Innsbrook

We visited Innsbrook last weekend and saw some of the lakes. It has become an incredibly expensive place to buy a house! But originally it was relatively inexpensive it you got in back in the 1970s. Located out in Warren County, just to the south of what was then the relatively new I-70, Innsbrook, anglicized…

Abandoned McDonald’s, Weldon Spring

Let me ask you something. When was the last time you saw an abandoned McDonald’s? I learned from an industry insider that McDonald’s corporate policy is to demolish a closed store as soon as possible, in order to not damage the brand name. But in a twist of fate, due to this McDonald’s being attached…

Emmanuel United Church of Christ

The landscape around Emmanuel United Church of Christ has changed dramatically around the church since it was found in 1866 and when the current building was constructed in 1874. Of course this was originally an German Evengelisch congregation before that denomination joined together with other Protestant churches in the mid-Twentieth Century. And major roads have…

Merchant Street, Ste. Genevieve

Let’s finish up our tour of Ste. Genevieve with a final walk up Merchant Street to our starting point of the area around the church. Perhaps what is best illustrated in this row of buildings is that time moved on, and while yes, the town is famous for its French roots, Ste. Genevieve slowly became…

More French American Houses, Ste. Genevieve

Heading up Merchant Street, we first hit the Felix Vallé House, which is state historic site. He lived in one half and operated a store in the other half. Oftentimes referred to the Fedderal Style, which I more commonly heard used when I lived on the East Coast, the 1818 house is really an expression…

Architectural Variety, Ste. Genevieve

Here’s a scattering of other buildings along Main Street in Ste. Genevieve, showing what a wide variety of architectural styles there are in the town. This first house, now a restaurant looks to have been more Greek Revival and was the changed to looks more Colonial Revival with the front porch and framing around the…

Commercial Buildings, Main Street, Ste. Genevieve

When I first put these photographs together, I thought this initial building was a storefront, but on closer inspection, despite its façade’s parapet wall, it does in fact appear to be a single family house. This building below is definitely a storefront, with a cast iron column holding up the corner of the front façade….

Other Houses Along Main Street, Ste. Genevieve

Readers interested in the Club Imperial, where Tina Turner performed early in her career, can see two posts I did on the famed venue here and here. I think it’s important to realize that while yes, Ste. Genevieve is an important French colonial settlement, the vast majority of housing stock is from much later than…

Colonial and Colonialish Houses, Ste. Genevieve

Moving down to what is now South Main Street, we hit some of the oldest houses in Ste. Genevieve. There is the Bolduc House above. Early colonial houses had broad porches that wrapped around the whole structure, and unlike German or English log walls with horizontal beams, place the logs in the grounds vertically, as…

Two Churches, Ste. Genevieve

While Ste. Genevieve is famous for being founded by French Canadian Catholics, there are other churches in town of historic importance, as well. Holy Cross Lutheran Church was founded in 1867, and reflects the increased German immigrant population in the area. In this case, it is interesting in that construction of the church began only…