That strange concrete structure we saw two days ago is the spillway that Theodore Yahn built for what was going to be an earthen dam, which would have filled in a valley. It was never completed, so this stairstepped monolith remains in the woods.
Heck-Roth Cemetery, Weldon Spring
The Heck-Roth Cemetery was located just off the road we looked at yesterday. Like many of the old cemeteries we’ve looked at in the Weldon Spring area, it was for family, and relatively small, though this one is even smaller than usual. The easiest gravestone to read was that of Mathilda Roth, wife of William.
Old Railroad Spur and Quarry, Weldon Spring
We’ve been looking at the former farmsteads and cemeteries around Weldon Spring that were bought up and demolished for the federal government’s armaments plant during World War II and after (we recently discussed the processing of uranium in the area). This time, off lower Hamburg Road, we found some evidence of an old railroad spur…
Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee: St. Louis Place
St. Louis Place has whole streets that once had houses owned by Paul McKee, and one by one, I documented how they were destroyed by brick thieves back in 2008 St. Louis Avenue now is seeing real estate speculation due to the new NGA, which was part of the Northside TIF. In one of the…
Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee: Old North
Old North was originally going to be in the footprint of the Northside TIF (Blairmont, one of the shell LLCs, takes its name from a property McKee bought at the intersection of Blair and Montgomery in the neighborhood). But neighborhood opposition caused the McKee to withdraw Old North from his plan. The only problem is…
Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee: Hyde Park
Hyde Park was never in the footprint of the Northside TIF, but I can’t help think that it was affected by the disruption that was occurring in the neighborhoods to the south. This neighborhood is really suffering from the effects of abandonment, and the City’s reliance on McKee’s plans diverted attention from residents’ real needs…
Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee: St. Augustine’s
Next, on my tour of the area damaged by Paul McKee’s Northside TIF, I headed towards what was left of St. Augustine. Illegal dumping is very common in the blocks where houses once stood but were demolished after brick theft destroyed homes. This private club is still going, I think. The tower of St. Augustine’s…
Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee: St. Louis Avenue in JeffVanderLou
Turning right from Garrison Avenue onto St. Louis Avenue, we pass by the abandoned Grace Lutheran, and then past the Lindell Park subdivision, which has avoided much of the Northside TIF purchases. But east of here, there are vacant lots of many former McKee buildings, some of which were demolished now close to twenty years…
Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee: JeffVanderLou
Over the next six days, starting today, we’ll look at areas in the footprint of the Northside TIF, and see the effects McKee’s purchases and land banking have stalled redevelopment and also accelerated decline, as properties he’s purchased have gone vacant and been demolished. We’ll start in JeffVanderLou, driving up Webster in the two photos…
6,500th Post: Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee
Wow, I suppose 6,500 posts have a way of sneaking up on you! I also suppose since Paul McKee and his failed Northside TIF is in the news, it would be germane to talk about it and how I’ve been investigating and shedding light on his dealings for eighteen years now. Some of the first…