The Greater Ville was hit hard, so badly, and much worse than I conveyed three weeks ago. The northern part of the neighborhood was largely intact, with a little bit of abandonment, and now almost every house has been damaged, and many completely destroyed. Below is Marcus Street, on the west side of Western Lutheran…
After the Tornado: The Ville, Revisited
I traveled around The Ville some more and it has been devastated. Yes, there was already a fair amount of abandonment and vacant lots, but what was intact and in good condition was damaged badly. Sumner High School suffered extensive loss of its roof, as well as some windows, from what I understand. It was…
After the Tornado: Fountain Park
Update: The ruins of the church were later demolished. Next we head into Fountain Park, where there has probably been the most media attention. I hesitated in photographing the Centennial Christian Church due to the tragic death of Patricia Penelton, one of five people who perished during the tornado. The church is planning on demolishing…
After the Tornado: Academy Neighborhood
When I crossed Union Boulevard to look at the Academy neighborhood, which was struck with the full force of the tornado, things got deeply depressing. The neighborhood is bounded by Union on the west, Delmar on the south, MLK on the north and Kingshighway on the east. First of all, I had to detour because…
After the Tornado: Visitation Park
Visitation Park is a small neighborhood, north of Delmar and just west of Union Boulevard, named after the former Visitation Academy which was once in this area. There was still some damage from the tornado, mainly in small loss of shingles to roofs. You can see the house in better times here. However, as can…
After the Tornado: DeBaliviere Place
Following the path of the tornado east/northeast, we reach the DeBaliviere Place neighborhood, bounded by Forest Park on the south, DeBaliviere Avenue on the west, Delmar Boulevard on the north and Union Boulevard on the east (where we’ve already seen damage). Damage from the tornado is similar to that in Skinker-DeBalivere, with a large numbers…
After the Tornado: Skinker-DeBaliviere
The Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood, which is bounded by Forest Park on the south, the city limits on the west, Delmar Boulevard on the north and DeBaliviere Avenue on the east, also saw damage from the tornado. The tornado and high winds primarily struck the southeast corner of the neighborhood, and the wreckage ranged from the collapse…
After the Tornado: Wydown Boulevard, Clayton
I had just looked at this stretch of Wydown Boulevard back in January of 2024 in Clayton in between Big Bend and Skinker boulevards, and it has now been transformed due to the tornado of May 16. The trees and windows of the houses along here have been savaged. There are also signs of damage…
Evangelist Center, Former Grace and Eden-Immanuel Lutheran Church
Grace Lutheran Church first appears in records in 1926 at 6404 Easton Avenue, modern day MLK Dr. in Wellston. I’m a little torn in wondering if there was an earlier congregation in this church, as the architecture seems to suggest an earlier construction date than the 1920s, but I can’t be sure. By 1960, the…
Side Streets, Downtown, Keokuk, Iowa
Off Main Street, there are many interesting buildings in downtown Keokuk, the majority in the Italianate style showing the rapid growth of the city after the Civil War. They are in varying degrees of repair and renovation. The building below is actually the YWCA. I suspect the building in the background could easily date from…