The Plaza Square Apartments, a major urban renewal project last century, have gotten a new paint scheme that have really jazzed them up. I’ve written in the past that I wasn’t the biggest fan of these buildings, but I have to admit I do like the new colors.
Tag: Modernism
Ford Apartments
Designed by the famous St. Louis architect Preston J. Bradshaw, someone whom I’ve not looked at extensively, the Ford Apartments is an early example of a Modernist residential building in downtown St. Louis completed in 1950. In a dramatic turn away from the more ornate office buildings nearby, the Ford Apartments eschews decorative elements and…
North Twentieth Street From Farrar Street to Newhouse Avenue, Hyde Park
I’ve looked at the east side of North Twentieth Street in January of this year, and now I thought I’d look at the west side, starting at Farrar Street, where the old Krey Packing Plant is seen in the background. Next to this beautiful house is this interesting little office. I wonder if it had…
Kansas City, Baltimore, Dayton, Louisville and Indianapolis Skyscrapers
Rounding out our survey of early Twentieth Century centerpiece skyscrapers, we look at a couple more, starting first on the other side of Missouri in Kansas City. The Kansas City Power and Light Building, built in 1931, was the tallest building in Missouri until 1976. Designed by the Kansas City firm of Hoit, Price &…
Along the Lower River des Peres
I traveled from the mouth of the River des Peres, starting by heading up Marceau Avenue, where I spotted some old houses while still in Carondelet. I crossed over the River des Peres on Alabama Avenue onto the south side of the drainage ditch and proceeded up Carondelet Boulevard. Of course, Alabama Avenue becomes Lemay…
Post Office Expansion
No one seems to know when this expansion to the Central Post Office downtown was built, or who was the architect. It’s a huge building, and stretches for an entire block; there’s even parking for employees on the roof which you can see from satellite images. Note the soot on the side of the building…
Chesterfield Mall, Demolition, March 2025
Demolition is proceeding rapidly at Chesterfield Mall, and the target of finishing in May seems like it will be easily met. We last stopped by in December of last year and interior demolition was still occurring, and now the entire mall portion has been torn down, leaving only the anchors. Presumably the old movie theater…
Downtown Granite City, Early March 2025
I last stopped by downtown Granite City in Spring of 2024, and there has not been much happening other than at the Granite City Arts and Design District on the far side of the area. I did discover another Sinclair Dinosaur which had been put on display along with a bunch of other Route 66…
Maryville Gardens
Today, when you stand at the corner of Nebraska Avenue and Meramec Street and look to the southwest, you see the Maryville Gardens Station of the United States Post Office. But if you were to travel back in time to the 1870s, you would have seen the original location of Maryville College, back when Dutchtown…
Second Baptist Church
Second Baptist is a congregation with roots going back deep into St. Louis history. Their current location at the southeast corner of Clayton and McKnight roads was on the grounds of the Barron-Childress Mansion, which they demolished back in 2002. The current church, which received a new vestibule a few years back, was originally designed…