Turning onto Taft Avenue from Grace Avenue, we see more of those more modern housing configurations. The houses above are breaking away from the red brick two bay wide facades with side front doors, as you can see above. And of course, now there are Gingerbread houses popping up. But of course, remember that these…
Category: South
Posts about South St. Louis
Grace Avenue Between Osceola Street and Taft Avenue
Crossing over Osceola Street, we’re immediately struck by the ages of the houses that we see. That’s because this is the Jones and Miltenberger Subdivision laid out in March 28, 1876. You might recognize the Eugene Miltenberger name if you follow my Lemp content; he along with two others owned and subdivided the land where…
Grace Avenue Between Meramec and Osceola Streets, Dutchtown
I’ve become intrigued with the so-called South St. Louis Suburb, a giant swath of area platted on July 14, 1858 by the surveyor Salomon (anybody have any information on him?). It was deep in the conutry, far from where the City and consisted of dozens of blocks on either side of South Grand Boulevard, itself…
Intersection of Gravois and Spring Avenues
I was sitting at the light at South Spring Avenue and Gravois Avenue and caught these buildings lying along the north side of the latter. It’s a reminder that Gravois used to be a pedestrian oriented street, before houses were torn down and replaced with parking lots for fast-food restaurants. Unfortunately, due to the noise…
Dodier Street Between North Garrison Avenue and North Grand Boulevard
Let’s look at these houses along Dodier Street more closely. It turns out that some, such as the one above, are actually two family buildings, and quite large ones at that. Single and two family houses are mixed together, without any stigma of multi-family living existing. I’ve been told that judges and doctors often lived…
Old St. Marcus Cemetery
Readers who grew up in South St. Louis might remember the sad abandonment and despoliation of Old St. Marcus, on Gravois Avenue just northeast of the city limits. Originally founded by St. Marcus Evangelical Church, a storied German congregation, it suffered from disinvestment and abandonment, while its counterpart, across the border in Affton continued with…
Buder Elementary School
I missed two schools that might also be closed in the St. Louis Public Schools’ plans for reduction of its footprint. They are Mann and Buder. I looked at Mann way back in 2009, when ironically it was threatened with demolition. Despite being fully enrolled with strong test scores, the District has still proposed its…
Meramec Elementary School
Meramec Elementary School is another example of an earlier building, built when Dutchtown was well out in the exurbs of St. Louis, was replaced by a later commission. In this case it was William Ittner in 1911, having adopted his famous mature style of a central portal and two matching wings with some asymmetry. And…
End of Spring 2026 Odds and Ends
It’s that time of year, so it’s time for odds and ends! Above is a spandrel from a storefront in downtown Belleville, looking suspiciously like something Louis Sullivan would design. Below is just another house we found while driving around town. Cleveland High School is looking really, really bad compared to earlier visits; I first…
Alabama Avenue Between Holly Hills Avenue and Iron Street
Crossing Holly Hills Avenue, we near the end of our trip up Alabama Avenue in Carondelet, as the interstate will stop us from proceeding further. There continues to be a mix of styles, showing the slow development of the neighborhood. This is the last house, at Iron Street, where the interstate cuts through and ends…