What a beautiful building, I thought. It needs some work, though. Then as I walked by, the sunlight came through the staircase, and as I rounded its side, I realized its porch had collapsed, and the back part of the building lay in ruins. What a sad loss, among tens of thousands. I looked for its owner in city records, and it is owned by a woman in O’Fallon, Missouri. Her “investment property” doesn’t seem to be paying many dividends. A cursory inspection reveals that many of the buildings on this sad, hidden block are owned by people in St. Charles County.