I love how Bismarck Street (now long gone due to urban renewal on the south riverfront in the 1960’s) starts and stops thirty feet from its two ends. I know growing up, I assumed the City laid out all of the streets in a careful, Euclidian way, but in reality, just like modern suburban subdivisions,…
Chicago and St. Louis: Differences in Ecclesiastical Architecture
Recently, while in Chicago, Rob Powers and I drove around looking for all of the churches that I’ve always seen from the interstates and wondered what they were like. One in particular, right down in one of the oldest parts of the city is this church, which I suspect is a Jesuit church since their…
Saint Louis Patina Wins Best Architecture Blog Award
I was elated to learn Tuesday night at the Riverfront Times 2012 Best of the Web Awards Ceremony at the Old Rock House that I won the Best Architecture Blog Award. You can read the write-up here, and also you can find me in the print edition available at your local coffee house or market….
Welcome (Back) to Saint Louis Patina
Maybe this is your first time here, or maybe you’re a long time reader. Regardless, I want to welcome you to my site dedicated to the beauty, the patina of St. Louis. What began almost five years ago as a hobby has grown into an integral part of my life, and I want you to…
Washington Terrace Gate
Update: I went back in November of 2014. Severely damaged in the tornado of May 16, 2025. I recently had my picture taken in front of the gates of Washington Terrace. The houses are just as architecturally significant and beautiful as any mansion on the more famous Portland or Westmoreland Places. The color of the brick,…
Aisle 1 Gallery, Cherokee Street
Update: The gallery closed in 2012, and the mural is now gone. Aisle 1 Gallery, named in reference to its storefront’s former use as a corner store, is one of my favorite art galleries in the city. Part of the burgeoning art scene on Cherokee Street, galleries like Aisle 1 are possible because the hard…
Lewis Place North of Page
The area between Page Avenue and MLK Drive is a long suffering counterpoint to the better preserved areas to the south. This lone wood frame house is probably one of the oldest houses on the block, built before the city came out this far. Here and there, a few houses are left, and they’re owned…
The Patina on Just One House, Lewis Place Neighborhood
This is just one humble house on just another street in St. Louis, but just looking at the outside raises numerous questions, and wonder at how many stories it could tell. When did the porch get put in? When did the fake stone go up? When were the doors replaced? When was it abandoned? Who…
The Neighborhoods Around Lewis Place
North St. Louis is just one gigantic wasteland, right? Wrong, particularly just north of the Central West End, around the historic Lewis Place, the streets are lined with houses just as stately as those to the south of Delmar. In fact, the entire western end of the city, stretching to the city limits, was once…
Tan Brick Up North in the West End
I live on the south side; its north and south streets make it hard to get a sense of place sometimes in relation to downtown, unless you’re on Gravois. But up north, the street grid is actually aligned not with the cardinal directions, but rather logically with the shortest, “as the crow flies” route. And…