St Paul UCC Church in TGS - Potomac & Gustine

I was driving along Potomac when I spotted Kevin on a walk. His father used to be the minister of this church and knows the current minister. Which means I have an in to do photos without having to attend mass.


Flemish bond.

Stellar limestone arches

Recently tuck pointed

This has to be some of the whitest mortar I've come across. I bet it went on like cake frosting.

Art Deco Four Family Redux

Click on the title above to see photos of my first sojourn to this building.

We had the good fortune to meet an exiting resident of this building today and he invited us in to view the interior.

Plaster walls gently curve to meet the ceiling.

Kitchen grotto: Probably designed as a resting spot for the phone which would have been Bakelite.


Deep mint green tile with a black border that resonates with the black vitrolite on the exterior of the building.

Matching bathtub.

The best: The brass peep hole on the back door of the apartment. There's a U track below the slates with a brass ball.

Slide the brass ball to either side and the slates open.

Twin Brick Columns

Located in TGH, stunning half round twin columns. Terra cotta egg and darts and a perfect arch.
I would love to come home to this porch.

Top Brick Picks of 2008

Last week I received two emails asking why I haven't been posting.
Winter is when I get my work on and 10 hours a day online is enough.

So here's my top picks of brick for the year and hey, I'll be back on the hunt in early January.

Best of show:



Multi color sand finish

Brain brick

Sand finish brick

Blistering brick with black mortar

Best palette

Wire cut brick in diaper bond

The elusive accordion brick

Honorable Mention for unique color and tidy mortar.

Wire cut brick in situ

Enright and Goodfellow 1944

My mother, grandmother and aunt in front of their apartment on Goodfellow and Enright.
The buildings in this photo were razed in the 70's.
Those old street lamps were removed in the mid 60's (but left in Tower Grove Park) and Deskey lamps installed.

Anatomy of a zipper - For Bruk

Psychedelic Dog Grooming in TGS

One day I was driving around not minding my business when I stopped by The Dog Next Door:

oh...baby.

Earth Tones

Dreamy mortar with flecks of quartz and white and cream feldspar.

Every single brick presents with an astonishing range of colors:

Mottled ruffled face bricks freckled with round black iron spots.
I want an interior wall of this brick.

An Art Deco Haven

Not a corner but a curve.



OK, the mail box is a keeper and the red tile is crazy cool but the awning over the door made me giggle.

Roman brick.

Holy Family

I attended Holy Family grade school (now Marian Middle School) in Tower Grove South. My favorite room was the third floor library which I had little access to, it was rarely open. I didn't know the room existed until I was in the sixth grade.


My infatuation with abstract expressionist painters Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt has roots here:





Rothko painting (he was a brick groupie too):