Dating from 1940, the Kirkwood Public Library is located at the southwest corner of East Jefferson Avenue and North Taylor Avenue. These historic photos date from just after its completion. As can be seen below, the library has received many additions over the years, including in 1954, 1963 and 1996.
Category: County
Posts about St. Louis County
Bristol Elementary School, Webster Groves
I couldn’t find a cornerstone for the Bristol School in Webster Groves, and there might be a very good reason, and a very fascinating one at that. Most likely the work of William Ittner, it was built in stages, just like many of his schools were designed to be. But at this school which was…
Cemetery, Sancta Maria in Ripa, Lemay, and San Francesco in Ripa, Rome
Word has come down in the news media that Sancta Maria in Ripa has been put on the market for sale by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Lemay. I’ve looked at the majestic buildings twice, first in October of 2008, and then in December of 2020. The high school buildings are not for…
Panorama, Ravens-Queathem House, Chesterfield
For the last several decades known as the Old House in Hog Hollow and currently operating as a wine bar, the Ravens-Quaethem House was originally built in 1859 with a significant expansion in 1912. It was named Panorama due to its views of the Missouri River Valley below. Apparently one of the early owners herded…
Chesterfield Community Church, Former Green Trails Baptist Church
Green Trails was a planned subdivision in Chesterfield which was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While most of the commercial aspect was not built, several churches popped up. Green Trails Baptist Church was one of them, on the far western edge where Ladue Road intersects with Olive Street Road. Groundbreaking occurred on…
Former Faith-Salem Evangelical and Reformed Church, Jennings
Built in 1953, the former Faith-Salem Evangelical and Reformed Church in West Florissant Avenue in Jennings boasts a massive 115 feet long by 15 feet high stained glass window. Designed by Frederick Dunn, whose name comes up frequently in the 1950s for the designs of Modernist churches, it is perhaps one of his more simple…
Normandy High School and Viking Hall
The former Eden Seminary and then the old Normandy High School was in the process of being torn down in 1953 when it was captured in the photograph above. It had used the old seminary build since 1923. The new Normandy High School, designed by William B. Ittner, opened later in the 1920s, was constructed…
Former Normandy Presbyterian Church
The former Normandy Presbyterian Church was not within the city boundaries of Normandy, but rather Pasadena Park, not to be confused with Pasadena Hills. It operated from 1940 to 2003, it seems. As is fairly obvious, the church clearly grew rapidly, requiring a Modernist addition with a cool arcade that attached a Sunday School wing…
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, Normandy
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in Normandy along Natural Bridge Road dates to 1953 and is not the first building on the site. The parish dates back to 1854, when Ann Lucas Hunt donated land for the church. The current church was designed by Joseph Murphy, who along with Eugene Mackey, also designed Resurrection in…
End of Autumn 2025 Odds and Ends
Here are some leftover photos from the last six months. Above is a Falstaff sign in Benton Park. Above, looking down a street in what I think is Kingsway East towards the Chase Park Plaza, but I can’t be sure. Above is the Missouri Athletic Club, which I snapped while sitting at the light at…