Update: The building above was demolished, and then the Preservation Review Board, at the behest of the citizens, forced the owners to rebuild it. If there’s any neighborhood that’s changed the most dramatically as far as the built environment goes in the last decade, it has to be the Grove. Sure, there has been more…
Tag: The Grove
Under the Viaducts in the Mill Creek Valley, Part 2
I looked at some of the industrial areas under the bridges and viaducts that cross over the Mill Creek Valley and its extensions west previously. Now we will look at some redevelopment around Grand Boulevard. Some of the buildings that have been sitting abandoned for decades, or just a few years, around Highway 40’s western…
The Romanesque Revival Church, The Grove
I could have sworn I photographed this church back in the summer of 2014, when I passed by on Taylor Avenue. Apparently I did not, but I was impressed with the giant arches of this Romanesque Revival edifice at the corner of Gibson. The Romanesque style features rounded arches with heavy walls and simple decoration…
The 4400 Block of Gibson Avenue
I discovered that photographer Joel Sternfeld had created a series of photographs where various tragedies had occurred. He also photographed 4421 Gibson Avenue, in the Grove, where Christopher Harris was shot to death when he was used as a human shield by a drug dealer exchanging fire with another man. The photograph above is my…
The Southern Grove, In Transition
The south side of the Grove, or Forest Park Southeast, or whatever you want to call it, is one of those areas that has been isolated for a very long time. It was a small settlement, out the railroad tracks and the Market Street Road, or Manchester Road as we call it nowadays, and even…
Sad Loss on Vandeventer Avenue
Update: While the front façade was stabilized for around five years, the remains of the building were finally demolished in early July of 2023. Sadly, the Liberty Bell Oil Company building was gutted by fire in early June. While it looks like it might be a complete loss, I don’t necessarily believe it should be…
The Southern Half of the Grove
Update: See what it looked like in the middle of redevelopment in June of 2018. The development in the Grove north of Manchester Avenue is coming to the south side now. Will redevelopment come at the cost of losing long term residents? I hope not. There are some very old houses in this area, as…
The Southside of the Grove
Update: See what it looked like in the middle of redevelopment in June of 2018. South of Manchester, the tenor of the Grove completely changes. As the Compton and Dry View shows, when the northern Grove, the Gibson Heights Addition, was vacant land, houses were already sprouting up along the railroad tracks. The house below…
Arco Avenue, The Grove
I love the one story brick bungalows of St. Louis; they’re modest, but they have all the detailing that their two story brothers have. I like to think that each house was just as important as the next, and builders and masons never skimped on the craftsmanship and detail for even the smallest houses. Arco…
Gibson Avenue, The Grove
Update: I went back and revisited the 4400 block in November of 2018. Strolling down a sunny Gibson Street one Sunday, we discovered that there is substantial renovation occurring on the street. The houses are sort of a mix between Shaw and Benton Park West. It’s a nice mix.