Ann Avenue Between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues

I actually looked at Ann Avenue back in November of 2017 in two parts, here and here, in between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues. Back then, the storefront that would become the restaurant Savage was yet to be renovated; the windows are now covered again. You either got a chance to eat there or you…

Selma Hall

Selma Hall, or Kennett’s Castle, was built according to designs by George I. Barnett in 1854 along the bluffs south of St. Louis in Jefferson County. I rarely only show historic photographs, but the house is so far back in a huge estate and is never open to the public that it is impossible to…

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…

Buyer Beware: Painted Brick

I know from talking to many people that there is great frustration in the rash of out of town flippers, particularly from California, who have come in, flipped houses, gutting perfectly intact interiors with original woodwork and replaced it with cheap materials, and then for the final insult, slathered the beautiful red brick exterior with…

Eckert’s

You might be surprised that in forty years since first arriving in St. Louis, I had never been to Eckert’s, the famous orchard which interestingly lies partially within the city limits of Belleville. Not surprisingly, we were immediately interested in the large farm house in the Italianate style, which sits high up on a hill…

The Second SLU Medical School

The founding of the second Saint Louis University Medical School is quite the convoluted story, and if I make any errors, please let me know in the comments! It is the story of two earlier schools, the Beaumont Medical School and the Marion Sims Medical School and their eventual uniting under the SLU aegis. There…

Courthouse Square, Perryville

We’ll start our tour of Perryville in the courthouse square, with the Perry County Courthouse, constructed in 1904. The architects were Caldwell and Drake of Columbus, Indiana and the building cost approximately $32,000. It is on the National Register. And of course there’s a statue of a Union soldier in the lawn out in front….

Twenty-Three Years of Paul McKee: JeffVanderLou

Over the next six days, starting today, we’ll look at areas in the footprint of the Northside TIF, and see the effects McKee’s purchases and land banking have stalled redevelopment and also accelerated decline, as properties he’s purchased have gone vacant and been demolished. We’ll start in JeffVanderLou, driving up Webster in the two photos…