I’ve looked at the former John F. Kennedy High School before, then during demolition, and then last year as initial site grading had begun. We were surprised that by mid 2023 that the subdivision was largely completed. I’m intrigued by the conversion of large institutional parcels being subdivided into smaller plots of land. Certainly many…
Category: County
Posts about St. Louis County
The Immacolata
I’m surprised I’ve never photographed the Roman Catholic Church of The Immacolata, which is just a fancy word for the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Built in 1967 according to designs of architect Bernard McMahon, it represents one of many innovative designs constructed by the Archdiocese around the mid-Twentieth Century. Its vast, reinforced concrete roof that…
St. Martin de Porres, Hazelwood
While unfortunately marked as being one of dozens of parishes that closed on August 1, St. Martin de Porres Roman Catholic Church is an exceptional example of Modernist architecture in North County. Showing clear influence of Notre-Dame de Haut in Ronchamp, France with its graceful reinforced concrete roof, it also is anchored by three white…
Rapidly Vanishing Early Vernacular Architecture, Florissant
Well, that looks like an interesting house I need to check out, I thought to myself, proceeding to St. Michael Street. I was greeted with a vacant lot. It clearly didn’t make it from 1933 to the present day. Likewise, the house next door, visible in Google Street View just a year ago, was now…
More Historic Houses, Florissant
The Withington House, constructed in 1860, was the home of George and Eliza, and is another typical central hall five bay German house in Florissant. Auguste Aubuchon House began as a log cabin. The houses above and below are not the same one, but you can see how common the building type was, where there…
Kühn House and Harrison Avenue, Florissant
The original central five bay wide Kühn House was built in 1840, an example of a central hall Greek Revival house in Florissant. As is typical of the style, several wings were added, but kept in a bisymmetrical balance on both sides. As would be expected by the name, it was built by a member…
Moller House and Washington Street, Florissant
You’ll have to take my word for it that there’s a really historic house back behind the dense undergrowth. It’s the Moller House, built in 1830. Greek Revival in form, it seems to still be painted white as it was back in 1933. Of course, it would not have been painted originally. The brick is…
St. Francois Street, Florissant
There was never really a “Main Street” in colonial and pre-World War II Florissant, but after the onset of suburbanization, St. Francois Street became a de facto shopping strip. The commercial buildings that were built look like your standard small town storefronts. Below is the Otto Ripple House. It is a bit of an interesting…
Around Sacred Heart, Florissant
I’ve looked at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church before. which despite Florissant’s French roots, was originally a German language parish. Many of the buildings surrounding the church likewise have historic ties to the community, as well. Hendel’s Grocery Store was built in 1873, and was operated by that family from 1915 to 1993. It is…
Two Houses on Dunn Road, Florissant
Saved from demolition twice now, the John B. Myers House, sits just north of the intersection of interstates of 270 and 170, though it once lay along a quiet stretch of Dunn Road (now a glorified frontage road). Constructed in 1878, it is often described as Classical Revival, but I should point out that it…