Built St. Louis - Web Log

The in-between zone

2011-08-07T22:51:00.002-05:00

Within the city limits of St. Louis, there are two skylines - the big one downtown, and a small one in Midtown. Between the two lies an area that tends to be overlooked. Thinned out by urban disinvestment, full of scattered vacant lots, it nevertheless retains a large number of important and interesting buildings.

I've arbitrarily split this zone into two areas, called one Downtown West and the other Midtown East, and documented almost everything of note within them. These twin tours have been in the making for a good six months or so; I started photographing almost two years ago. Hopefully the results are worth it.

Exploring these areas has been an exciting treasure hunt. I've visited a half dozen churches (and met several pastors and congregants), found several MidCentury gems, and finally taken a good look at iconic landmarks like the Butler Brothers Building and the General American Life Building.

Perhaps the greatest find was a building that has been altered beyond recognition today - the spectacular Century Electric Company building across from Union Station, a MidCentury building lost in the 1980s to a Post-Modern reskin. This was one of the earliest, largest and - in my opinon - most significant Modernist buildings in St. Louis; I remained surprised that it is not more widely known in preservation circles.

This area abounds in National Register of Historic Places properties, which means a vast amount of information is available for many of the buildings. I've included short histories of the buildings on each page, with links to the much more detailed nomination forms immediately after.

The new tours incorporate a number of existing pages and are tied in with various other existing tours - you can either plow straight through or take detours to your heart's content. Either way, I hope you'll enjoy them and that they will compel you to spend some time on these fascinating and often-overlooked streets.

Midwest MidCentury fights

2011-07-18T05:30:00.000-05:00

I'm duplicating this post across two blogs, because two parallel battles are being fought right now over MidCentury buildings in Chicago and St. Louis.

In Chicago, a well-publicized fight has been going on for many months over the fate of the Prentice Women's Hospital at Northwestern University Hospital's downtown campus. Prentice is a high-rise building by Bertram Goldberg, the same architect who developed the corn-cob Marina Towers on the Chicago river, and two other complexes in a similar idiom south of downtown. The building has been vacated by Northwestern Hospital, which originally expressed a desire to demolish it, though no plan for using the land has been developed.

In St. Louis, Midtown's "flying saucer" building - originally a gas station, now a Del Taco fast food outlet - has been the center of a much swifter controversy, as the owner announced plans to demolish it and build a new retail building in its place. The St. Louis community immediately rose up in righteous grassroots wrath. Driven by an unholy alliance between MidCentury architectural preservationists and fans of Del Taco chain (a mainstay of late night food, particularly for students at nearby Saint Louis University), the issue has flared across local news and been debated at the level of the city council.

Several interesting parallels stand between these buildings and their champions. Both are from the 1960s, built of concrete, and defined by dramatic cantilevers and round forms. And both lend themselves to diagramatic simplification in the form of the line drawings up above - a simple, clear expression of the buildings' big ideas, a clear illustration of the dramatic simplicity that defines them. Those two drawings summarize one of the big trends in Modernism - simple, bold design moves, with dramatic but carefully considered lines and proportions.

Such representations are eminently useful in getting people to see past the more transitory elements of the buildings. A number of St. Louis residents have commented about bad memories or experiences with Del Taco, and called for demolition - as if the building itself were responsible for the business within it. Likewise, Prentice has the maintenance issues one would expect of any building that's approaching 50 years old, with stained and spalling concrete in need of cleaning and repair.

Finally, both buildings are fine examples of the growing need for Midcentury awareness and preservation. Nobody is building these things anymore - once they're gone, they're gone forever.

Central High deterioration

2011-03-14T21:35:00.003-05:00

I had not been by the old Central High School for a while, but after photographing the northwest corner of the JeffVanderLou neighborhood - home to several lovely blocks lined with dozens of Craftsman style homes - I paid a visit to the old school. Last time I was by, back around 2002, the school was in fine shape. So I was shocked to see the condition it's in today.

The copper domes have been stolen for scrap metal, and most of the windows are missing. Some of the windows might be tornado damage from January, but most of it has to be deliberate work of vandals or thieves - tornadoes don't selectively remove the frames on one floor and just the glass on another floor.

Vandals have also done a number on the beautiful formal approach to the school, smashing the balustrade railings and even the limestone globes.

The School Board of St. Louis still owns the abandoned building, and has failed to board it up properly. Boarding up is an imperative first step to secure the building and protect this significant city landmark.

More info and photos on the Yeatman / Central High School page.

Industrial-strength updates

2011-01-15T22:41:00.002-06:00

As promised, I've been working like a madman on Built St. Louis.

I've added a ton of little updates all over the place - spinning major buildings off onto their own pages, combing through a two-year backlog of visits and adding newer photos, getting rid of those annoying thumbnail images so that you don't have to click a million times to see all the photos. There's way too many updates to list on the front page; you'll find them all over the place.

With the online world having converged to a blog-focused mindset, and a vast crop of bloggers having taken up the mantle of sharing current events from St. Louis, I've come to see Built St. Louis as less of a current news site and more of a book - a slow, long-term project, rather than a constantly-updating fountain of quickly-forgotten news. I try to write from a more long-term perspective now, so that if I don't get back to update a page for a couple of years, it won't sound ridiculously dated in the meantime.

Example: in updating the Eads Bridge page, I realized that some of the text about "current" conditions had not been changed in almost ten years! Equally startling was the realization that the time period of my own observations, from when I first encountered that structure up to the present, now encompassed a whole historical period of the bridge's life - its existence without an upper deck - that has long since passed. (Yes, I'm really obsessed with bridges right now. Can you tell?)

I also look over some of my earlier writings and conclude that, on occasion, I could stand to tone down some of my vehement enthusiasm. This site began as nothing more than my own observations - but time, technology, reading and experience have granted me access to plenty of information about the city's history, so there's relatively little excuse for writing everything in the first person. I'm trying put a clearer and more structured separation between facts, observations, and opinions. I still have strong opinions, and I still intend to use the site as a platform to voice them, but I want it to be useful as a reference source as well.

I'm slowly moving everything toward integrated navigation, where a tour of a geographic area will also scoop up buildings from other tours that are in that area. So when you tour, say, The Hill (not up yet, but like many others, it's coming) you'll also come across pages from the Historic Churches tour, and the Ittner/Milligan schools tour, etc. etc. etc. So far, you can best see this on The Eastern Edge tour, which combines the old "Forgotten Houses" tour with several of the Industrial City pages and a few new ones.

This creates some navigational chaos at times, but it avoids duplicate pages, it ties everything together nicely, and most importantly, it makes future updates a lot easier.

But you don't care about any of that, right? You care about pretty pictures of amazing buildings.

Well, I recently got an email from a site visitor who provides exactly that, in spades, on the SkyscraperPage.com forums. Go check 'em out and be reminded why St. Louis is so fantastic.

Part 1
Part 2

Still around

2010-12-07T23:15:00.004-06:00

No, St. Louis, I haven't forgotten about you.

I had a spectacular visit to the city over Thanksgiving weekend, my second trip into town this year. The sun shone for three solid, beautiful days, and I saw many spectacular sights, old and new.

I'm currently working on some revisions and fixes to the site's existing pages, unifying the formatting, fixing broken code, and setting up a standardized navigation scheme. It's a big job and won't be finished any time soon, but stay tuned. In the meantime, here's a bunch of random photos from two weekends ago.

Syndicate Trust Building, visited and re-visited

2010-05-05T22:40:00.002-05:00

I visited the model apartment at the Syndicate Trust recently. Like most of downtown's new lofts, it's a pretty slick, clean, modern space, well-lit and elegant.

It offers some pretty impressive views of downtown, too. Check out the views, the renovation, and a bevy of new and re-scanned photographs at Built St. Louis.

It's always interesting to rework a project page I haven't touched in a while. In this case, I'm reminded of how hopeless and frustrating the Syndicate's situation seemed in the late 1990s. The building repeatedly came within weeks of demolition, and while we lost the Century, the Syndicate survives. Today it's nearly everything that's right about downtown St. Louis - beautiful architecture, mixed use, a bright future.

They just need to fill up that ground-floor retail space, and we'll be all set.

I can hear the wild wind blowin'

2010-04-27T22:29:00.002-05:00

Myself and my two intrepid companions were inside the Calvary Cemetery mausoleum Saturday afternoon, when the eerie silence and occasional rumbles of thunder were broken by the creepy wail of the tornado sirens. The mausoleum was closing down for the day, so we had to leave. We got in the car, drove about 30 yards, and the heavens opened up. We stopped outside the cemetery gate and waited out one of the most intense storms I've ever seen.

90 minutes later, we were in Old North, enjoying some beautiful sunshine.

Both were startling contrasts with what was by and large a gray and dreary weekend.

Arch Grounds - Too much wasted space

2010-02-28T14:59:00.003-06:00

It's been a good long while since I got up on my soapbox, but talk about the Gateway Arch grounds always gets me good and riled up.

The Framing a Modern Masterpiece limited competition has selected 9 teams to redesign the surroundings of the Arch grounds and reconsider ways of "integrating open space into a city’s urban fabric".

Thing is, the problem is not just one of integration, but also of proportion. There's too much "open space" and not enough "urban fabric". This is the basic problem and if it is not directly and boldly addressed, nothing of substance will be accomplished.

Solving that problem requires doing something utterly blasphemous: getting rid of green space, and I mean lots of it. In the Arch's case, that means the gigantic swaths of unused land - including the reflecting ponds that sit to the north and south of the walkways approaching the Arch. These are utter dead zones - uncrossable, unused, unnoticed, and speaking for myself at least, unloved. They are photo opportunities, but not part of the city.

The reflecting pond shown here is ringed by distant walkways. I would be thrilled to see everything inside those walkways filled in, the street grid extended into them, and new buildings in the 2- to 6-story range constructed on them. A curving line of modern facades could front the walkways approaching the Arch, bringing the life of the city and the destination power of the Arch together, framing the Arch as part of the city rather than an abstract and distant sculpture. Hold the buildings back a few feet, enough to preserve the line of trees on the north and south walkways, include retail and restaurants and living space, and you've created a streetscape as lovely as any in the city, while answering the inevitable question of tourists walking out after visiting the top of the Arch: okay, what do we do now?

I would urge the competition teams not to get lost in grand visions of cutting-edge design philosophies, abstract notions, and isolated instances of avant guard design. St. Louis is a gridded 19th Century American city. This is a simple, basic concept that has worked for two hundred years, and it is what will work best here, too. The entire problem is that the grid was violated, desecrated, and ignored. This is not a new problem, requiring radical and untried visionary solutions; it has been confronted and solved many, many times in recent decades.

The mission is to bring the city and the Arch grounds together. This is not an abstract or philosophical mission. There is no reason not to be quite literal about it - in fact, anything else will result in failure. The Arch isn't going anywhere, so bring the city to the Arch.

The Arch grounds stole away forty square blocks of downtown St. Louis. It's time to give some of it back.

A different face of North Broadway

2010-02-25T07:34:00.002-06:00

Everyone knows the old tenement by I-70. Its wide facade, marked with fire escape balconies and a regular grid of windows, is one of the highway's most distinctive sights. Local graffiti artist Ed Boxx made it his canvas for a time. And every time I passed it, I thought to myself, I have got to photograph that place some time.

Image courtesy of Chris Naffziger

That thought eventually combined with an exploratory adventure in the summer of 2006, when I was first introduced to the idea that, among all the heavy and light industry east of the highway, there were actually houses. Whole or fragmentary neighborhoods once stood on this land. Michael Allen once observed that today's "Old North" neighborhood doesn't even include the original North St. Louis town boundaries to the east. Today, abandoned and recycled houses could be found left and right, in a long thin swath from Old North to Baden... but they were disappearing fast, like this batch from that 2006 trip.

This was a fascinating notion. Did people still live there? (Yes, but not many.) What kind of environment are they in? (Isolated.) What would happen to the surviving houses? (Abandonment, followed by demolition.) Here was a conundrum - not many people would be willing to move into such environments, totally surrounded by industrial uses, which means that as each current occupant gives up the ghost and moves on, the houses tend to fall into abandonment. And yet, people do still live in a few of these places. Others have been converted to businesses, or even assimilated by the industrial concerns that devoured their neighborhood.

I still have some areas left to document fully, but the Forgotten Houses of North Broadway shows the bulk of these isolated survivors, fragments of an earlier era for the St. Louis riverfront.

Dissecting Soulard

2009-12-07T20:38:00.002-06:00

Where ever I live, I pride myself on not being that guy who, when his friends come from out of town, is seeing the sights for the first time right along with them. Whatever the big attractions are, I become familiar with them in short order. By the time visitors arrive, I can tell them all about whatever they want to know.

Soulard is certainly one of St. Louis's top attractions, and my first photographs there are now over a decade old. I've visited it many times. So it was a surprise to find how little I've photographed there. However much you wander across a neighborhood, you don't find out what you have and haven't documented until you try to put it on a map.

On reflection, in my endless quest to find the city's more exotic, far flung, forgotten, neglected, and endangered corners, I have always regarded photo expeditions to Soulard as a guilty pleasure, an overdone cliche, something to be avoided in favor of seeking out places and buildings that might not be there tomorrow. In spite of its near-demise after World War II, Soulard today seems like a safe bet to stay put. So I've never put in the serious hours there needed to truly document it and capture its essence.

Nonetheless, I have gotten many of the highlights and landmarks, and present them on a humble tour of Soulard. This will be the first of many south St. Louis tours, and some day it will be more extensive. It doesn't fully capture the charm of this amazing neighborhood, but it's a start.

This and that

2009-08-24T09:21:00.002-05:00

Encountered this article while cleaning out email:

* "Saving a Sense of the City" - Michael Allen shows a sampling of endangered south side buildings

In other news, the San Luis is coming down. I was in town in July and wistfully snapped a few photos of it before the wreckers could get too far along.

The fight to assert preservationist rights in St. Louis, however, is still going on:
* "Why the Friends of the San Luis Continue"

Death of a lens

2009-06-04T12:52:00.003-05:00

My basic workhorse camera lens has reached the end of a long, painful death. It covered the medium-to-wide range (18-55mm), and it is damn difficult to photograph city buildings without it!

If anyone out there has a spare wide-angle lens for a Canon Digital Rebel they need to get rid of, or knows where I can pick up one on the cheap, drop me a line. This was the style of my old one, but anything that covers the 18mm zoom region would be swell.

Of overwhelming scale

2009-05-25T21:24:00.005-05:00

Michael Allen has posted photos of McEagle's May 21st presentation slides at Flickr. At last, the initial schemes are visible to the public.

In general, the slides are fairly unrevealing. Several show the near north side as it currently stands (minus the last year or so's worth of demolitions.) There are a few abstract diagrams showing things like the project area, proposed land uses and schematic building layouts.

Particularly frightening is an acquisitions map showing property that McKee has (or apparently thinks he can get via the city) in blue. It's an ocean of blue, dotted with some little white islands. What's it like to be living on one of those islands right now, watching the waters rise as they have for the last five years?

There's not a whole lot to react to in the plan; all that can be seen are vague generalities. There is one big question to be asked, though: Why does it need to be so big?

What about this plan requires such a vast acquisition? What kind of synergies are planned here that require this scale?

The question is very important, because this land is in the city - an urban environment with all the complexities that entails. Anybody who's studied their Jane Jacobs -- or taken a stroll down a functioning urban street like Delmar Avenue or Cherokee Street -- knows that the best city environments are highly complex and largely organic. They grow and thrive much like a living creature. Small cells appear -- businesses, houses, apartment buildings. They divide, they grow, they endure, and each adds its complexity to the whole, creating something greater than the mere sum of its parts. These small parts are crafted at the scale of human beings, and they create lovely, pleasant, desirable places to live. Just as a complex ecology resists being wiped out by a catastrophe, so too is a complex city resistant to the vagaries of economy, fashion, and time.

So why does this project need to be so huge? Why does it need to happen all at once? We need to ask such questions, because such a vast scale implies a monoculture, and it implies a broad brush, and it implies a non-human scale, and it implies sledgehammer solutions to problems that require a scalpel.

In fact, it sounds a lot like old-style mid-century urban renewal -- the kind that wiped out big swaths of Soulard, that nearly claimed Lafayette Square, that obliterated the Mill Creek Valley, that gave us phenomenal successes like Darst-Webbe and Pruitt-Igoe. The kind we're still cleaning up from over fifty years later.

To insist that redevelopment can only be done on a vast scale shows a profound lack of understanding of the nature of cities.

Here's my hypothetical suggestion instead: start with Old North St. Louis, a neighborhood that's long been pulling itself up by the bootstraps. Take the 30 or so Blairmont-owned buildings in the neighborhood, and rehab them all. Sell some, rent some, do a mix of market-rate and income-restricted, whatever -- just get them occupied and looking healthy again. Thirty properties, figure maybe $50,000 apiece on average to get them up to snuff -- $1.5 million in initial investment. If I'm way off on my estimate, maybe it's $3 million -- somewhere in that ballpark.

That's chump change to a fellow with McKee's pockets, but it would be a HUGE shot in the arm for a neighborhood the size of Old North. Thirty vacant properties, gone in a flash! If Paul McKee Jr. had done this three years ago, the locals would've carried him down the streets on their shoulders. And aside from the trust and good will that would've been built up, the neighborhood would be visibly stronger, that much more desirable, more attractive to other developers --

-- so much more, in fact, that you could then maybe start spreading the success across West Florissant, into St. Louis Place. Rehab another thirty houses between Florissant (a major barrier) and St. Louis Place Park (a desirable amenity lined with occupied houses). Suddenly eastern St. Louis Place is on its way to becoming as strongly entrenched as Old North.

Phase 3? Well, now that you've reinforced your assets, then you can start to think a little bigger. There's a lot of vacant land in Old North - how 'bout some infill? How 'bout pushing west of the park? A big project out on the 22nd Street prairie would get a lot of support by this point.

...and so on. If this type of plan had been started in 2003, we'd be through several grand ribbon cuttings by now.

This is how cities -- not suburbs, not strip malls, not shopping malls, not lifestyle centers, but cities -- have grown for hundreds of years, and it is a pattern and a truth that we ignore at our own peril. Attempts to inflict massive change inevitably result in massive trauma.

This doesn't take money ranging into the billions of dollars. This doesn't take five years of land acquisition. This doesn't take endlessly gargantuan juggling acts. This doesn't require monolithic land assets or totalitarian site control or eminent domain.

It does, however, require understanding that a true and proper city is vastly complex, finely grained and multifaceted. Furthermore, it takes patience and care. Paul McKee Jr. has demonstrated that he is endlessly patient. Whether he cares remains to be seen, but to date the track record does not look good.

At last, the first inklings of a plan

2009-05-13T10:11:00.004-05:00

At a community meeting this week, representatives of Paul McKee's McEagle development company met with residents of the north side neighborhoods targeted by Blairmont and its sister shell companies, and announced their grand vision for the area.

Because the meeting was targeted at local residents and not open to the press, full details are still forthcoming (specifically, at an upcoming May 21st meeting.) Attendees have reported a wide-ranging plan, encompassing "job centers", retail and residential. The details seem to be rather skimpy at this point, particularly in light of looming funding deadlines. Questions and comments from the area's residents are reported to have been fiery and uncompromising, befitting McEagle's years of abusive tactics in the neighborhood.

The Post-Dispatch recounts more of the details here and here.

I really haven't heard enough details to have a real reaction. There's been nothing to indicate if the plan involves clear-cutting existing houses, or if preservation will be a priority. Nothing about how urban or non-urban the new construction will be - will this be about rebuilding the city or reproducing the suburbs in its place? No visuals released to the public yet, and you can't really talk about buildings without visuals. I'm slightly heartened that McEagle is at last, finally, talking to residents, acknowledging a plan, getting information out there. But after all this time, it's only a minimal start.

Love-in for the San Luis!

2009-02-13T14:41:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow, on Valentine's Day, Saturday, February 15th at 12:00pm noon, urbanists, architecture buffs, and plain common-sense folks will come together at Lindell & Taylor to celebrate St. Louis's MidCentury heritage by showing the love for the former DeVille Motor Hotel.

The St. Louis archdiocese plans to demolish the building and replace it with a surface parking lot. The group hopes to promote a preservation and reuse plan, which could benefit both the church and the neighborhood.

