First of all, there’s great news for the old Elms Restaurant in El Paso, Illinois. I spotted two people working on the roof, so it seems its long-awaited rehabilitation has begun. I first looked at the historic house and restaurant back in July of 2012 and then again in December of 2019. But I had…
Tag: Restaurants
Northeast Adams Street, Northeast Peoria, Late June 2026
The primaries for the 2026 midterm elections are coming up, so it’s time to see how Peoria is doing, and in particular, I like to look at Northeast Peoria. I drove up Northeast Adams Street, which is one-way to the northeast through much of downtown and northeast of the central business district, paired with Northeast…
Washington Boulevard, Revisited June 2026
I’ve looked at Washington Boulevard before west of North Jefferson Avenue, but I took another look a few weeks ago. Nothing has happened at the Jamison Memorial Church since the fire. Above is Central Baptist Church, an African American congregation which is over 180 years old, and I’ve always like its current Modernist home. This…
Cafe Florentine and Other Sights, Downtown, Birmingham, Alabama
Much like St. Louis and its Woolworth Building in Grand Center, Birmingham also has a two story base that was designed with the intention of later having an upper office building added. The Florentine, which is not surprisingly in the Renaissance Revival Style, was built in 1925-27 according to designs by the architect, David O….
Stupp Brothers
Like many industries, Stupp Brothers moved out to more suburban surroundings in the Twentieth Century after being located in the city. The story of the Stupps is fascinating, having been founded in 1856 by Johann Stuppd and his sons The company is still privately held and has built steel components for bridges, pipelines and even…
Big Bend Boulevard, Old Orchard, Webster Groves
Let’s head two Frisco Railroad stops to the northeast and get off our imaginary train and get off at the Old Orchard stop. Sadly, the station is lost, but it was located at the dead end of Old Orchard Avenue, at the railroad tracks, obviously. Old Orchard, not surprisingly, took its name from the large…
West Main Street Between 14th and 10th Streets, Belleville
Continuing down West Main Street, which locals call the longest of its name in the world (it is admittedly a very long street), we cross over 14th Street in Belleville. There are some very old houses, such as the one above, and also some signs of life in the presence of a few restaurants that…
Kimmswick, Revisited
Founded in 1859 by German Theodore Kimm, we thought that Kimmswick was worth a second look recently since we were in the area after having looked at it back in August of 2020. I had forgotten how many log cabins there were in the town. And judging from the National Register nomination, which does not…
Panorama, Ravens-Queathem House, Chesterfield
For the last several decades known as the Old House in Hog Hollow and currently operating as a wine bar, the Ravens-Quaethem House was originally built in 1859 with a significant expansion in 1912. It was named Panorama due to its views of the Missouri River Valley below. Apparently one of the early owners herded…
Sara Lou’s, February 2026
Sara Lou’s is not doing well. We’re still holding out hope that an investor can come in and save the building, but that needs to happen soon. No, the current state of the building is not due to the tornado on May 16, 2026.