Tan Brick Up North in the West End

I 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 logically with the shortest, "as the crow flies" route. And because of that, the streets and avenues of the north side often times provide you with fantastic views of downtown.

Likewise, out by Fountain Park, Lewis Place and the West End (not to be confused with the Central West End), the brick starts to change from that ubiquitous red to tan.

Obviously, tastes and styles change, but I almost wonder if brick manufacturers throughout St. Louis felt that need to compete and try to find the next trend in brick. Regardless, it's an interesting change of pace to see an area so full of non-red brick buildings.

Even the red brick has evolved on this magnificent former synagogue; the brick has a different, richer red surface coat compared to the classical red brick deeper in the city.