Update: See the cemetery in October of 2018, along with the famous Father Dickson Cemetery, when I back to see how it was doing. After the old Evangelisch Lutheran cemetery, founded in 1848 at Gravois and Wilmington, had to close in 1926, it was moved out to Rock Hill Road. The cemetery is about half full,…
Month: June 2016
St. Mary’s Infirmary Coming Down
Long-suffering St. Mary’s Infirmary, is finally being put out of its misery. One half of the building, up to the central hallway, has been demolished. I’m sad, but realistically, it was in danger of collapse, and the city officials I know who made the decision couldn’t put off the emergency demolition any longer. Damaged by…
Lost Potential, Not Failure, North Market Street and Environs
Update: Demolished for the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in 2017. The City of St. Louis cut ties with Paul McKee’s Northside in June of 2018. I have a different attitude compared to most people, I realized. I don’t see these buildings as losses (though they will be demolished for the NGA), but rather lost potential….
Some Things Never Change
Update: As of the summer of 2023, little has changed at the compound shown above other than the fence being painted red (fifth photo). The survivalist compound is doing fine on N. Market Street. Update: The gas station was demolished in the winter of 2024. The vacant gas station at St. Louis Avenue and Parnell,…
Terracotta, Washington Avenue
At the corner of 9th Street and Lucas Avenue.
Former Bottle District Site
Only in St. Louis, it seems, could such prime real estate sit undeveloped like this for so long. Really, is there no demand? Sadly, that is the only answer. Update: The warehouse below was gutted by fire a month after this photo was taken. This nice warehouse, which now seems to be vacated by the…
Old Mercantile Tower
I don’t despise this building, but it was part of a larger plan that ironically was never completed. Its owners forced the demolition of the Ambassador Building, and the crumby, small parking garage could be replaced with more beneficial retail space along Washington Avenue. But, the tower is here to stay.
Armour, Revisited, Early June 2016
Update: Demolished in the summer of 2016. After the dramatic implosion of the refrigeration plant at Armour in April, demolition is continuing, slowly but surely. It’s actually interesting to look at the building now, released from the heavy vegetation that normally obscured it. The twin smoke stacks are buried somewhere in this pile of rubble….
Side Entrances, Orpheum Theater
No longer the Roberts Orpheum, but back to just the Orpheum, the beauty of the terracotta decoration even on the side of the theater on St. Charles Street is stunning. Here are some details.