The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor burned long ago, but the many buildings of its campus are still standing, showing what a large presence the congregation was in the community. The parish is now closed, the territory part of Most Holy Trinity in Hyde Park, like much of the North Side…
Tag: College Hill
College Hill in the Snow #23: 2000-2100 Blocks of Linton
We met a homeowner in one of those HUD houses, as we call them, who’d lived in the neighborhood for forty years. We talked for a while and discussed the house next door, with a mysterious terracotta coat of arms above the door. The man thought it was related to a Jewish group, but I…
College Hill in the Snow #22: 1400 and 1900 Blocks of Linton
Linton Street has some occupied and abandoned buildings, and like many streets affected by the curve of the Mississippi River, had its 1500-1800 blocks squeezed out. But then there are beautiful four-family apartment buildings with sun porches that gleam in the snow, such as the one below, challenging the difficulties of getting a home improvement…
College Hill in the Snow #21: Lowell School
Lowell School, designed by Rockwell Milligan, opened in 1926. It is now a charter school. I’m teaching a two week class on March 26 and April 2 at OASIS Clayton about the history of brewing in St. Louis. Breweries I’ll be discussing will include Anheuser-Busch, Lemp, Falstaff and others. To sign up, click here and…
College Hill in the Snow #20: Rear of 3800 Block of West Florissant Avenue
Much like in the ruins of Medieval Rome, trails have begun to form into new roads in between the ruins of a once much larger city. Perhaps in a thousand years this footpath in the snow will be a major avenue. I’m teaching a two week class on March 26 and April 2 at OASIS…
College Hill in the Snow #19: 2100 Block of DeSoto Avenue
Update: I revisited the house above in the winter of 2023 (second photo). Then, as we approached West Florissant Avenue, we hit a patch of wood frame houses, including several that are in the Italianate style. As I’ve said many times before, there had to have been some sort of industry out in the countryside,…
College Hill in the Snow #18: 2000 Block of DeSoto Avenue
DeSoto Avenue also has some surprises, such as this Tudor Revival latecomer to the neighborhood, which sits on a corner. The architect factored the corner lot into the composition, and the house works from different elevations. But moving west, more vacant lots appear, punctuated by the occasional house. I was surprised that this two-family below…
College Hill in the Snow #17: 1500-1900 Block of DeSoto Avenue
Moving west on DeSoto Avenue, there is not much to say beyond the first house above, which is well-maintained and occupied. The blocks moving west are empty, vacant and deteriorating. It is deeply sad. A few of the houses are occupied, but most are not. Please join me today, March 20, 2019 at 10:30 AM…
College Hill in the Snow #16: 1400 Block of DeSoto Avenue
DeSoto Avenue used to be completely hidden from the rest of the world by the thick underbrush the blanketed the hill north of East Prairie Avenue. It has now been cleared, and the feeling is one of exposed openness. This street has a weird feeling now, one that I suspect the residents are still getting…
College Hill in the Snow #15: Bottles, DeSoto Avenue
DeSoto Avenue is a place that many people would like to pretend doesn’t exist, but it does. Shrouded from view for decades by a thick tree cover, it now sits out in the wide open due to the recent clearing of foliage on the hillside in between DeSoto and East Prairie avenues. A young man,…