The former Eden Seminary and then the old Normandy High School was in the process of being torn down in 1953 when it was captured in the photograph above. It had used the old seminary build since 1923. The new Normandy High School, designed by William B. Ittner, opened later in the 1920s, was constructed…
Tag: North County
Former Normandy Presbyterian Church
The former Normandy Presbyterian Church was not within the city boundaries of Normandy, but rather Pasadena Park, not to be confused with Pasadena Hills. It operated from 1940 to 2003, it seems. As is fairly obvious, the church clearly grew rapidly, requiring a Modernist addition with a cool arcade that attached a Sunday School wing…
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, Normandy
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in Normandy along Natural Bridge Road dates to 1953 and is not the first building on the site. The parish dates back to 1854, when Ann Lucas Hunt donated land for the church. The current church was designed by Joseph Murphy, who along with Eugene Mackey, also designed Resurrection in…
End of Autumn 2025 Odds and Ends
Here are some leftover photos from the last six months. Above is a Falstaff sign in Benton Park. Above, looking down a street in what I think is Kingsway East towards the Chase Park Plaza, but I can’t be sure. Above is the Missouri Athletic Club, which I snapped while sitting at the light at…
River Roads, Then and Now
It had been awhile since I’d checked in at the site of the former River Roads Mall, and the contrast between 1962 and 2025 cannot be greater. But perhaps it also reflects the changing pattern of suburban shopping; large, anchor-based shopping centers are being demolished and replaced with single parcel stores, each with their own…
Carrollton, Early October 2025
The last time I had visited the former Carrollton subdivision was back in November of 2022, and some things had changed. First of all, an ultimate frisbee course had been built. Also, we saw a person walking through the empty yards. Not sure what he was doing. The trees are slowly dying but the former…
Run-Down Motel, Bridgeton
As part of my continuing series of run-down motels around the region, we stop by this gem on the northwest side of Interstate 270 in Bridgeton. Anyone have any memories of this place? Clocking in at 2.8 stars at Google Maps, it was part of a trend in hotels in the 1970s where there was…
Evangelist Center, Former Grace and Eden-Immanuel Lutheran Church
Grace Lutheran Church first appears in records in 1926 at 6404 Easton Avenue, modern day MLK Dr. in Wellston. I’m a little torn in wondering if there was an earlier congregation in this church, as the architecture seems to suggest an earlier construction date than the 1920s, but I can’t be sure. By 1960, the…
Calvary Chapel, Former First Baptist Church, Maryland Heights
I spotted this interesting church on the way to the mansion I featured yesterday. While today it’s Calvary Chapel, originally it was the First Baptist Church of Maryland Heights, with a pastor named Milton McBride. Instead of a single dove, there were three stylized crucifixes in the clerestory window above the front portico.
John L. Miers House, Maryland Heights
Built in 1905 for John L. Miers, the house at the northwest corner of Midland Avenue and Smiley Road is now threatened with demolition. Miers was president of the United Railways streetcar company, and rather appropriately, a line ran right out front of the house (though obviously he could have afforded his own transportation). It…