I was giving a lecture in St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwestern corner of the state, and lo and behold, I found one of the most architecturally rich cities in the Midwest, if not in the whole United States. Powered by immense stockyards and industry that dwarfed Kansas City to the south for most of…
Tag: Missouri
Shelbina, February 2024
It seems like I visit Shelbina every eight years. The first time, in 2008, I photographed a beautiful building that was sadly destroyed by fire. In 2016, I went deeper, seeing more of the gorgeous houses back on some of the side streets. Our first stop revealed the Vesper House was resplendent as ever; I…
Macon, Sixteen Years Later
Fast forward to February, and I was back in Macon for the first time in sixteen years, and this is what I saw. There were some fresh coats of paint, here and there. The former bank building has a new business in it, which I learned was originally the Macon Building and Loan Association, later…
From the Vault: Macon, Sixteen Years Ago
We found ourselves in Macon, in Northeast Missouri recently, and I wanted to check up on the downtown area. It had been sixteen years since my first and last visit to downtown Macon, and I only posted a few pictures: some pealing lead paint, and a Beaux-Arts and a Modernist bank. I dug these photos…
Washington, At Night
I was giving a lecture out in Washington, Missouri, and I had some time to kill so I walked around the downtown, taking some pictures of the historic architecture. Above is St. Peter’s United Church of Christ which was founded in 1844. Below is the City Hall. I wandered down some of the other streets…
Two Midwestern Towns, 500 Miles Apart
The town of Rushville, Indiana, possesses one of the more exceptional courthouses out in the country that I’ve seen in awhile. Built in 1896, it still sports its central clocktower, which sometimes is removed, as was done in Kirksville, Missouri, after structural problems appeared. I really love the Damascus arch for the main entrance. The…
Dry Goods Store, Hannibal
I researched the original purpose of this fascinating building, and as far as I could tell, it operated as a dry goods store. It is very old, regardless, built of rubble wall construction. It went through a series of other uses over the years. As recently as 2016 if not later, the building had a…
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, Fulton, Interior
The interior of the church is much simpler, more sparse than your average Baroque space, reflecting a more classical vein of Seventeenth Century architecture. Of course, the Anglican Church also reigned in England, and it reflects in the worship space. Instead of marble, wood carving dominates on the interior, up into the choir loft where…
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, Fulton, Exterior
I was digging around in the vault and found some old photos of the time we visited Fulton, Missouri, and saw the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, which is not an everyday occurrence. On the campus of Westminster College, the church was disassembled after being seriously damaged during the London Blitz in World…
Commercial Street, North Side, Springfield
You can read about some of the history of the Commercial Street Historic District here, at the website for the area. This is an old fire station. I think these buildings below could be spotted in the historic photograph at the top of this post. There seems to be more empty renovated storefronts on this…