Daily Dose of Blairmont 100

The big one-oh-oh. On this momentous occasion, we visit not a location but a building type: churches. Blairmont has possession of 6 small church buildings that I know of... so far.

• 3060 Thomas Street (N & G Ventures LLC, November 2005)

May 2008
Last used as: New Life of Praise M.B. Church, 2004. Vacant since 2001.

• 3037 Thomas Street (Sheridan Place LLC, January 2007)

May 2008
Last used as: Faith Deliverance Temple, 2006

Links:

• 3060 Thomas at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com

• 2547 University Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005)

May 2008
Last used as: St. Paul Church of Christ Holiness USA, 2004

Links:

• 2547 University at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com

• 2940 Montgomery Street (Sheridan Place LLC, April 2007, $245,000)

Last used as: North Galilee Baptist Church, 2006

Links:

• 2940 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com

• 2900 Gamble Street (Sheridan LLC, April 2007)

May 2008
Last used as: Everlasting Light M.B. Church TRS, 2006

Links:

• 2900 Gamble at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com

Left and right:
• 3977 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive (N & G Ventures LLC, August 2005)
• 3965 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive (Sheridan Place LLC, January 2007)

May 2008
Last used as: Rock of Ages Baptist Church. The church owned the two conjoined buildings at right.

Links:

• 3065 Martin Luther King at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com

This is Paul McKee working hard to build communities, folks.

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

Daily Dose of Blairmont 55

Left to right:

• 2949 Montgomery Street (privately owned)
  
• 2947 Montgomery Street (Sheridan Place LLC, December 2006)
  
• 2945 Montgomery Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006)

February 2008

I must apologize for the lack of a good introductory photograph of all three buildings. Sometimes the flabbergasting sight of a building destroyed by brick rustling just makes a body forget such concerns.





The thieves destroyed half of the privately owned building, completely annihilated one of the Blairmont buildings, and damaged a corner of the other -- just enough that its chances of recovery are now much dimmer than they would have been.


May 2005 - further collapse

Links:

• 2945 Montgomery at the City Assessor's database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 42

• 2946 Montgomery Street (Sheridan Place LLC, December 2006)
  
• 2948 Montgomery Street (VHS Partners LLC, April 2005)
  
• 2950 Montgomery Street (Sheridan Place LLC, February 2007)
  
• 2952 Montgomery Street (vacant - MLK 3000 LLC, July 2007)

February 2008

This block lost two similar houses within the last couple of years (they're present in the Bird's Eye Aerial view linked below, but not in the standard Aerial view, taken within the last year or two.) Blairmont owns the land that one of them stood on.

The remaining trio were already a pretty raggedy looking bunch, and now under Blairmont's stewardship, brick rustling has taken off the side wall of 2946.

Links:

• 2946 Montgomery at the City Assessor's database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 18

• 2933 Montgomery Street (Sheridan Place LC, January 2007)

February 2008

Call it the heartbreaker house.


7
Purchased by Blairmont and promptly emptied, this charming little cottage was decorated with signatures and a message of farewell by its former residents: "The Walker family would like to thank you for 51 years."

Claire Nowak-Boyd captured the painful reality of it far more intimately and passionately than I can convey. There is little I can add, besides photographs.





Update: The memorial to the house's long life has been painted over.

May 2008

Is it just good old-fashioned neighborly maintenance? No, I don't think so. If it was, they could have found time to paint over the gang/memorial graffiti just around the corner on Bacon Street, but it's still hanging around:




No, it looks a lot more like an attempt to hide the fact that real people lived here, that this was somebody's home.

Links:

• 2933 Montgomery at the City Assessor's database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont