East St. Louis War Memorial Rededicated

Back in early 2018, a group of veterans got together in East St. Louis, responding to the sad state of the World War One Memorial I had photographed in November of 2017. People didn’t think they could do it, but this Saturday, May 25th, the new memorial, replacing the battered old one that could no…

East St. Louis by the Old Stockyards

Just over a year ago, I checked in on the areas of East St. Louis just to the east of the old National Stockyards and the old meatpacking plants that used to employ thousands of workers. Crossing over the railroad tracks, and there are still many houses that are proudly occupied, but there are also…

Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge

Update: See what lies under the Illinois approaches in this post from July 2019. To commemorate the bridge’s closure for repairs in the fall of 2018, I thought I would photograph the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge, which has the distinction of being the first bridge built at St. Louis strictly for automobile traffic?…

Northeast Side of East St. Louis

Update: I returned to the area in November of 2019. There are some cool Modernist office buildings on State Street, such as the one above. This billboard stands isolated in the middle of some undergrowth and trees. Nelson Mandela Elementary School is not very old, but it was already closed. It has been vandalized, its…

Churches of East St. Louis, Part 9

I suspect this cool church was also an Eastern Orthodox church at one point, and is right next door to the Greek Orthodox church. It is still occupied, and looks great. It’s a fascinating mix of Modernism and Romanesque or Byzantine style.

Churches of East St. Louis, Part 7

Tucked away in northern East St. Louis is the Community of Christ Church, a neat little Modernist A-frame church. The medallion shows a lion lying with a lamb on either side of Christ, with the word “peace” written below.

Churches of East St. Louis, Part 6

This is formerly a Greek Orthodox Church on State Street in East St. Louis. Many people forget that there is a large population of Eastern Europeans in the Metro East, descendants of stockyards workers.

Churches of East St. Louis, Part 5

This beautiful, well-maintained church looks like it could fit in Webster Groves. It is actually off of State Street, in far eastern East St. Louis. It was a Presbyterian Church, originally.