St. Louis has had a long love/hate relationship for the blocks of the city just south of Market Street. What was once an actual stream, Mill Creek, slowly transformed over the course of the city’s history. In a way, the history of Mill Creek in downtown mirrors the rising and falling fortunes of St. Louis…
Tag: Mill Creek
Union Station Train Shed
Update: The train shed was converted into a convention center and aquarium. Such an amazing space, and in my opinion much more useful as a wide open space, clear of impediments. We will see what the future holds for the train shed.
Union Station
I’ve always been impressed with the exterior of Union Station, a grand edifice that sits on what was once Chouteau’s Pond, as well as Mill Creek. Once the busiest train station in the world, it is much more quiet nowadays. I let the limestone, Romanesque Revival with French Renaissance Revival elements building speak for itself.
Grand Hall, Union Station
Update: The Grand Hall has been renovated with a light show. I saw ‘Escape from New York’ in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2013, of all places, and was amazed to see the Grand Hall feature so prominently. It is worth watching the movie if you haven’t yet. See pictures of the Grand Hall in 2014 right…
Council Plaza and Grand Center Part 2: Urban Renewal
Above is a Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the intersection of Forest Park and Grand Boulevards, where the Council Plaza would later rise in the 1960’s. As can be seen in the map, Forest Park used to dead-end at Grand, at a now gone Handlan Park. Looking to the east on the map, one can…
Council Plaza and Grand Center Part 1: Beginnings
There has been much talk recently about the fate of the former Del Taco building in Grand Center; the gas station turned taco stand was part of the Council Plaza development, which transformed the area in the 1950’s and 60’s as the nearby Mill Creek Valley was demolished to the east of Grand, creating what…
Council Tower and Grand View Apartments
Update: The brick mural was completely removed and restored to its original beauty in 2012, and the storefronts have been converted into apartments. The Del Taco has been converted into a Starbucks and Chipotle. I wrote a series of posts about the history of Midtown and Council Plaza. The two story buildings facing Grand have…
National Guard Armory
Update: Renovated into a bar that then closed; a data center was then proposed for the building. Most people have seen the old National Guard Armory on the south side of Highway 40 along a desolate stretch of far west Market Street. I searched for any information on this building, that looks like it dates…
Spring Street Bridge
Update: The viaduct was demolished in 2009. The massive Mill Creek Valley that cuts through the middle of St. Louis used to have MORE crossing years ago than it does nowadays. Why? Because they’ve slowly fallen apart one by one. The Spring Street Bridge, which could function as a reliever artery for Grand Blvd, sits…