Clik here to view.
Checking in on Midtown
I love finding these old houses in Midtown built right after the Civil War, such as the one above, right in the Gothic Revival shadow of St. Alphonsus Ligori, still an active parish church. It also...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Eliot Chapel, Kirkwood
Formerly Grace Episcopal Church, Eliot Unitarian Chapel took over this beautiful Gothic Revival church just east of downtown Kirkwood in 1961. The Eliot comes from the same man who helped found...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Old St. Mark’s, Despoiled
So they’ve stolen just about all of the copper off of the old parish church of St. Mark’s on Page Boulevard (I could have sworn I’ve posted pictures of the church in the past). All of the roof of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
West Presbyterian Church
The amazing West Presbyterian Church reminds me of a church I might see in Oak Park, outside of Chicago, but also fits in with the general trend of St. Louis architects moving away from the German or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Old Brank Memorial Presbyterian Church
The small church building above appears in Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps in 1909, with a vacant lot to the south at the corner of Academy and Vernon Avenues. Obviously, the congregation of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holy Cross Lutheran, Revisited Again
For some reason, I am drawn back to this simple but elegant church in the “Lutheran Civic Center” near the old Concordia Seminary, old Lutheran Hospital and still operating Concordia Publishing House....
View ArticleClik here to view.
St. Augustine’s, Fading Light, Late July 2018
I’m starting to notice some major structural problems at St. Augustine’s; I worry about its future. No one is coming to its rescue.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Walnut Park Revisited
Walnut Park is one of those neighborhoods of the city where I am hesitant to post pictures where there is the chance of giving the wrong impression. The area struggles with crime, and has a tragically...
View ArticleClik here to view.
St. Liborius, September 2018
I know many of my readers are not thrilled with the current owners of St. Liborius, but I do want everyone to consider what happens to buildings with huge maintenance expenses that are abandoned....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grace Lutheran, Attacked
This first photo shows the old Grace Lutheran Church in happier times, back in December of 2013. That was back before kids starting breaking in and vandalizing the church. Based off of arrests, it was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Riggs Monument, Bellefontaine Cemetery
The stone for Lot 79 is a little hard to read nowadays, but it was bought by a one Lawrason Riggs, a native of Georgetown, Washington, DC, way back when Bellefontaine Cemetery was just opening up....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Old Salem German Evangelisch Lutheran Church
I came back to see this church in the fall, after the snow had made photography difficult last winter. It is a beautiful church, and an example of the many German Lutheran churches that once existed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oelwein, Iowa
Oelwein still bustles because of a heavy railroad presence, and its location at the intersection of two highways. Its downtown is perhaps a bit smaller than others, as there are extensive...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fayette, Iowa
“But, but, we have to have a parking lot or people won’t come downtown!” I’m sure someone said that when it came time to do something with the vacant lot that was left on the west side of the main...
View ArticleClik here to view.
West Union, Iowa
West Union is the county seat of Fayette County, and thus has a larger amount of large houses that you would expect in such a town. Many are well-preserved or restored, including this rare...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clermont, Iowa
As I came over a high hill in the rugged northeastern corner of Iowa on U.S. Route 18, I looked down into the valley below and I could have sworn I was seeing a village in Vermont. As I entered the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From the Vault: Independence, Iowa
Continuing with my excursus of the fascinating and beautiful towns of northeastern Iowa, I dug deep into the St. Louis Patina vaults and found some photos I took of several other towns far from any...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From the Vault: Dyersville, Iowa
I found some more photos from the vault of my September 2011 trip to northeastern Iowa, and this time it was the town of Dyersville, with a well-preserved main street of Italianate storefronts, many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
JeffVanderLou, Mid November, 2018
I wanted to check up on JeffVanderLou, an area that straddles Grand Boulevard, and that is heavily affected by disinvestment, abandonment and demolition. There are still so many wonderful buildings...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Busch Mausoleum, Autumn 2018
I experimented around with different vantage points of the Busch Mausoleum, which was looking resplendent in the autumn light at Bellefontaine Cemetery.
View Article