A site dedicated to the historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri -- mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors.

December 3, 2007: Delve deep into inner Metro East on the expanded East St. Louis tour.

News Links
Recent links to other sites of interest.

April 25, 2008: It's been said that Mid-Century Modern is the next great preservation war. Here's the proof. The Central West End's former Deville Motor Hotel, later the San Luis Apartments, is threatened with demolition for a parking lot. Media and online coverage includes:
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
- The Vital Voice
- Statement from Landmarks Association
- Ecology of Absence

March 27, 2008: The Riverfront Times reports a slight bit of movement on the Blairmont front.

March 16, 2008:
Midtown's Wagner House is being destroyed by SLU. Story at Vanishing StL.

January 31, 2008:
There's a spate of actual and potential demolition going on around town:
- The Wellston Loop's old JC Penny building is endangered by aldermanic mania. Story at B.E.L.T.
- House demolitions on St. Louis Avenue, east of Grand Avenue. Story at St. Louis Patina and Vanishing STL.
- A commercial building faced with demolition at Page and Kingshighway. Story at Curious Feet StL.
- The William B. Ittner-designed Central Institute for the Deaf and Shriner's Hospital are marked for possible demolition. Story at Vanishing StL.

October 16, 2007:
Ecology of Absence reports that Blairmont kingpin Paul McKee will be making an appearance at an upcoming meting of Metropolitan Congregations United.

July 25, 2007:
- Another demolition: Livery stable, an article from SLU's University News lamenting the school's most recent architectural victim.

July 19, 2007: Fade to Black: a Riverfront Times story about how the Avalon Theater has fallen into disrepair because the owner is... to put it delicately... not in a good frame of mind for a building owner.

June 16, 2007: A Tax-Credit Bill For One Man? The Post-Dispatch reports on the Blairmont/McKee scheme.

April 7, 2007: The Post-Dispatch reports bad news for the storm-damaged Switzer Building, which now faces the likelihood of demolition down to the second floor.

January 11, 2007: The Riverfront Times brings the first mainstream media coverage to the Blairmont story: Phantom of the Hood. Kudos!

January 4, 2007: From the blog of Doug Duckworth, a very important letter to Mayor Slay, regarding the widespread and highly negligant property speculation by Blairmont LLC. The short version is, these guys are buying up old houses and other historic buildings left and right on the near North Side, and then letting them sit vacant and unmaintained, leaving them vunerable to vandalism, fires, and deterioration.

If you are a resident of the city -- heck, even if you're not -- I would urge you to follow up Doug's letter with one of your own, as the actions of Blairmont are holding back the rejuvenation of an entire segment of the city -- and endangering vast amounts of historic architecture and beautiful homes. The tragic losses of the last 40 years will continue if this speculation scheme is not altered or halted.

You can drop Mayor Slay an email right here.

Much more information on Blairmont can be found at Ecology of Absence.

Previous news links

What's New
Updates at Built St. Louis

5/03/08: Updating daily in May, A Daily Dose of Blairmont shows the historic buildings held by Paul McKee's speculative holding companies in north St. Louis.

4/16/08: Reworked the What Should I See? section of the FAQ, making it a bit more cohesive, complete and diverse.

3/29/08: A small update on the Clemens mansion, which, hey, is yet another Blairmont property.

3/27/08: The march of technology has forced me to move the blog yet again. It's now at BuiltStLouis.blogspot.com and will remain there indefinately.
- I've found a few more Blairmont houses among my older photographs, buildings whose current disposition I don't yet know. They're shown here.

3/21/08: In conjunction with today's Daily Dose, an update on the Mullanphy Emmigrant Home.

3/19/08: On the down side of things, the Daily Dose of Blairmont rolls on, with no end in sight. On the lighter side, here's a look inside the Compton Hill standpipe tower, as well as views from the top.

3/17/08: From just north of downtown, an update on Neighborhood Gardens, and the demolition of the Cochran Gardens public housing complex.

3/16/08: An update on the fates of my thesis project houses in St. Louis Place. Click to see what brick rustlers have done to:
- 1937-39 Montgomery Avenue
- 1917-19 Montgomery Avenue
- 1915 Montgomery Avenue

3/10/08: I've been having some trouble with the blog, but I believe it's fixed now. Meanwhile, the Daily Dose of Blairmont rolls on, with daily photos and info on the historic north side houses owned by Blairmont Associates and its related shell companies.

3/04/08: New on the blog, A Daily Dose of Blairmont, chronicling the historic properties of this speculative holding company.

2/14/08: A large sampling of my exploits in St. Louis last weekend may be seen at Flickr.com.

2/02/08: The Switzer Building is long gone; its page has been updated to reflect its demolition.

1/29/08: Shots from the ornate interior of South Side National Bank, and a gallery of views from the roof!

1/09/08: Various updates from hither and yon include...
- Brick Rustling in St. Louis Place -- a Flickr photo set showing the latest outrages from the near North Side.
- Blog post: Heard you can't find Mill Creek Anywhere, reviewing the astonishing text Mill Creek Valley: A Soul of Saint Louis.
- Blog post: Making It Expensive in the 9th Ward, a look at Brad Pitt's Make It Right 9 initiative in New Orleans.
- Blog post: Washington Avenue Aglow
- New Orleans Mid-Century Modern, a Flickr photo set.

1/08/08: An update from the North Side, with an expanded look at the long-suffering inner ring suburb of Wellston, Missouri.

12/03/07
An enormous update and complete re-working of the East St. Louis tour, with hundreds of new photos and coverage expanded to include Brooklyn, Venice, Madison, Granite City, Washington Park, Fairmont City and Sauget.

12/02/07
I am still job hunting in Chicago! Know an architecture firm that's looking for help? Drop me a line! More details, including my resume, are here.

Previous site updates