Let me ask you something. When was the last time you saw an abandoned McDonald’s? I learned from an industry insider that McDonald’s corporate policy is to demolish a closed store as soon as possible, in order to not damage the brand name. But in a twist of fate, due to this McDonald’s being attached…
Tag: Restaurants
Architectural Variety, Ste. Genevieve
Here’s a scattering of other buildings along Main Street in Ste. Genevieve, showing what a wide variety of architectural styles there are in the town. This first house, now a restaurant looks to have been more Greek Revival and was the changed to looks more Colonial Revival with the front porch and framing around the…
Gravois Avenue from Morgan Ford Road to Neosho Street, Bevo
Moving past the intersection of Morgan Ford and Delor, we hit a stretch of Gravois that is substantially marred by demolition for parking lots, While the Bevo Mill carefully follows the contours of the wedge-shaped block where it sits, ironically there is a giant parking lot behind it that once served the popular restaurant. Across…
Downtown Lincoln, Illinois
While there is the typical suburban sprawl on the edge of Lincoln, I was impressed by the overall strength and health of the downtown area of the city. There is little loss of the street wall around the courthouse square, and there is even a little theater district! There are two restored theaters, and rather…
Morgan Ford Between Gravois and Gannett Avenues, Bevo
Let’s head north on Morgan Ford (it seems that it should be two separate words, after all), starting at the intersection of Gravois Avenue and Delor Street. As far as I can tell, the buildings below were demolished on the southeast corner for a parking lot. Can any longtime residents help? Heading north, we pass…
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…
Main Street, Over the Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio, East Side
The built environment on Main Street through Over the Rhine in Cincinnati is just about perfectly preserved, with few building losses. We’ll look at the east side of the street first. Despite being “Main Street,” it’s a surprisingly narrow thoroughfare, allowing for relatively slow traffic speeds and easy pedestrian crossing. The street has one of…
Liberty, Sycamore and Thirteenth Streets, Over the Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio
We’ll look at a variety of streets next. Liberty Street is a classic example of a narrow street that was widened by the demolition of historic structures, creating what I call a traffic sewer. The north street wall is preserved, as you can see above and below, but on the south side, there’s a jagged,…
Vine Street and Environs, Over the Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio
Vine Street is one of the main streets cutting through the Over the Rhine neighborhood, coming up from the Ohio River through Cincinnati’s downtown. It is not interrupted from the central business district by any interstates and other than the overly wide Central Parkway, pedestrians can easily connect with the heart of the city from…