I agree though that sometimes its good to point out the positive things that are occurring in St. Louis even if they are small things, so I have decided that I will occasionally try to do so. So here goes...
This beautiful bridal dress shop opened just last week in the former Ludwig Aeolian Building at 1004 Olive. One of the buildings that been lingering for a while, the Ludwig Lofts has now almost been completed by LoftWorks. When I first entered the building about seven years ago, the roof was collapsing around one of the original skylights. To deal with the breach, the buildings former owner rigged up quite a contraption of a drainage system involving a blue tarp held up by some old desks and other odds and ends laying around and funneling into a piece of 4" PVC that was piped out a back window. This contraption actually did a pretty decent job of keeping the building dry.
This scene of several Christmas trees and lights in the windows of the Vangard Lofts caught my eye on the way back to the Globe Building garage a few days ago and made me think of how far we have come in the last several years. With that I leave you until next year... Happy Holidays!
I don't find your blog negative at all; rather, I see this site as a valuable warning to everyone who says they care about preservation.
ReplyDeleteThat is a fantastic photo - the Civil Courts building looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, the photo does show that a significant amount of demolition has taken place along 11th Street over the years - there's now parking lots next to the Vanguard Lofts (foreground) and across from the Louderman Lofts (background) that would be perfect for new construction someday. I'd love to see what used to be there.
Very good point and well worth noting. In fact from Market all the way north to Lucas (five blocks plus the courthouse plaza) the Louderman is the only building left fronting the west side of 11th Street (between Chestnut and Pine is the lifeless AT&T garage), creating a sad lop-sided streescape. Compare this with 10th street just one block east, and it is a world of difference (and 10th street still needs improvement with three surface lots).
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for the link to your blog. I don't think you should feel obligated to do positive posts. I mean, in any given town or city there are probably many websites dedicated to what's new, what's going on, etc., so you trying to come up w/ positive stuff is just forcing you to move away from what you blog is. I feel that your photography is a tribute, an important record, of things that will no longer be able to be recorded, and depressing or not, that's important. :)
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