The Sun Sets on Crestwood Mall

I stopped by the Crestwood Sears last Thursday, looking for some good going-out-of-business-sale deals. I found the store just about completely stripped of all of its merchandise. I spent a lot of time at Crestwood Mall in the early 1990's, and it honestly pains me to see it close for good. Examining the Sears merchandise, I saw no problems in quality, nor in price. It just seems like shopping habits of St. Louis had passed Crestwood Mall by. I found myself coming to the Sears closing sale several times over the last two months; while I never shopped at the store when I had hung out at the mall, I felt a sense of sad duty to come and visit my old friend on its deathbed. I knew I could do nothing to save it, but I felt like I had to come by to say goodbye. The most depressing aspect was watching the employees drag themselves through their shifts, knowing that they would soon be out of a job, and perhaps for a long time. It's just sad to see this.

Lemay Houses

All the way out in Lemay one hundred years ago, they were building houses that looked just like their counterparts in the city. I love the optimism of their belief that the city would soon be out that far.

St. Martin of Tours, Lemay

Dominating the intersection of Ripa Avenue and Telegraph Road, St. Martin of Tours represents a moment in St. Louis architecture where tradition was beginning to evolve into innovation.

While the church's massing and design is certainly modernist, the stonework almost seems to be harkening back to an earlier age.

The bell tower is perhaps the most striking feature of the church, and can be seen from far up and down Telegraph Road.

Back in the 1950's no element of design was forgotten, as the matching bus shelter attests.

It almost seems like the church was introducing the public to more radical modernist designs, but did so slowly and over the construction of several churches, slowly acclimating the people to the new style of modernism becoming popular around the world.

The stonework around the round windows are of particular interest to me; the stone laying is very old fashioned, even though this is a modernist church.

Hancock Middle School Gymnasium, Revisited

I was out near Hancock Middle School, so I took some more pictures of the place.

While the rest of the building seems to have been torn down and replaced by two new additions, the original, iconic domed gymnasium seems to have garnered enough pride that it was spared.

Something I did not realize last time was that it has a wooden understructure.

Likewise, this is one of the coolest smokestacks I've ever seen.

Here is the old high school, which was apparently on the grounds of the current school.

Alswel, Revisted Again

A reader was kind enough to submit a higher resolution image of Alswel from the Meramec floodplain. I can't get enough of this house, and its unique legacy and appearance.

Photos courtesy of Wes Bradley

Landmarks of South County?

The editor of B.E.L.T. and I were recently discussing our lack of knowledge of major architectural landmarks in South County. Specifically, any great churches, relatively intact main streets or other noteworthy houses or businesses? We'd like to hear from you. By the way, I was knocked out with the flu the last couple of days, but I'm back to normal now.

Crestwood Interior, Revisited

We proceeded inside of the mall, and were met with abject abandonment. One rumor says the stores were all forced to close on March 1st, but I don't know if that's true or not. Thinking back, I was afraid of photographing the interior of the mall out of fear of the Leprechauns, but you could probably scream at the top of your lungs nowadays and no one would care.

I always found the Dillard's wing to be the most interesting architecturally, in all of of its 1960's modernism, but I was sad to see that the old wing has really started to deteriorate. Pretty much every skylight showed evidence of water damage, and I've heard rumors that the whole parking substructure underneath this section is unstable.

Remember when there was just that skinny little bridge over to the old strip mall portion of the complex? Sometime in the early 2000's it was apparently widened, which seems silly considering it is now all abandoned.

The western end of the mall was never very interesting to me, and it was formless, uninviting and lacking in any real character.

And don't get me started on that pit of a food court; over the decades the names changed every five to seven years, until it died a peaceful death finally as "Food Terrace." Greasy Pit of Hell might have been more appropriate.

Crestwood Revisited, Exterior

I went back with my parents to Crestwood Mall to check out the going out of business sale at the last remaining anchor at the mall, Sears. Scroll down and read about the development of the mall here.

Originally part of the strip mall before it was expanded and enclosed in the 1980's, Sears still has its original escalators. It's still surprising that Crestwood Mall is just about empty, until one factors in the major improvements and renovations to other nearby, competitor malls such as West County and South County Malls.

It has been five years since the last time I photographed the mall, and little has changed, except there are more cracks in the parking lot pavement. One thing I noticed on this trip was the sheer massiveness of the Dillard's store, which closed several years ago. I could have sworn the front portico looked different in the past.

I assume it was originally built as a Stix, Baer and Fuller, and I also wonder if this was intended to be its suburban anchor. The white brick facade is truly amazing, and provides a real presence compared to the ugly and low slung Sears and Famous Barr/Macy's. It also had a small covered corridor that was attached to the renovated portion in the 1980's. It is interesting architecturally, with its outward facing stores and second floor.

The massive parking garage underneath seems to be largely blocked off now.

Alswel, Revisited

A reader snapped an up close picture of Alswel recently while visiting a friend in the neighborhood. It's looking good after all of these years.

Photo by Joanne Owens

Guest Post: Taverns in the Town

Mark, a reader of my website, sent me some photos of corner bars in South St. Louis and Lemay; long-time neighborhood institutions, these taverns are rapidly disappearing.

But luckily, many of them still carry on, beneficiaries of a loyal clientele and stable neighborhoods.

It seems like the southern end of our city and the near suburbs have a larger portion of these corner bars, where you could once get brain sandwiches or a bucket of beer delivered by your children to your house, so they say.

I want to thank Mark for taking the time to send me these images, and for reminding me how cool many of these bars are, and how they help anchor the neighborhoods they serve.

All photos by Mark Preston

Homage to Bad Mansard

This is my Sunset Hills homage to Bad Mansard.

Grant's Farm National Park?

The National Park Service has placed their feasibility study for Grant's Farm on-line. Read it here; it is a large file, so be patient.

Glennon Seminary, Affton

I had always seen this tower from Watson or Gravois, and last Sunday; I finally found my way there. Reminds me of the city hall of Los Angeles in some aspects.

Bauerhof, Grant's Farm

Glimpses of the Busch Mansion

It's next to impossible to catch a glimpse of the Busch Mansion in Grant's Farm; the best way is still by satellite.

Beautiful Downtown Affton

Oakland House, Affton

I ran across this great Italianate country home buried back on some side streets off of Heege Road in Affton. It's an interesting structure, as most Italianate houses I've seen have stucco walls on the exterior of these styles of houses. It's almost a little jarring for the smooth, elegant lines of the house to be interrupted by the large, boulder construction. Nevertheless, it's worth a drive-by.

Notre Dame High School

One time while visiting Jefferson Barracks, I headed north and discovered this wonderful convent(?) and its neighboring school. The site occupies a dramatic site above the Mississippi River, and dominates the small neighborhood around it.Notre Dame High School is absolutely gigantic, even before the 1950's wing was added. What is interesting is that the building faces the river, away from the nearby streets.Here is a little history of the high school, from the official website.
The high school can be seen here, from Live Search.



There is a modernist addition, which is for the most part the school portion of the complex, I think.It is an interesting structure that fits in well with its red brick neighbor to the south, complete with a bridge over the front drive.

This fascinating mosaic decorates the lintel of the school; I have no idea why the ancient Roman abbreviation SPQR is over the door.