There are still remnants of the economic powerhouse that was once Crestwood Mall, such as the office building and strip mall across Watson Road, former Route 66, from the now vacant lot.
Tag: Historic Roads
Old Kingshighway
A long time ago, Kingshighway went straight north, and then doglegged right in front of Barnes Hospital, before turning right in front of Forest Park (did you know technically there are a couple of acres of Forest Park east of the current curved alignment to this day?). When Highway 40 was built, that giant cloverleaf…
Tree Lined Roads, Palestrina, Italy
Sorry about the bad picture, but I was just thinking about this: in America, these trees would be toast, cut down and burned or thrown into a shredder so the road could be widened and people could speed recklessly. But in Italy, on this busy road leading up to the beautiful suburb of Palestrina in…
Boone’s Lick Road Monument, Dardenne Prairie
Update: See the beginning of Boone’s Lick Road in downtown St. Louis here.
Bellerive Park, Revisited at Sunset
Update: See Sister Marie Charles Park down below this park in 2020. The view from Bellerive Park, which I visited back in 2009, continues to provide one of the most enjoyable and easily accessible location to view the Mississippi River. It looks like there is a sunken barge in the middle of the river on…
Forest Park Parkway
Once described as an old-fashioned interstate, Forest Park Parkway seems almost an afterthought after the construction of Interstate Highway System. Its curves cut through Forest Park, before ending unceremoniously at I-170. The century old bridges that carry surface streets over it are coming to the end of their lives.
Early Italian Adaptive Reuse
Out the Appian Way, just beyond the city walls of Rome to the south, is the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, one of many monuments that line the road outside of the city. What is fascinating about this particular tomb is that it was re-appropriated by the Caetani family and turned into their own fortress. The…
Travels in Italy
I was in Italy last week, and I made it to some new places, and some old favorites, such as the Tomb of Cecilia Metella above, along the Via Appia south of Rome, or the colossal portrait bust of the Emperor Constantine below. I also was in Urbino, which is famous for its massive Renaissance…
St. Clair Avenue
I continued on Lincoln Trail westbound, and the signs started saying St. Clair Avenue; I figured that the road must continue all the way to East St. Louis. I passed the standard signs of late Twentieth Century abandonment: the destroyed motel, the desolate gas station, rows of abandoned ranches, some of them burned out. But…
Lincoln Trail, St. Clair County, Illinois
The so-called Lincoln Trail is no longer a trail, but more akin to your standard strip mall artery. I saw traces of interesting roadside motels and drive-ups, but like so much of America, it’s all just sort of looking the same now. I probably could have labeled this Manchester Road, and a lot of people…