Read more at www.NoParkingLotOnLindell.com.

Washington Avenue revisited

2009-01-18T17:02:00.005-06:00

It's been several months in the making: the Washington Avenue tour is now completely revitalized and up to date.

So much has happened on the Avenue, and my own standards for page and image format have risen so much, that a complete revamp was the only option. I've re-scanned all the old photographs, in many cases setting them alongside new ones taken on my most recent St. Louis trip or in the intervening years. Huge amounts of information about many of these buildings is now available online, and I've pulled some of that together as well. I even snuck in the Tudor Building, which featured on a very early version of Built St. Louis but had since fallen off the radar.

The transformations are amazing. Dingy, battered storefronts have been reworked all up and down the Avenue. Dirty facades have been cleaned and repaired. The 2004 streetscape improvements have transformed the area's vibe.

The last fragments of the street's old life, its gritty urban and garment district days, are fading away. Of all the storefront operations visible from the street, only a handful predate the 1990s (Levin's, Levine Hat Company, Mankofsky Shoe Company, possibly the relocated Erlich's Cleaners). Most are less than five years old, and almost none of the businesses I photographed in 2001 remain today.

But the new generation of businesses has brought new life to the street, people and light, neon signs and sidewalk dining. Rising from its threadbare state of ten years ago, Washington Avenue has become the most urbane street in St. Louis.

The mournful town of Cairo, Illinois

2009-01-03T22:27:00.005-06:00

Nearly two hundred years ago, settlers began trying to construct a town where the mighty Ohio and Mississippi Rivers came together. Intimately tied to the water and the river trade, Cairo, IL rose to great fortunes in its heyday.

But the river trade changed, and the fortunes of economy passed Cairo by. Today the town is a sad shell of its former self, its glory long wilted.

This is Commercial Street, the main shopping street of the town back in the day. I arrived about 4:30pm on January 2nd, a Friday. The street looked like this: empty. Deserted. Not a soul was to be seen. No cars. No lights. No people. Nothing.

Three or four solid blocks of Victorian commercial buildings have been left to rot. Some are literally collapsing onto the sidewalk. Others are gutted, every piece of glass shattered.

Nearby Washington Avenue is doing better, and has most of the city's businesses. It is a more suburban-styled street, but has some architectural gems.

The town's struggles with racism are legendary. In the late 1960s, the city's black community organized a boycott against segregated white-owned businesses. The owners so adamantly refused to give in that one by one they simply went out of business, over the course of a few years.

Those days may be past, but the city's struggles continue. The town's fall probably has as much to do with the overall centralization of river traffic as any problems created by racism. Cairo isn't much of a port anymore. The Interstates have passed it by, and there isn't much room to grow. The Bunge Corporation maintains a soybean processing plant there, and railroads still loop around and through the town, so little Cairo isn't entirely off the economic map. But there is little else.

Cairo's geography is unfathomable. Sited on a narrow wedge of land between the two rivers, it is perpetually in danger of being washed away by the whims of the mighty rivers. Thus a huge levee rings the entire town. To the south, one simply drives over it. But to the north, where land is lower, a gargantuan metal gate descends to close off a tunnel through the railroad embankment when flood waters rise.

At Fort Defiance Park, one can literally stand at the confluence, the exact point where two thousand miles of river join together. The two channels unite to form a river nearly a mile in width. The view is awe-inspiring. The water was nearly level with the park land on the evening of my visit, an obvious warning of the rivers' power.

Two mighty bridges cross the rivers, connecting the city to Kentucky to the east, and Missouri to the west. They carry two-lane roads, long surpassed by I-57 to the west.

Traces of Cairo's glory days remain. Scattered churches, mansions, and public buildings have been restored and maintained.

But they sit in a landscape wrought with the physical signs of abandonment, of despair: empty lots, reclaimed by forest. Wrecked and ruined buildings. Streets leading nowhere.

It's hard to imagine a bright future for long-suffering Cairo, but there remains a peculiar beauty to its ruins, amplified by its precarious place upon the fickle rivers.

Links:
* More photos
* Cairo, IL at Wikipedia
* Mississippi River web site page on Cairo.

Daily Dose of Blairmont 204

2008-11-25T00:05:00.005-06:00

2322 Montgomery Avenue (Larmer LLC, March 2008, $55,000)

May 2008

It's a peculiar little HUD house, no longer resembling its mass-produced brethren. It wouldn't be the end of the world if Blairmont demolished it to clear the way for new blocks of urban development, but wouldn't it be charming and clever if they managed to build around it?

More on 2322 Montgomery at Ecology of Absence.

Links:

at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 203

2008-11-24T00:05:00.004-06:00

2541 W. Sullivan (Union Martin LLC, May 2008, $66,500)

May 2008

It's obvious that Mr. McKee has not yet found time to visit this block in person. If he had, he'd surely be working to renovate its charming cottages and get them occupied again, assuring that no more of them would be lost to arson or brick theft. The magnetic pull of this block is irresistible, and any savvy developer would surely capitalize on that charm. Right??

Links:

2541 W Sullivan at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 202

2008-11-23T00:05:00.004-06:00

2532 W. Dodier Street (Union Martin LLC, September 2008, $85,000)

August 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

I'm sure Paul McKee Jr. wants to get this little frame house occupied again as soon as possible. After all, an arson spree devastated much of his property elsewhere on this block, and no upstanding developer or wise builder would want to see historic brick buildings lost to fire. That's throwing resources down the drain. You don't have to be a rich developer to see that, right?

March 2007

May 2008

"Thou shall not steal!! Exodus 20:10 In Jesus Name, You shall not Steal!!! Exodus 20:15 In Jesus Name! Jesus Loves You & Forgives You!!! Repent of your sins and die SAVED."

Links:

2532 W Dodier at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 201

2008-11-22T00:05:00.004-06:00

2209 Sullivan Avenue (Union Martin LLC, September 2008, $8,000)

March 2007

This poor little house! Its front face has been mutilated, almost all the windows bricked in. Blairmont here has a rare opportunity to truly restore a piece of lost historic fabric. Even if no records exist of the house's original configuration, a multitude of precedents surround it.

Alternately, a new, contemporary design could be put in place. So much of the original facade has been lost that it wouldn't be out of place to perform a purely contemporary intervention.

Either way, Blairmont has a host of wonderful things they can do with this house, now that they own it. By rights, the only problem should be choosing from among the several options.

August 2003 - photograph by Kevin Keiffer

Links:

2209 Sullivan at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 200

2008-11-21T00:05:00.004-06:00

2530 Warren Street (Union Martin LLC, September 2008) (white house at center)
2534 Warren Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $50,000)
2544 Warren Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $30,000)

March 2007

Blairmont has a choice here. They could renovate these little HUD houses. This would be ecologically smart, saving the money, material, and energy already vested in the structures.

On the flip side, these are cheaply built dwellings, and now that they're empty, few would lament their passing -- especially if they were replaced by a large-scale urban development.

(Of course, it might have been simpler to simply not empty the houses out in the first place, right?)

Links:

2530 Warren at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 199

2008-11-20T00:05:00.002-06:00

2519 Dodier Street (Union Martin LLC, April 2008, $200,000)

October 2008

This multi-unit, walk-up apartment building is an ideal form for low-cost housing. Small, simple, basic, it provides compact living space in a neighborly setting. The building also defines the street wall very nicely, another urban gesture worth preserving and replicating.

In an unusual gesture for the neighborhood, it uses terra cotta masonry for its cornice and other ornament, rather than the complex brickwork so common to St. Louis's older neighborhoods.

February 2008

Emptied of all tenants, it is now ripe for a gut rehab. With nobody living there, it would be much easier than before to do serious, fast work to get the place back up to standards.

Links:

2519 Dodier at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 198

2008-11-19T00:05:00.001-06:00

2338 St. Louis Avenue (Union Martin LLC, June 2008, $80,000)

October 2008

Just across the street from yesterday's house, this 2-flat building offers similar opportunities. It offers smaller and therefore more affordable units, allowing more economic diversity to exist in the area. Yet even this more affordable alternative retains handsome dignity, as shown by the fine brick porch with its carved capitals.

Standing amid a solid block of apartments buildings, single family homes, and multi-unit houses, this building represents a fine opportunity for Paul McKee to lend a true helping hand to the St. Louis Place neighborhood. I look forward to the inevitable rehab and renovation, which should restore the luster of this handsome house to its original shine.

Links:

2338 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 197

2008-11-18T00:05:00.001-06:00

2325 St. Louis Avenue (Noble Development LLC, August 2006, $60,000)

October 2008

Paul McKee should be especially excited to be holding this particular home. Many of his houses are in obscure or undistinguished neighborhoods (well, undistinguished relative to the high standards of inner St. Louis, at least.) This one, however, is not only a fine piece of architecture and real estate in its own right; it is also surrounded by several fabulous blocks of St. Louis Avenue's finest architecture. It faces miniature Romanesque mansions, and is neighbored by several houses unique in all of St. Louis. Only a short walk away is the beautiful greenery of St. Louis Place Park. A few short blocks beyond that lies the regionally famous Crown Candy Kitchen. Downtown is but a few minutes' drive away. The location can't be beat.

Once the house is renovated, it will surely bring in a small fortune. Mr. McKee should by rights turn a handy profit on this investment.

Links:

2325 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 196

2008-11-17T00:05:00.002-06:00

2721 Greer Avenue (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $20,000)

October 2008

2700 Greer Avenue is a charmingly tiny one-way street. Its charm has been diminished by years of neglect and deterioration. But that charm is surely why Paul McKee has begun buying properties there. Once he restores this house, the block will look a lot better; if he can get infill housing built there, the block could regain its original beauty and perhaps be even better than before.

Mr. McKee must surely regret the lost of 2733 Greer, a small cottage which stood next door to the one shown here. It doesn't take much looking to recognize the charming power of these little houses, or see the great opportunity their small size represents. Such a small building could make home ownership affordable even to low-income residents. What noble-intentioned entrepreneur wouldn't jump at the chance to help out?

