Based off the campus of the University of Virginia, the grounds of Truman State University still look good after all of these years being gone. At one point before a disastrous fire that drained the lake to fight it, this would have been the view to the original building of what was once known as…
Tag: Kirksville
Adair County Courthouse, Revisited
The courthouse once had a tower, like most of the courthouses in Northeast Missouri, but it was taken down because of structural issues. The towns up this way are not nearly as wealthy as they used to be, and fixing expensive masonry structures doesn’t happen much anymore. Look at what happened to the Clark County…
Kirksville, Revisited
Over thirteen years have passed since I graduated Truman State and left Kirksville and Northeast Missouri. It’s been almost exactly a year since I last visited, when I gave a series of lectures about a series of topics, including this website. Learning about the demolition of two prominent buildings in downtown Kirksville, the Miller Apartments…
John R. Kirk House, Kirksville, Missouri
I found some old photos I took back in 1998 of the John R. Kirk House, the home of a former president of Truman State University. I lived across the street from it for two years, and even back then, when I wasn’t actively doing historic photography, I still saw the value in capturing it….
Post-Modernist Explosion, Kirksville
Wow, they didn’t build them like this back when I was at Truman.
Old Kirksville High School, Rotting
Update: The high school was finally demolished in the summer of 2019. One of my favorite memories of senior year of college in the spring of 2000 was when a large group of art students gained permission to stage a giant art show within the abandoned walls of the old Kirksville High School. There was…
Pickler Memorial Library, Truman State University, Kirksville
I was always impressed how the 1993 major expansion of Pickler Library embraced the older structure, leaving it largely intact and viewable along its front from the long bridge spanned atrium of the addition. The sign saying Pickler Memorial Library was removed when the new bridge cut across and into the original structure. I also…
Diminished Victorian, Kirksville, Missouri
The cruel irony of this house surviving demolition is that it has been relegated to a shadow of its former self. Stripped of its Victorian Period details, it exists as a stump, a fragment of its original sumptuousness.