I went down to the South Riverfront bright and early on Saturday and cut through the flood wall. The sun was shining across the Mississippi River. The water level is still low, but I think it has been rising a… Continue Reading
They don’t make power plants like this anymore. I wrote an extensive article about the Lemp Brewery’s power plant several years ago, so you can learn about it here. This is another work by Guy Tyler Norton, with extensive collaboration… Continue Reading
The Liggett and Meyers Tobacco Factory stretches between Folsom and Park Avenues, and the north side of the building is perhaps not as often photographed. There are large rounded arch windows of what was originally the power plant, with ten… Continue Reading
The Dick Brothers Brewery is located on York Street in the South Side German Historic District. It is a great example of adaptive reuse of a historic brewery building that has incorporated its underground cellars into a guided tour. The… Continue Reading
Jason Gray’s photographs that he took for my series of articles about the Lemp Brewery for St. Louis Magazine are of such higher quality than mine that it almost seems pointless for me to take any more pictures of the… Continue Reading
This power plant is no longer standing; it was being demolished when I walked by in the afternoon. It was not the largest power plant in the world, but it sure seems huge when I was standing near it. Back… Continue Reading
The north bank of the Mississippi is where Pillsbury, yes that Pillsbury, had its mills and grain elevators. Much of its huge physical plant is now condos, and it is really a beautiful area today, much like we saw yesterday.… Continue Reading
I met new people all over North St. Louis this summer, including members of the congregation of the Original Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in the Ville neighborhood, on St. Louis Avenue. Better Family Life had organized dozens of churches to… Continue Reading
One of my favorite buildings that I have never gotten close to is the old Cahokia Power Station, located across the river in Illinois. Its hulking mass and six smokestacks dominate the Southside, and have for decades.
Update: I revisited the area again in the summer of 2019. The near south riverfront, just below the Arch grounds on the Mississippi, is still a fascinating place. This giant crane, for example, is a mystery to me; what was… Continue Reading