Built St. Louis: Crumbling Landmarks
St. Mary's Infirmary

I drove past this tall, thin, long building countless times without noticing it. It stands at 1536 Papin Street, in the ambiguous void between downtown and Soulard, a land filled mostly with light industry and rail yards.

The main building went up in 1889 with later additions east and west, and a separate building to the west in 1945. After a long history including use as a hospital, half-way house, detoxification center, quasi-legal nursing home, and rehab center, the building now is abandoned, boarded up, and suffering a partial wall collapse on the south side and a rotting roof. The city development web site lists it as having been purchased by a couple planning to renovate it into lofts.

Ecology of Absence has a vast amount of information on the old Infirmary.

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