Update: I went back in the spring of 2019 to photograph the gates again. Sometimes I have a hard time judging a particular building’s architectural style, but other times, like in the case of the massive, imposing Kingsbury Place gates, I have no problem. This is as Beaux-Arts as you can possibly get. Designed by…
Tag: Gates
Back Doors, Westmoreland and Portland Places
The gates of Westmoreland Place and Portland Places are prominent landmarks along Kingshighway (see their gates here and here, respectively). But coming around to Union, you realize they have “backdoors,” so to speak. Above are the relatively simple gates of Westmoreland Place along Union. The Portland Place gate, however, is really fascinating. An elaborate, Romanesque…
Mission San José, San Antonio, Texas
Completed in 1782, the Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo has gained the reputation as the “Queen of the Missions,” largely due to the restored, intact quadrangle of walls and residences. While all of the churches had plans for more elaborate decorations and size, only San José was able to complete its plans…
Tower Grove Park, Sunset
Tower Grove Park is one of the jewels of St. Louis, and it is just as beautiful as the more famous Forest Park, with a fraction of the crowds. What is interesting is that Henry Shaw laid out the park, and built most of the pavilions, long before the city reached out to the park. …
Calvary Cemetery Gates
I sometimes forget about Calvary Cemetery, drawn to the numerous mausolea of the industrial giants of St. Louis history in Bellefontaine Cemetery. But Calvary has many interesting and beautiful aspects, starting with its front gates, built I would estimate in the first two decades or so of the Twentieth Century. It is dominated by the…
Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy
It’s hard not to take a great picture of one of the most picturesque places on the planet.
University Heights Gates, University City
Update: I went back in January of 2020 to photograph the area on the inside and outside of the gates. Also, the two statues are a lion and a tiger. See University Heights No. 1, which is on the right just past the gates. I finally figured out why the lions, which also happen to…
Forest Ridge and Southmoor
Update: See a plat map for the subdivision here. South of Brentmoor Park, and laid out at the same time, is Forest Ridge; while the terrain of the street is more level, it still has a distinctive wooded common area in the center. To the south on Big Bend is Southmoor, another private street probably…
Carrswold
Originally the country estate of Robert Carr, Carrswold is one of several private streets created in the 1920’s in Clayton just west of the St. Louis Boundary and Big Bend Road. Heavily Tudor Revival in style, the mansions of the private subdivision are laid out on large lots, with sweeping boulevards, really parks in their…
Parkview
Update: I went back and visited again in 2018 and in January of 2024. Straddling the border between St. Louis and University City on Skinker, Parkview was another private subdivision laid out by Julius Pitzmann. What was once farmland now is heavily forested, with houses peeking out from behind the stately trees.