Links:

2721 Greer at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 195

2008-11-16T00:05:00.004-06:00

2811 Parnell Avenue (Dodier Investors LLC, November 2006)

October 2008

Blairmont may be a little optimistic on this one; finding a productive, neighborhood-friendly use for such a building may be a challenge. It could, obviously, serve as a gas station and convenience store; however, it seems unlikely that Blairmont would want to put such an anti-pedestrian use in the neighborhood, even here on the fringes.

But the diminutive building is hardly up the challenge of holding and defining the massively overscaled intersection of Parnell and St. Louis Avenue. I wonder if perhaps they've actually considered tearing this one down. Combining this corner lot with all the empty, under-utilized land behind it would create a truly spectacular opportunity -- the chance to rebuild an urban corner from the ground up. A three- or four-story apartment building, or an entire series of them, would not be inappropriate. Hundreds of income-generating dwelling units could occupy this land!

Links:

2811 Parnell at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 194

2008-11-15T00:05:00.002-06:00

2501 Sullivan Avenue (Dodier Investors LLC, November 2006)

October 2008

This industrial building represents a remarkable opportunity in a residential neighborhood -- the chance to create jobs right in the community. Imagine working and living all in the same neighborhood! A hardy factory building like this is prime material for a specialty manufacturing concern; it could also function as an incubator for new businesses. With loading docks for trucks, it's equipped to handle all sorts of heavy duty materials. Restore the windows and landscape the parking lot, and it could even be a thing of beauty in its own right.

Next door, Blairmont owns another fine opportunity at 2527 Sullivan. A one-story industrial building was recently razed (the saw-tooth-roofed building that remains is not a Blairmont property.) The resulting empty land could hold virtually anything -- houses, apartments, or a multi-story commercial, industrial, or mixed-use building. The possibilities are limited only by imagination.

Links:

2501 Sullivan at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com, with 2527 Sullivan at left.
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 193

2008-11-14T00:05:00.002-06:00

2800 James "Cool Papa" Bell Avenue (Union Martin LLC, April 2008, $178,000 - multiple properties)
2804 James "Cool Papa" Bell Avenue (Union Martin LLC, April 2008)

From left to right: 2800, 2804, 2810. October 2008

Blairmont owns two houses on this block, and all the vacant land between them. The rest of the block belongs to the True Light Missionary Baptist Church, except for two houses belonging to the upstanding not-for-profit landlord JVL Renaissance. With neighbors like those, Blairmont has the power to truly recreate this block, to turn it into something intact, wonderful and beautiful. Rehab the two survivors, get a small convenience grocery back into the corner building, and build additional infill houses, and this block would be whole and healthy again.

That is, after all, how this neighborhood began -- full of occupied urban houses. There's no reason it couldn't return to those glory days again.

2804 - October 2008

Links:

2800 James Cool at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 192

2008-11-13T00:05:00.001-06:00

2734 James "Cool Papa" Bell Avenue (Union Martin LLC, April 2008, $179,800 - multiple properties)

October 2008

Just west of yesterday's house, this is another painted stone-front house, with delicate inscribed carvings around the windows. A coat of bright blue paint makes it an exuberant note on this block, if not exactly historically accurate.

An active church stands right next door. Blairmont could make their premises safer and more attractive by renovating this house and getting renters or an owner into it. In fact, with all the property they own here, they could improve the entire block. What if some of the church's own parishioners could live right next door to their church? There's already an owner-occupant to the east; what if there could be a whole block of them?

Links:

2734 James Cool at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 191

2008-11-12T00:05:00.003-06:00

2716 James "Cool Papa" Bell Avenue (N & G Ventures LLC, August 2005, $15,000)

October 2008

This house is one I missed the first time around. Stone front facades like this are common in this neighborhood, inviting canvases for bright colors. Imagine an entire block of such restored houses, painted in a rainbow of colors. Blairmont has the ability to make it happen!

Links:

2716 James Cool at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 190

2008-11-11T00:05:00.001-06:00

1428 Biddle (Union Martin LLC, May 2008)

October 2008

This humble little church building stands on the same block as 1408 Biddle. They are the only buildings remaining north of the alley.

It would be wonderful to see a development reclaim this block of Biddle. Such a development would be a fine chance to restore the crumbling Carr School, and could include a nearby three-story brick industrial building as well. Such a move would push the near north side one step closer to its rightful connection to downtown.

The vacant land on the rest of the block is owned by Alter Realty, a Clayton-based company.

Links:

1428 Biddle at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Blairmont update

2008-11-10T00:05:00.004-06:00

Paul McKee Jr. recently made another round of property purchases through Larmer LLC and Union Martin LLC. The buildings in question will be documented here over the coming days.

Meanwhile, here's some status updates on a few older Blairmont properties:

The brick-rustled house at 1357 Leffingwell has been demolished.
The ruins of 2510 Sullivan have finally been removed.
2527 Sullivan, a 1-story industrial building owned by Blairmont, has been demolished.
2204, 2206 and 2208 Hebert have all been demolished.
The leaning house at 1512 Montgomery was demolished in early August, following a sidewall collapse.
2337 Montgomery has suffered gutter damage from metal thieves.

Blairmont-owned 2621 Sullivan burns... again

2008-10-27T23:45:00.003-05:00

One of the many houses owned by Blairmont, 2621 Sullivan Avenue, burned Friday night.

I was a block away when I noticed a cloud of smoke, too much to be a barbecue as I first thought. A number of neighbors were already watching in the street when I drove past the house. Just in case, I called 911 and reported the fire; the Fire Department showed up within minutes.

What started as some drifting smoke had become fairly intense a few minutes after the SLFD arrived; I saw flames leaping through the roof at one point.

This house was occupied in February. It was bought by Blairmont later in the year. This is now the second time it's burned; the first may or may not have been under their ownership, but the damage looked very recent to me.

Blairmont: The Final Dose

2008-09-23T00:05:00.012-05:00

At long last, we've reached the end. Nearly every building owned by Paul McKee Jr.'s shell companies has been documented on this blog.

It 189 posts to do it, 189 days -- that's over half a year. But the actual number of buildings is far higher. Some of those posts covered multiple buildings; a few included entire city blocks. If I had to take a stab at it, I'd guess the total number of buildings is closer to 400, or higher. Four hundred buildings! And that doesn't begin to cover all the vacant land McKee has bought... some of which wasn't vacant when he bought it.

(It is possible that I have missed a few, and if so, I invite site readers to point them out. They will be added as soon as possible. Also of note, I did not include the demolished Brecht Butcher Supply Warehouse in Old North, nor the crumbling James Clemens mansion in St. Louis Place.)

The bulk of those buildings are St. Louis housing stock, sturdy red brick buildings built between 1880 and 1930. Some are plain; many have beautiful decoration and ornament. Some are outright spectacular.

Some of those houses were abandoned when McKee purchased them; a few were badly deteriorated. Many were occupied. Some owner-occupants sold out willingly, lured by money or fearful of eminent domain taking everything they had. Many renters had no choice, and were forcibly ejected from their homes.

Under Paul McKee's ownership, the vast majority of these houses have deteriorated. This deterioration occurs due to more than simple lack of maintenance; much of it is due to willful neglect:

Many have had their windows removed. There is no reason to do this other than to hasten the decline of the houses.
Many have been attacked and destroyed by brick rustlers. If Blairmont had left tenants in place, if they had monitored their properties, if they had not worked to empty out entire blocks, this could not have happened.
A rash of Blairmont's buildings were destroyed by fire, mostly likely arson. Again, a vacated neighborhood is far less likely to have such problems.
Most have not been boarded up, or had their grounds maintained, making it obvious that they are vacant. This allows them to become havens for criminal activities.

This blog and web site are about architecture; my focus is on the buildings of these neighborhoods. But the human dimension is still more important, even if it is often hidden, more easily swept under the carpet. And in dealing with the human beings whose neighborhood this is, Paul McKee Jr. has been just as willfully abusive and negligent as he has been with the city's architectural legacy:

He has attempted to operate in total secrecy.
He has refused to come forward and declare his plan for the area.
He has refused to solicit input from those living in the area.
Despite his claims to the contrary, he has bought many occupied buildings, evicting the tenants and thereby diminishing the population of the area.
He has issued contradictory and ultimately false statements regarding his plans.
He has stood by and done nothing with his properties, even as new development rises around many of them.

The most maddening aspect, however, is that it did not have to be this way. There appears to be no reason for McKee's destructive, terrorizing, blockbusting tactics other than willful stubbornness, combined with a blind conviction that wholesale destruction is the only way to rejuvenate a neighborhood.

The most cursory glance at St. Louis's 20th century history readily demonstrates how obsolete and backward these convictions are. Time and again, total clearance has produced only misery, failure, and worsening conditions for those upon whom it is inflicted. It does not solve any problems; it simply shuffles them somewhere else.

Total clearance destroys more than architecture; it destroys neighborhoods. It destroys people's homes. It destroys the localized environment that support small, independent businesses. It destroys social ties. It destroys a web of human connections, of intertwined lives and support networks. This sort of human connection may be hard to grasp for those who have never experienced it, for those who live in isolated suburbs and travel only by car, but it's a defining aspect of urban neighborhoods, and is vital to the survival and well-being of their residents.

The destructive approach has characterized everything McKee has done in north St. Louis. He has destroyed architecture, urban fabric, neighborhoods, homes. He seems dead set on wiping the slate clean, improving the neighborhood by destroying it.

How would you like it if someone with a lot more wealth and power than you came in, decided that your neighborhood wasn't good enough, and started working to destroy it? Not to improve it, but to destroy it!

And what becomes of the residents who are forced out of their homes? They are rarely if ever accounted for, especially if they are low-income. They are shuffled on to another place, another neighborhood, where, lacking their previous support network, they must struggle harder still to survive. If they are unable to gather sufficient resources, the new neighborhood may begin to decline. In exploding the neighborhoods of St. Louis Place and JeffVanderLou, Paul McKee is doing no favors for the poor.

What could Mr. McKee have done instead? What would make me and other urbanists happy? What would actually improve the lives of people living here?

