I love this corner storefront on Cass Avenue. It looks like it once had a turret that was higher, as there is no decorative terracotta on its parapet. I suppose it was removed at some point. It has sat abandoned and boarded up as long as I can remember. I looked at this building back…
Tag: Near North Side
The Wall, Back from the Dead
Update: Here is a piece written by a resident of the Ville neighborhood explaining why the name Homer G. Phillips is so sacred to African Americans in St. Louis. The wall was taken down by construction workers in late 2020. Remember the preposterous wall that was knocked over in high winds on the site of…
North St. Louis, Late Summer, 2019
I met new people all over North St. Louis this summer, including members of the congregation of the Original Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in the Ville neighborhood, on St. Louis Avenue. Better Family Life had organized dozens of churches to host barbecues all summer long, and the Church had been one of the participants. I…
North Broadway, Near and Far North Riverfront, Summer 2019
North Broadway never ceases to fascinate me. As usual, I refer to it as a street, and also an area. For example, the above and following two photos are on or around Holly Avenue. The image of east of Broadway, if you have one, is usually one of warehouses, factories, or sadly, abandonment. It is…
Updates on Demolitions, Fires and Other Collapses
Update: The alley house above was demolished, and the front building was demolished in early 2024, and a neighboring house to the south was severely damaged by fire soon after. There is much to report on this spring, starting with a collapse of an out building on Utah Street in Benton Park. It can still…
Old Cass Avenue Bank
I can’t believe there were no plans for the former Greyhound bus terminal when the new combination bus and railroad station opened down on Clark Street. The former Cass Avenue Bank was just left to rot, broken into and increasingly dilapidated. Another location is in similar peril, further west on Cass.
Northside Wall, Former Pruit-Igoe Site
Update: The walls were blown over by strong winds on December 27, 2018. It has now been replaced by another wall made of insulation, and after the building permits for the first hospital expired, the Board of Aldermen approved similar tax incentives. They’re supposed to be building a three-bed urgent care hospital on the newly…
Patchwork, Near North Side
This building is awesome. It shows the history of itself right on the front elevatin. At some point, somebody didn’t like the fenestration ,and changed it. The doors were replaced later, as well.
The Near North Side in the Snow
It never ceases to amaze me when I see the beautiful Nineteenth Century houses northwest of downtown. They should be competitive, being so close to jobs and possessing the same architecture as Lafayette Square, but the neighborhood struggles to attract investment.
Updates Up North
More of the front portal of St. Augustine’s church has fallen down, dashed on the steps. Or possibly, the monogram roundel has been stolen, as I do not see its rubble below. See this earlier post (second photo) to understand what is now missing. And meanwhile, the absurdity of the Northside TIF continues, as the…