Update: The new Mississippi River Bridge is complete, the Stockyards have been cleared for redevelopment that has still been slow to develop, and many of the houses shown below have been demolished.

I can’t fully express how dramatically the National Stockyards have changed since the first time I visited over four years ago.  Onramps sprout at the end of brick streets, while cranes tower over the area.

The towers of the new Mississippi River bridge are the explanation, of course.  This once abandoned piece of real estate is now considerably more valuable.

There’s still some houses left on the little bit of East St. Louis that remains north of the interstates heading to the Poplar Street Bridge.  They’re rapidly disappearing as well.

I’m surprised anyone lasted this long; perhaps they had ties to the area, or enjoyed the isolation.  The street names in this area are interesting: in addition to a normal street, each block also has a “rear” street as well. So there’s Winstanley Avenue, and Rear Winstanley Avenue.

I don’t know what happened to this building across Route 3; it looks like it burned out.  Last Christmas I saw prostitutes standing out in front of the building; one of them was wearing a Santa hat.