Selective redevelopment. This would be especially welcome in Old North St. Louis, which is slowly but surely redeveloping itself. McKee has spent enough money to renovate every single one of his Old North properties, and doing so would have made him a hero to the neighborhood's residents. Instead, he's regarded as a slumlord and worse, and he hasn't made a dime on his investment.
Selective land aggregation and clearance. There are some areas in these neighborhoods that could, with just a few purchases and buyouts, be assembled into large blank canvases for new development. With so many opportunities, there is no need to destroy entire blocks and create damaging voids in healthy blocks.
Respect existing urban fabric. Plan to build around surviving historic houses. Offer financial assistance to the owners of those houses if they wish to upgrade and improve their properties. Enact a preservation plan. Acknowledge that this is the city, not the suburbs, and plan accordingly.

Notice the common theme of these ideas: selective. Operate, not amputate. McKee has approached these neighborhoods as though they were a suburban development project on vacant farm fields, a monolithic entity to be shaped however one pleases. But the city is not like that; it is a living organism that must be approached with care and respect. Failure to do so is devastating.

I must repeat: I want to see development happen in these neighborhoods. I am not trying to discourage it. These areas need new construction and new residents. Nor am I trying to deny their problems. They had many troubles before Blairmont came along, and they would still have troubles if Paul McKee had never set foot in them. But Blairmont's work has visibly made things worse, not better, and so far there has been no payoff whatsoever for all the damage done.

As I try to take stock of Paul McKee's tactics, I find myself unable to grasp his plans, unable to understand what it is that he wants to do. There are only a few possibilities, and all of them defy logic:

A suburban-styled development, perhaps with some token concessions toward New Urbanism, perhaps gated, maybe with a golf course. This would explain what appears to be a drive toward total site control. However, it would require unfathomable amounts of demolition -- not just of the remaining historic stock, but of extensive new construction in numerous locations in all three neighborhoods. Furthermore, even controlling all of JeffVanderLou, Old North, and St. Louis Place will not sanitize the remaining areas around them. It will not transform Hyde Park. It will not make the eastern Ville any less rough. Even if such a thing belonged in a city, the idea that an untouchable enclave could be created on McKee's land is simply a fantasy. Furthermore, if it could be done, why not go ahead and do it on the empty acres of the former Pruitt-Igoe site just to the south?
Light industry. This would make some sense for the area; it's more easily defended and can co-exist with empoverished neighborhoods. But if that's the plan... why the hell hasn't he already done it?! Again, the Pruitt-Igoe site begs for new development. The 23rd Street prairie contains vast amounts of empty land. The endless game of buy-and-wait, buy-and-wait, buy-and-wait defies all notions of conventional development; McKee is pouring huge sums of money into property acquisition, and has yet to see a penny in return after three years.
Mississippi River Bridge clearance. I don't know exactly where the new bridge is supposed to come through, but it could affect a few of McKee's properties. But that bridge is years away... if it happens at all.

I don't know what Paul McKee is planning. It seems like nobody does. And this uncertainty is a cruel burden to place on those who call JeffVanderLou, St. Louis Place, and Old North home.

It is long past time for McKee to come forward and publicly announce his plans, meet with residents, and take action on his long-neglected properties.

More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 189

2008-09-22T00:05:00.001-05:00

1930 St. Louis Avenue (N & G Ventures LLC, March 2006, $125,000)

May 2008

It is perhaps the single most beautiful building endangered by Paul McKee's destructive blockbusting. Last serving as the Price Funeral Home, its front facade features a wealth of architectural detail, including diminutive inclined columns which have long brought to my mind the works of Philadelphia architect Frank Furness. Gothic arched windows, a thick lacework balcony, floral inscriptions, ornate brackets, raised medallions, and corbeled parapet wall ends add to its rich ornamental program.

It was wisely chosen by Landmarks Association of St. Louis to represent all of McKee's buildings on the annual Eleven Most Endangered Places list. Even this amazing building is not immune from the destructive forces set loose by the widespread negligence in Blairmontland; brick rustlers damaged a corner of a rear garage annex, but fortunately did no further damage to the main section of the building.

March 2003, while still in use

March 2007, boarded up. 1937 Montgomery stands in the background at left.

May 2008. In the foreground, a dirt patch is all that remains of 1937 Montgomery.

1930 St. Louis contains a concentrated dose of the beautiful architectural embellishment found on so many Blairmont buildings, a built legacy that is being allowed to crumble and die. The building abley stands for all that is endangered by Blairmont's speculatory investment: architecture, business, homes, neighborhoods, community.

More on 1930 St. Louis Avenue at Ecology of Absence: Who Would Destroy This Building?

Links:

1930 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 188

2008-09-21T00:05:00.001-05:00

1935-1937 (aka 1937-1939) Montgomery Street (N & G Ventures LLC, November 2005, $65,000)

November 2005

Sporadically occupied into the early 2000s (probably illegally so), this house was the last one on the 1900 block of Montgomery to be inhabited. Blairmont bought it from a private owner, for exactly the price that had been posted on a hand-lettered sign in 2005.

May 2007

December 2007

May 2008

After the brick rustlers had finished their grisly work, I paid what I knew would be my final visit to this house on a beautiful morning in November of 2007. With the day's waking sunlight on my back, I stood beneath what remained of the old house's solid brick walls. I stared up longingly at that beautiful brick cornice, thrown into a sharp relief of brilliant reds and deep shadow. I photographed it from every angle, taking shot after shot, because I knew it would soon be gone. One hundred and sixteen years after St. Louis's gifted masons laid these intricate patterns, they were about to die.

November 2007

Links:

1937 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 187

2008-09-20T00:05:00.001-05:00

1915 Montgomery Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $100,000 - multiple properties)

March 2003

This was one of two Blairmont houses on the St. Louis Place site which I used for my thesis project several years ago; hence I've kept close track of its changes. And change it has:

May 2006

November 2007

December 2007

May 2008

It had been vacant for over 15 years... yet somehow, the brick rustlers struck only a year after Blairmont purchased it.

While the city finished demolition of the two neighboring LRA houses that were also brick rustled, Blairmont couldn't even be bothered to clear away the pitiful pile of debris that remained after the brick rustlers had passed through.

Links:

1915 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 186

2008-09-19T00:32:00.004-05:00

2545 Warren Avenue (Sheridan Place LLC, January 2007, $75,000 )
2543 Warren Avenue (Babcock Resources LLC, September 2007, $60,000 )
2539 Warren Avenue (N & G Ventures LLC, January 2006, $50,000 )

May 2008

Two of Blairmont's holdings here are plain 1970s HUD houses. But the third...

March 2007. The HUD house on the left is an LRA property.

The third, a historic property at 2539 Warren, was totally destroyed by brick rustlers.

November 2007

Eight months later, the corpse was still standing. Eight months, and nobody from McKee's companies noticed this?! It was finally demolished in the summer of 2008. Compassion and concern for the neighborhood, those are the Blairmont watchwords!

Links:

2539 Warren at the City's Geo St. Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 185

2008-09-18T00:05:00.001-05:00

1508 St. Louis Avenue (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $28,500)

May 2008. 1508 is the large house on the left.

This house stands near the prominent intersection of St. Louis Avenue and W. Florissant. Its city history shows it to be vacant since 2000; boardups have slowly accumulated over its windows. In back, the rear wall is starting to crumble; the roof rotting away.

September 2006. The center house was owned by the LRA, and has since been demolished.

June 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

March 2003

Links:

1508 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database, including January 2007 photographs
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 184

2008-09-17T00:05:00.002-05:00

1918 St. Louis Avenue (Larmer LLC, March 2008, $25,000)
1922 St. Louis Avenue (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $100,000 - multiple properties)
1924 St. Louis Avenue (N & G Ventures LLC, January 2006, $70,000)

August 2003

Amazingly, I somehow haven't gotten an updated photograph of this prominent trio of St. Louis Avenue houses. They're all still standing, for now. And as of this year, they're all Paul McKee properties. The best I've got is this sidelong view:

May 2008

But you don't need to be told the story by this point, right?

March 2003 - the half-gabled rear wings are a very common design element of St. Louis houses.

May 2008 - the half-boarded up windows are a very common element of Paul McKee houses.

August 2003 - 1918 is clearly occupied in this photograph by Kevin Kieffer.

August 2003 - 1924 is undergoing exterior facade repairs. Photograph by Kevin Kieffer.

Links:

1918 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 183

2008-09-16T00:05:00.006-05:00

2224 Warren Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005)

August 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer.

I never even saw this one. It was demolished in March 2006, only 5 months after Blairmont's purchase.

Links:

2224 Warren at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 182

2008-09-15T00:05:00.002-05:00

2903-2905 Delmar Avenue (Noble Development LLC, November 20006)

December 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer. Blairmont owned the right half of the building.

You can venture to the site today, but you won't see this beautiful building.

August 2008

These lovely townhouses, part of a sequence known as Givens' Row, suffered a fire and were demolished under Paul McKee's ownership in November 2007. The fire damaged Blairmont's unit, as well as an LRA-owned unit adjacent. Only one separate unit, owned by another company, escaped the wrecking ball.

More on Givens Row can be found at Vanishing STL and at Landmarks Association.

Links:

2903 Delmar at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 181

2008-09-14T00:05:00.002-05:00

1408 Biddle Street (Union Martin LLC, May 2008, $125,000)

August 2008

Sharing the same city block as the time-ravaged Carr School, this little building stands isolated from most of Blairmont's holdings.

August 2008

September 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Two successive salons occupied the ground floor: If Looks Could Kill prior to 2003, and Mane Agenda from 2004 until the Blairmont buyout. The latter business undertook a remodeling of the street level storefront, repainted the building, and generally tidied up.

Now the business is gone, the last vestige of life on this block which stands so close to the active Carr Square housing complex. If McKee is buying here... what could he have in mind for the adjacent Carr School?

November 2005

Links:

1408 Biddle at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 180

2008-09-13T00:05:00.002-05:00

1124 Tyler Street (MLK 3000 LLC, February 2007, $45,000)

August 2008. 1122-1124 is the building on the right.

Blairmont owns the half on the right; a private citizen has the left half at 1122. Neither seems to be making very good use of the building, which is tucked away in a rather hidden corner of Old North, right under the old elevated rail lines (slated to become a bike path.)

Now, wouldn't you be shocked to discover that Blairmont owns a building that was inhabited just a few short years ago?

August 2008

May 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer
Of course you wouldn't!

How 'bout if I told you that the city had to board up Blairmont's building for them? No? Not a shock either?

What if I told you that the building still isn't secure? That wouldn't surprise you either?

