New Mississippi Bridge, Towers Almost Topped Out

New Mississippi River Bridge, Revisited

I've begun to spot the towers of the new Mississippi Bridge all over town, whether at the corner of Washington and 14th, or in the photo above, as I was driving eastbound down Natural Bridge Avenue south of Fairgrounds Park.

The two towers are proceeding rapidly, and I imagine next year they'll start to lay the bridge deck. While I'm not claiming this is the second coming of the hugely important Eads Bridge, I think it is notable that this is the first bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis since the 1960's, when the Poplar Street Bridge was built.

All this means permanent change for the empty land on both sides of the river, particularly the vast open spaces of the old National Stockyards. Will Armour Meat Packing Plant soon face the fate of its two comrades?

Near North Riverfront

I love the area of the riverfront north of Laclede's Landing; anchored by the slender Cotton Belt Warehouse (see it here, here and here), the area yearns for reinvestment.

Also, I realized I had photographed this warehouse in the past as well. It is a legacy of the area's importance in the storage of produce and other foodstuffs.

This old power plant, shorn of its smokestack, is another interesting building sitting along the riverfront.

But the Ashley Street Power Plant never ceases to amaze me; it is an ornate building, built in the Beaux-Arts style, and is a temple to electricity, and now steam.

North Broadway, Revisited

As the new Mississippi River Bridge slowly rises north of downtown, it will be interesting to see what happens to the largely desolate stretch of North Broadway that now runs under the approaches to the bridge.Many of the old refrigerated warehouses are vast, allowing for relatively easy refurbishment for new uses.The American Bag Company is one business that has occupied several buildings in a row.I find the peaked roof of this building amusing, as there is no roof behind the triangular facade.

New Mississippi River Bridge Work Continues

Carr School Roof Further Collapse

I'm not sure, but the roof of the Carr School, just north of downtown, seems to have deteriorated even more severely since the last time I saw the building.

St. Louis: Playground to the Entire Region

Why does it seem like everyone who wants to engage in illegal activity feel the need to come down to the City of St. Louis to cause trouble? I've started to notice--and it's a trend that certainly has been going on for a long time--that many of the high profile crimes in the city recently have been committed by non-St. Louis City residents.

Take the drag race on the Near North Riverfront a few weeks ago where a teenage girl was hit by two other teenagers racing by her. Neither of the drivers, using open, public streets that any innocent person could have wandered into in the middle of their race, were from St. Louis City. One suspect was from Glen Carbon, the other from South St. Louis County. After scanning Google Maps, I located several places where these young ruffians could have engaged in their 'sport' without having to drive to the big, dark, scary city:

Bluff Road looks like the perfect place for young Trenton Pinckard to have raced his car without having to put the citizens of another municipality in danger.

Likewise, William Mack Sapp could have easily "kicked butt" in a drag race along arrow-straight Union Road; the curve over the I-55 interstate bridge could make racing there have a new twist.

As I arrived for work at the Art Museum, I stepped over beer bottles left by revelers on Art Hill who had come to sled on its famous slope. Since when did the City have to absorb all of the region's troublemakers? Couldn't they cause trouble in their own communities?

Near North Riverfront

I can't believe how much potential lives in the area just north of Laclede's Landing. Beautiful, relatively stable warehouses await adaptive reuse, but with the economy in the tank, I am afraid that this will take some time.I'm more worried about the casino wanting these buildings torn down so none of their faint-hearted patrons might have to endure the sight of an abandoned building, as has already doomed the cold storage warehouse torn down two years ago.With the departure of Sligo Steel, the area grows even more desolate.

Apparition, Gas Storage Tank

Far North Riverfront

While the Near North Riverfront gets more attention because it's easier to see from downtown, the Far North Riverfront holds some interesting surprises as well.Above, this very cool building anchors the Bissell Point Waterworks, or Waste Treatment Center, not sure which one. I like its curving lines.Unbeknownst to a lot of people, the City of St. Louis burns much of its trash in two incinerators, such as this one. Talk about a huge, hulking building.Finally, the massive approaches to the Merchants' Bridge rise north of the McKinley Bridge. Perhaps the most difficult bridge to photograph due to its isolation, the Merchants' looks very similar to the McKinley, its southern neighbor.

New Mississippi Bridge

I was surprised at the rate of construction on the western approaches to the new I-70 bridge north of downtown. you can actually see all the way to the other side, where other preparations are being made for the eastern half.They've already gotten a large number of the piers poured, and are starting on the deck of the bridge.This interesting Art-Deco warehouse will sit right in the shadow of the bridge, which will pass right by it.The bridge seems awfully low, considering that it is going over Broadway. It seems like it will be pretty dead underneath the overpass, but then again, the McKinley Bridge has crossed over Broadway for a hundred years, so I guess it will survive.

North Riverfront Winds

Wheels of Fire, North Riverfront

Wildflowers, in the City

In the front lot of the Cotton Belt Depot.

Warehouse, Near North Riverfront

I was shocked at the level of folial penetration that is inflicting this building.There's literally dozens of plants, and even a tree, growing out of the walls of this old warehouse.

Victory Column, Near North Riverfront

What is this? I know someone knows.

Cotton Belt Depot #3: Inside

The interior of the Cotton Belt is sparse, but not without its uses. The owner recently gave permission for an art happening to occur within its confines, to great success.

Cotton Belt Depot #2: Sunset

I realized when I came back later in the day and photographed the Cotton Belt at sunset, that what appears to be a very simple, unornamented building is actually a very complex, and richly decorated building, if you look in the right places.First of all, the gentle curve at the top of the parapet wall is clearly reminiscent of Egyptian architecture, as subtle as it is.The most exciting part, however, is the elaborate Beaux-Arts decoration around the office portion of the building.The terracotta sign, identifying the building, is a beautiful shade of green, only partially ruined by a graffitist.The door is a true gem, looking as splendid as the door to any bank built about the same time.Above the doorway is another shield, ornamented with the bounty brought into the depot.The small detail of the bay window, presumably for the foreman's office, is a nice touch, and one not immediately noticeable from up close.The bricks of the loading yards are still there, slowly being choked by weeds, some of which are actually quite beautiful. When I was there, wildflowers of all different colors had sprouted throughout the depot yards.Tomorrow, we will go inside the slender building and look at its interior.Here is the location from satellite images.