As I was driving down Kingshighway from Bellefontaine Cemetery to the former St. Mark’s, a blinding white object to the right caught my attention. The old Rex-All Warehouse, which I’ve looked at before back in June of 2011 and November of 2018 (fifth through seventh photos) has received a “glow up” as the kids say…
Tag: Mark Twain Industrial Park
End of Autumn 2025 Odds and Ends
Here are some leftover photos from the last six months. Above is a Falstaff sign in Benton Park. Above, looking down a street in what I think is Kingsway East towards the Chase Park Plaza, but I can’t be sure. Above is the Missouri Athletic Club, which I snapped while sitting at the light at…
Marais Castor Addition
As often happens, I find an intriguing map at the Missouri History Museum’s website and it leads me down a rabbit hole. In this case, it was the plat map above, of the Marais Castor Addition or Subdivision from 1853. Marais Castor means “Beaver Marsh” in sort of a mix of Latin and French, and…
Former Bridge, Beach & Co., Revisited
I’ve looked at the massive Bridge, Beach & Co. factory on North Union Boulevard twice before, once in August of 2014 and then again in November of 2018. It seems to stretch onto blocks on both sides of Brown Avenue and terminates on the west side of Geraldine Avenue. The Sanborn Map from 1920 shows…
More Factories and Warehouses, Up North
I’m intrigued by the early Twentieth factories up north in the so-called “Mark Twain/I-70 Industrial” neighborhood, as the City of St. Louis officially calls this area. All of the cool factories down along the riverfront, and the historic breweries, get lots of attention, and deservedly so, but I would like to bring more attention to…
The Old Bridge and Beach Factory
Update: I revisited the factory in June of 2022. I photographed the Hudson Bridge grave at Bellefontaine Cemetery a while back. It turns out his company’s factory, which moved out to the northwest side of the city in 1921, is still standing. I originally photographed the buildings in August of 2014. The company made stoves,…
Remnants, The Old Army Munitions Plant
This forlorn abandoned factory building along the north side of Stratford Avenue is the remnant of the massive army munitions plant that manufactured arms during World War II. It featured a gigantic vaulted steel building that looked like it had horns sticking out of its roof. Built St. Louis has a whole page on it….
Planned Industrial Drive
For the most part, I’m proud of St. Louis. But occasionally, I see something that just makes me simultaneously laugh out loud and shake my head. “Planned Industrial Drive?!” Do you think that maybe city planners and leaders didn’t get around to naming this drive? This was obviously part of a larger industrial park plan…
Former Quarry, Back from the Dead, Penrose
Oops, someone didn’t fill in the old Union Quarry well enough and the houses have all settled! And now they’re being torn down one at a time. Essex Court, as it was called, was a common occurrence after the quarries were closed after World War II. Unfortunately, they’re now collapsing. Here you can see it…
Penrose, Revisited
Tucked away in between I-70 and Natural Bridge Avenue, the Penrose neighborhood seems both isolated and heavily populated at the same time. Yes, there is abandonment, but along the strangely narrow streets, there is a lot of life. There are no major institutions per se, so it is a place probably not familiar to most…