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…
Tag: Rehabilitation
Former Frisco Hospital
As we discussed yesterday, St. Louis as a railroad hub featured two railroad hospitals, which was fairly unheard of compared to other cities. The second one was operated by the Frisco Railroad, and was located on Laclede Avenue just east of Kingshighway. It is now a retirement home with a severely altered front door, which…
The Former Poor House Chronic Hospital
Color me shocked when I figured out that there are still buildings standing from the old County Poor House and Chronic Hospital just south of Arsenal and east of Hampton. The oldest building has its back to 59th Street, seen above. The building below looks to have originally faced Arsenal Street and attaches to the…
Former Lunatic Asylum, Revisited
Out west on Arsenal Street Road, even further west than Kingshighway, was a cluster of buildings that any county with a sizeable population would have possessed in the Nineteenth Century: a poor house and “lunatic asylum.” St. Louis also had a home for prostitutes which morphed into an institution where society interned “difficult women.” The…
Lemp Avenue Between Utah and Arsenal Streets
We’ve looked at Lemp Avenue between Cherokee and Utah streets before, so heading north, we pass by buildings that face the east-west streets. On the east side is Cherokee Park, formerly the location of Lemp Park. We cross over Withnell Avenue, which was the central street of John Withnell’s Addition, who bought, if I remember…
South Broadway from Schirmer to Loughborough Avenue
With the old South Public Market on our right, we turn left onto South Broadway from Schirmer Street. Before we get to Steins Street, there is this impressive row of commercial spaces. Many of them were probably built as Greek Revival houses that were then converted into stores with long cast iron beams holding up…
St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis Place, Winter 2024
Heading east on St. Louis Avenue into the St. Louis Place neighborhood, perhaps I was struck at how little had changed since the last time I had examined this beautiful stretch. The same houses sit abandoned among vacant lots. The same houses sit in weird purgatory, while others are still well-preserved and in great shape….
State Street and Environs, Alton
Working my way around on Mill Street over to Carroll, I saw some of the wide variety of houses on the steep slopes of the bluffs to the west of downtown Alton. Below is looking up William Street. Finally, I turned up State Street, which is the main artery up to the bluffs above the…
Alby Street, Alton
I made it back out by the Henry Watson House, this time with the sun out, but now with a pesky overhead wire in the way! I had photographed it way back in January of 2009 on a cloudy day. Apparently the house was damaged by fire. Watson owned two quarries; I wonder if one…
Downtown, Alton
We’re going to swing back through Alton for a few days. Like Hannibal, Quincy or even Cairo, and a bunch of other towns, I can’t help but imagine that except for a few twists of fate, Alton could have been the center of a metropolitan area of two million people, or at least maybe a…