I never feel like I can get a good picture of the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. There always seems to be something blocking my ability to back up far enough, or it’s a cloudy day, or whatever. Surrounded by buildings for most of its existence, first by two- to three-story-houses and stores that…
Tag: Historic Sites
East of Downtown on Washington Street, Belleville
Heading east down Washington Street from downtown Belleville are a whole ensemble of amazing houses, such as the one seen above, which has been carefully restored. I like this little Romanesque Revival cottage sitting back from the street; it is simple and restrained, but still looks great along the street wall. The St. Clair Historical…
Westland Acres
Update: The sale of the property mentioned in this post did not happen, but individual parcels are still for sale. Due to an eagle-eyed reader, I learned recently that the historic freedmen’s settlement of Westland Acres recently sold for a substantial amount of money. Inhabited by the descendants of freed slaves for generations, I suspect…
Whittier Street, The Greater Ville
Update: I visited Chuck Berry’s mausoleum in this post from late May of 2020. Whittier Street. It is actually one of the most culturally significant streets in world cultural history, and the City of St. Louis apparently could care less. It was on this street that modern rock ‘n’ roll was created by Chuck Berry…
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Drive up a narrow road with steep bluffs on one side and a busy railroad on the other, and you reach the visitors’ center for the Effigy Mounds National Monument. After an epic hike up the bluffs, you reach a prairie, and then after a little while more, you reach the effigy mounds, where an…
Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore
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. It was once surrounded by houses and even a river and port on the other…
Colonnade of San Lorenzo, Milan
Urban renewal happens in Europe, as well, and the Colonnade of St. Lawrence is a perfect example of that. As the ancient world transitioned into the Early Christian, an old temple or bath house was torn down, and this colonnade was constructed with its Corinthian columns along the main street leading to the Ticino Gate….
Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan
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 was the brother of St. Ambrose, the archbishop of Milan. In this photo by photographer…
The Basilica and Postern Gate of Saint Ambrose, Milan
Update: See a church in St. Louis based off architecture such as St. Ambrose’s. Here is the church of St. Ambrose in St. Louis. 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…
Old Fortifications Tower, Milan
The old walls of Roman Milan came by here, and due to most likely being incorporated into San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, this tower and another square one have survived barbarian invasions and the destruction of the original church. They sit now in limbo, still searching for a purpose in the 21st Century.