Dry Goods Store, Hannibal

I researched the original purpose of this fascinating building, and as far as I could tell, it operated as a dry goods store. It is very old, regardless, built of rubble wall construction. It went through a series of other uses over the years. As recently as 2016 if not later, the building had a…

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, Fulton, Interior

The interior of the church is much simpler, more sparse than your average Baroque space, reflecting a more classical vein of Seventeenth Century architecture. Of course, the Anglican Church also reigned in England, and it reflects in the worship space. Instead of marble, wood carving dominates on the interior, up into the choir loft where…

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, Fulton, Exterior

I was digging around in the vault and found some old photos of the time we visited Fulton, Missouri, and saw the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, which is not an everyday occurrence. On the campus of Westminster College, the church was disassembled after being seriously damaged during the London Blitz in World…

Commercial Street, North Side, Springfield

You can read about some of the history of the Commercial Street Historic District here, at the website for the area. This is an old fire station. I think these buildings below could be spotted in the historic photograph at the top of this post. There seems to be more empty renovated storefronts on this…

Commercial Street, South Side, Springfield

Heading north, we find the Commercial Street Historic District. I was confused as to why there seemed to be two distinct centers of gravity in Springfield, and I found my answer. Originally, Commercial Street was the main street of North Springfield, a separate town that was incorporated in 1871 after its location was chosen for…

Downtown Springfield

Downtown Springfield is dominated by a public square at the intersection of two major cross streets. While for much of its history during the Twentieth Century it was a morass of open pavement, in what looks to be the 1970s it was converted into a park and traffic was routed into a single lane that…

Former Museum of the Ozarks

“Uh, it doesn’t look like it’s open anymore,” I dryly remarked as we pulled up in front of the Bentley House, constructed in 1892. While there is a deteriorating asphalt parking lot around the side of the house that confirms that this property was once open to the public for some sort of use, it…

East Walnut Avenue, East of National Avenue, Springfield

East of National Avenue, the architecture of East Walnut Avenue progresses as one would expect in the course of the Twentieth Century, with revival styles predominating. It should be pointed out that the historic district encompasses side streets, and does not merely include Walnut Street. While there is still an occasional Queen Anne, there are…

East Walnut Avenue, West of National Avenue, Springfield

Comprising of 153 contributing structures, the East Walnut Street Historic District, like many cities, is one long thoroughfare that chronicles the passage of time and the development of American residential architecture. The first few blocks will look at shows the expression of the Queen Anne Style. These represent the 21 houses in the district built…

St. Agnes Roman Catholic Cathedral, Springfield

The Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau is a bit of a different Roman Catholic diocese in that it stretches clear across the southern third of the state of Missouri, and has two co-cathedrals, one in each city. Here we are looking at the Cathedral of St. Agnes, located to the southeast of downtown Springfield, which we’ll…