It was hiding in plain view. This old photograph of the French Market, which I had posted way back in October of 2020, featured a very prominent gable roof with windows that are obviously that of a church or chapel. Digging deeper, I discovered that the block of South Broadway, Hickory, 6th and LaSalle streets…
Tag: Historic Buildings
Kaskaskia, West Side of the Mississippi
We visited Illinois recently without having to cross the Mississippi River. Yes, it’s possible, in what of the stranger parts of the greater St. Louis region south down Interstate 55. Back in November of 2010, we saw the remnants of the colonial town of Kaskaskia, that once sat along the banks of the Kaskaskia River,…
Yahn Dam, Weldon Spring
That strange concrete structure we saw two days ago is the spillway that Theodore Yahn built for what was going to be an earthen dam, which would have filled in a valley. It was never completed, so this stairstepped monolith remains in the woods.
From the Vault: The Roof of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, October 2006
It’s hard to believe that just under twenty years ago I was allowed to run around on the roof of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and take these photographs. Above is looking west down Constitution Avenue NW and the National Archives and Federal Triangle. Above, this is looking east at the U.S….
End of Autumn 2025 Odds and Ends
Here are some leftover photos from the last six months. Above is a Falstaff sign in Benton Park. Above, looking down a street in what I think is Kingsway East towards the Chase Park Plaza, but I can’t be sure. Above is the Missouri Athletic Club, which I snapped while sitting at the light at…
High Street, Revisited, Jefferson City
Starting at Broadway Street and heading east or more southeast on High Street, we first see the Roman Catholic Proto Cathedral of St. Peter, just across the street from the Missouri Capitol. A proto cathedral is a former cathedral; the present church dates from 1883, and it was the seat, or cathedra of the diocese…
Jefferson City National Cemetery
Jefferson City has a small national veterans cemetery located south of the Capitol. The first burial was as early as 1861, and they continue to the present day. The gates were built for horse drawn carriages and I almost thought I wasn’t going to be able to fit my automobile out the exit. It was…
Former Missouri State Penitentiary, Jefferson City
First opened in 1836, the former Missouri State Penitentiary operated until 2004, and was apparently the oldest prison west of the Mississippi, beating out the one we saw recently in Fort Madison, Iowa. It is located on East Capitol Street a few blocks east of the Missouri State Capitol. As is typical, based off the…
Nauvoo, Illinois
We visited the historic Mormon settlement of Nauvoo on our journey north up the Mississippi River looking at Iowa cities back in May. Of course, Nauvoo is in Illinois, and it is in an isolated corner of the state. There are numerous houses and other buildings from the historic period that have been restored, and…
Engine House No 12, Walnut Park
Just up West Florissant from the former Sixth District Police Station is Engine House No. 12, built around 1920, I suspect. It has some nice classical motifs around the front portal. But the side is relatively unadorned, left exposed by presumably the demolition of the neighboring building.