I've always been a little confused about Tower Grove East; it seems like it developed relatively late compared to other neighborhoods just across major avenues like Gravois.
But I love all the different textures and surfaces in this neighborhood, whether it's just different colored glazes or different shapes of red brick.
I suspect a lot of the customization was finalized a couple of days or even hours before the individual bricks were laid, probably the decision of the bricklayer himself sometimes.
It results in truly unique architecture, and no two buildings in the city are perfectly alike, if seemingly homogeneous at a quick glance.
I've always been a little confused about Tower Grove East; it seems like it developed relatively late compared to other neighborhoods just across major avenues like Gravois.
But I love all the different textures and surfaces in this neighborhood, whether it's just different colored glazes or different shapes of red brick.
I suspect a lot of the customization was finalized a couple of days or even hours before the individual bricks were laid, probably the decision of the bricklayer himself sometimes.
It results in truly unique architecture, and no two buildings in the city are perfectly alike, if seemingly homogeneous at a quick glance.
Are you familiar with the book "St. Louis: The Evolution of and American Urban Landscape"? http://books.google.com/books?id=KYPHx2kNxeYC&lr=
ReplyDeleteIt discusses some of the reasons TGE looks the way it does (speculative developers vs. the older owner-built homes to the east).