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St. Augustine’s Spire Still Standing, For Now
Contrary to the reports of one local news program, the final demolition of the spire of St. Augustine did not occur last week. I went by on Saturday, and as I had learned from a source already, it was...
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Minnesota Avenue Between Schirmer and Primm Streets
I was checking out the new Sugarwitch ice cream sandwich store at the Ivory Triangle and then wandered over to Minnesota and headed south, checking out some of the cool buildings of Carondelet. We...
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Public Square and Thereabouts, Alton
I made it back up to Alton for a little bit and checked out Public Square first. Easton Street, named after the founder of the city, intersects the square, and I suspect that originally it was planned...
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Henry Street, Alton
Back to downtown, we see how Alton has beautiful Italianate houses of the merchants and other businessmen close to the river where riverboats and then the railroad flourished. Many are rehabbed and we...
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Washington Boulevard Between Garrison Avenue and Beaumont Street
Moving past this building above which has a bit of some panache, we reach the Grand Wig House, 2911, which is a bit of an institution in St. Louis. It was a cork insulation company at one point, as...
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Water Retention Basins, Baden
Let me tell you a story about a creek. It was called the Gingrass Creek, and some geniuses thought it would be a good idea to bury it under a large section of the Baden neighborhood. I looked at this...
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The Church on the Hill, Emmaus
For the end of our tour, Jessica took us up the hill to the chapel of the former seminary, which is where there had been the most dramatic change in the grounds by the Hoffman Companies. As I’ve...
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Farmington, Iowa
The last town heading downstream on the Des Moines River is Farmington, named after the one in Connecticut. Founded in 1839, around the same town as the other settlements in this area, there are some...
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Around Cote Brilliante Avenue, The Ville
I somehow ended up on Garfield Avenue east of North Newstead Avenue in the Ville due to Cote Brilliante Avenue being blocked off, so my journey on the latter street became a little obtuse. But the...
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Former St. Engelbert’s Campus
One of the more popular former Catholic parishes that I’ve posted about before is the former St. Engelbert’s on Shreve Avenue in the Penrose neighborhood. It might also win the informal award of...
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South Down North Grand Boulevard, Sunset
I was coming back from St. Charles and I needed to get to Grand Center, so Grand Boulevard was the logical route to take. I snapped some photos on the way down the grand thoroughfare. Above, the old...
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St. Paul’s Church and Cemetery, Oakville, and Environs
Let’s head south, deep into South St. Louis County and check out some very old historic sites. Our first stop is St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Oakville, which was probably originally a German...
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Bethesda Lutheran Church, Pine Lawn
I stumbled across this interesting church on my way somewhere else, and I stopped to take a closer look at it. Constructed in 1949 for Bethesda Lutheran Church, it has now become the home of Faith...
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Bellefontaine Cemetery in the Snow, January 2025
It’s always fun to go to Bellefontaine Cemetery after it’s snowed and I wasn’t disappointed this time, either. I’ve visited in the snow in January of 2013, in February of 2015, in March of 2021 and in...
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Former Friedens German Evangelical Church, In Ruins
Well, I guess there’s not much to say but St. Louis has lost another beautiful church to fire, most likely set by squatters trying to keep warm on one of the coldest nights of the winter so far. In...
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Pestalozzi Street Between Arkansas Avenue and South Grand Boulevard
As is often the case in Tower Grove East, even among large single family areas, we get thrown for a loop and come across a huge multi-family house, like the one we see here. But then we go back to the...
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Arsenal Street Between Arkansas and Louisiana Avenues
We cross over Arkansas Avenue in Tower Grove East where there are many corner storefronts such as the one you see above and below. There’s also Riley’s, famous for its pizza. Those front parapet walls...
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