A valued reader alerted me to the recent completion of a new religious building, the Chapel of the Risen Christ in Resurrection Cemetery in Affton. Please ignore the KPLR broadcast antenna in the background. Heavily influenced by the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut by Le Corbusier in 1950, this chapel was constructed by BSI according to designs by…
Jefferson Avenue Around Immanuel Lutheran Church, St. Charles
After finishing up looking at Seventh Street, we returned back to our starting point, which was Immanuel Lutheran Church, which lies on Jefferson Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets. I actually looked at Jefferson Avenue in St. Charles back in May of 2019, but this time I wanted to focus on more of the area…
Seventh Street Between Lewis and Jefferson Streets, St. Charles
Heading back south on Seventh Street in St. Charles, we see a wide variety of housing styles, including what looks to have been a Cape Cod before receiving several additions. While there are Queen Anne style houses in brick, there are also earlier houses in what could best be described as Greek Revival or Federalist….
Sixth Street Between Jefferson and Decatur Streets, St. Charles
We looked at Fifth Street in the historic core of St. Charles back in May of 2019, and then there’s a quirk in the street naming system of the grid, as before we get to Sixth Street, there is Benton Street, which we looked at more recently in September of 2024. Proceeding logically, we’re now…
St. Andrew’s Cinema, St. Charles
St. Andrew’s or Andrews Cinema opened in 1970 and is one of the last of the movie theaters of its stylistic kind left in the St. Louis region. It passed through a large number of owners over the years, but eventually ended up being a second run theater selling tickets at a steeply discounted price….
Oak Grove Cemetery, St. Charles
Oak Grove Cemetery in St. Charles, not to be confused with the one in North County, has a history that goes back to at least 1860. Interestingly, for whatever reason, the City of St. Charles took over ownership in 1860, which is the same date that I could find for the cemetery in the historical…
Friedens United Church of Christ and Cemetery, St. Charles
Tipped off by Found St. Louis, we checked out the Friedens United Church of Christ and its accompanying cemetery. The current sanctuary dates from 1962, I believe, but there was a much older church that dated from 1864. I suspect that the stained glass windows might have come from the older church and were reused…
North of Snake Alley, Burlington, Iowa
At the top of Snake Alley, and south of where a U.S. Highway cuts through and crosses the Mississippi River is a highly intact and beautiful neighborhood. I think Iowa has some of the most stunning examples of the Queen Anne Style, and there are many meticulously restored houses throughout the state. This particular house…
Snake Alley, Burlington, Iowa
Continuing my series of Iowa river towns at the end of the month, we’re visiting Burlington briefly as we head up the Mississippi. I’d already visited the city back in September of 2013, but I’d only really focused on downtown. This time I focused on residential neighborhoods on the steep hills north of downtown, and…
Nauvoo, Illinois
We visited the historic Mormon settlement of Nauvoo on our journey north up the Mississippi River looking at Iowa cities back in May. Of course, Nauvoo is in Illinois, and it is in an isolated corner of the state. There are numerous houses and other buildings from the historic period that have been restored, and…