The forlorn intersection of Branch Avenue with 9th and 11th streets was once a bustling crossroads as can be seen below in Compton and Dry’s 1876 Pictorial St. Louis.

I want you to pay particular attention to the building in the lower left above labeled “5.” In 1876, it was the Bellefontaine Streetcar Company’s barn, but in the coming decades two famous businesses would grow up on top or next to its former footprint.

One of those two businesses was the F.W. Hanpeter Furniture Company, whose ghost sign you can just barely see above; on the right you can see the remains of the diagonal orientation of 11th Street.

Above is a closer look where that ghost sign is easier to see. Below, you can see the area is a bit overgrown and fenced off with barbed wire.

Obviously, Interstate 70 came crashing through here in the 1950s, changing everything.

At that time, the other important business, the American Foundry and Manufacturing Company, which sat right next door to Hanpeter, saw much of its buildings demolished for the construction of the interstate.

However, as far as I can tell, Hanpeter went out of business and American Foundry, which is famous for casting fire hydrants since 1888, moved into some of its neighbor’s buildings.

Here is a view of the complex from the west, across the interstate.