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….
Tag: Belleville
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
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.
St. Matthew United Methodist Church
I came across this giant church just off of Route 13 in Belleville, tucked back in a neighborhood of ranch houses.
Signal Hill, West Belleville
I finally made it over to Signal Hill, which sits in the undulating landscape of the bluffs that tower over the American Bottom opposite St. Louis. A wonderful, eclectic mix of houses greets the visitor.
Granview Drive, Western Belleville
Granvue Drive overlooks the bluffs that rise up above the American Bottoms, right at the far southeast corner of East St. Louis where Belleville touches its neighbor to the northwest. Stately houses, such as those seen in Webster Groves or Clayton, line the narrow street just off of Main Street.
Christ the King Chapel, Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
Update: See more of the mosaics in this post from February of 2021. The Christ the King Chapel sits one floor below the Mary Chapel, and since the shrine is built into a natural amphitheater, opens onto a back parking lot. The decorative scheme seems to show the Stations of the Cross. I am not certain,…
Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Revisited
Update: See more of the mosaics in this post from February of 2021. I was in the neighborhood, so I stopped by the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, without snow like the last time I was there. It’s a great building, and is always deserted when I visit.