Heading east down Washington Street from downtown Belleville are a whole ensemble of amazing houses, such as the one seen above, which has been carefully restored. I like this little Romanesque Revival cottage sitting back from the street; it is simple and restrained, but still looks great along the street wall. The St. Clair Historical…
Tag: Belleville
St. Clair County Jail
The St. Clair County Jail only has a 2.2 stars out of 5 rating on Google Maps.
Bad Mansard Renovation
Why? Just why did they have to do this to this wonderful Second Empire building?
The Golden Eagle Tavern, Revisited
So this corner tavern has quite the history. The infamous Thomas Venezia, after serving time for the racket he was running over in Washington Park in the 1990s, ran a bar here back in the early 2000s, until he turned up dead, in the house next door. Read the two part story by Malcolm Gay…
South of Downtown, Belleville
South of downtown Belleville is an interesting mix of houses, with everything from brick foursquares you might see in Tower Grove South, to below, old Second Empire houses that would fit in down in Carondelet. Some of the best Italianate architecture in the region lie on these streets, and you can see them below. St….
Northeast of Downtown, Belleville
Northeast of downtown Belleville, the housing stock clearly dates to the early Twentieth Century with a mix of different revival styles on larger lots. But it is deeply concerning to me that right in the middle of extremely well-maintained and restored houses, there are just flat-out bombed-out houses and duplexes such as the building below….
North of Downtown, Belleville
Just north of downtown Belleville are a cluster of beautiful Italianate houses, many of which have been adapted for other uses over the years, as is common as the commercial core of a city grows into nearby residential areas. There is a yellow brick factory, whose original function is a mystery to me, nearby, as…
Skyview Drive-In
There was something geometric and simple about the Skyview Drive-In on the hazy Saturday I visited. There are abandoned drive-ins scattered here and there throughout the Metro East, but this one is still in operation.
We Do Spreads
Supposedly Belleville has the longest Main Street in America. I don’t know if that’s true, but it does have some amazing surviving neon signs from the golden age of that advertising art, such as this example just to the west of downtown.
Return to Belleville this Week
Update: The Hofbrauhaus is now closed as of 2023. The Hofbrauhaus is finally open on the western reaches of Belleville! All this next week and a little of the following I will return to the historic county seat of St. Clair County.