College Hill, Late January 2023

I thought I would check in on College Hill and see what was happening. One of my favorite houses, that rare wood frame hipped roof half flounder, is still hanging on. I’ve looked at it multiple times before: spring of 2021 (seventh photo), March of 2021, in the snowy winter of 2019, November of 2016 (third photo) April of 2018 (fifth…

Good Hope M.S. Baptist Church, Revisited

I realized recently that sadly the church at West Florissant Avenue and North Grand Boulevard is clearly vacant. Formerly known as Water Tower Baptist Church, it had held out until recently, but judging from the windows that have blown open or are hanging by a single hinge, the telltale signs are clear. Like much of…

A Tour of the Sites Mentioned in the Federal Indictment

Update: As of August 26, 2022, all three former aldermen plead guilty to the allegations made by federal prosecutors and have been sentenced by a judge. The text of the following post has been updated to reflect the changes from allegations at the time of the original writing to guilty pleas. By now I’m sure…

Former St. James German Evangelisch Church

I wasn’t planning on taking any photos of St. James German Evangelisch Church when I was passing by, but the light was just so good I stopped anyway. I’ve looked at it at least twice before, once back in April of 2019 and then again in February of 2021.

North Up Blair Avenue, Spring 2021

Every year or so, I do a “North up Blair Avenue” post, and see the state of the neighborhoods slashed on their eastern side by Interstate 70. You can see the 2018 and 2019 posts from previous years. I did it again last Saturday, and things are looking good, but also some things are staying…

College Hill, February 2021

Update: See the house above in the spring of 2021 (second to last photo). I revisited the house in the winter of 2023. I’m still fascinated with some of the wood frame survivors in the College Hill neighborhood, especially the house above, which I’ve looked at several times over the last decade. It’s a rare half…

Grand Water Tower, Repainted

I went by and photography the Grand Water Tower (yes, I know it’s technically a standpipe) and checked out the new paint job. It looks great. Compare it to my photograph of the capital in particular from March of 2019 to see the difference.

Updates East of North Grand

The two beleaguered four-family flats owned by out-of-town slumlords on DeSoto Avenue in College Hill have been torn down, which considering their condition, I was not surprised. Their owners may have never even seen them in real life (yes, people from around the world buy property in St. Louis sight unseen). You can see them…

Old North, Hyde Park, College Hill, Late Summer

Following up on my “North up Blair” post, I took a different route to see how other buildings were faring in the late summer in the neighborhoods hugging Interstate 70. First up was Old North, where I confirmed from old photographs that a house on the south side of Palm just west of Blair had…

North Up Blair Avenue, Again

Update: I went back up this way again in late summer of 2019. Last fall, I did a post entitled “North Up Blair Avenue,” which looked at a cross section of the neighborhoods that were affected by the construction of Interstate 70, but that also show signs of rebounding. Beginning above, a house long admired…