Steve Wilke-Sharipo Bon Voyage Soiree at The Royale

How depressing.

Steve Wilke-Sharipo (one of my neighborhood heroes) is leaving St. Louis so I organized a party at The Royale but it just wasn't fun. Sure, it's always great to see neighbors and friends but the event underscored another loss of dazzling brilliance.

As I was leaving, Royale owner (and the coolest Daddy-o I know) slipped me a 100.00 donation for Marti's Memorial garden.

LOVES me some Steve's!

TEA with CLAUDIA & RICH - UTAH - TGH

During the Tower Grove South Architecture Walk last spring, Rich invited us to tour the first floor of the house he shares with his wife, Claudia. It's an Arts and Crafts palace on Utah St.

At the time, I didn't take any photos being overwhelmed by its magnificence so I invited myself over for tea.

Rich and Claudia are the curators of this building in Tower Grove Heights, a house that owns them instead of the reverse. They were more interested in restoring the building as opposed to rehabbing. They told me tales of covered stained glass windows -- some had been covered with large mirrors or plaster and one was found in the basement.

Each room has a different theme to the windows: the living room is roses, the dining room peaches and grapes. An upstairs bedroom has two windows with iris and a bathroom has lily pads.






Living room: fireplace, colonnades and stained glass with roses.



Rookwood tiles










Iris





Dining room with peaches in the stained glass window.







Lily pads






This painted stain glass with Mermen window is on the landing to the second floor.

4000 BLOCK OF PARKER

This block is loaded with homes that look as if they've popped off the pages of a fairy tale book. Whimsical facades with some outrageous gothic arch doors.

Parker and Bent
Barrel tiles on the roof











Gothic arch
Triple bricks
I'm betting the original storm doors were wood. The replacement doors had to have been custom built.





White stones



Limestone lintel



Black grout (around the stones)

CAT PAW PRINT

Last week was harsh.
The heat (flaunting the ability to vault over 100 degrees), another brutal biopsy and Chris leaving for the north west.

Chris missed his departure deadline last Sunday, he'd fallen behind rebuilding the BMW. Time had compressed for him and my intended time with him was threatened. I drove over to the garage.

I caught him referring to the motorcycle manual and expressed surprise: I thought you had been born with the blue prints to everything in your head!




The garage was a blistering environment with a tin roof, filtered and hesitant light and a fan that rattled and coughed the heat of hell at us. The air took on weight. Taking it in was an effort, as though it was wrapped inside layers of wet wool. The heat was like standing inside of dense fact.



I hung around for two hours. 105 degrees. I edged towards the garage door desperate for a breeze, glanced down and saw a cat print in the cement.

Look Chris, I said, pointing the print and showing off that I could see through sweat.

We stood shoulder to shoulder for a few moments staring at the paw print.



Chris is the best human being I've ever known.

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.

ISLAND ON MGF & UTAH - FUTURE SITE OF MARTI FRUMHOFF GARDEN

This small 'island' on the corner of Morgan Ford Road and Utah in TGS is the future site of a memorial garden for Marti Frumhoff, friend and neighbor.

Marti was a FORCE in our city, a talented woman with an astonishing ability to ideate and implement her plans. You can read more about her at my personal online fundraiser:http://gems4agarden.blogspot.com/. I'm working on this project with Christopher Thiemet and Peggy Hoelting.

Shortly after Marti's death in May I realized that I just couldn't let her go without a physical space dedicated to her memory.

I still can't believe she's gone because her presence and actions were SO immense.

WITH YOUR HELP WE WILL BUILD IT!
http://www.martifrumhoffmemorial.org/

DUCK HEAD DRAIN 'PIPE'

I've only encountered two of these open mouth duck head copper spouts in TGS and one is on my block.

MAD FOR MORTAR?

Yikes! Presto, destructo.

When bad repointing ruins a historic home...what's next, stucco?

DREAMY GLAZED GREEN & BROWN BRICK

I like glazed brick.

This building is currently occupied by Stella Blues Bar and the bright blue awnings make those glazed green 'columns' POP.

Each brick has a tonic sheen watercolor landscape.

AMERICAN BOND - TGS

A classic example of American brick bond.