Update: Most of these houses are presumably gone, but the house with the onion dome is still standing. While there is still much good left in Cairo, the truth is that much of the town is devastated. We’ll leave town with this survey of some of the abandonment we saw.
Month: April 2014
Millionaires’ Row, Cairo, Illinois
Update: I revisited the area in June of 2024. Italianate and Second Empire architecture dominates Millionaires’ Row, the grouping of lavish houses on Washington Avenue down the street from Magnolia Manor. This house, with its clean red brick, was my favorite. This Georgian Revival-esque house was probably one of the last grand homes built in…
South City Brewery Tour Back, Saturday, May 3rd
Back by popular demand, I will be giving my South City Brewery Tour this Saturday in conjunction with Cinco de Mayo on Cherokee Street. It will start, as usual at 2:00 PM, but we will meet at the St. Louis Curio Shoppe at Cherokee Street and Indiana Avenue. Swing by after the People’s Joy Parade…
Magnolia Manor, Cairo, Illinois
Update: Improved images added in June of 2024. The house is still in good condition and well-maintained. Magnolia Manor, up Washington Avenue in the intact portion of Cairo, is one of the most splendid examples of Italianate architecture I have ever seen. It is a shame that more of the town is not preserved as…
Riverlore, Cairo, Illinois
Update: A renovation of the house began in 2019, but it seems to have stopped at some point after that; as of June of 2024 it sits abandoned. Representing the burst in commercial success after the conclusion of the Civil War, the stunning 1865 Second Empire mansion was built for Captain William Parker Halliday, and…
Working Light Bulb, Cairo, Illinois
Update: The bulb was broken when revisited in June of 2024 (sixth photo). As we walked around downtown Cairo at noon, we came upon this damaged lamp post. At first thinking the sun was reflecting off the bulb, we soon realized, much to our amazement, that the light bulb was in fact still working. A symbol…
Commercial Avenue and Its Environs, Cairo, Illinois
Update: Many of the buildings below are now gone as of June 2024. Commercial Avenue is really where Cairo’s history turns dark and tragic. The desolation that dominates the lower east side of the peninsula shows in the photo above. Though several blocks away, I could capture a clear shot of the remaining buildings on…
The A. B. Safford Memorial Library and U.S. Customs House, Cairo, Illinois
Described by locals as being “Queen Anne,” I would say that the A.B. Safford Library is more an eclectic mix of various styles,with strong Romanesque Revival elements. Regardless, it is a stunning building, whose excellent condition clashes with much of the desolation around it. Inside the 1884 structure is a very nice, and surprisingly high…
Historic Churches, Cairo, Illinois
From the Roman Catholic church above, to more humble buildings such as the abandoned, wood frame church below, the wealth and population is exhibited in Cairo’s churches. Update: The church below seems to be abandoned now.
Cairo’s Civil Engineering Marvels
Update: I revisited these bridges in June of 2024. The bridge to Missouri was closed for repairs at the time. Cairo sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, landlocked by giant levees that keep back the two mighty bodies of water. At the southern end of the peninsula upon which the city…