We saw some other interesting buildings in New Harmony, including the Working Man’s Institute, founded by William Maclure in 1838. The current building is from 1894 and is still open to the public. Besides serving as a library, it also contains a museum of artifacts from the earliest period of New Harmony, as well as…
Roofless Church, New Harmony, Indiana
I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of Phillip Johnson. There’s that whole Nazi problem, and the fact that a lot of his work just isn’t that good. The General American Life Insurance Building (now Spire) in downtown St. Louis is pretty cool, though. But we discovered the Roofless Church at New Harmony, and it’s…
New Harmony, Indiana
New Harmony, Indiana, much like the Icarians in St. Louis and Nauvoo, was part of the wave of idealistic communities founded in the United States in the Nineteenth Century. Founded by George Rapp in 1814, the settlement was developed by Lutherans from Wurttemberg in what is now Germany. They didn’t last long and moved to…
Chief O’Brien Grave, Calvary Cemetery
We were wandering around Calvary Cemetery when we found this unique monument to Chief of Police Martin O’Brien. In 1919, he was wounded while chasing two “highwaymen” who had just robbed a jewelry store. He sounds like a much more hands on manager than many leaders nowadays.
Essen Log Cabin, Reborn
There’s some good news to report for a change, since it seems like it’s been a lot of bad news lately. A log cabin, that was literally stolen and thankfully recovered, has been rebuilt in the new Village Green Park in Wildwood a decade after its theft. The Essen Family were longtime settlers in West…
Osceola Street Between South Spring Street and 37th Street
I then cruised down Osceola Street, where I saw something surprising: an abandoned house. It is a rarity in what is other a very healthy neighborhood. It’s also a neat little house. Much of the blocks on Osceola are the sides of houses since they primarily face the north-south street, but we have some nice…
Taft Avenue Between South 37th and 38th Streets
Turning onto Taft Avenue from Grace Avenue, we see more of those more modern housing configurations. The houses above are breaking away from the red brick two bay wide facades with side front doors, as you can see above. And of course, now there are Gingerbread houses popping up. But of course, remember that these…
Grace Avenue Between Osceola Street and Taft Avenue
Crossing over Osceola Street, we’re immediately struck by the ages of the houses that we see. That’s because this is the Jones and Miltenberger Subdivision laid out in March 28, 1876. You might recognize the Eugene Miltenberger name if you follow my Lemp content; he along with two others owned and subdivided the land where…
Grace Avenue Between Meramec and Osceola Streets, Dutchtown
I’ve become intrigued with the so-called South St. Louis Suburb, a giant swath of area platted on July 14, 1858 by the surveyor Salomon (anybody have any information on him?). It was deep in the conutry, far from where the City and consisted of dozens of blocks on either side of South Grand Boulevard, itself…
Intersection of Gravois and Spring Avenues
I was sitting at the light at South Spring Avenue and Gravois Avenue and caught these buildings lying along the north side of the latter. It’s a reminder that Gravois used to be a pedestrian oriented street, before houses were torn down and replaced with parking lots for fast-food restaurants. Unfortunately, due to the noise…