Afflicted with the Flue

Art Deco meets gingerbread in the Kingshighway Hills neighborhood.

I've been stalking this house for years!

Today as I was stalking it I noticed a car parked smack dab in front of it and concluded the owner was in.
I rang the bell, a woman appeared in the door and I suddenly realized I hadn't practiced my usual Hi, I'm not a Scientologist or a Mormon greeting.

She tolerated my overt enthusiasm as she opened the door and answered my questions.

I had imagined the tower was a fireplace and the small glass windows around it allowed for flickering light. No, it's the flue for the furnace in the basement.
Get this, she paid 130,000 for it 7 years ago.

Not the original storm door but check out that oak door.

Flashing (not original) was added to the stained glass windows perhaps to protect the wood frames. Bummer.

'Sponge' brick. Dreamy.

Photos from the TGS Architecture Walk

Oak Hill Presbyterian Church.



Ceiling inside the church.

Bricks with paw prints and leaves

These are new bricks and a close inspection reveals various leaves, ferns, and paw prints.

Postcards from North St. Louis

Click on the title and jettison.

I rarely have the time to look at other local blogs and/or photos but came across this one and it's primo.

Grand theft history

Click on the title to read the story and leave your comments there.

Maury - Brick porch columns

The block of Maury in Tower Grove South is all two and four units buildings. I cut through this block on my way to The Royal just to beyond these ornate brick columns.
Scroll down for the details.





Original black mortar:

Fleur-de-lis on cornice in Benton Park West

Original door:

Pods

Repurposed

This summer I was dead heading the clematis vines when two wrens decided to go Kill Bill on my ass. I have enough problems with batshit mockingbirds so I really wasn't in the mood to rumble. That's right, I backed off. Not that I turned my back, I just respectfully retreated.

A few days ago I found this empty nest in the vines.
The birds had lined their nest with plastic.

See how they run

A recent recon on the foundation of my building revealed small rodents have been borrowing into the mortar. This happens every fall and it's tedious. My back yard jungle provides plenty of romantic getaways for the mice to honeymoon with exceptional shaded suites under the leaves of the monster hostas.

Now I'm running herds of creatures who carry their own ecosystem.

This year I cheated by using 'mortar' in a tube. As if.
Dish soap for coating the fingers. Small rocks get pushed in along with the gunk.

Spooked by rain

Returning from IL, stopped in traffic.

MacArthur Bridge

Tower Grove South Walking Tour

Join us for the Architecture Walking Tour on Sunday, Oct. 12th at 2.

This is a fundraiser for the TGS Block Captains and is conducted by Bad Tim who is a Real Live Architect.
I'll be in attendance in collect your 5.00 donation which benefits the TGS Block Captain Fund.

We'll be meeting at the Car Wash on Morgan Ford at 2.
Tag along and hear Tim explain what it is, why it's there, what went wrong, etc.

We will be touring the interior of the Historic Oak Hill Presbyterian church compliments of Jan Stanford.

In the event of rain the tour will be postponed.

Fierce Glazed Architectural Terra Cotta

Black brick slays me
.

Good vibes

Working with Bruk last night we came to this jacket in the pile of vintage clothing.
OK, how would you describe this jacket? Positive affirmations?

From behind me I hear her mutter: The wall in the Womens bathroom.
I laughed so hard I hit the wall.

Likewise hilarious yesterday was my Doctor pulling the too tight stitches out of my hand. I was yelling, he was telling me to relax (as if) when I showed him my sweating hands. Look at this, I shouted, you're killing me!
He scoffed: That's just from me touching you.

Last week in the operating room I complained to him that I had to take off everything just to have surgery on my hand.
I had nothing to do with that, he tartly informed me before they knocked me out.

St. Louis Building Arts Foundation

One day last spring the gorgeous Lynn Josse allowed me to visit the St. Louis Building Arts Foundation library while it was housed in St. Louis.

It was overwhelming.
Wall-to-wall industrial shelving and hundreds of thousands of historic books. Antique bronze sculptures from an insurance company. Prints. Drawings. Photos. Magazines.


Fleeing a burning (brick) house.




The following is a series of photos from one of the many thousands of books in the library.