The sun had risen up above the horizon, and the red brick so famous in St. Louis was glowing.
This old gas station seems to have been converted into a house; there are garages in the backs of these apartment buildings, and surely this station was busy.
The walls are collapsing on this apartment building, probably not from brick theft, but just neglect.
The garbage is piling up, oftentimes dumped by residents of St. Louis County, who come back to their parents’ and grandparents’ old neighborhoods since they’re familiar with the streets. The head of the police trash task force says the illegal dumpers often confess to this interesting detail.
I often ride my bike on a loop that takes me from the Riverfront Trail, down St. Louis Avenue, and then down Hamilton. That gas station is often a relatively lively spot with a bunch of what looks like old-timers hanging around a fire pit or a table playing games or something.
There is so much desolation up there, it is kind of overwhelming when you try to have hope for the place. Though that is an interesting note you have about people dumping who have come back to check on their family’s old house…