I certainly am interested in the great monuments of St. Louis architecture, but there are certain houses that I’m drawn to for various reasons. One in particular always made me smile, every time I spotted it traveling up and down Interstate 55. Back when the Ozark Expressway was constructed, there were different standards as to how close houses were left to the right-of-way for the highways, and many houses are incredibly close to the fences that separate the two. This house was so close, there was basically no street left in front of it (there are two houses facing the on-ramp from Bates to northbound I-55, as well). So I was shocked to see my little house had been demolished a couple of weeks ago. Finally figuring out where it was–it’s 601 Fillmore Street–I went to photograph what was left. It turns out it was gutted by fire and was structurally condemned by the City, so there was a legitimate reason for its demolition, but a little bit of the quirkiness of St. Louis sadly has been lost to the flames.