You might be wondering why I chose this seemingly random block to document, but these are actually the houses and apartments on the north side of Hebert facing St. Augustine. It’s a really nice block, full of good people whom I’ve had the opportunity to meet and converse with over the years. Imagine watching a giant church get stripped for a decade and finally go up in flames three times, the last time ferociously.

I’ve thought about what these people have had to endure, carefully maintaining their homes while Paul McKee bought up land around them and then do nothing, all with the covert backing of some people in City Hall. I actually think their lives will be more peaceful with the church gone and all the vandals, goofballs and others who were attracted to it are gone.

Oh right! There’s going to be huge development and revitalization when the new NGA opens–gotta get the roads prepared for it! Did you and your friends ever have that one friend who used to make a lot of money in a prestigious job, got fired, and then every time you all met up they were always talking about the next crazy “get rich quick” scheme they were concocting? And you and your friends just looked at each other and rolled your eyes because it never worked out? Yeah, that friend is the City of St. Louis.