Redevelopment is finally coming to the northwest corner of Lafayette Square, which was long the abandoned site of the former Praxair facility, which exploded years ago. It’s a mixture of a large apartment building along Chouteau Avenue, while there are houses being built along Hickory Street. I was told the old stone house, which I…
Tag: In-Fill
Old North, Revisited Winter 2022, Hebert Street Between Nineteenth Street and North Florissant Avenue
Walking west on Hebert, I realized I had never really looked at the houses down this stretch of street. The views on the gently rolling terrain can sometimes be wonderful, as we spot Most Holy Trinity off in the distance. There are more well-preserved Second Empire houses, many with their original slate Mansard roofs. And…
Former Site of Union Park, Soulard
Along Russell Boulevard in Soulard is an interesting row of buildings, some quite old such as this one above and below which now houses artists’ studios (as well as an amazing terracotta frieze which is sadly obscured by a gnarled tree). I was alerted by a friend who once lived here. If anyone has a…
Oak Hill, The Old Russell-Parker Estate
The Russells and Parkers operated coal and clay mines in what is now the expansive Tower Grove South neighborhood in the Nineteenth Century. Their house, which was owned in turn by both families, but seems to have been built by William Russell, sat at 3405 Oak Hill Avenue and Fairview and Parker. The house sat…
The Last House, N. 20th Street, St. Louis Place
I don’t know why, but I have come to find this house fascinating in its ability to survive urban disinvestment, redevelopment and abandonment. It sits on a small parcel of land, backing up to new in-fill houses that face St. Louis Place Park, and for whatever reason, it has not been demolished. The plywood looks…
4300 Block of West Belle Place
I thought it would be interesting to examine the block that was the subject of one of the most infamous election fliers in St. Louis history. In 1916, voters approved an ordinance that outlawed a member of one race to move onto a block where members of one race already constituted a 75% majority. It…
Wells-Goodfellow, Autumn 2021, Part Two
Just beyond that well kept block of Hebert we are confronted with the abandonment of Clara across from the Horseshoe, which has not gotten any better than when I walked down these streets back in March of 2017. The Horseshoe is gone, of course, and is serving as parking for this church as well as…
Twenty Years Since 9/11, Revisiting Washington, DC, Part Two
We crossed over the Memorial Bridge into the Commonwealth of Virginia, and picked up the Metro to head to Alexandria and meet up with an old professor friend of mine. The Metro used to be the pride and joy of Washington, DC, but I was shocked at how far it had fallen. While it had…
Marine Avenue Between Cahokia and Miami Streets, West Side
Marine Avenue is most likely named thus because the old Marine Hospital was on the east side of the street. It is long gone, but the beautiful housing stock is largely preserved on the west side of the street. I’ve looked at this corner storefront before, once back in July of 2014 and then again…
Mullanphy Hospital
Recently I was looking for another hospital at the Missouri History Museum when I spotted the photo below, labeled the Mullanphy Hospital. I thought for certain it was mislabeled, and captured a pre-cupola image of the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center on Arsenal Street. I was wrong–it is in fact a hospital that once sat…