I went by the Theophile Papin House on the last Saturday of June. It’s being demolished. It’s sad, but honestly, it had been so heavily altered that it wouldn’t really have been feasible or worthwhile to restore it back to… Continue Reading
Now missing its central cupola and no longer functioning in its original purpose, St. Mary’s Orphan Home or Asylum stands on Emerson Avenue in the Walnut Park neighborhood. Originally it was probably out in the exurbs, built in 1909, but… Continue Reading
United Hebrew Congregation has a rich history going back to 1837, when the City of St. Louis was still a relatively small town, and before the influx of German and Irish immigrants had dramatically changed the makeup of the population.… 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
Update: With little fanfare, both Macy’s and the mall reopened after all in mid-May 2020. I don’t think the Macy’s at Chesterfield Mall is going to reopen. Back after the Dillard’s was flooded due to a water main break, they… Continue Reading
Starting in the south at 2nd Street, at the Hotel Julien Dubuque, named after the founder of the City of Dubuque, we head north through the southern part of downtown on Main Street. To the east, much of the old… 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
One thing that St. Louis does not have in its downtown is an extant Egyptian Revival building, which is something that Minneapolis can claim. Apparently this was an old location for Marquette Bank. Am I totally thrilled with the the… Continue Reading
I had always glanced down Nicholson Place while traveling down Lafayette Avenue, and had foolishly believed that the sadly truncated little street surely contained little history and few historic houses. After digging a little, I discovered I was dead wrong.… Continue Reading
Not many families come around to play at the St. Luke’s Hospital Play Area anymore, Dr. Ted E. Bear informed me on a recent visit to Chesterfield Mall. Plays areas were never this cool when I was young. We chatted… Continue Reading