North Up Blair Avenue, Hyde Park, May 2026, Part One

Now, as we head north up Blair Avenue into Hyde Park, we see this substation. A pet peeve of mine is how AmerenUE makes no effort to integrate its utilities into city neighborhoods. They’re not so ugly and obtrusive in West County; trust me. I’ve seen lots of abandonment in southern Hyde Park in the…

Snake Alley, Burlington, Iowa

Continuing my series of Iowa river towns at the end of the month, we’re visiting Burlington briefly as we head up the Mississippi. I’d already visited the city back in September of 2013, but I’d only really focused on downtown. This time I focused on residential neighborhoods on the steep hills north of downtown, and…