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.

Council Plaza and Grand Center Part 6: The Brick Mural

I watched in sadness as the giant abstract brick mural came down brick by brick over the last two months. Unique, and so 1960's in its composition, I saw it just about every day I passed through the intersection of Compton and Market.But there's good news; apparently it was only removed because it had no known method of adhesion to the wall behind it. It had already fell over the lower fifth of the wall, and the rest was doomed to fall off at some point as well. The underdrawing, which the masons used to make the mural, is now revealed for the first time since the 1960's.

Council Plaza and Grand Center Part 3: The Apartment Towers

Out in the middle of the open, right on Highway 40 but largely forgotten by just about everyone in town, I became fascinated with the two large apartment buildings of the Teamsters' Plaza development, designed by Schwarz and Van Hoefen. The shorter, Grand View Apartments, facing north-south, and the taller Council Tower, which faces east-west. As can be seen in the historic photo above, shortly after their completion, they were two of the first developments built in the Mill Creek Valley, along withe accompanying Del Taco building and office and shopping center built at the base of the Grand View Apartments.What makes this complex more than just your normal apartment building complex is the funky art that adorns the buildings. Take the large, abstract medallion hanging on both ends of the Grand View Apartments.Or the stylized, abstract lines of the fountain out front; at first I thought it was damaged, and then I realized it was the artist's composition. I like it nonetheless, and the effort the builders took to enliven the complex.The glass enclosed lobby, separating the ground from the second floor, is a perfect example of Modernist architects using technology to show off. The walls become superfluous, and the steel piers hold up the building above.Council Tower, still one of the tallest residential structures in the whole metropolitan, also featured two large brick walls on its east and west sides. The brick murals, truly unique to St. Louis, are still vivid in my memory from being a child in the 1980's.The west brick mural is gone for good replaced by a surprisingly nice white wall, but the east side is slated for restoration, so I've heard. I will cover the slow dismantlement of that side later this week.The rest of the grounds around the towers are in rough shape, including this gazebo or pavilion-like structure, which is not original, apparently.The grounds between the towers were largely vacant the day I was there, no doubt because of the intense heat that had settled over the city. It is a pleasant spot, decorated with oddly incongruous classical revival cement sculptures.I know the complex is under renovation, but this has to be one of the ugliest parts of the whole development, where someone at sometime cinder-blocked up the entrance to the parking garage in as brutal a manner as possible.I actually covered the complex years ago on this site, and it's interesting to go back and read what I wrote back then. Read the historic nomination form here.

Council Plaza and Grand Center Part 1: Beginnings

There has been much talk recently about the fate of the former DelTaco building in Grand Center; the gas station turned taco stand was part of the Council Plaza development, which transformed the area in the 1950's and 60's as the nearby Mill Creek Valley was demolished to the east of Grand, creating what locals called Hiroshima Flats. But long before the rise of Grand Center as an entertainment district and St. Louis's second downtown, it was a fashionable residential neighborhood, due west of the original core of the city. Above is the intersection of Grand and WashingtonMere blocks from the declining private street of Vandeventer Place, in its time the most exclusive address in the city, people lived in squalor. Outside latrines besmirched the beautiful, but dilapidated Second Empire masterpieces that had long been cut up into rooming houses. Beyond a doubt, the living conditions of the streets west of Union Station and east of Grand were unacceptable, but the choice for wholesale clearance is debatable. Lafayette Square has proven that even the most rundown neighborhoods can be returned to their former beauty.
To the south, the stately Grand Viaduct took traffic over the Mill Creek Valley, carefully assuring that the middle and upper classes of St. Louis could avoid the more unjust living conditions of the city. Tomorrow, we will look at how the Council Plaza development helped reshape the heart of Grand Center.

All photos from "This is Our St. Louis" by Harry M. Hagen.

A Bit of Northwest Dutchtown

I think Dutchtown, however you define its boundaries, is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city. Set amongst the rolling hills southwest of downtown, I often feel like I'm in Germany as I come down a hill and see a Gothic spire off in the distance.The architecture is varied as well, from solid brick houses with gingerbread accents to four family flats.And just when you think you've seen too much brick, the beautiful, Modernist Resuurection Church pops out at you on a quiet corner on Meramec Street.

Cool Apartment Building, Webster Groves

This post-modern looking apartment building is right on Lockwood, in the heart of Webster Groves, but I think it fits in well with the street wall, relatively.I was expecting a pool in the courtyard, but unfortunately there's just a parking lot. I love the repeating concrete blocks.

Chase Park Plaza

Benton Park West, Residential Streets

The housing stock surrounding Cherokee Street is amazing, a symphony in brick. Will the redevelopment of the commercial strip spread to the side streets eventually?

Alverne Post Fire

Kennedy-Warren Apartments, Woodley Park, Washington, DC

The Kennedy-Warren is a fascinating work of Art-Deco architecture, built in two phases, one in the 1920's and the second one only five years ago. Plans had existed for the building to have its second wing completed one day, and the new addition seamlessly blends with the old building.Can you tell where the new building begins and the old one ends?

Cool Stained Glass, Laclede Avenue, Central West End

San Luis Demolition Nearing Completion