Oh no, they pulled a Chambord on me! But anyway, the Logan County Courthouse, constructed in 1905, is a beautiful building, nonetheless. It is relatively unadorned, and seems to be constructed out of yellow limestone or sandstone. Like many palaces in Europe, the first floor possesses rusticated stonework, while the upper stories features polished finish….
Tag: Historic Buildings
Former Lincoln College
On literally the exact day I visited the former MacMurray College in Jacksonville, a victim of declining enrollment and financial troubles, Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois announced it would be closing, as well. It’s a similar story as befalls others small colleges, though there’s a criminal twist to Lincoln College: it was a victim of…
South Broadway Athletic Club
The South Broadway Athletic Club is a Soulard and South City institution, though if you know better, it’s actually on South Seventh Boulevard, one block west from its famous namesake. The building served an earlier life as first the Russell Avenue Missions (despite the cross street being Shenandoah), an outpost of the Baptist Church, by…
Front Street, New Haven, Franklin County
Perhaps it’s illogical that Front Street faces a bluff and not the Missouri River, but nonetheless, the businesses lining the side of the thoroughfare that runs parallel to the train tracks is a wholly intact row of storefronts. The town has a website promoting the downtown’s stores and events. The buildings are all occupied or…
Checking In on the Metro East: Venice into Madison
On a lark I decided to see what was happening over in the Metro East, so I headed over the McKinley Bridge and first passed through Venice, Illinois. The first stop is a building that has long been many of my friends’ favorite, with its cool central pavilion, the Venice Recreation Hall. After that is…
The Streets Around Norwood Square
One of the most interesting neighborhoods in St. Louis is Norwood Square, which I first looked at way back in August of 2009. It sits on the site of an old quarry, which is settling badly (I tried to figure out what kind of quarry it was, but it does not show up on this…
Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Founded in 1844 and inspired like many American rural cemetery movement burial grounds by Père LaChaise Cemetery in Paris, Spring Grove Cemetery is the huge contributor to the field in Cincinnati. Like many others, a cholera epidemic and a desire to replace small urban cemeteries spurred its founding. An impressive Gothic Revival gatehouse welcomes the…
Cincinnati Music Hall, Over the Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio
The Cincinnati Music Hall, built in 1878, is one of those monumental buildings in America that might very well have been swept away by urban renewal, replaced by a new performing arts center. Instead, it has been revitalized, and almost 150 years later, is still very much part of the cultural fabric of the city…
Lock Number 14, Illinois and Michigan Canal, LaSalle, Illinois
I have long been interested in the investigation of how Chicago passed St. Louis by in terms of economic power. I have also long felt that the discussion in St. Louis has existed at a very low intellectual level, usually focusing on the person’s own confirmation biases and background. In reality, if one tries to…
Former Granite City Moose Lodge
I took a look at the old Moose Lodge on State Street this last weekend when I was over at GCADD in Granite City. It’s an impressive building, and like many fraternal organizations, it looks like it might have had storefront space on the first floor with the meeting rooms on the second or third…