Washington, Illinois, Spring 2024

At the intersection of Holland and South Main streets is an ensemble of Victorian Period houses in Washington, Illinois that I have revisited over the years, the first time in 2009 and the second time at least in 2022. This first house is on the northwest corner of the intersection. On the southwest corner is…

Museum Hill, Part Two, St. Joseph

Not all of Museum Hill is so elaborate. This portion of the neighborhood is down near the Patee House, which we already looked at. There are many more duplexes in what was clearly a more working class part of town. Also, it was built very early. There is more abandonment. But then we ascend back…

Museum Hill, Part One, St. Joseph

East of the civic center of St. Joseph, the terrain rises quickly up to what is now called Museum Hill, which is a veritable treasure trove of late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century housing styles. There are also many churches near the bottom of the hill. Look at how much the houses to the east…

Around Hall Street, Cathedral Hill, St. Joseph

There’s more amazing architecture to the west on the slopes of Cathedral Hill, which we examined at different times of the day and dates. There has been some recent in-fill on what had been a recently cleared area of several blocks. There was an abandoned school, and I had to wonder if it was an…

St. Joseph Roman Catholic Cathedral

Sitting on a ridge that gives its name to Cathedral Hill, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph dominates the eastern end of the slope. Surrounded by intact urban fabric, the cathedral’s brick exterior blends in well with the neighborhood. The building below functions as the offices for the cathedral as well as a food…

The Other Gateway to the West: St. Joseph

I was giving a lecture in St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwestern corner of the state, and lo and behold, I found one of the most architecturally rich cities in the Midwest, if not in the whole United States. Powered by immense stockyards and industry that dwarfed Kansas City to the south for most of…

Shelbina, February 2024

It seems like I visit Shelbina every eight years. The first time, in 2008, I photographed a beautiful building that was sadly destroyed by fire. In 2016, I went deeper, seeing more of the gorgeous houses back on some of the side streets. Our first stop revealed the Vesper House was resplendent as ever; I…

Louisiana Avenue Between Walsh Street and Taft Avenue, Part Two

Heading north, the houses reach back to the first decade of the Twentieth Century. The brick gets redder, if that’s a word. The round windows of the Romanesque begin to appear. Those stately four-square houses, as we call them, also are there. More complicate hipped roofs with projecting gables and intricate porches are also present….

University Heights

Did you know the famous gates in University City are actually the doorway to a massive housing development? Or that originally the City Hall was the real estate office for it? It’s true, and it’s a fascinating story. While the University Heights story revolves around many different subdivisions on both the north and south of…