I’ve long been interested in the diagonal streets and rugged terrain of the northeastern corner of the Penrose neighborhood. At the intersection of North Newstead and Carter avenues is the old Christian Hospital, which is now the Prince Hall Senior Services Center. Like many hospitals, Christian moved out to the suburbs.

Heading north up Newstead, there are some sadly abandoned houses.

But there are also some really beautiful streets, with well-kept houses, like I’ve seen in other parts of this area.

There are even some houses, in fact a lot of them, that you would expect to see in Southwest City, reflecting the relatively late development of many of these blocks.

I was struck by the beauty of this row of houses below.

But the damage wrought by the interstate becomes apparent as the roar of the automobile and the drop in the quality of life is obvious as we approach Bircher Boulevard.