Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, Alabama, Part Three

We continued on our way through the Sloss Furnaces, looking at the smokestacks for the massive boilers that burned the coke to produced the superheated temperatures that broke up the iron ore. I was curious how these molten iron cars look different compared to various parts of the country. They are of type not seen…

North Up Blair Avenue, Old North, May 2026, Part Three

Continuing north up Blair Avenue, we leave St. Louis Avenue behind and enter the northern portion of Old North St. Louis. Perhaps what is most notable is the number of trees and how much more shaded the streets are, and how many more houses there are. Many of these houses appear in Compton and Dry’s…

Former Lutheran Hospital, Spring 2026 and the Past

I think I’ve joked before with readers, and definitely with many of my friends, that I like the winter because the leaves are off the trees, providing clear views of St. Louis architecture in neighborhoods with mature vegetation. But I’ll have to admit, earlier this spring when the leaves started filling out on the trees…

The First SLU Medical School

Saint Louis University’s medical college moved from its main campus at Washington and 9th, which had been founded in 1836, to a new location at Myrtle (present-day Clark) and 7th. In 1854-55, SLU and the medical college separated, and the latter became the St. Louis Medical College. What is interesting are these two prints, above…