Steel

There's not a lot to say about these pictures, other than how I was fascinated how the approaches to the MacArthur Bridge create hundreds of irregularly shaped picture frames, framing the city in hundreds of unique ways.

Crunden Martin Fire

Ironically, as I was photographing this building to document its post-fire condition, a new fire was already smoldering deep inside the old Crunden-Martin building. Reports that homeless people may have accidentally started the fire with wood provided by charities remain unsubstantiated, and certainly the fire would have destroyed evidence of their presence.

I have covered Chouteau's Landing frequently in the past, and in light of my look at the Cupples Warehouses last week, I see some similarities, with obvious differences in time. Chouteau's Landing actually still possessed many working factories at a time when Laclede's Landings was being redeveloped, and while the Cupples buildings were sitting empty and neglected. Fortunes have turned, and I hope this amazing area of the city can be saved before any more buildings are lost.

A few year's back, there was a beautiful proposal for redevelopment, but it appears to have gone nowhere.

I-55

I wish I could go back in time and tell the mayor of St. Louis that he was making the biggest mistake of his life by building the interstates through the heart of the city. Sixty years later, our nation is addicted to a product that can only be procured through great expense or from nations who use the revenue to oppress their own people, or even attack us. And more importantly, the interstates eviscerated the city, robbing it of cohesion, thousands of houses, and customers who would have added millions in tax dollars every year.

More Chouteau's Landing

I love Chouteau's Landing, largely because it is still so gritty and undisturbed by rehabilitation.Unlike Laclede's Landing, the area is largely not scarred by huge parking lots that make its northern neighbor largely gone.I can imagine this street lined with sidewalks cafes, or maybe just a shady place to walk in the evening during the summer.This long building seen below in the two pictures, would make a great supermarket; in Baltimore, I used to shop at a store built in an old textile mill.The ice was managing to hide among the tall buildings standing in this area.I have no idea what this large cement box is, but I assume windows could be cut in it, providing for more apartments or exhibition space.

MacArthur Bridge Approaches, Chouteau's Landing

I still can't believe the amazing, sublime structure the MacArthur Bridge. Just drive under it sometime and feel how it looms over you.

Powell Square

I'm sure there's a use for Powell Square.

Near South Side on Broadway

I have become fascinated with the view from the White Castle parking lot on Broadway just south of Downtown.The group of building on the east side of the street are great, and in good condition as I think they've been recently rehabbed or stabilized.I love how the buildings go right up to the MacArthur Bridge, which seems to post-date the building below its massive steel superstructure.If you look closely, it appears that the last bay of the building was truncated for the bridge. Nowadays the entire building would be demolished, but apparently one hundred years ago the building was such prime real estate that it stayed.

Chouteau's Landing

I plan on making many, many more trips to Chouteau's Landing, the warehouse district underneath the approaches to the MacArthur Bridge just south of the Arch.Though mostly abandoned nowadays, the narrow streets probably created quite the hustle and bustle back in the day.The second oldest church in St. Louis, St. Mary of the Victories, still resides in the area, though the population it serves no longer lives in the neighborhood.What is also amazing is how intact the area is; there are almost no vacant lots, but the oppressive shadow of I-55 hangs over the western edge, unfortunately.Stay tuned for more pictures in the coming months.