Over the next two weeks, leading up to the Fifteenth anniversary of St. Louis Patina, I’m going to be looking at the Old North St. Louis neighborhood. In many ways, it’s the area of the city that first got me interested in the preservation of St. Louis way back in the fall of 2006 when…
Tag: Early Twentieth Century Eclectic
The Beauty of Dutchtown, 64: Louisiana Avenue Between Osceola Street and Taft Avenues
The Beauty of Dutchtown Series left off with No. 63. South on Cleveland High School, we proceed southbound on Louisiana Avenue, first looking at the east side of the street. There are your standard middle class Second Empire houses, along with the transitional modes of that style. But there are also houses where brickwork dominates,…
Concrete Block Buildings on the Rock Road
Historically known as the “Block House,” this roadhouse at 8124 St. Charles Rock Road has long been a tavern or roadhouse on the main route between St. Louis and St. Charles. And boy, judging from old newspaper articles, it long had a history of suspended liquor licenses back in the day (disclaimer: in no way…
Renovation of the Old Bavarian Inn
There’s some great news at the long dormant and abandoned, and frequently vandalized former Bavarian Inn restaurant at the southeastern corner of Arsenal Street and Minnesota Avenue. The rehabilitation will return a restaurant space and outdoor patio to the old storefront facing Arsenal, and the house facing Minnesota will become a rental property. A later…
Near North Riverfront Streetscape Survivors
I found myself checking out those blocks cut off by the construction of the Mark Twain Expressway that is known as the Near North Riverfront. First up is the storefront left behind with the demolition of the apartment building on Branch Avenue. I’ve also looked at the area in 2012, which has become increasingly industrial…
Former Site of Union Park, Soulard
Along Russell Boulevard in Soulard is an interesting row of buildings, some quite old such as this one above and below which now houses artists’ studios (as well as an amazing terracotta frieze which is sadly obscured by a gnarled tree). I was alerted by a friend who once lived here. If anyone has a…
Main Street, Troy, Lincoln County
Troy, the county seat of Lincoln County, which is just north of St. Charles County on U.S. Highway 61, has experienced considerable growth over the last twenty years. The downtown is interesting, and is relatively intact while sprawl occurs to the north. The most ornate building is this long Italianate block, with the original tenants’…
St. John Paul II, Formerly St. George, Roman Catholic Church
Dominating the commanding hill at the intersection of Gravois and Heege roads, the relatively new parish of St. John Paul II Roman Catholic Church in Affton was created by combining St. Dominic Savio and St. George in 2018, using the latter’s building. I looked at this church way off in the distance in the past…
Lewis Place to the West End, Winter 2022
I had some old photos I hadn’t gotten around to posting from what I think are the Lewis Place area, and I thought they are worth sharing. It’s such a beautiful neighborhood, full of some truly amazing houses. Moving further west, on streets of the West End, there are more houses and apartment buildings that…
Julian-Goodfellow Concrete Block Houses
Well, I’ll be darned! There’s another cluster of concrete block houses just a short distance away from the more heavily documented Oakherst Concrete Block House Distrct (I’ve looked at that area back in November of 2012, and September of 2019, but most extensively in October of 2017). While Oakherst seemed to be more of a…