The Basilica of Great Saint Lawrence is one of the most important churches in the world you’ve never heard of. It sits across what is now a plaza, but was once crowded with houses, from the Colonnade of St. Lawrence.… Continue Reading
Milan is a very crowded city, with very little space. So when it came time to build a new church, St. Mary Near (or as I translate presso, up against) St. Satirus, the architects needed to be creative. St. Satirus… Continue Reading
Located on the southwestern edge of the historic core of Milan, the Basilica of Saint Ambrose has foundations that go back to one of the Four Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church, St. Ambrose himself. That church is long gone,… Continue Reading
Walnut Park is one of those neighborhoods of the city where I am hesitant to post pictures where there is the chance of giving the wrong impression. The area struggles with crime, and has a tragically high murder rate. There… Continue Reading
The weather was weird in Princeton when we came through, but it is a really beautiful town, with a long history going back before the Civil War. It has two “downtowns,” one down by the county courthouse, and the other… Continue Reading
I’m starting to notice some major structural problems at St. Augustine’s; I worry about its future. No one is coming to its rescue.
For some reason, I am drawn back to this simple but elegant church in the “Lutheran Civic Center” near the old Concordia Seminary, old Lutheran Hospital and still operating Concordia Publishing House. Its rich red brick with tan detailing and… Continue Reading
Update: I went back in November of 2018 to see how things were doing. Eleven years now I’ve been photographing JeffVanderLou, particularly east of Grand Boulevard, and perhaps what is most striking is how little has changed, and if anything… Continue Reading
The small church building above appears in Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps in 1909, with a vacant lot to the south at the corner of Academy and Vernon Avenues. Obviously, the congregation of the now-vanished Brank Memorial Presbyterian Church constructed the… Continue Reading
The amazing West Presbyterian Church reminds me of a church I might see in Oak Park, outside of Chicago, but also fits in with the general trend of St. Louis architects moving away from the German or French Gothic and… Continue Reading