McRee Town Doorway
Apr 21I never get tired of this perfectly painted corner doorway on Tower Grove East just south of Vandeventer. »
The latest about 21st Ward from Saint Louis Patina
New Mississippi River Bridge, Revisited
Mar 22I've begun to spot the towers of the new Mississippi Bridge all over town, whether at the corner of Washington and 14th, or in the photo above, as I was driving eastbound down Natural Bridge Avenue south of Fairgrounds Park.The two towers are proceedin... »
The Ville #2
Mar 09The Ville and Greater Ville, which I've compressed into just simply The Ville, was once the center of the African-American middle class in St. Louis.I went back to the area last weekend to look around and check up on things; mostly nothing was differen... »
Vandeventer Place, Revisited
Feb 17Four years after I first covered Vandeventer Place, there still is a paucity of information and photographs of what was once the grandest private street in St. Louis. I only could find a couple of grainy postcards that preserve the appearance of the on... »
The Near North Side West of Jefferson
Feb 13North of Delmar, but west of Jefferson is a very important part of St. Louis's architectural history.Why? Because it represents an era of St. Louis history that was almost entirely demolished in the first half of the Twentieth Century, first by the com... »
Washington Terrace Gate
Jan 24I recently had my picture taken in front of the gates of Washington Terrace. The houses are just as architecturally significant and beautiful as any mansion on the more famous Portland or Westmoreland Places. The color of the brick, combined with the r... »
Fountain Park and Lewis Place North of Page
Jan 22The area between Page Avenue and MLK Drive is a long suffering counterpoint to the better preserved areas to the south. This lone wood frame house is probably one of hte oldest houses on the block, built before the city came out this far.Here and there... »
The Patina on Just One House, Lewis Place Neighborhood
Jan 21This is just one humble house on just another street in St. Louis, but just looking at the outside raises numerous questions, and wonder at how many stories it could tell. When did the porch get put in? When did the fake stone go up? When were the door... »
The Neighborhoods Around Lewis Place
Jan 20North St. Louis is just one gigantic wasteland, right? Wrong, particularly just north of the Central West End, around the historic Lewis Place, the streets are lined with houses just as stately as those to the south of Delmar.In fact, the entire wester... »
Tan Brick Up North in the West End
Jan 19I live on the south side; its north and south streets make it hard to get a sense of place sometimes in relation to downtown, unless you're on Gravois. But up north, the street grid is actually aligned not with the cardinal directions, but rather logic... »
Roundhouse, Chouteau and Vandeventer
Jan 09All throughout St. Louis locomotives needed somewhere to park, and the roundhouse, a type of structure almost entirely vanished from the region (except in East St. Louis, which you can see here and here) provided the much-needed space to store multiple... »
Touring the Northside
Dec 29it's always interesting to take someone up to the North Side inside Grand for the first time; last week, I took my friend Jeff, in from China, up around some of my favorite neighborhoods. The desolation, and houses decimated by brick theft, were shocki... »
Near North Riverfront
Dec 19I love the area of the riverfront north of Laclede's Landing; anchored by the slender Cotton Belt Warehouse (see it here, here and here), the area yearns for reinvestment.Also, I realized I had photographed this warehouse in the past as well. It is a l... »
