Ecology Of Absence found the above in August of 2004, and wrote that if anyone had any other info or photos, please contribute.
Eureka!
In September & October of 2003, I obsessed over these remains, trying to take THE perfect shot of it. The swoop and flow of that roof was so poetic. But be it black & white or color film, morning or afternoon light, I just couldn’t properly capture the sad, suspended drama of it.
I felt a slight sense of relief when the east half of the roof finally slumped to the ground. I could let go of the impossible shot.
P.S. to EOA: I also have a shot of the mural. I lived across the street from it (above what is now The Royale) for 4 years. It’s buried in a pile of photos from the mid ’90s. When I get the courage to do the time warp again, I’ll pass along the memory of the mural’s florid beauty.
To Wellston
Martin Luther King Dr. & North Kinshighway
St. Louis has racial divide in its DNA, and the history of St. Louis County is also the tale of White Flight. After WW2, the new world of tomorrow sprang up, and the architecture was as modern and adventurous as the future promised to be. On both sides of the city/county line, sleek samples of progress ushered folks into the suburban frontier, and all our inner-ring suburbs – especially on the north side – retain amazing examples of that promise because they were abandoned soon after they were built by Whites leapfrogging over Blacks on their way to deep county. Wellston is a perfect example of progress-to-stagnation Caucasian-Modern architecture.
Start with this excellent site, then motor west on Martin Luther King Dr. from downtown. In the mid-1950s, Sherman Park was given some future polish with googie pavillions for the sports field and the Wohl Community Center moved from across the street and into the park proper. The center still features an indoor pool wing, with sliding glass doors at ground level to let in fresh air, and massive expanses of glass block above that. In person, it’s an overwhelming sight.
Martin Luther King Dr. between Hamilton & Hodiamont
Right before the county line at Hodiamont is the remains of the JC Penney’s, which closed around 1975. My father was a glazier, and remembers installing mirrors in the building in 1950, and at that time it was still an old-fashioned department store. So, the “Le Corbu” facade was tacked on sometime in the mid-1950s, at the height of the Wellston Shopping District’s popularity.
This building is still space-age triumphant in its decay, and while photographing it in 2003, I talked with a man who claimed to own it. He said the building was still in good condition, with only minor water damage on the top floor, and he’d like to turn it into a black history museum.
Evergreen & Martin Luther King Dr.
Another case of an old building getting a post-war face lift, in this case a streamlined deco in the late 1940s. This was the first Central Hardware in the county, just a block and a half past the city line. Its last incarnation was as Aalco Plumbing Supply.
Kienlen & Martin Luther King
Right as Skinker becomes Kienlen and city becomes county, banking becomes dramatic.
The advertising tower was there when it was tiny, old-fashioned Sky Bank. In the early 1950s, a brown and black granite facade was added to the (then) Easton side and it became State Bank. Automobiles strangled the street cars, so the glorious turquoise tile drive-thru addition was added in the early 1960s.
I was so smitten with the car-culture aqua-ness of it all, that I didn’t notice the sophisticated geometry of the addition until I shot it in black & white. I adore this building, and it’s at the point where the security guards (it’s now a Regions Bank) ignore me as I document every fine detail of the defunct drive-thru aisles.
And I document this because I know it will all come down. New buildings have been slowly going up around the Wellston Hub, and there is a grand plan. Historic preservation being what it currently is, if any saving gets done, it will be only of buildings retaining any of their pre-WW1 architecture. But this entire district was all about progress and commerce, and the old buildings sporting their mid-century makeovers say more about our former aspirations and dreams than any old wives tales a This Old House rehab would spin. I think it’s important to tell all of the story, and Wellston is a particularly juicy chapter.
North County Modern
Beverly Hills, MO
Natural Bridge Rd. just east of Lucas-Hunt Rd.
