Old Kroger, Ohio Avenue Just South of Cherokee Street

This is the former home of Kroger's, robbed at gunpoint in 1959 by none other than James Earl Ray.

3719 Texas Flounder

Built in 1884, one year before its brick neighbor, this wood frame half flounder seems relegated to the scrap heap after tomorrow. It's a shame, because it could at the bare minimum provide a nice porch to its neighbor.

Fixture Storage, Lemp Brewery

The fixture storage building at the Lemp Brewery is functional, but sparse. I was particularly drawn to the massive steel columns which hold up the floors.

Lemp Brewery, Revisited

I never get tired of the Lemp Brewery, and every time I look at it, I see a new angle. These photos were mainly taken while walk south down DeMenil Place.

"Obsolete" and "Blighted" Neighborhoods

This was the plan that basically condemned a large portions of the buildings inside Grand as "obsolete." While it might be trivial, much of what was labeled thus was in fact torn down. "Blighted" areas are now some of the most prized, and in some cases, the most troubled areas of the city today. Thank God they didn't get their way completely.

What They Wanted to Do to Soulard

This was the plan to completely demolish Soulard and turn it into the suburbs.

Falstaff Brewery Plant Ten, Former Consumers/Griesedieck Brewery

Falstaff Brewery Plant Ten is a strange place, in that it has had numerous owners and brewers over the years. It's actually sort of hard to tell how many it's had. Also, I think many of the buildings around the brewhouse, once part of the brewery operation, are under different ownership than the main building.

A wonderful remnant of the plant's ownership by the Griesedieck Brewery is left on the wall of the side of the brewery building, though slightly faded.

Likewise, caves still exist under the building and Lemp Avenue, and if you put your hand over the grates, the cold air of the cave can be felt. It is definitely not a sewer; I tested it myself on a hot day and frigid air met my hand.

Across Lemp Avenue, there is an auxiliary group of buildings that looks like it was built in the 1950's or early 60's.

Please visit this great Falstaff Beer site, where I learned most of my information about the old brewing company. Also, I want to thank Andrew Weil, director of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, for additional information.

Falstaff Brewery Plant Two, Former Otto Stiefel/Union Brewery

There's not a whole lot left of Plant Two, other than a couple of periphery buildings. The central triangular block of brewery buildings were torn down decades ago for a parking lot, sadly typifying much of Gravois Avenue through the city.

There are a couple of reminders, however, such as the office entrance that still bears the name of the previous owner of the brewery, Otto Stiefel, who committed suicide in the wake of Prohibition.

This other building, facing Michigan, has the characteristics of the architecture of many other breweries in the city, so I suspect that it was also part of the brewery. The brewery is unique in that despite its age, it never possessed caves underneath, as most of the other breweries at the time did.

The Clowder House, a home for cats, was also a brewery building. I can only imagine the hustle and bustle that once filled these now empty streets as beer kegs and other supplies traveled back and forth between the brewery buildings.

Please visit this great Falstaff Beer site, where I learned most of my information about the old brewing company. Also, I want to thank Andrew Weil, director of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, for additional information.

Sloppy Repairs, Tower Grove East

Forced by the city, the owner of a historic storefront that has begun to collapse due to the owner's neglect, has begun repairs on the facade. He's doing such a great job, isn't he?

South Morganford

I normally don't get this far south in the city, but the broad avenues and neatly kept houses and apartments of the area always impress me when I do.

The buildings are a mixture of 1930's and 1940's architecture, and in particular, that mainstay of many St. Louis neighborhoods, the four family flat, comes to the height of its power of design in this area.

What's interesting is that most four families have pretty much the same floor plan, but with different fronts put on them, creating variety.

This gas station also shows that these businesses don't have to be ugly or generic, like so many are nowadays.

Vibrant Streetscapes at Grand and Gravois

The intersection of Grand and Gravois can be a bit intimidating, but looking closer, it's a teaming, vibrant mass of humanity of people from all over the world. What do the people from other countries, now making their home in the neighborhoods around South Grand, think of their built environment?

The Afghan market is a great example of an entrepreneur rebuilding after his other shop burned last year. He's back, and still in the neighborhood.

I love this terracotta element shop on Gravois; centuries after brick was first made in St. Louis, the red clay is still influencing the appearance of this city.

Benton Park

The setting of Benton Park is one of the most beautiful in the city, with intact streets surrounding it on all sides except for Jefferson on the west.

Set as a typical Victorian park, with long winding trails that snake around the park, it was designed for strolls, and not as a formal space.

Interestingly, I just learned the massive and well-preserved English Cave complex is still hidden deep under much of the park.

Preserved because the park never massive development, it was sealed in the Twentieth Century, but there may still be entrances in some of the houses in the area.

As can be seen from the high point in the park, which commands stunning views over the area, the nearby Lemp Brewery took advantage of its own branch of caves under South City.

Oh, and there's this obelisk, dedicated to some German guy. It sits resplendently alone, on top of the ridge of a hill on the south side of the park.

Incline Bricks, Clifton Heights

I saw these bricks on a steeply inclined street in Clifton Heights, and I realized they have little treads in them, no doubt to give traction for vehicles. Very unique, and I have never seen them before.