I have always been intrigued by this little building, sitting on a trapezoid of land at the northwest corner of Gravois and Victor. What is now a doctor’s office was originally the offices of attorney Paul J. Simon, who also served as a state representative in the 1970s. But there was a two-story building here…
Tag: McKinley Heights
Checking In on Southern McKinley Heights
I thought it would be interesting to check in on one of my favorite places in St. Louis, those narrow ancient streets of the old rural village at the northern end of the intersection of Jefferson and Gravois that is now the southern tip of McKinley Heights. I looked at Charless Street in June and…
End of Winter 2023 Odds and Ends
The old Soulard Branch of the St. Louis Public Library has had several uses over the last decade besides the commercial space facing 7th Boulevard. There was “The Library” and then “The Archives.” They’re both gone. Below, in McKinley Heights, I still can’t believe that Second Empire house below is sitting vacant; the property values…
Fifteenth Anniversary of Saint Louis Patina
I started this website fifteen years ago today, and we’ve come a long ways since then. Three reboots, two crashes, and hopefully now it looks better than ever due to the hard work of around twenty WordPress technicians back in January and February of this year. Thankfully, there are still plenty of new things to…
Geyer Avenue Between Missouri Avenue and Eighteenth Street, North Side
Geyer Avenue through McKinley Heights is an interesting street, as it was platted early, but as the subdivisions on the south side of Lafayette Square were built, it found itself getting turned into the backside of that more prominent neighborhood. I’ve looked at the neighbors of the house above before, facing Missouri Avenue, but I’ve…
Charless Street Between Indiana Avenue and Beauty Alley
Charless Avenue and its alley are perhaps two of the most isolated but fascinating lanes in St. Louis, with large trees obscuring old Greek Revival houses, half flounders and mysterious ruins. There is this lot, with a low stone wall that I strongly suspect are foundation walls, with the outline of a roof on the…
Gaine Street Between Indiana Avenue and DeVolsey Street
Forgive me for constantly returning to the narrow lanes of McKinley Heights just to the northeast of the intersection of Jefferson and Gravois, but the area dates back to before the Civil War, and I found out some new information about it for my recent article for St. Louis Magazine. The houses date easily to…
Shenandoah Avenue Between Jefferson and Missouri Avenues
Shenandoah Avenue through McKinley Heights marks a transition from very old houses in the DeVolsey Addition on the south side of the street, to the late suburban buildings of the late Nineteenth Century. First we head east starting just east of South Jefferson, looking at the north side of the street. There’s a wide variety…
Indiana Avenue Between Ann and Shenandoah Avenues
Indiana Avenue south of Ann is a fascinating mix of houses; up at the north end of the street are houses typical of much of the rest of McKinley Heights–built in the early Twentieth Century. But then, and this picture below illustrates it, the houses jump back several decades, and the Italianate style appears on…
Ann Avenue Between Jefferson and McNair Avenues
Ann Street is another one of those quiet streets lined with good solid housing stock, with little traffic and stately street trees. I’ve actually looked at these houses above before, back in 2013. The apartments buildings are more elaborate than we’ll see later on in the early Twentieth Century; this was a middle class neighborhood…