Some More Downtown East St. Louis

I'm always amazed by some of the beautiful storefronts on Collinsville Avenue, many featuring terracotta decorative elements that are still in good condition after decades of neglect.

Sadly, the back sides of many of the most elegant buildings in downtown are beginning to fail, and are slowing falling down into piles of concrete and rebar.

Grass lots are replacing what were once businesses, leaving the long sides of building exposed to view.

This house looks like it caught on fire at some point; despite the vinyl siding, I suspect this house is much older.

Also, I will be presenting about the exciting future of St. Louis Patina at 7:00 PM at the Contemporary Art Museum on July 12th, in conjunction with PechaKucha St. Louis. I hope to see you there.

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.

Warehouse District, Kansas City, Missouri

The area southeast of downtown Kansas City is filled with warehouses, junkyards and other scattered buildings; you might not notice if you're speeding by on one of the city's many parkways.

Every city seems like it has to have this functional part of town, the equivalent of east of Broadway in St. Louis.

The interesting building materials and signs, however, always make these parts of town interesting.

There always seems to be a couple of diners, a few bars and a scattered of other businesses that supply local workers with lunch and after work entertainment.

Seiden's Furs

What a cool sign for this now defunct furrier in downtown Kansas City. You can imagine someone like Liza Taylor walking out of this store in the 1950's.

McRee Town Doorway

I never get tired of this perfectly painted corner doorway on Tower Grove East just south of Vandeventer.

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?

Old North St. Louis, Late Afternoon

Yes, you can relax in North St. Louis without worrying about getting shot by drug dealers. I took these two photos while enjoying the waning hours of sunlight with some friends outside of the La Mancha Coffeehouse, which I encourage you to visit the next time you're in the Old North neighborhood.

Aisle 1 Gallery, Cherokee Street

Aisle 1 Gallery, named in reference to its storefront's former use as a corner store, is one of my favorite art galleries in the city.

Part of the burgeoning art scene on Cherokee Street, galleries like Aisle 1 are possible because the hard work of its owners, Bryan Walsh and Jenn Carter, who live and maintain studios in the back of the gallery.

Filling an empty space with life, they've also spread out onto nearby buildings, such as the recently painted mural by Chicagoan Ruben Aguirre (with permission from the building owner, of course).

Come down and check out their opening this Friday at 7:00 PM.

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

Historic, If Somewhat Damaged, Storefront Threatened on South Jefferson

A building that has long sat dormant after what appears to have been an abortive attempt at rehabilitation is now on the chopping block, according to Cherokee Street News.

Admittedly, the building looks a little rough around the edges when you look at the roof line, in what has rightly been termed a bad mansard.

But it's critical that the street wall of Jefferson Avenue, the heart of the city east of Grand, maintain its integrity, so it does not turn into Natural Bridge Avenue, a street now largely denuded of its storefronts and its character.

Supposedly it's going to be demolished for greenspace, despite the previously mentioned vacant lot across the street that could serve that purpose.

Jefferson Avenue, South St. Louis

One of these days I'm actually going to get out of my car and walk the full length of Jefferson from I-44 to Broadway, and document what a wonderful street it is architecturally.

One House, One Hundred Years

I noticed that this storefront on Chouteau is not what it seems at first glance. Surrounded by what are now abandoned industrial sites and fast food restaurants, the area was originally residential.Looking closer, one realizes that there is actually a house buried in the structure, which you can see free standing in the above Sanborn Fire Insurance map from 1909.One of my favorite details is the small slanted roof that leads from the ground floor of the storefront to the first floor of the old house; you can actually still see the brick arch of the door peaking out from above the roof.It was actually very common, as streets became more commercial and dense, that old houses would receive a new life as a store. I wonder if this was a small factory or laundry, as there is a large back building with ample windows. I'm afraid for the future of this building.

Cherokee Street Details

Every time I'm down on Cherokee Street, I notice something new, whether it's been there for one hundred years, or one month.

Smulekoffs Furniture, Downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa

I love this furniture store in downtown Cedar Rapids. Look at that sign stretching up the side of the building.It's been jazzed up in the 1950's by taking an older building and adding some Modernist touches.Such as removing the first floor walls and putting in large plate glass windows and streamlined aluminum detailing.Even the doors received a jazzing up in the renovation.

Salisbury Street: New Lease on Life

My favorite (and many others) commercial building in North St. Louis is being renovated by the city. I am very excited that the heart of Hyde Park will see new development that is conscious of the historic context of the neighborhood.Fresh plywood indicates which buildings will be renovated.I love the original late 19th Century cast iron pillars, which will be graced by fresh paint soon.I also get a kick out of the last renovation, which attempted to cloak historic building in fake colonial revival decoration.