We cross over Russell Boulevard and notice something about this row of Second Empire houses on South Ninth Street. They do not have front doors–only mouse holes leading to the back of the houses, where there would have been exterior staircases allowing access to the upper stories of the building. This was normal and very…
Tag: Greek Revival
South Ninth Street Between Lami Street and Russell Boulevard, Soulard
Crossing Lami Street and continuing north on South Ninth Street, we pass by a corner store with a turret that most likely once possessed a conical roof, now gone. While we see Second Empire houses, we begin to see earlier houses such as the Greek Revival or as it’s sometimes known, the Federalist Style. At…
Osceola Street Between South Spring Street and 37th Street
I then cruised down Osceola Street, where I saw something surprising: an abandoned house. It is a rarity in what is other a very healthy neighborhood. It’s also a neat little house. Much of the blocks on Osceola are the sides of houses since they primarily face the north-south street, but we have some nice…
Jefferson Elementary School
We’ll start looking at the schools slated for potential closure in order of age and working out from downtown, more or less. That means we’ll begin with Jefferson Elementary School, which as evidenced from these historic photos, has a long and rich pedigree in St. Louis. Judging from the two photographs above, I suspect the…
Grafton, Jersey County, Illinois
Founded in 1832, Grafton is the oldest town in Jersey County. There were once large numbers of limestone quarries in the area very early on in the town’s history, and it reflects in the building materials of Grafton. Above is the Slaten LaMarsh House, dating from 1840 and the home of the first mayor of…
Elsah, Revisited
It has been almost twelve years since the last time I visited Elsah, so we took a quick look around. It is a sleepy little hamlet nowadays. I am always intrigued at the large number of stone houses, though there certainly are plenty of brick buildings, as well.
End of Spring 2026 Odds and Ends
It’s that time of year, so it’s time for odds and ends! Above is a spandrel from a storefront in downtown Belleville, looking suspiciously like something Louis Sullivan would design. Below is just another house we found while driving around town. Cleveland High School is looking really, really bad compared to earlier visits; I first…
Two Cemeteries, Birmingham, Alabama
We looked at two cemeteries in the Birmingham, the first of which was Highland Memorial Gardens, founded in 1954. This is an example of a memorial park; while there are a few headstones, the vast majority of gravestones are flush with the lawn, giving a more clean and modern look that took over cemetery design…
Norwood, Birmingham, Alabama
Tucked up in a wedge north of downtown Birmingham is the Norwood neighborhood, in a transitional area between the grid and the more early Twentieth Century “suburban” communities in the hills. There is lots of good news happening in this neighborhood, with many homes being rehabbed and other at least being stabilized. It was laid…
Alabama Avenue Between Loughborough Avenue and Haven Street
Just like one block over on Vermont Avenue, like yesterday, the houses are older and brick on Alabama Avenue, and they’re quite nice. Even the houses look similar, such as the one below. This was clearly the more different part of Carondelet. There are still many working class houses. But brick predominates. Note the house…