapsed brick walls a few years ago. I wrote an article about those two houses, and the other Civil War-era… Continue Reading
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
What impresses me about Dubuque is its abundance of successful public spaces; here is Washington Park, which possesses the Post Office on the south side. Designed by James A. Wetmore, it opened in 1934. I strongly suspect this Art-Deco edifice… Continue Reading
I cut over from Locust Street towards Main Street; like many cities in America, living close to the central business district was once prestigious, before the noise and smoke of the automobile made it less desirable. The incredibly beautiful Second… Continue Reading
Turning off Central Avenue onto 15th Street, we head into what I believe was an Irish Catholic workers’ neighborhood. St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, which I did not get a chance to photograph, faces Jackson Park, which is the centerpiece… Continue Reading
North of the planing mills and woodworking factories lie the workers’ houses. They are elegant, well-kept and down to earth houses. Above is Jackson Street, with a style of Italianate house with a gable roof, which we don’t see many… Continue Reading
The downtown area of Dubuque is large, reflecting its historically large economy and importance in the lumber and woodworking business. Central Avenue is one of several north-south arteries that run between the Mississippi River and the bluffs, making the downtown… Continue Reading
The north bank of the Mississippi is where Pillsbury, yes that Pillsbury, had its mills and grain elevators. Much of its huge physical plant is now condos, and it is really a beautiful area today, much like we saw yesterday.… Continue Reading