Originally built as Maplewood Christian Church, which broke ground for its new sanctuary on April 21, 1957 to replace an earlier building destroyed by fire, today houses Crossroads Presbyterian Church. It is located on Oakview Terrace just north of Manchester Road in Maplewood. The church and wings originally cost $188,430. Kenneth W. Wischmeyer was the…
Tag: Central County
Lohmeyer Avenue and Oakview Terrace, Maplewood
Heading up Sutton Boulevard around the giant grocery store parking lot, we turn right onto Lohmeyer Avenue, part of the Lohmeyer Heights Addition. I am curious about this house, as it looks like it is older than the rest of the homes in the addition. Was it the Lohmeyer house? I’m curious if anyone knows….
Sutton Avenue, Maplewood
Starting at Maple Avenue, we head north up Sutton Avenue, starting at the old streetcar turnaround which is now a park. There’s this cool building right at the corner. I think many people might know that the Suttons’ farm was right at the intersection of Manchester Road and Sutton, and you can see their property…
Woodside, Maplewood
I realized last weekend that I never created a Maplewood tag, so as we look at the streetcar suburb in the coming days, that oversight has been corrected. Starting out, we’ll look at Woodside, built in 1849 by the Rannell Family, making it the oldest house in the city. The farm was subdivided into various…
The End of the Former Orthwein Estate
The “old estate” I was referring to back in September of 2018 was the Orthwein property in Huntleigh, and since then the property was sold off and subdivided. Large McMansions have gone up on the western end of the property. It was by far the largest tract of undeveloped land in St. Louis County outside…
Des Peres Presbyterian Church, Frontenac
Constructed in 1834, the old stone Des Peres Presbyterian Church is rapidly approaching the bicentennial mark out in Frontenac off Geyer Road. Despite the roof collapsing in 1874 and a car crashing into it a few years ago, the venerable church has remained a beacon in the community. At one point it was threatened with…
After the Tornado: Wydown Boulevard, Clayton
I had just looked at this stretch of Wydown Boulevard back in January of 2024 in Clayton in between Big Bend and Skinker boulevards, and it has now been transformed due to the tornado of May 16. The trees and windows of the houses along here have been savaged. There are also signs of damage…
West Bruno Avenue, Richmond Heights
I’ve been looking at the mansions north of Highway 40 in Richmond Heights, but I recently traveled down West Bruno Avenue just west of Big Bend Boulevard and caught these houses. Richmond Heights really has some great architecture, and if you travel as the crow flies, it is as close to downtown St. Louis as…
Webster Groves Presbyterian Church
I was in Webster Groves recently in the evening and parked across the street from the Webster Groves Presbyterian Church, with roots going back to 1865. This building dates from 1924 and was an expansion from earlier structures. I photographed the tracery in the rose window way back in May of 2013. That church is…
Second Baptist Church
Second Baptist is a congregation with roots going back deep into St. Louis history. Their current location at the southeast corner of Clayton and McKnight roads was on the grounds of the Barron-Childress Mansion, which they demolished back in 2002. The current church, which received a new vestibule a few years back, was originally designed…