It barely exists as a municipality, and the scene above promises to change. Remodeling has begun because the pharmacy (which shares space with the City Hall) needs to expand. With a population under 700, it’s heartening that something is expanding here…
Glasgow Village, MO
Just a scootch past the city/county line, in the bluffs above Riverview Blvd., behind Chain of Rocks Park, which actually mattered much when the amusement park was in play. The shopping center is now really nothing more than this liquor store.
(This piece was originally posted in June 2005. Since then, Glasgow Village Shopping Center is gone.)
Moline Acres, MO
Hwy 367 & Chambers Rd.
Top of the Tower Restaurant was a sophisticated destination in the late 1960/early 1970s, and to live in the apartments below was pretty hip. The movie theater on the lower level became many a defunct nightclub, but Stelmacki’s is still in place, and keeps the geometric marvel alive.
Spanish Lake, MO
Bellefontaine Rd. & Parker Rd.
My father’s wife ran a beauty shop in this plaza for almost 20 years. I’d seen it a thousand times over the years, but never noticed the subtle chevron theme until a couple of years ago. It was the city’s one and only attempt at jazzing up for the motor age, and they may have kept it subtle because it was just a few yards from the blacksmith’s shop.
Lowe’sville
Loughborough & Grand Ave @ Hwy 55
A city block directly across from Carondelet Park
Mid-April, it was a typical and eclectic South Side block within a typical and thriving South Side neighborhood. By Memorial Day weekend it was a creepy and tattered ghost town. The attractive gets ugly for the sake of progress.
The story is better told here.The visuals add a chilling effect, and its Insta-Blight reminds me of descriptions of Depression-era Hoovervilles. Those areas were created in response to a national financial tragedy, while Lowe’sville is purposely created for the financial gain of a select group.
Empty Nordyne: Awaiting the ball – engaging the ball
Blow St., back side of the block
While alive, these were the rattiest houses on the block, as they were stranded among parking lots for the Athletic Club, Schnuck’s and the Nordyne factory. On the day I photographed them, a dehydrated and derranged drunk stumbled out of the debris and slurred, “What you takin’ pictures of?”
“These houses,” I answered, holding my breath as he passed.
He rolled a few feet down Blow and yelled back, “Why? They’re dead!” The drunk eventually fell into Schnuck’s, who called an ambulance for him.
Mid-block, Grand Ave.
Right next to these houses is the lone holdout. It was disconcerting to see a single house, pristine and decorated for the holiday, pretending the block was not crumbling around it. It was also a capsule comment on how ideal the block was just several weeks previous.
Grand Ave. near Loughborough
The spelling’s off because they ran out of room, but still poignant.
Corner house at Grand & Loughborough
Even as the family held a weekend “Moving Sale” in the house, Tarlton was stripping their garage.
Loughborough, facing the park
Seems the portion of Carondelet Park that will be facing the new retail city will, essentially, be dead. The city’s Parks Commission disagrees.
From Hwy 55 overpass
Even in a decomposing state, it’s a more compelling personality than what will replace it. But who needs character when you have cash?
Burnt Factory
Brannon, between Arsenal & Flyler
South Side, St. Louis, MO
For anyone who’s ever marveled over the abandoned Stone Center (above), you were standing near Lecoutour Bros. Stair Mfg. At the beginning of May it burned bad, yet didn’t make the news – which loves a good fire – and the aftermath shows this was a raging fire.
Nick Findley had free access to the area a couple of weeks after the blaze, but my timing was off. I went a few days after the fire – the place was still steamin’ – to take pictures like this:
As I took my 3rd go-round of Stone Center photos in as many years, a thin angry voice yells, “What are you doin’?!”
Charging down the sidewalk from the burnt Lecoutour was an upset, wirey woman, heading straight for me. I stopped snapping and watched her come at me, much like a june bug caught in the praying mantis trap.
“You’re on private property,” she fumes, as she now stands 6 feet from me.
I look down, look up at her, and say, “I’m on a public sidewalk.”
