Update: When I revisited the complex in January of 2014 and August of 2018, little had changed since the fire. Substantial collapse of the interior had occurred by October of 2021. The entire Crunden Martin complex was destroyed in a giant fire in late November of 2025 except for this building and one other to the northeast.

Ironically, as I was photographing this building to document its post-fire condition, a new fire was already smoldering deep inside the old Crunden-Martin building. Reports that homeless people may have accidentally started the fire with wood provided by charities remain unsubstantiated, and certainly the fire would have destroyed evidence of their presence.

I have covered Chouteau’s Landing frequently in the past, and in light of my look at the Cupples Warehouses last week, I see some similarities, with obvious differences in time. Chouteau’s Landing actually still possessed many working factories at a time when Laclede’s Landing was being redeveloped, and while the Cupples buildings were sitting empty and neglected. Fortunes have turned, and I hope this amazing area of the city can be saved before any more buildings are lost.

A few year’s back, there was a proposal for redevelopment, but it went nowhere.