Update: The church is now gone.
The old Emmaus church at Tower Grove and Chouteau avenues will be demolished for the new Ronald McDonald House and headquarters.
The old warehouse to the east has already been demolished. The apartment buildings to the east down the block are in great condition, and are not part of the building site. The whole block is a bit of a strange site, heavily influenced by creeping industry for over a century and the construction of Highway 40 and its predecessor, the Red Feather Expressway.
Heading north up South Boyle Avenue, there are more nice houses that are in good condition and are occupied.
There’s also this unique six family next to a warehouse.
Around on the north side on Papin Street are two vacant houses, which are next to impossible to get to other than by a long walk through a car wasteland. I guess if you wanted to be left alone it would be a great place to live.
And back around to almost where we started, we can see the backside of the church, and the traffic circle where Tower Grove Avenue and Papin meet a highway off ramp from eastbound Highway 40.
Church: The brickwork on the buttresses at the sides of the façade are phenomenal–I can supply a photo. The cornerstone is dated 1897. The bell is intact and will be carefully removed for possible reuse. A pair of windows will be removed for restoration and use in the new building.
I’m glad to hear something is being saved from the church.