Near North Riverfront Plumes

I wonder what's in that cloud of smoke belching from that smokestack?

Near North Riverfront Odds and Ends

Sligo Steel

Kat Klub

What I can't figure out about this sign for the old Kat Klub is that, after a fire that gutted the building, the sign is still illuminated. Who's paying the electric bill?

On the Feasiliblity of Adaptive Reuse

The McPheeters Warehouse on the Near North Riverfront was torn down recently, despite being in relatively stable condition. I can understand, I mean really, what possible use could there be in the year 2008 for an old 19th Century warehouse?


It turns out that there's all sorts of uses for 19th Century warehouses, even in the supposed "scary" and "dangerous" Near North Riverfront/Broadway corridor. I had the pleasure of joining my friend who trains at the North Broadway Gym in seeing various individuals fight out in the middle of North Broadway. Shady Jack's, a bar that reused an abandoned warehouse, cosponsored the event. A good time was had by all, and no one had to go to the hospital.

The owner of Shady Jack's renovated his building, even though (gasp) the building next door had been gutted by fire one time long ago.This beautiful row of buildings is only a five minute walk from Laclede's Landing.So abandoned warehouses aren't completely worthless after all.

Old Foundations

I love these old foundations with their massive stone arches laid bare, across from the Union Electric power plant on the north riverfront.

A Cool Bridge

North Riverfront Hole

I snapped this picture of a utilities excavation on Cass if I remember correctly. I was hoping that more of the strata of the city's past in one of the oldest parts of the city would be visible, but alas, there are only the remnants of bricks and debris mixed in with the soil.

Strange Industrial Building

What is this octagonal structure on top of this building? See it from the air here.

Left Behind

No, I'm not referring to the Evangelical Christian series, but rather the houses that were left behind when I-70 went crashing through North St. Louis, bizarrely and cruelly leaving large portions of old residential areas literally "on the wrong side of the interstate," sandwiched between a highway and the industrial North Riverfront. No wonder they're mostly abandoned. Take a look here from the air.

Anachronistic Sign

Golly Geez, Wally, a whole $10!?

A Unique Building Off North Broadway

North Riverfront Warehouses

United Bags Company

This great ensemble of buildings anchors North Broadway in front of the St. Louis Market--the real market in the city where produce is delivered and sold to grocery stores and the like.The current occupant of the three buildings is a bag company of some sort.The street wall is well preserved along this stretch, giving a sense, at least to the east, of a thriving city.While I don't necessarily approve of the red aluminum in the windows, I am glad to see that the buildings are occupied. The bronze cornice brackets are particularly wonderful features. These buildings may have originally been early refrigerated warehouses for the city.See an aerial view here.