Update: I returned in November of 2016. It was part of a glass bottle works. Very little is known about the isolated power plant in East St. Louis. Surrounded by forest and weed-choked lots, its twin smokestacks stand in splendid isolation in the midst of the abandoned neighborhood.
Tag: East St. Louis
Bloody Island
Bloody Island, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, has a history that is closely intertwined with the city. Originally, it was the location of duels between Missouri politicians, and then it became a liability as it began to threaten the port of St. Louis. Robert E. Lee was the officer in the Army Corps…
Shots Around St. Louis by Jeff Phillips
I gave my friend in from China a tour around the city and parts of Illinois, and these are some of the shots he took. Above, Armour Meat Packing Plant, and below a corner store in North City. Update: The plant was demolished in the spring and summer of 2016. Below, I think this house…
Burn-Out, Collinsville Avenue, East St. Louis
As I once remarked while surveying the burnt out ruins of Fourth Baptist in Old North St. Louis, it almost doesn’t matter if the fire that recently destroyed one of the few precious contributing buildings on East St. Louis’s Collinsville Avenue was intentional or merely an accident. Since it appears to have been abandoned for…
East St. Louis Roundhouse, Part 2
Update: The roundhouse was demolished at some point after these photos were taken but before January of 2020. I tend to think of ruins as static beings, immutable and staying the same for decades. This obviously is far from the truth; abandoned buildings are in a constant state of kinetic change, as a recent visit…
Old Roundhouse, East St. Louis
Update: A portion of the roof on the right side of the roundhouse collapsed less than a year later. The roundhouse was demolished at some point after these photos were taken but before January of 2020. This post is largely a reprise of this post from a few months before, but with additional photos. Nestled…
I Wouldn’t Go in That Building
Update: The Murphy Building was torn down in May of 2015; almost none of the ornamental terracotta, including the two caryatids, was saved from the landfill. And in reality, the building was stable except for the separate back portion which was not anchored to the front.
Catholic Community Center, East St. Louis
I realized when I got home that I forgot to take a picture of the front of the old Catholic Community Center (I think that’s what it’s called) in downtown East St. Louis. To put it bluntly, this building is in horrible shape and is most likely a drug den. But nonetheless, the architecture is…
Railroad Power House, East St. Louis
We stumbled across this abandoned power plant for the railroad tucked between the tracks and the interstate in East St. Louis. It will probably be there for a very long time, as it is very isolated. The inside is fascinating; one of the smokestacks has actually fallen into the interior, crashing to the floor one…