Is there anything about Blairmont that does come as a shock at this point? Anything at all?

Links:

1124 Tyler at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 179

2008-09-12T00:05:00.003-05:00

3249 N. 19th Street (Blairmont Associates LLC, November 2005, $10,000)

August 2008

All that's left on this lot is a sad little back house, a concrete block structure built in the 1940s.

This stretch of 19th Street is really notable for two things: large amounts of empty land, and a squadron of hard-working do-it-yourself rehabbers bringing back buildings that seemed like lost causes five years ago.

Links:

3249 19th at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 178

2008-09-11T00:05:00.002-05:00

2500 Sullivan Avenue (MLK 3000 LLC, May 2007, $150,000)

August 2008

A pretty ragged looking four-flat for $150K! You'd think Blairmont could board up those ground floor windows... or at least hang some curtains! The senior citizens living in the huge retirement complex right across the street might appreciate that. Still, the building overall looks to be in good condition... it's just the ground floor that's taken a beating under Paul McKee's ownership.

That's the brick rustled ruins of 2510 Sullivan next door.

February 2008

Well, it was probably those people who made it look this way, right? You know, those people, wink wink, nudge nudge. We all know those people don't take care of anything. Everybody knows that those people trash their neighborhoods and destroy everything good that whit--- uh -- normal hard working folks have built up, and just sit around waiting for a handout from the gub'ment. We all know you just can't do anything about those people, yuh huh!

Since everybody knows these things, let's see how this raggedy house looked while in the hands of those people, before a hard working businessman from the suburbs purchased it.

August 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Boy, just look at it! Those people haven't done anything except plant beautiful flowers and keep the lawn mowed and the windows intact and generally maintain the place in perfect repair. Boy howdy, it sure is a good thing the neighborhood is finally being saved from those people!

Links:

2500 Sullivan at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Old North Rehabber's Fair

2008-09-10T07:24:00.003-05:00

Site visitors occasionally wonder how they can go about purchasing a house in the city, so some may find this of interest. Copied from an email posting:

The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group will hold a Rehabber’s Fair for LRA property in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood on Saturday, September 20th, from 9am-12noon, at 1400 North Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63106.

Come find out:
▪ How to purchase property from LRA;
▪ What loan products are available for gut renovations;
▪ The financial incentives to renovating LRA properties in Old North;
▪ The lessons learned from people who have gone through – or are in the midst of - the process;
▪ Which LRA property is available in Old North.

A tour of some available LRA properties will conclude the Fair. All attendees will receive a packet including a map of the neighborhood, a list of available LRA properties, the forms necessary for submitting an offer for LRA properties, and more.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP to Karen Heet, Real Estate Development Coordinator, at 314-241-5031 or karen@onsl.org by Wednesday, September 17th.

We hope to see you in Old North soon!

Daily Dose of Blairmont 177

2008-09-10T00:05:00.003-05:00

2237 Sullivan Avenue (Blairmont Associates LLC, August 2005)

August 2008

There is a house under there! It's well hidden... I might have to come back after the leaves come down, assuming it survives that long.

It's a fine looking building, with a beautiful flat-arched window as the primary facade feature. Unfortunately, it's become a dumping ground in the absence of occupancy.

Links:

2237 Sullivan at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 176

2008-09-09T00:05:00.002-05:00

2240 University Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $7,000)

August 2008

This house was a steal for Blairmont. It had previously sold at foreclosure for over $47,000. It was in fine shape six years ago, when its convoluted sales history began, but today it's boarded, empty and racking up the code violations (10 at its last inspection.) Condemned to be demolished, it faces a very grim future.

June 2002 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Links:

2240 University at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 175

2008-09-08T00:05:00.002-05:00

2221 Benton Street (Sheridan Place LLC, January 2007)

August 2008

It's a bit rough around the edges, but with some work it could be handsome once again. And notice that the original cast iron fenceposts are still standing in the front yard! Blairmont purchased the 1892 house from a long-time owner-occupant.

Links:

2221 Benton at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 174

2008-09-07T00:05:00.002-05:00

1802 Elliott Street (Dodier Investors LLC, August 2007 )
1800 Elliott Street (Dodier Investors LLC, November 2006, $22,500)

August 2008

Emptied out, but not boarded up; the windows remain exposed on these two houses over a year after Blairmont got them.

Links:

1800 Elliott at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 173

2008-09-06T00:05:00.002-05:00

2701 Madison Street (Dodier Investors LLC, January 2007)

August 2008

Here's a former church building that I missed in my earlier survey of Blairmont's former church holdings. It belonged to the Church of God in Christ Congregation, who bought it from the LRA in 1999. Nearly windowless, built of painted concrete block, and standing a stout one story, it's not particularly great architecture, but one wonders what happened to the congregation that once gathered there.

Links:

2701 Madison at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 172

2008-09-05T00:05:00.000-05:00

2710 Blair Street (VHS Partners LLC, February 2006, $35,000)

August 2008

Yet another Blairmont house backed up against the 14th Street Mall. While construction returns more and more of Old North to life (including a rehab job right next door!), Paul McKee's inaction and inertia continues to drag it down.

The house was sold in 2004, listed as "rehab after sale". The work got at least as far as restoring the upstairs dormer window. The house has a long history of inspections and violations.

August 2003

June 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Links:

2710 Blair at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 171

2008-08-24T00:05:00.003-05:00

2534 University Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $69,000)

May 2008

2534 is a simple two-story house, with the dark brown brick and diamond patterns typical of early 1900s houses in the neighborhood. The missing second-floor windows are also typical of Blairmont's older purchases. The city's records show the house only became vacant under Paul McKee's ownership.

June 2002 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

The lot next door at 2532 University, meanwhile, had a house on it when Blairmont acquired it. The building is gone today.

June 2002 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

A note: With this post, the Daily Dose will be taking a hiatus of roughly two weeks. It was bound to happen sooner or later: after 170 posts, I've finally run out of photographs, apart from a few special cases I'm saving for later. I anticipate being in St. Louis soon, and have several McKee properties still to photograph; updates will resume thereafter.

Links:

2534 University at the city's Geo St Louis database, with 2007 photos.
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 170

2008-08-23T00:05:00.004-05:00

2742 Cass Avenue (Larmer LLC, April 2008)

May 2008

2718 Cass Avenue (Larmer LLC, April 2008)

May 2008

These two buildings, like the ones across the street, were working buildings for the auto salvage/scrap yards surrounding them.

The corner building is the more interesting of the pair. It was condemned for demolition in 2006, but just can't seem to be destroyed; two demo permits pulled in 2007 both expired. Its back wall has collapsed... or been wrecked, or possibly brick rustled; it's hard to tell.

In better times, it hosted a corner store, or possibly a restaurant, or possibly two... again, it's hard to tell, as a painted sign advertises "Cass Chop Suey", "E & J Fish House Express", and "C & K Food Mart". Housing all three in one building would seem to be quite a feat, but then, one should not underestimate the ingenuity of urban entrepreneurs. And yes, those are still the original cast iron storefront columns behind that pink paint.

February 2008

The other building has had some piecemeal additions on the cheap. Any architectural ornament it possessed has been lost to the ages.

Okay, Mr. McKee, you wanna tear this one down and build something new in its place? This time, just this one time, I won't object. Just... you might wanna check with the EPA first, 'cause I bet there's a whole mess of chemicals and nastiness on that site.

Links:

2742 Cass at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 169

2008-08-22T00:05:00.002-05:00

3509 North Market Street (Larmer LLC, January 2008)

May 2008

Here's yet another example of the fine-scaled, mixed-use economy that once defined the urban neighborhood: store on the ground level (most recently Grand View Market - "If you don't see it, please ask, we may have it"), apartments above and (somewhat unusual) next door as well. It's a model whose decline has been devastating to the built environment. Blairmont bought the place this year, from a couple who've owned it for at least a decade.

The city boarded the place up shortly after these photos were taken.

Links:

3509 North Market at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 168

2008-08-21T00:05:00.002-05:00

1909 Laflin Street (Larmer LLC, April 2008, $65,000)

February 2008

Can't comment on the condition of this one; the photographs predate Paul McKee's purchase of the house (you can tell, see, because it's actually been boarded up.) It's another lone survivor in central JeffVanderLou's urban prairieland.

Links:

1909 Laflin at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 167

2008-08-20T00:05:00.002-05:00

2602 Garrison Street (Larmer LLC, March 2008)

February 2008

It's a lonely last survivor on the encroaching urban prairie -- no small thanks to Blairmont. It had three immediate neighbors just a few years ago (all visible in the aerial view linked below.) The houses at 2600, 2608, and 2610 were all owned by Paul McKee's companies, and all have been demolished.

Links:

2602 Garrison at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 166

2008-08-19T00:05:00.003-05:00

2825 St. Louis Avenue (Larmer LLC, January 2008, $25,000)

February 2008

Fanciful inscribed scrolls mark the limestone lintels of this red brick house on St. Louis Avenue.

With this purchase, Blairmont now has an owner-occupant surrounded. Buying up properties is no problem, but boarding them up? The cost is apparently too much to bear! The house changed hands several times in recent years before finally winding up with Paul McKee.

Links:

2825 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 165

2008-08-18T00:05:00.002-05:00

3128 Glasgow Street (Larmer LLC, March 2008)

March 2007

A gas station may seem unusual in the predominantly residential reaches of northern JeffVanderLou, but urban neighborhoods traditionally have had all kinds of uses jumbled together. The peaked roofs and clay tile date from a long-vanished era when gas stations actually had some charm to them.

It was a Texaco at one point, and a sign for "Wainwright's" is still visible, advertising groceries and liquor. Blairmont purchased it from the eponymous L. Wainwright in the spring, but the store appeared to be closed before that.

The Spanish tile roof seems unusual among all the flat-roofed brick houses, but just west of here, an enclave of beautifully preserved houses uses the same element in abundance.

May 2008

Links:

3128 Glasgow at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 164

2008-08-17T00:05:00.004-05:00

2412 Coleman Street (Sheridan Place LLC, December 2006, $65,000)

February 2008

Don't dismiss it as a plain Jane box -- surviving details include the Roman arch over the large window, the flattened arch over the other 2nd story window, and pointed buttons lining both. A cornice was removed some time in the past, and a matching larger 1st story window was bricked in at some point (some of its buttons remain.) The entry porch is obviously a recent addition.

