The Union Trust Building has reopened as a boutique hotel, Hotel St. Louis, after languishing in vacancy for at least a decade. I approve of how it turned out. There was no way to return the building to its original Adler and Sullivan design, so they returned the exterior during the renovation to its 1927…
Tag: Chicago School
Lancaster, Wisconsin
On my way from the Effigy Mounds to Dubuque, I missed a turn and ended up heading into Lancaster, Wisconsin. I passed by a sign announcing that it was the “City of the Dome,” and as I rounded a bend into town, I spotted a rich red and orange building peeking through the greenery of…
Bellefontaine Cemetery, Early August 2018
For some reason I had never noticed the Spink Mausoleum hiding in the trees, with its massive stylized Ionic columns flanking its bronzes doors. An upside-down torch symbolizes life ended, as that is how you extinguish a torch. I have never extinguished a torch, so I will have to take their word for it. I…
Wainwright Tomb Interior, Revisited
I photographed the interior of the Wainwright Tomb all the way back in November of 2008. It still is just as beautiful today as it was back then.
Chemical Building from Across Olive
I went to a panel discussion in the Laclede Gas Building, and took the opportunity to take some pictures of the Chemical Building across the street. The contrast with the Old Post Office creates one of my favorite street corners in the city.
Union Trust Building from Across the Street
Update: The Union Trust Building was renovated in 2018. The Union Trust Building is one of my favorite Louis Sullivan buildings, and I was able to find the parking garage across the street to be open and accessible for me to get some shots with my iPhone. I’ll be back with a better camera soon.
Union Trust Building Rehab Beginning
Interior demolition of the Union Trust Building is beginning, and I’m excited to see the final result. It’s been empty for too long, and perhaps the Chemical Building next door will be next.
Brown Shoe, Under Demolition
No, they didn’t ever take the owner’s plans to move the old Brown Shoe factory across Jefferson Avenue seriously. It’s being demolished now.
Family Photos
I found some old pictures my family took from the Arch back in 1986-7; in the upper left, you can see the Cupples Warehouses sitting vacant. The first Kiener Plaza, now demolished, was just starting construction. The ash trees are now gone, but they were relatively young thirty years ago. Below, the Metropolitan Square Building…
Arcade-Wright Building, Morning Sun
The block containing the Arcade-Wright and Paul Brown Buildings is the only block with completely preserved historic office buildings. The masterfully restored Arcade-Wright Building, with its distinctive shopping arcade, is one of the most important renovations in the last decade.