Built St. Louis: Crumbling Landmarks

St. Louis City Hospital: Building E
Behind the Health and Hospitals building was this somewhat buried structure, known simply as Building E. It was fronted by an arched arcade, a two-story structure separate from the building itself. Surrounded by five other buildings, it gives the impression of having been built on top of them (as seen in this image.) Originally the kitchen building, it was the oldest building on the site and the last survivor from the original complex built after the tornado of 1896 destroyed the hospital's previous quarters.

Building E was demolished in October 2002. Engineers on the renovation project reported that structural steel and concrete in the building had deteriorated from water exposure over 15 years of abandonment (more so than the other buildings in the complex); the concrete "crumbled like toast under the slightest pressure" and there simply wasn't enough left to reinforce. It is an unfortunate loss -- with Building E, the complex has lost a significant part of its characteristic density.