Speaking of the Bissell Mansion Dinner Theater, while I was photographing the other side of the street, I couldn’t help but notice that the famous house, which is given the title of oldest brick home in the City of St. Louis, was looking worse for wear.

There were huge swaths of leaves that had not been raked since the fall, and the most telling piece of evidence was the door hanger I saw below.

It was a doorhanger from the City of St. Louis License Collector stating that the restaurant had not properly registered its business license for the new year. Not a good sign.

I tried calling the number listed on their website but was not able to get through.

The dumpster (businesses are required to contract with a private waste hauler and not use the bins in the alleys reserved for residents) was filled with illegally dumped trash and other debris.

Overall, the grounds looked abandoned. This is not good when such an important building to the history of St. Louis has been left vacant with no future plans for it.