Hey, office and flex space for lease! I revisited Crunden Martin to check up on the state of the buildings after the disastrous Black Friday fire. Yes, in case you were wondering, that sign is new. As I had appraised on Black Friday, the building that had already suffered a fire back in 2011 is…
Tag: Ruins
The Old Dairy
I stumbled across some old photographs by William Swekosky of the noted ruined stone house on Missouri Avenue in Lafayette Square, which I have looked at extensively over the years, particularly in July of 2018, but I briefly glanced at it back in May of 2022 when I was examining some new in-fill. What is…
Crunden-Martin, Destroyed
“It’s Thanksgiving, so the fires will be starting now,” someone remarked on social media–I recall reading somewhere. What a far too accurate portent. I woke up on Black Friday, and sadly, they were right. Crunden Martin, that stunning abandoned warehouse/factory complex I’ve looked at around a half dozen times over the years, was being consumed…
Pinkie Tony House, Destroyed by Fire
The house I first documented back in September 2014 was sadly destroyed by fire on October 22. Shockingly, when we went by to examine the ruins, there was nothing left but a pile of rubble. Investigations of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps revealed the house, which was extremely old, perhaps the 1860s but definitely at least…
Wells Avenue Between Academy Avenue and Union Boulevard
I’ll have to admit when I got home and actually looked at the photographs I had taken of this street, I was very disheartened. I have photographed the twin apartment buildings above twice, once back in May of 2012 (badly) and again in August of 2015. I also photographed these two just really beautiful twins…
Ruins in the Undergrowth
“Hey, I wonder how that one house is doing,” I thought to myself two Saturdays ago. I had checked in on a house I first found back in June of 2022 in April of 2024 and had discovered it had collapsed badly. At first, when I drove up the building, I thought it was completely…
Late Summer Odds and Ends
I had some leftover photos I didn’t have a use for, so as usual, I do an odds and ends post. The building above is on Sidney Street in Soulard just to the east of Interstate 55. By comparison, this corner storefront above on the Near North Riverfront is a real survivor, with most of…
After the Tornado: The Greater Ville, Revisited
The Greater Ville was hit hard, so badly, and much worse than I conveyed three weeks ago. The northern part of the neighborhood was largely intact, with a little bit of abandonment, and now almost every house has been damaged, and many completely destroyed. Below is Marcus Street, on the west side of Western Lutheran…
After the Tornado: The Ville, Revisited
I traveled around The Ville some more and it has been devastated. Yes, there was already a fair amount of abandonment and vacant lots, but what was intact and in good condition was damaged badly. Sumner High School suffered extensive loss of its roof, as well as some windows, from what I understand. It was…
After the Tornado: Fountain Park
Update: The ruins of the church were later demolished. Next we head into Fountain Park, where there has probably been the most media attention. I hesitated in photographing the Centennial Christian Church due to the tragic death of Patricia Penelton, one of five people who perished during the tornado. The church is planning on demolishing…