She glares. “You weren’t a minute ago, back there,” thumbing at the charred building.
This broad was wound tighter than Joan River’s face. Plus, in all of my years of private property photography, this was the first time I’d ever encountered hostility. So, I avoided eye contact, and slowly – so as not to alarm her – walked to my car.
She continued to glare at me, arms crossed holding herself, pacing like a pissed lionness, because I wasn’t moving fast enough. “Stay out of here.”
As I’m opening my car door, I quietly say, “Man, relax a little or they’ll think it’s arson.”
“WHAT??!?!”
She was now spitting mad. I shouldn’t have poked at a sore spot. I shouldn’t have made her paranoid by standing on private property and taking pictures like these:
South Side Copies
NW Corner Chippewa & Brannon
South Side, St. Louis, MO
Elegant yet curious, a symphony of bricks explodes into deco. It’s often referred to as the Keller Building because of the Keller Apothecary still operating in the corner slot.
Closer inspection reveals the building’s actual name, but hey, most everyone has a nickname. The round corner marquee was a burgundy and neon advert for Keller until it mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. At least the replacement was mindful of its surroundings and circles quietly. There are photos of it floating around. Once located – or contributed (hint) – they will be posted.
Hampton & Neosho
Less than a mile away is a muted, junior copy of the Frank Hardt building. Clearly, the same people were responsible for this building, but with only half the brick budget.
Lustron Life
Ridge Ave., Webster Groves, MO
The neighborhood is lousy with ’em, and an architect pal discovered a couple of them were for sale. My friend Marla waved her magic wand and gave us an insiders tour.
While I’ve always admired (and stalked) the Lustron, I’d never been inside. Now that I have, I adore the Lustron.
Just a tad over 1000 s.f., the place feels expansive because there’s no wasted space. All is in logical order for efficient living. To the touch, all surfaces have a velvety lustre.
Cabinets are the primary kitchen concern. This Lustron has cabinet space to spare, a kitchen both traditional and ultra-modern in the same breath. Laundry and utilities are tucked so discreetly off to the side that you have to purposely search to find them.
The streamline economy of the public spaces is sweet, but the “master” bedroom is decadent luxury. Two built-in closests, a cornice of overhead cabinets and an 8-drawer vanity with picture-window mirror are molded into one piece that fills an entire wall. It’s sophisticated and functional!
I’ve spent the last few years trying to whittle down my possessions, working on achieving a minimalist life. With this bedroom, all I’d need is my bed and the nightstand. Everything else would tuck neatly into the wall!
I want this house real bad like. It fits my aesthetic, but not my pocketbook. When listed, it was a bit overpriced, and even if they were talked down to $110K, still can’t afford it. And now Lustron is the house that got away…
Cold-Hearted Orb
Ashby Road near Midland Ave, Overland, MO
It’s known by many names: The Giant Soccer Ball, The Big Golf Ball, The Orb, The Big Boo!
It belongs to the airport, helps planes land safely.
It scrambles radio reception as you drive by. Guess what it does to TV reception for the folks living up against it.
Imagine living up against it, constantly hovering over you, reflected in your morning cup of coffee or as a reflector for sunbathing on the back patio.
There is none more modern, more high tech or Big Brother, The Big Boo!
Inappropriate & Rotting
NE corner of Colorado & Iron
Neighborhood near Carondelet Park in South St. Louis
Someone made real on their desire for a steroidal suburban house in a thoroughly urban neighborhood. The money must have dried up, and here sits the shell, forlorn and overly-geometric, an abandoned hoosier castle atop a mud hill.
Neighborhood kids don’t even trespass the plastic orange fence for illicit play. That’s how freaky this thing is within context of the neighborhood.
My first thought upon discovering this misguided dream: reflief that they didn’t get to finish this inappropriate monster.
My lingering thoughts: how do we get rid of it? Does the Neighborhood Stabilization office handle complaints for enforced demolition?
