The former Eden Seminary and then the old Normandy High School was in the process of being torn down in 1953 when it was captured in the photograph above. It had used the old seminary build since 1923. The new Normandy High School, designed by William B. Ittner, opened later in the 1920s, was constructed…
Former Normandy Presbyterian Church
The former Normandy Presbyterian Church was not within the city boundaries of Normandy, but rather Pasadena Park, not to be confused with Pasadena Hills. It operated from 1940 to 2003, it seems. As is fairly obvious, the church clearly grew rapidly, requiring a Modernist addition with a cool arcade that attached a Sunday School wing…
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, Normandy
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in Normandy along Natural Bridge Road dates to 1953 and is not the first building on the site. The parish dates back to 1854, when Ann Lucas Hunt donated land for the church. The current church was designed by Joseph Murphy, who along with Eugene Mackey, also designed Resurrection in…
End of Autumn 2025 Odds and Ends
Here are some leftover photos from the last six months. Above is a Falstaff sign in Benton Park. Above, looking down a street in what I think is Kingsway East towards the Chase Park Plaza, but I can’t be sure. Above is the Missouri Athletic Club, which I snapped while sitting at the light at…
Some Early Historic Maps
I had a bunch of maps saved up that I had some purpose for that I forgot, so I thought I would present them here for your enjoyment. The first two are related to Mill Creek and Chouteau’s Pond, and demonstrate how important the body of water was to early St. Louis. Remember, all images…
Demolition Commences, Former Stouffer’s Riverfront Hotel
Apparently it was a big deal when the Stouffer’s Riverfront Hotel opened downtown. Personally, I see it as a symptom of a larger problem: the belief that turning St. Louis into a giant showpiece of Modernist superblocks would save the city. I think we can all agree it failed miserably. One thing that always sticks…
The Old Dairy
I stumbled across some old photographs by William Swekosky of the noted ruined stone house on Missouri Avenue in Lafayette Square, which I have looked at extensively over the years, particularly in July of 2018, but I briefly glanced at it back in May of 2022 when I was examining some new in-fill. What is…
Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church
There’s nothing but industrial wasteland to see now where the Polish parish of Our Lady of Czestochowa once stood from 1907 to 1957, swept away by the failed urban renewal plan for the Kosciusko neighborhood. But for a half century, the scrappy church thrived among the tenements and factories that filled the rough and tumble…
The Country House, Strathmore
Which one of these is not like the other? I couldn’t find the name of the original builder of this stately house whose architectural style and form stands out from its newer neighbors, but it was here by the late 1930s and the estate, according to modern real estate records was named Strathmore. While it…
Trinity Lutheran Church, Town and Country
Sometimes ironically called the “cash register church,” Trinity Lutheran Church, Chesterfield at the intersection of Clayton Road and Missouri Highway 141 is actually a historically rich and interesting congregation. It’s actually within the boundaries of the suburb of Town and Country but identifies with Chesterfield, further to the west. This Trinity is in the Evangelical…