The gang graffiti is even more recent, and comes to you courtesy of Blairmont's stewardship. They were kind enough to clean all the awful spray paint from 2933 Montgomery; it's just shocking that they haven't gotten around to cleaning up this one.

May 2008

Links:

2412 Coleman at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 163

2008-08-16T00:05:00.004-05:00

3021 N. 20th Street (Union Martin LLC, May 2008, $80,000)

May 2008

Standing back-to-back with the houses lining beautiful St. Louis Place Park, this ought to be a valuable little building.

Instead, it stands with its context totally stripped away. An entire block of houses on nearby Wright Street has been obliterated due to Blairmont's wanton negligence. Vacant since 2005 but in surprisingly good condition, the house joined the Blairmont ranks only a few days after these photographs were taken.

June 2002 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Links:

3021 20th at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 162

2008-08-15T00:05:00.003-05:00

2609 Montgomery Street (Union Martin LLC, May 2008, $80,000)

May 2008

This actually wasn't a Blairmont house when I photographed it on May 9th of this year. But three days after I took this photograph, the house became another Paul McKee property.

I'll be very interested to stop by and see what shape it's in three months later.

Links:

2609 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 161

2008-08-14T00:05:00.003-05:00

2504 North Market Street (Dodier Investors LLC, October 2006, $34,800)

May 2008

Blairmont's got the red-painted house, second from the left. To the left: an absentee landlord. To the right: three owner-occupants in a row.

Price bounce: April, sold in foreclosure, $41K. June, sold again, $29K. October, sold to Blairmont, $35K.

Links:

2504 North Market at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 160

2008-08-13T00:05:00.003-05:00

3027 Thomas Street (Dodier Investors LLC, July 2007)

May 2008

How'd you like to have Blairmont for your partywall neighbor?

That's what the owner-occupant on the right has. Blairmont bought the left-hand half of this twin unit building. On the plus side, there will be no wild parties or late night fights. On the down side, there will probably be no maintenance, upkeep, inhabitants, or windows.

Links:

3027 Thomas at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 159

2008-08-12T00:05:00.003-05:00

2621-2623 Sullivan Street (Sheridan Place LLC, June 2008)

May 2008

According to the city's records, this four-unit building is so freshly purchased that Blairmont didn't yet have it when I took these shots.

February 2008

...but apparently, they do now!

Links:

2621 Sullivan at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 158

2008-08-11T00:05:00.004-05:00

2337 Montgomery Street (Union Martin LLC, May 2008, $101,000)

May 2008

Such a lovely building! The Blairmont building is the one in the foreground. The background one is a private owner; the grey industrial structure next door belongs to a food company. One wonders if they have been given offers, felt pressures, wondered about eminent domain?

2313 Montgomery Street (Dodier Investors LLC, August 2007)

Further west stands another Blairmont house stands down the street, with an LRA building next to it.

Links:

2337 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 157

2008-08-10T00:05:00.004-05:00

2629 St. Louis Avenue (VHS Partners LLC, January 2006, $75,000)

September 2006

One of Blairmont's more prominent holdings, this battered mixed-use building stands alone on an otherwise empty stretch of St. Louis Avenue. Bits of its original cast iron storefront remain, speaking of a time when this was a major commercial thoroughfare, lined with similar buildings. Brick is re-emerging from behind a layer of painted stucco.

The building was last home to Laclede Cleaners.

September 2006

February 2008

May 2008

May 2008

Links:

2629 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com - right on the edge of a small gap in the site's coverage.
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 156

2008-08-09T00:05:00.003-05:00

1801 Bacon Street (Union Martin LLC, July 2006)

May 2008

This poor little house got "modernized" at some point, with a cheapo replacement cornice, and a Permastone bib on the first floor. You might wonder who they thought they were fooling, but back in the day, when the neighborhood was a proper urban place, the side walls wouldn't have been particularly visible.

As recently as 2006, plans were being filed to make alterations to it, but then Blairmont got hold of it, and, well, that's that, as they say.

February 2008

Links:

1801 Bacon at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 155

2008-08-08T00:05:00.001-05:00

1802 Jefferson Street (Dodier Investors LLC, October 2006, $96,000)
1800 Jefferson Street (Dodier Investors LLC, September 2006, $96,000)

Though they abutt low-density industrial areas and urban prairies, these houses aren't as isolated as they may seem. A large number of buildings remain just around the corner.

Price bounce: Each property sold for $80,000 in fall of 2006, then for $96,000 two months later.

May 2008

Links:

1800 Jefferson at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 154

2008-08-07T00:05:00.002-05:00

2700 N. Grand Avenue (N & G Ventures LLC, January 2006, $28,900)

May 2008

Like yesterday's entry, this is one of the properties that lie on the borders of Blairmontland. It shows the easily-overlooked fact that major commercial thoroughfares like N. Grand Avenue were and still are mixed-use, with residences mingled alongside businesses. It should be so on any major street in a healthy city.

Links:

2700 Grand at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 153

2008-08-06T00:05:00.002-05:00

3315 Martin Luther King Drive (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $31,500)

This little townhouse stands semi-attached to an auto repair shop next door. If the business refuses to sell out, what will become of it? Will it be eminent domained out of existence?

May 2008

Links:

3315 Martin Luther at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 152

2008-08-05T00:05:00.001-05:00

2732 Gamble Street (N & G Ventures LLC, August 2004)

May 2008

Blairmont doesn't own this 1970s HUD house; it belongs to the man who lives in it. What they do own is the empty patch of grass next door, which had a two story red brick townhouse on it when they bought it four years ago.

Demolition often represents a failure -- of vision, of resources, of economy, of community. Sometimes it's the only option left for a struggling community with deteriorated buildings in its midst. But when a wealthy investor from outside the neighborhood allows it to happen, when he obviously has the resources to repair and maintain such properties, it represents a failure of morality.

Links:

2732 Gamble at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 151

2008-08-04T00:05:00.002-05:00

2424 Bacon Street (VHS Partners LLC, August 2005)

May 2008

Empty since 2004, this one's really just a coda to 2428 Bacon, previously covered. The brick thieves didn't leave much.

Links:

2424 Bacon at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 150

2008-08-03T00:05:00.001-05:00

2512 Slattery Street (Noble Development Co. LLC, May 2006, $30,000)

May 2008. The Blairmont house is on the left.

...but wait! That's not all! Right across the street, we've got this fine addition to the Blairmont portfolio:

2507 Slattery Street (Babcock Resources LLC, October 2007, $65,000)
2509 Slattery Street (Babcock Resources LLC, October 2007)

Act now, and you'll also receive

2513 Slattery Street (Sheridan Place LLC, April 2007, $245,000)

Hurry, hurry, before the brick rustlers can -- oh, wait. Whoops, too late!

Links:

2512 Slattery at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 149

2008-08-02T00:05:00.004-05:00

2616 Slattery Street (privately owned)
2614 Slattery Street (VHS Partners LLC, May 2005, $45,000)

May 2008

The privately owned house next door isn't doing much better than the Blairmont property, but at least it's got all its windows!

That wasn't enough to save it from brick rustlers, though. Sadly, my photos do not reveal whether they hit the Blairmont house as well.

Links:

2614 Slattery at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 148

2008-08-01T00:05:00.004-05:00

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real people and events is purely coincidental!

The scene: the SECRET EVIL LAIR of the Big Suburban Developer.

BIG SUBURBAN DEVELOPER: You! Demented henchman! Go out and buy me a north St. Louis property that's surrounded by a lot of empty, unused, unwanted land! A lonely, hapless building that I can tear down to create the perfect redevelopment site!

HENCHMAN: Dyah, okay, boss!

The next day....

BIG SUBURBAN DEVELOPER: Well? What have you brought me? Speak!

HENCHMAN: Well, boss, I got you, from left to right,

2731 Bacon Street (Sheridan Place LLC, April 2007, $195,000)
2733 Bacon Street (Sheridan Place LLC, April 2007)
2735 Bacon Street (Sheridan Place LLC, April 2007)

BIG SUBURBAN DEVELOPER: Excellent, excellent! With these properties, none shall oppose me! I shall buy up all the acres and acres of empty land, and tear it all down! Ha ha ha ha! Show me more!

HENCHMAN: Right, boss! After that, I went down the street, and I got

2745 Bacon Street (Sheridan Place LLC, April 2007, $145,000)

BIG SUBURBAN DEVELOPER: Superb! Soon I shall -- WAIT! What is that?

HENCHMAN: Uh... what's what?

BIG SUBURBAN DEVELOPER: That! There! To the right of my new vacant property, which was occupied as recently as 2003!

HENCHMAN: Oh, that! That's a new urban townhouse, boss. Somebody called Habitat for Humanity put it there. It's based on the vernacular styles of the neighborhood, and conforms to the existing lot lines, allowing a high density that if reproduced will let the neighborhood become a walkable human-scaled place again.

BIG SUBURBAN DEVELOPER: YOU FOOL! No one is going to walk anywhere in my neighborhood!! Are there any more of these "urban townhouses" around my glorious empty buildings?!

HENCHMAN: Uh... maybe one or two or... uh... maybe two whole blocks full of them?

BIG SUBURBAN DEVELOPER: No!! You fool!! What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?

HENCHMAN: Uh... sorry 'bout that, boss. Maybe they'll let you tear down all the brand new houses?

Links:

2745 Bacon at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 147

2008-07-31T00:05:00.002-05:00

1215 Wright Street (Blairmont Associates LLC, January 2006)

May 2008

Already covered at Ecology of Absence, this house is old news on the Blairmont circuit. It stands in the middle of a redeveloping section of Old North, with the 14th Street Mall renovation underway a few blocks south, and owner-occupant rehabs going on all around. In the middle of all this activity, the house is a trouble spot, due to its vacancy.

May 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Long-deferred maintenance is allowing pieces of the beautiful terra cotta cornice scrollwork to fall off the facade. Couldn't Paul McKee plunk down a few thousand bucks to stabilize his building? He should. Old North isn't going anywhere, and he's doing a criminal disservice to its residents by allowing this piece of the neighborhood's heritage to fall apart.

