I mentioned Virginia Place yesterday, and there is actually a large number of houses left standing on the block between 29th and 33rd streets. There’s a central median, but unlike the two sides, there doesn’t seme to be any curb left. It is mowed, but there is minimal landscaping. Houses run the gamut from presumably…
Category: Metro East
Across the river in Illinois
Tina and Ike Turner Haunts
I recently read Tina Turner’s autobiography, and I thought it would be interesting to see if any of the places in the book were still standing. To put it bluntly, most of the famous clubs where rock n’ roll began (yes, it began here in St. Louis, but our leaders are so bad at their…
East St. Louis Updates
I was in East St. Louis recently and thought I would look and see how things are doing. There’s some good news and some bad. The bad news is that continued disinvestment has led to infrastructure having to be condemned, as is the case of the 26th Street Bridge, a major conduit for traffic over…
Demoliton, Cahokia Power Plant
I realized the smokestacks of the old Cahokia Power Plant are being demolished. Judging from the care in which the demolition is occurring, I suspect that the building below the stacks is being preserved and continuing in its use as a bulk transfer station, primarily for coal. But nonetheless, an iconic view from St. Louis…
Downtown Granite City, Spring 2024
I was visiting Granite City to see another amazing GCADD exhibit, so I thought I would photograph the downtown again, it having been five years since the last time. Everything looked the same, but there were some differences. For starters, the Moose Lodge has been demolished. The steel mill is still there for the time…
Pilgrim Green Missionary Church, Former Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church, East St. Louis
I had passed by this unique and beautiful church numerous times just east of Jones Park in East St. Louis, and I finally got around to photographing it and figuring out its history. Its current owner is Pilgrim Green Missionary Church, and they’re thriving, recently building a new hall out the back to the south….
South Illinois Street, Belleville
I’ve looked at the area south of downtown Belleville before, but this time I found myself heading up South Illinois Avenue towards the central square where it intersects Main Street. I have to love that Second Empire house above, which looks to be coated in stucco. It’s a new height of hiding a Mansard roof!…
East of Downtown, Alton
Heading east on Fifth Street from Easton Street (named after Rufus Easton, the founder of Alton), we see some very early housing. We then angle onto the diagonal Court Street, which mysteriously exists for only about three blocks. We then hop onto Fourth Street as we head out of town. I really like this two-car…
State Street and Environs, Alton
Working my way around on Mill Street over to Carroll, I saw some of the wide variety of houses on the steep slopes of the bluffs to the west of downtown Alton. Below is looking up William Street. Finally, I turned up State Street, which is the main artery up to the bluffs above the…
Alby Street, Alton
I made it back out by the Henry Watson House, this time with the sun out, but now with a pesky overhead wire in the way! I had photographed it way back in January of 2009 on a cloudy day. Apparently the house was damaged by fire. Watson owned two quarries; I wonder if one…