Tuesday, August 9, 2011

South Side of Old North

The southern end of Old North St. Louis is shrouded in tall trees and dense underbrush, but there are still some houses left.At least some of the buildings seem to occupied, and it's interesting to see how people live right next door to more industrial and commercial buildings.Unfortunately, the whole area seems cut off and isolated. Honestly, I've rarely seen anybody in the area, and there doesn't even seem to be the element that seeks out dark streets and desolate blocks for criminal activity.The area is sure to change, as is demonstrated by the new route of Tucker Boulevard, which will connect to the new Mississippi River Bridge at Cass Avenue.

3 comments:

  1. The second to last photo looks like the building beside the trestle on Tyler. I've always thought it was very interesting (in addition to being in seemingly great shape). Any idea what it was built and used for?

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  2. Tom Maher - KirkwoodAugust 9, 2011 at 10:39 AM

    Here is a link to a photo sans foliage: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasa/4342344530/
    Also a 1979 proposal for a National Historic District, in which the building is described: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/82004740.pdf
    Scroll down about 1/5th of the way (page 3) and it is listed as "William Barker House and Office" and its subsequent use by the Tyler Metal Products Company, with a description. It was constructed in 1891.
    If you scroll further down, there are maps of the area - and - a BW photo of the building as it appeared in 1980!

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A Blog detailing the beauty of St. Louis architecture and the buildup of residue-or character-that accumulates over the course of time.