I love Paper

I collect old notebooks with a stitched binding: those days are gone.
I love paper.

Our last Conversation. Two paintings.

Kevin Shea. You were heard.
Rest in power.

Gone

THE BAD GIRLS' HOME

A neighborhood landmark since 1895, the House of Good Shepherd was razed in 1969 to make way for the Zayre Plaza shopping center. The design of the Zayre Plaza formed a T with Zayre at the top of the T and other stores on all other sides.

During my college years, I worked at the So-Fro fabric store in the plaza. During the early to mid 70's, the plaza was still relatively safe but rapidly descended into a crime ridden area due to being mostly enclosed from view. So-Fro (bought out in the late 70s by Joanne's) moved along with the Kroger anchor store (at the bottom of the T.)

Prior to being razed it was a a vast red brick structure called the House of the Good Shepherd. Its eleven acre site was donated by Adolphus Busch together with a $75,000 legacy from Mrs. Winifred Patterson enabled the construction of the massive building on Gravois. It was operated as a home and school for penitent females by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. My sisters and I were often threatened with exile to this compound if we didn't 'behave.' It was an effective threat.

Never knowing its official name as children we referred to it as The Bad Girls' Home. This is a poor resolution photo of the original building, long before the surrounding neighborhood of TGS was built. And long before the massive 12 foot high chain link fence went up aroubnd the building.

Still Gone

Gone: Church of the Magdalen Teen Town

Church of the Magdalen CYC building which hosted Teen Town in the 60s.
I took this photo shortly before the building was razed.
Google street view shows it standing and then an emptry lot. See it before the images are updated on google by landing on Sutherland and KHW then navigate east.

Almost gone

An landmark from our childhood trips on Route 66 to our Meramec river clubhouse.

Gone, baby

Under the KHW viaduct

Limestone Pavers - Going, going, gone

This is how the roads in TG Park looked before asphalt. They were made of limestone pavers.
I like to imagine how horse hooves sounded clopping over the stone.
Some gutters remain but most of them were covered.

Vitrolite A Go Go

Tim, The Vitrolite Man, was hired to remove the burgundy vitrolite from the former Hesselberg Pharmacy on Hartford and S Grand.

It's a sad day.

Triple Arches - Mediterranean Revival

Going, going...
38 Olive

Any chance of what the city makes off those parking meters covers the cost of mowing those Lots?





I used a flash trying to illuminate the interior white glazed bricks.

The white glazed brick looks like it was covered with moss but its the remnants of pulled ivy. On the right side there's a rough brick course where a building was demoed.
Read about it here: http://vanishingstl.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html.

The east wall is a solid brick:

Across the lot, back view of a carriage house:

Problems of St. Louis

Clicking on the subject line to read the book.
I've tried to capture some of the images but lack the skill.

The circus comes to town

I've had this photo in my file for so long I don't remember its source.
Baby elephants, Hydraulic brick pavers, a street car, and is that a Model T?

Where were the elephants headed? Sportsmen's Park?

That reminds me I have memories of The Highlands which was an amusement park where FPCC now stands. I refused to ride The Comet and was terrified by The Bob Sled. And I'll tell you this: The Famous Barr parking garage spiral exit ramp was a tame version of the Bob Sled.

Great. I'll have nightmares tonight.

Famous-Barr Store Label circa 1968

This label was in a vintage Brioni men's suit I sold on Ebay. Love that vintage Famous logo with the jumping letter and tilted a.

The logo font changed every few years but this one was The Best.

Grand and Arsenal circa late 70's

Tillman's Restaurant was torn down to create a parking lot in the 70's. Across the street was the Kingsway Grill.

In the late 70's a bookstore was on either side of the Kingsway. It had entrances on both Arsenal and Grand; an L shaped store that carried every new release from Grove Press.

There was a solid wall of storefronts to the first residence with no curb cuts.

I believe this photo is by Walter Gunn.

Don't you miss it?

Don't you miss it, don't you miss it?
Some of you people just about missed it!
Last time to make plans!

I was driving along Tower Grove just north of I40 and noticed this building, that used to house the Ibex studio, is gone.
Intricate terra cotta with the fleur-de-lis. I did these photos two years ago.

FAMOUS-BARR SOUTHTOWN (RIP)

What a building!

Streamlined, brushed steel, rounded front, three floors of retail and a cafeteria on the mezzanine.

Once located on Route 66 (Chippewa and Kingshighway) and was razed over a decade ago.

See that FB on the top? I once asked my Mom what the letters meant and she replied, Funny Bones. I was seven years old, suspected she was fibbing and displayed my first stink eye.

Thanks to Kevin for changing this into a JPEG for me.