I Would Have Lived There

This stately apartment building is in the process of legal demolition, along with its largely destroyed neighbor to its right. Originally built as apartments, in my opinion, the building still maintains a certain level of dignity.

The picture below shows the back of the apartments' neighbor, which seems to feature a loading dock, for some unknown reason.The light on Sunday was incredible, bathing the whole neighborhood dramatic shadows.We approached the building from the alley, ironically, and were intrigued by a long, low building that sat up against the alley behind the apartments.Upon closer examination, it looks like each apartment had its own coal shed out back, and the long low building was constructed to hold them. The steel doors are still attached to the chutes. In hindsight, I don't know why I didn't try opening one of them.The backyard is a stunning example of private, intimate space that was once common all over the city and now only exists in small pockets.Demolition has already begun, but you can still see the dramatic back porches and alleyways that allowed the residents to come and go through the back of the house.Here is a closeup shot up into the attic, where the rafters of the roof can be seen. The steps are still in good shape, but are now resigned to the scrap heap.The front of the house has been stripped of its ornamental cast iron balconies, which can be seen here at Built St. Louis. But clearly, this was one of the nicer dwellings in the area.Below is one of the false mouseholes that lead up to the second and third floors from the front of the house.