Next, we head east on McPherson Avenue from Kingshighway, first passing by the former Second Baptist Church at Holy Corners. There are three U-shaped apartment buildings that follow, interspersed with houses. The first one is the Barwick, with its distinctive porches. As I’ve mentioned many times before, and will be applicable for many more times…
Westminster Place Between Walton and Euclid Avenues, North Side
Westminster Place continues on west from Walton Avenue, and the architecture continues to impress. I was also reminded of something else that many people do not talk about, or have forgotten: many of the residents of the Central West End were actually African American for much of the mid- to late-Twentieth Century, and that history…
Westminster Place Between North Taylor and Walton Avenues, North Side
First off, look at this amazing stump! Alright then, moving along, as soon as we move past the gates of Fullerton Place, we are on regular Westminster Place, and the tone of the streetscape completely changes as we walk past Second Presbyterian Church on the northwest corner of Taylor Avenue. It is a beautiful block,…
Westminster Place Between North Newstead and Taylor Avenues, North Side
Moving along to the west past Taylor Avenue, we see more Renaissance and Beaux-Arts mansions mixed in with Romanesque Revival houses, which were rapidly going out of style by the time this street was being developed. And garages have become normal, horse having gone obsolete for the wealthy. The Romanesque Revival is more streamlined, and…
Westminster Place Between North Boyle and Newstead Avenues, North Side
Over the next week or so, I’m going to be looking at three major east-west streets in the Central West End, starting at or ending at Boyle Avenue in the east, where I feel like the historic fabric of the neighborhood is most intact. I’m starting with Westminster Place, which I will look at over…
Second Presbyterian Church
Second Presbyterian Church traces its founding back to 1838, the same year Adam Lemp arrived in St. Louis. Its first location was purchased in the first addition to St. Louis west of the original town plat of the city, which I wrote about late in 2020. It’s fascinating to see how these historic congregations’ churches…
Former St. George’s Chapel, Revisited
I was walking by the old St. George’s Chapel on Olive at Pendleton on a sunny day, and decided to take more cheerful photographs of the converted church.
East of Saint Louis University Hospital, In Transition
Update: I revisited the area in the fall of 2022. I was worried about the blocks east of Grand Boulevard and the SLU medical campus that I include in the Tiffany neighborhood, but is really part of the greater Compton Hill area, a richly historic African American community. SLU had been buying up huge swaths…
Salisbury Street Between North Twenty-Fifth Street and North Florissant Avenue, North Side
Salisbury Street in Hyde Park was already a major street, running along the south side of the eponymous park back in 1876, but there’s even more traffic nowadays because it connects the McKinley Bridge to the busy arteries of North Jefferson and Natural Bridge avenues. (Note that you can see Irving School to the northwest.)…
Geyer Avenue Between Missouri Avenue and Eighteenth Street, North Side
Geyer Avenue through McKinley Heights is an interesting street, as it was platted early, but as the subdivisions on the south side of Lafayette Square were built, it found itself getting turned into the backside of that more prominent neighborhood. I’ve looked at the neighbors of the house above before, facing Missouri Avenue, but I’ve…