There is a second Catholic church in Breese, St. Augustine’s, which is on the south side of town and surely was opened as the population surged. Constructed in a Lombard Romanesque Revival style, it again like many churches in the region, reminds me of the houses of worship I’ve seen in Milan, Italy. This church…
Tag: Illinois
St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church and Cemetery, Breese
St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church is the massive first parish in Breese, Illinois. Founded in 1858, the current church is from 1867. It’s a massive church, expressed in the German Gothic Revival style with a central spire and two octagonal turrets flanking. The interior, which was closed when we visited, is most likely a typical…
Excel Bottling Company, Breese, Illinois
Found St. Louis arranged a tour for us of the Excel Bottling Co. in Breese, Illinois. It was quite the experience, and we had as our guide the owner of the company, Bill Meier. As a licensed bottler of Ski Soda, they actually still use a historic bottling line, which you can see below. However,…
Breese, Illinois
We went east to check out the small town of Breese, Illinois, which lies in Clinton County. The main historic commercial strip is along Second Street, interestingly. Did you know that Second Street is the most common street name in the United States? There is this nice bank building in the Beaux-Arts style, complete with…
St. Theresa of the Child Christ Roman Catholic Church, Belleville
We spotted this Mid-Century Modern church on our way out of Belleville, and stopped to take a closer look. Unfortunately, it was closed and locked, so we could not explore the interior. While the parish dates to 1926, this current building dates to 1967 and you can see photos of the interior at this link….
West C Street To North 10th Street Via Voss Place, Belleville
We now turn onto West C Street in Belleville, and discover a building whose originally purpose remains unknown to me. Was it a Turnverein or some other German social organization? I don’t know, but perhaps a reader does. We next come up to a short private street, Voss Place, which betrays its obvious Teutonic origins…
West D Street From North 11th Street to West C Street Via North 8th Street, Belleville
Continuing along in our walk through northwest Belleville near the old Stag Brewery, we see our first of what I would consider a true Cape Cod, the iconic building style that has its roots going back centuries in America and Europe. It is sort of the standard “house” in Western Civilization. But we see more…
North 11th Street Between West C and West D Streets, Belleville
The street grid shifts by forty-five degrees and continues on as we look a Belleville. There is this large store front that has been filled in with just a door that looks like it’s straight off the shelf from a big box hardware store. There are more of the three bay wide side gable workers’…
North 11th Street Between West Main and West A Streets, Belleville
This is where it gets really interesting, and in my opinion what makes Belleville one of the most fascinating cities in the St. Louis region. We started walking up North 11th Street back into the neighborhoods which are actually quite close to the location of the now demolished Stag Brewery, where the streets are all…
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…