Links:

1215 Wright at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 146

2008-07-30T00:05:00.001-05:00

1913 Dodier Street (MLK 3000 LLC, October 2006, $38,000)

May 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

May 2008

This tiny cottage is looking a lot worse for wear under Blairmont's management, or lack thereof.

The rest of this Old North block is owned by a variety of private entities. Paul McKee should do them all a favor and do something to get this property inhabited again.

Price bounce: Sold in February 2006 for $13,000. Sold again 10 months later for 3 times that amount -- $38,000.

Links:

1913 Dodier at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 145

2008-07-29T00:05:00.003-05:00

2725 Cass Street (Cass Corporation LLC, August 2007)

May 2008

Blairmont, in one form or another, owns this entire block, from one street to the other, back to the alley. Most of it is a scrapyard, which, curiously enough, has continued to operate under Blairmont's ownership. The dog-eared building, long since converted to a garage, shows just how much abuse St. Louis housing stock can endure.

Links:

2725 Cass at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 144

2008-07-28T00:05:00.001-05:00

2583 Montgomery Street (MLK 3000 LLC, October 2006, $101,000)

July 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

It looked pretty cheerful five years ago. But that was long before Blairmont came to town. Now it's boarded up, empty and lifeless.

Blairmont also owns two more houses on the same block (both hit by brick rustlers), and a huge vacant lot next door.
May 2008

Links:

2583 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 143

2008-07-27T00:05:00.001-05:00

2625 Howard Street (MLK 3000 LLC, February 2007, $40,000)

May 2008

Predictably, the upper windows are missing. The lawn isn't mowed. The gate hasn't even been shut. It's about as stereotypically Blairmont as you can get.

To the right, a former owner-occupant; to judge from its appearance, the house is now vacant. To the left, more Blairmont properties, standing vacant.

Links:

2625 Howard at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 142

2008-07-26T00:05:00.003-05:00

2629 Madison Street (Dodier Investors LLC, November 2006, $33,750)
2627 Madison Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $50,000)

May 2008
Most of this block's building mass belongs to JVL Renaissance, but Blairmont's managed to snag a couple of townhouses in the middle of it all. Three vacant LRA lots stand next door. Note the cornices -- Italianate brackets give a measure of refinement to them.

That beautiful mansard-roofed building on the corner belongs to a company called "Madison Street Holdings LLC".

Links:

2627 Madison at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 141

2008-07-25T00:05:00.002-05:00

1722 Leffingwell Street (MLK 3000 LLC, October 2006, $65,000)
1718 Leffingwell Street (JVL Renaissance)
1714 Leffingwell Street (Noble Development Co LLC, February 2006, $15,000)
1712 Leffingwell Street (VHS Partners LLC, January 2006)

May 2008

I'd show a blow-up of this batch, but unfortunately, the full-sized image is out of focus. Too bad -- 1722 a cute little house.

You might think I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here, but you'd be wrong. Paul McKee's holdings are legion. There is no end in sight. I haven't even started on the most recent purchases made under "Larmer LLC".

Links:

1722 Leffingwell at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 140

2008-07-24T19:29:00.002-05:00

3237 N. 20th Street (Sheridan Place LLC, December 2006, $75,000)

May 2008

I was negligent -- I should have covered this house along with yesterday's entries, as they're right across the street. How else are readers to get a clear picture of just how much land and architecture Paul McKee has snapped up in the last four years?

The rest of the block is a mix - an owner-occupant right next door; a Blairmont-owned vacant lot on the other side, an LRA house, some off-site landlords.

As usual, the house was occupied five years ago.

May 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Links:

3237 N 20th at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 139

2008-07-23T00:05:00.002-05:00

3238 N. 20th Street Street (Sheridan Place LLC, March 2007)

May 2008

3236 N. 20th Street Street (Sheridan Place LLC, March 2007, $130,000)
1909 Palm Street (privately owned)

June 2003 - the house appears cheerfully occupied.

Talk about your price jump! After several years under the ownership of distant landlord, the little white house sold for $9,600 in 2006, while the house next door sold for $15,000 in 2004. In early 2007, Blairmont bought both houses for $130,000. That is one heck of a markup! What kind of business sense does it make for Paul McKee to be paying that sort of money? What's it all leading to? How can he justify that sort of flagrant financial abandon?

Links:

3236 N 20th at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 138

2008-07-22T21:55:00.004-05:00

1510 Leffingwell Street (N & G Ventures LLC, November 2006)

May 2006

A twin house, facing one of south JeffVanderLou's numerous urban prairies.

It features that most common of Blairmont identifiers, the missing upper-floor windows, though the lower level has been properly secured. The building has been vacant since 2001.

Links:

1510 Leffingwell at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 137

2008-07-21T00:05:00.001-05:00

2713 Mills Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $39,000)

May 2008

May 2008. The Blairmont house is on the right. In the background is St. Bridget of Erin Catholic Church.

Plus: no broken or missing windows. Minus: not secured; grass not mowed. The house was hooked up to the electrical grid as recently as 2005.

The house next door is owner-occupied. Both stand in a vast urban prairie at the southeast corner of JeffVanderLou.

Links:

2713 Mills at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 136

2008-07-20T00:05:00.001-05:00

2809 Howard Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $35,000)

May 2008

It looks incredibly isolated at first, but in fact a massive retirement home stands just behind it, recently constructed by not-for-profit JVL Elderly Housing Corporation.

As for the house itself, Blairmont (yet again) let the City do its work for them -- it was boarded up in November 2007.

Blairmont owns several of the vacant lots surrounding the house.

Links:

2809 Howard at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 135

2008-07-19T00:05:00.000-05:00

2832 Dayton Street (Dodier Investors LLC, October 2006, $62,500)

May 2008

This poor house bounced between four different owners before landing in Blairmont's uncaring hands. Despite all the changing ownership, and despite Blairmont's inclusion on the list, it seems to be in good condition.

In April, a condemnation was served, and the City boarded the building up.

Links:

2832 Dayton at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 134

2008-07-18T00:05:00.001-05:00

2719 Madison Street (N & G Ventures LLC, April 2006, $7,500)
2717 Madison Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $40,000)

May 2008

The right-hand house was last reported vacant in 1999, after which it was apparently re-occupied. The left-hand house was sold at foreclosure for $21,600, only to be sold to Blairmont for a fraction of that price.

Links:

2717 Madison at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 133

2008-07-17T00:05:00.002-05:00

2200 St. Louis Avenue (VHS Partners LLC, March 2006, $55,000)

May 2008

August 2003

Remarkably little has changed on the outside of this St. Louis Avenue building since I first photographed it over five years ago. It features Romanesque touches in keeping with the many beautiful mansions that stand on the blocks to the east and west.

March 2003

Links:

2200 St Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 132

2008-07-16T00:05:00.002-05:00

2830 Thomas Street (N & G Ventures LLC, Octoer 2003)

May 2008. The Blairmont property is 2nd from the right.

A private owner has the boarded property to the right. JVL Renaissance owns the two well-tended buildings to the left.

Permastone cladding does the building no favors, but the wood cornice, brackets and scrollwork remain beautiful in decay.

Links:

2830 Thomas at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 131

2008-07-15T00:05:00.000-05:00

2707 Stoddard Street (N & G Ventures LLC, September 2003, $1,754)

May 2008

This is an extremely early Blairmont purchase, which (if city records are to be believed) has now been sitting empty in Paul McKee's hands for five years. Five years!

Links:

2707 Stoddard at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 130

2008-07-14T00:05:00.001-05:00

1220 Garrison Street (N & G Ventures LLC, November 2006)

May 2008

This odd little building sits at the end of a cul-de-sac block, a permanently cauterized portion of the street grid. Nearly the entire block is empty, but across the street is a small church building, still in use.

Paul McKee Jr. bought it in 2006 from a Kansas City landlord.

Links:

1220 Garrison at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 129

2008-07-13T00:05:00.001-05:00

Today we continue to drift west down Madison Street, past more of Blairmont's recently-emptied HUD and 1960s frame houses.

2513 Madison Street (Sheridan Place LLC, November 2006 )
2511 Madison Street (owner-occupied)

May 2008

2521 Madison Street (Dodier Investors LLC, October 2006)
2517 Madison Street (owner-occupied)

May 2008

2535 Madison Street (LRA)
2533 Madison Street (MLK 3000 LLC, November 2006, $55,000)
2531 Madison Street (owner-occupied)

May 2008

December 2007

Links:

2533 Madison at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 128

2008-07-12T00:05:00.002-05:00

2335 Madison Street (Larmer LLC, March 2008, $60,500)
2331 Madison Street (N & G Ventures LLC, November 2005, $40,000)

May 2008

Two more lonely HUD houses, out on the urban prairie surrounding N. 23rd Street. The aerial view shows one or both occupied circa 2006. Similar to yesterday's houses, these are on a prime spot for redevelopment; almost nothing remains around them. The fact that nothing's happened yet raises many questions about what Paul McKee is planning, and why the land assembly is of such a ridiculously gargantuan scale, not at all suited to the city.

Links:

2331 at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 127

2008-07-11T00:05:00.003-05:00

2221 Madison Street (MLK 3000 LLC, July 2007, $65,000)

May 2008

This largely vacant block still holds three 1970s HUD houses. Blairmont has the center one; the other two are in private hands.

Again, properly done, this could be a fine location for fair and equitable investment. Removing the three houses would leave an entire half block of open land for new development... but such schemes must be carried out openly and transparently, and without the fear-inducing pressure of blockbusting tactics, not to mention arson and other flagrantly destructive side effects. Owners and occupants must receive fair value for their homes, and in a just world they've be helped to relocate and possibly be given a first crack at buying into the new development.

But Paul McKee's world hasn't shown itself to very fair or just, at least not in north St. Louis.

November 2007, showing the house had been recently occupied before the Blairmont buyout.

Links:

2221 Madison at the city's Geo St Louis database
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 126

2008-07-10T00:05:00.000-05:00

2238 Montgomery Street (Noble Development LLC, September 2006)

May 2008

The ground floor's boarded up, but the attic dormer is missing its window. Funny, it was there five years ago, even when the house was suffering broken windows.

August 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Links:

2238 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database, with photos showing the house completely windowless and open to the elements in early 2007.
Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
More on Blairmont:
Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?