I don’t know what it is, but as soon as you cross over North Newstead Avenue into the Fairgrounds neighborhood, the trail drops out from underneath you. The housing stock is older, and that definitely plays a part. But what can I say when I cover a mile and 90% of all I see are…
Tag: Crime
Updates on the Northeast Side
There has been a major collapse of the service wing of the former Jewish Orthodox Old Home. I have been tracking its deterioration, and the last time I photographed this portion of the building, in January of 2021 (second photo), it was already looking unstable. I wonder if the repeated lashing of severe weather recently…
North Western Motel, Ventilated
The North Western Inn will be out of business for awhile, considering the FBI and other law enforcement fired tear gas canisters through each window of the small, weekly rate motel. Contrary to what the owner said to a news reporter the day of the raid, city records show he did not recently sell it…
Half Century Old Problems
Update: The motel was in fact closed by order of the City of St. Louis. It reopened illegally in February of 2023, and was ordered to shut down again in September of 2023. Its future remains uncertain. The Grand Motel at 2534 North Grand Boulevard, or as it was originally known, Lisa or Lisa’s Motel,…
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…
Richard Pryor and Peoria
I had known for awhile that Richard Pryor was from Peoria, but I had always assumed it was one of those situations where he was born there and had moved away when he was a small child. That is far from the case; his childhood is inextricably linked to his upbringing in the city. Weirdly,…
Wells-Goodfellow, Autumn 2021, Part Two
Just beyond that well kept block of Hebert we are confronted with the abandonment of Clara across from the Horseshoe, which has not gotten any better than when I walked down these streets back in March of 2017. The Horseshoe is gone, of course, and is serving as parking for this church as well as…
Wells-Goodfellow, Autumn 2021, Part One
I got up bright and early on Saturday and thought I would check in on Wells-Goodfellow, a neighborhood that has long suffered from disinvestment, crime and the effects of decades of redlining. I always struggle with how to portray a community such as this: there are many parts of the neighborhood which look great, but…
Reckless Stupidity, Compton Avenue and Arsenal Street, Tower Grove East
Update: A false start of repairs began a couple of weeks after the collision; reconstruction was only largely completely finally in April of 2023. The building was finally rebuilt in the spring of 2023. Well, it finally happened. An insane, totally irresponsible jerk was hurtling through my neighborhood of Tower Grove East and crashed into…
Fourteenth Anniversary of St. Louis Patina: The Times They Are a-Changin’
Fourteen years now. The world and St. Louis have changed so much in that time. I’ve changed so much, too. I think about what and how I photographed in that time. What is gone, and what I had no idea even existed back in May of 2007. I’m on my fourth camera, and I have…