Bad news from the 7700 Block of Vulcan Street in the Patch neighborhood of Carondelet. While several homes are still occupied and maintained, fire broke out in the early evening on January 31, gutting the two stone houses and spreading to the brick house next door.

I even think this house below might be occupied again, thankfully. There is a City trash can out front, which indicates pickup.

But then comes the bad news, the complete gutting by fire of these historic houses, which I suspect could easily have been built before the Civil War.

The walls are thick, so it probably acted like a giant kiln.

Industry is creeping in, as well as an urban forest, as I noted a decade ago.

I still think these buildings are stable, though.

But I worry about the brick building next door. I don’t know if it’s been damaged beyond repair. It’s not like people are rushing to live down here.

It’s a mess.

I hadn’t noticed before, but there’s a back wing on the house, probably built to handle the huge population of Carondelet at one point, working at all the steel foundries.

And the house on the corner, which I remember being occupied, but was boarded up and in bad disrepair the last time I visited in 2022, has been demolished.

I always forget how close the industry is to houses around here.

But this is a special and unique part of St. Louis, and deserves preservation.