St. Louis Centre, Months Away from Its Destruction

Backyard Maple Before Trimming, Tower Grove East

Baden, North St. Louis

I'm intrigued by Baden, the furthest north neighborhood in St. Louis, north of the railroad tracks.Containing a myriad of different styles of architecture, the area could be seen as a microcosm for the entire city.The main commercial strip has some great buildings along Broadway, or Bellefontaine Road as it was originally called (and still is north of the city).This last tavern is unique as it is made completely of cement block. Has anyone ever actually been inside this place?

Rose Bush, Backyard, Tower Grove East

I featured my old wild rose in a post last year, and it has bloomed again beautifully.I didn't realize it, but it seems like it was larger last year. I remember one branch falling off, but not this much.I trimmed off lots of dead branches a couple of weeks ago, and I'm wondering if it's doing as well as it was before. It's hilarious to see the old white back of my house, which has now been painted to match the original brick color under the crumby white paint.

Tower Grove East Porches

I realized I have very little of my own neighborhood on this website, so I think I might try and change that.In particular, I've been interested in the porches that grace the front of many of my neighbors' houses.They all seem to capture a reserved, simplified Neo-Classicism in their form. with dentilated cornices and square Corinthian columns.I like the porches with the more exotic paint schemes.

Obligatory St. Louis Centre Skybridge Footage

Fuel Tanks, South Riverfront

Curtains Fixed, McKinley Heights

One of my favorite comments was one from a home owner whose house I had photographed. Far from being angry, they thanked me for alerting them to their mismatched curtains and screens. I think they were talking about the house on the right.

Skybridge Coming Down

They're tearing down the bridge over Washington Avenue, and as one poster on the Post-Dispatch comment section said (I know, an intelligent comment from that forum?), you could probably put the officials' remarks today next to the ones said 25 years ago, and they'd be nearly identical. BS like this will transform downtown, the best thing to happen to downtown in decades, blah, blah, blah. Of course it's a big deal, but it will not magically transform downtown like they're claiming it will. The buildings east of the skybridge will most certainly be more desirable, but of course we still will have the urban atrocity known as the elevated lanes of I-70.

For the record, I thought the interior of St. Louis Centre was stunning; it was beautiful, and still structurally stable. They're yet again tearing down functionally usable space in downtown. Coupled with a rebuilding of the exterior to include windows, the Centre would have made for a perfect office building, flooded with light to increase the morale of its workers. As is now proposed, it will be another sparsely filled parking garage.

Kinloch, Part 4

In an attempt to add population to the city of Kinloch, many apartment buildings were built in the 1960's and 70's.Most of these buildings now are unfortunately abandoned; some were snatched up by the airport, such as these burned out hulls in the center of town, while some seem to have been abandoned gradually.I like these apartments; something about their 1980's Post-Modern look reminds me of my childhood.Reutilization of these properties could be a key to improving Kinloch's future prospects.

Kinloch, Part 3

It's so important to stress how the aborted airport expansion wiped out a wide swath of Kinloch.Scattered through the trees, remnants of the earliest houses in Kinloch still stand in several places.Kinloch has a long and storied history, which I will talk about in future posts. Perhaps some of the key players in its history once lived in these houses.While some are beyond repair, a few are still in good enough condition that they could be restored.A first step would be for the airport to give the land back to the city of Kinloch. The whole noise abatement things seems ridiculous to me; nary a flight passed over Kinloch during my hour tour of the area. Would it really be that intolerable for people to live here again? I'm sure people would love the short 15 minute drive to downtown.

Kinloch, Part 2

Like some ancient necropolis, mounds of rubble pop out of the underbrush throughout the western part of Kinloch.Demolished for an airport expansion that never happened, each pile represents a house that once stood there.All this week I will revisit Kinloch, examine many fallacies surrounding the town, its fascinating past, and what the future may hold.Spurred by my first, inconclusive visit to Kinloch over a year ago, this time I was able to tour the town with Bryce Robinson, who works in the town, giving me a much better look at this historic community.

Come to the Soulard Stable Hootenanny, May 22

Anthropomorphic Face, Near North Riverfront

Three Year Anniversary of Saint Louis Patina: Happy Birthday

Three years ago today, I began celebrating of St. Louis architecture: the good, the bad and the ugly. Through countless tanks of gas, dozens of rearview mirrors and dirty windshields caught in my shot, and only a handful of rude people asking indignantly, "Excuse me sir, what are you doing?" I'm having more fun now than ever. Scanning Facebook, I think I've met at least 100 people directly and indirectly through my website.

Every time a person on the street turns their head to see what I'm photographing, I feel like I've won a small victory for the historic built environment in St. Louis.

Three Year Anniversary of Saint Louis Patina: The Future

All this week, Saint Louis Patina is looking back over the last three years, revisiting the highlights of dozens of expeditions and thousands of photographs.

In the near future, I hope to get a Flickr account up and running with a comprehensive listing of all of my photos. Also, I want to get my Google Map linked up to neighborhoods and posts, listed by tags. Hoepfully, one day I will get a real website going, but that will be a while from now.

Three Year Anniversary of Saint Louis Patina: Favorite Photos

All this week, Saint Louis Patina is looking back over the last three years, revisiting the highlights of dozens of expeditions and thousands of photographs.

1) Highway 40, Closed to Traffic


2) Abandoned Diner, Goodfield, Illinois


3) Doric Temple, Paestum, Italy


4) Lafayette Square Rowhouses


5) Armour Meatpacking Plant, National Stockyards, Illinois


6) Logan Circle, Washington, DC


7) St. Augustine, St. Louis Place


8) Warren Street Demolished Apartments, St. Louis Place


9) Storm Moving Out, Baltimore, Maryland


10) Ceiling Fresco by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Church of Il Gesu, Rome