Laid out originally as Berlin Avenue, the private street that stretches from North Taylor Avenue to North Kingshighway is cut in two by North Euclid Avenue. We’ll look at the street in two parts. I don’t think Pershing Place was laid out as a private street, and its original name of Berlin Avenue seems to…
Category: Central
Posts about Central St. Louis
Redevelopment Continuing, Lafayette Square
Back in May of this year, I checked in on the massive new development transforming the long moribund northwest side of the Lafayette Square neighborhood. I think most people know the story: the wealthy area declined and industry moved in (though that’s not entirely true, as early sources show that dirty industry had always been…
Redevelopment, Former A.G. Edwards Buildings
Update: Demolition was proceeding nicely in the fall of 2023. As readers might suspect, I have been bedridden, overwhelmed with grief at the announcement that two of the oldest buildings on the former A.G. Edwards campus are marked for demolition in order to build two new hotels, a couple of blocks from the new soccer…
Euclid Avenue Between Lindell, Maryland and McPherson Avenues
I’ve always found it interesting how there is a quiet section of private streets off Euclid Avenue in the Central West End in between Maryland Avenue (which you can see here and here) in the south, and McPherson Avenue in the north (which you can see here and here). Above is the southeast corner of…
Private Traffic Signals
I recently became fascinated with the phenomenon of “private” traffic signals, which are electric traffic control lights which serve only one user at a busy or dangerous intersection. The first one is where West Pine Boulevard sweeps around and terminates at Lindell Boulevard after coming out of Forest Park. The traffic light usually only serves…
Rapid Changes, Mill Creek Around Grand Boulevard
Late on Saturday, I checked up on how the residential development of the former railyards of the western Mill Creek valley was going. This is west of the historic African American neighborhood, but is the actual valley, where roundhouses and light industry, as well as massive switching yards once lay. The building that was under…
North Third Street, Laclede’s Landing
What’s there to say about what’s left of North Third Street in Laclede’s Landing? First of all, to exit the parking lot, which is currently the only way to get out of the neighborhood and onto Third Street on the south side, you have to walk out into traffic lanes because there is a fence…
North Second Street, West Side, Laclede’s Landing
Starting way up by the casino, there is this large rock sitting here. I have no idea what it is doing. Below, I thought it was a smart idea to put a dog park under the western approaches of the MLK Bridge since in general modern engineers do not like buildings constructed under spans anymore….
North Second Street, East Side, Laclede’s Landing
We’ll first look at the east side of North Second Street, heading north. The two buildings on the right are the Greeley and Cutlery buildings, respectively. Back in 1980, the two buildings were shabby, looked abandoned, and the Cutlery Building was still sporting a fire escape like something you would see in the Lower East…
Clamorgan Alley, Laclede’s Landing
Clamorgan Alley is not the historic name for this alley, which cuts between the 700 blocks of North First and Second streets. But it received that name because Jacques Clamorgan once owned this land, and in a famous court case, after giving the land to his slave, Esther, in an effort to avoid creditors (something…