It finally happened, the Mullanphy Emigrant Home, which I last looked at back in June of this year, caught on fire and burned to the ground on the night of September 14th. There is certainly no grand conspiracy, but simply the fact that overnight lows reached 50 degrees, and a squatter’s fire probably spread out…
Tag: Central County
The Immacolata
I’m surprised I’ve never photographed the Roman Catholic Church of The Immacolata, which is just a fancy word for the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Built in 1967 according to designs of architect Bernard McMahon, it represents one of many innovative designs constructed by the Archdiocese around the mid-Twentieth Century. Its vast, reinforced concrete roof that…
Ethical Society of St. Louis
Speaking of ethics, I had the opportunity to visit the Ethical Society of St. Louis a couple of weeks ago, just after heavy rains had roared through the metro area, leaving dramatic skies in the background of my photos. Designed by famed local architect Harris Armstrong, the building presented the designer with a conundrum: the…
Demolition Starts for the University City TIF
Update: Much of the redevelopment was complete in the fall of 2023. The demolition of the mid-Twentieth Century strip malls, a former synagogue and a church has commenced along Olive Boulevard just east of I-170 in University City. Olivette has also started on its own development to the west of the interstate. Below, the former…
Two Old Lutheran Cemeteries on Olive Boulevard
I came across two very old and historic Lutheran/Evangelisch cemeteries at the corner of Olive Boulevard and North Warson Road. The first, which you can see above and below, is the cemetery of Immanuel Lutheran Church, which dates all the way back to 1844. This church traces its origins to Zion Evangelisch in 1838, and…
Quinette Cemetery
Long neglected and vandalized, Quinette Cemetery has now been restored by the City of Kirkwood. It is possibly the oldest African American cemetery west of the Mississippi, according to an explanatory text posted at the entrance. There is a very nice path constructed by a Boy Scout troop that wends its way around the cemetery,…
Parkdale Avenue Between Westwood and Audubon Drives, Clayton
For some unknown reason, I found myself heading east down Parkdale Avenue in Clayton a couple weeks ago. In many ways, it is sort of the perfect urban. First, there is a block of apartment buildings, for those who need or want a small or affordable living situation closer to the commercial corridor along Hanley,…
St. Louis Community College, Meramec
Purchased in 1959 with plans to become a subdivision after the closing of the former St. Joseph College, the large open tract of land at Big Bend Road (formerly Quinette) and Couch Avenue became St. Louis Community College-Meramec Campus. St. Joseph College was operated for seventy years by the Redemptorist Order. The architecture is typical…
Around the Gates, University City
The sun was setting as I took some pictures of the gates to University Heights, just to the west of the Loop. The lions are actually concrete casts of the originals, which are now in an undisclosed location. I still think University City’s city hall is one of the most beautiful in the area. Update:…
Times Changing in Frontenac and Ladue
We made it out too late to document the trailer park in Frontenac, which had once housed workers who had processed uranium for nuclear weapons at Weldon Springs. I’m not being facetious when I say that this trailer park had a lot of history behind it. Below, we also viewed the site of the controversial…