Needless to say, I was shocked as I was coming down Red Bud Avenue to discover the former church, which last functioned as a community space known as the Sanctuary but had been sitting vacant for many years, was sitting wide open, clearly having been gutted by a major fire. The church was built as…
Red Bud Avenue Between Carter and West Florissant Avenues
I found myself wandering down Red Bud Avenue in the O’Fallon neighborhood, and there are just so many beautiful homes around here. Well, except for the one with no roof and no back wall below. Besides that one. The house below is one of those classics in St. Louis that is actually a multi-family, but…
Former Garavaglia’s, Redevelopment Coming Soon
I last looked at the former Garavaglia’s back in March of 2008(!) and I have some great news to report: the building will finally see redevelopment in the coming year. The building has been abandoned since at least 1990, having fallen victim to the construction of I-44 severing its clientele from the store. Lots of…
Lake School, Revisited
Well, this came out of left field. Creve Coeur wants to demolish the historic Lake School, which I looked at back on New Year’s Eve of 2021. I went by a couple of weeks ago to evaluate the condition of the school, and it did not look that bad. Yes, there is some peeling paint,…
Fox Park Warehouse Conversions
My, how things have changed since April of 2013 when I first photographed the former industrial area of Fox Park near the intersection of South Jefferson and Gravois. The huge warehouse at the northwest corner of Sidney and Texas has been renovated into apartments; it was once part of the Koken Barber Supply Company. I…
Cote Brilliante Avenue and Environs, JeffVanderLou
Continuing down Garfield Avenue past some ruins, I approached the JeffVanderLou neighborhood and finished my journey down the Cote Brilliante Avenue axis. I reached Vandeventer Avenue, and crossed over, meandering a bit and actually missing the block of Cote Brilliante where Star Packing Company is located. But finally, after crossing Prairie Avenue, I was back…
Around Cote Brilliante Avenue, The Ville
I somehow ended up on Garfield Avenue east of North Newstead Avenue in the Ville due to Cote Brilliante Avenue being blocked off, so my journey on the latter street became a little obtuse. But the abandonment continued. The house above was only boarded up recently. This little church further down the block is still…
Cote Brilliante Avenue and Environs, Revisited, The Greater Ville
Again thwarted by a one-way on Cote Brilliante (I looked at the Cupples School on it in the past) in the Kingshway East neighborhood, I took Kingshighway south to Aldine Avenue, which I’ve looked extensively over the years and how it was eventually demolished due to rampant land speculation by the Roberts Brothers and others….
Lotus Avenue from Union Boulevard to Kingshighway
Crossing over Union Boulevard, we switch over to Lotus Avenue, which is one way to the east in the Kingsway West neighborhood. Dominated by the former DePaul Hospital, the area is dominated by extremely long blocks that stretch all the way from Union to Kingshighway, such as Wabada Avenue, one block to the north, which…
Cote Brilliante Avenue from Goodfellow Boulevard to Union Boulevard
Continuing through Wells-Goodfellow, we pass by Stowe School, which closed in 2009 and is now for sale for $450,000. Built in 1967, I call this design, which appear throughout the northwest side, the last generation of schools before the dramatic decline in student population in the city. After the schoolyard there is this lone, abandoned…