I’ve looked at the former John F. Kennedy High School before, then during demolition, and then last year as initial site grading had begun. We were surprised that by mid 2023 that the subdivision was largely completed. I’m intrigued by the conversion of large institutional parcels being subdivided into smaller plots of land. Certainly many…
Tag: Post-Modernism
The Missouri Bluffs
Do you find the natural contours of the earth boring? If so, I have found the perfect subdivision for you! Following the disgraceful sale of forested bluff land along the Missouri River by the University of Missouri for a quick buck, the developers have moved in, building absurd roadways through what could be best described…
Indiana Avenue Between Lynch and Pestalozzi, West Side
Turning around at Pestalozzi and heading north, we see that originally the west side of Indiana Avenue was fully built up like the east side, if not as densely. It’s also interesting to see that already in 1876, towards the north end of the block, a substantial portion of a hill had to be cut…
Indiana Avenue Between Lynch and Pestalozzi, East Side
A reader recommended I look at the 2800 block of Indiana Avenue in Benton Park, which is in between Pestalozzi Avenue and Lynch Street. I’ve looked at the block of Indiana just to the north back in December of 2022, as well as a section to the south back in June of 2015. I’ve also…
Abandoned McDonald’s, Weldon Spring
Let me ask you something. When was the last time you saw an abandoned McDonald’s? I learned from an industry insider that McDonald’s corporate policy is to demolish a closed store as soon as possible, in order to not damage the brand name. But in a twist of fate, due to this McDonald’s being attached…
Henrietta Street and Environs, Compton Hill
I am still trying to understand the so-called Gate District, which I still stridently refer to as Compton Hill, its historic name. I wrote an article about it back in 2020, but one thing I can’t do is go back in time and see the area before redevelopment began. Was it as bad as claimed,…
Lockerbie Square, Indianapolis, Indiana
Moving on on our tour of Midwestern neighborhoods and their relation to downtowns, we next come to the Lockerbie community of Indianapolis, Indiana. First of all, I had never realized that Indianapolis had a planned street grid, with radiating arteries coming out from a central roundabout (we’ll look at that sometime in the future). Lockerbie…
Streets of St. Charles
I was out visiting a friend two Saturdays ago, and I was intrigued by the “new urbanism” development of the Streets of St. Charles. It’s becoming increasingly common for wealthier suburbs of major cities to build these mixed-use developments, where there are ground floor restaurants and stores below apartments or condos. There’s usually a hotel…
TopGolf and the District, Chesterfield
In case readers living outside of a metropolitan region where there is currently no TopGolf, I thought I would take a couple of photos to show what such facilities look like. This is the one out in Chesterfield. Perhaps the most prominent feature is the giant net which wraps around the field where players seek…
Massive Redevelopment, The Grove
Ah yeah, so Vista Avenue has changed a bit since I first looked at it back in August of 2014 when the Grove was still at the cusp of a major redevelopment explosion. The affordable housing above was just about complete in June of 2018, but things sure have changed. Basically all of the old…