24 HOURS IN ST. LOUIS; Part Two... The Bad.

[photoLith]

Well, its not all bad, but in part two I cover the north side which can be described as nothing more than bad and depressing. Although, there is some hope with Old North STL restoring a lot of the abandoned buildings just north of downtown. But, I just couldnt believe how terrible the north side was and I only saw a small section of it, it goes on and on with abandonment, its strange. I will start with downtown though, and then after the north side I went back to the south side of the city and ended up in a pretty bad ghetto near Cherokee Lemp Historic District. This is 85 pictures so let me know if I have to make a third photo thread because some people might have trouble loading all of em.








































The last bit left over from a once great urban neighborhood in North STL. The neighborhood surrounding this church was completely destroyed by a terrible urban renewal apartment project that ultimately failed.










Decimated...


















Old N. STL stabilizing abandoned buildings.


Completely restored street in NSTL that was recently completed. The street doesnt look too good but the buildings were amazing.
























Moving past the destruction I drove to a neighborhood located just east of the massive Tower Grove Park.




















Then I drove past Lafayette Square and then north of Soulard and walked around the tiny remnant of a neighborhood LaSalle Park, which was beautiful and gentrified, which in St. Louis in my opinion is a good thing. Because most of the historic neighborhoods I saw around the city were inhabited by ghetto trash, which is a shame.












Budweiser Brewery south of Soulard.


After that I drove over to Cherokee Lemp Historic District which was pretty nice until you went anywhere around it. The whole area from what I could tell was surrounded by a beautiful urban fabric but it was quite the ghetto, of which I walked around in and didnt feel too unsafe.






A ghetto hood.












This beautiful art deco building was located at the corner of Grand Ave. and Gravois Ave.


Going southwest on Gravois Ave. The urban hoods just kept going on and on, it was awesome.


Somewhere near Marquette Park.


Goodbye STL, until next time...

[JivecitySTL]

OUTSTANDING. Keep in mind, though, that the city's North Side comprises nearly half the geographic area of the city, and is home to almost 30 of the city's 79 official neighborhoods. Not all of them are as decrepit as the ones you have captured. Some of them are among the most dense in the city, especially west of where you were. The 'hoods I see represented here are Old North, Hyde Park, St. Louis Place, Carr Square and JeffVanderLou (and some South Side 'hoods). Some I'd suggest for your next visit are Penrose, Walnut Park, Academy, Fountain Park and several others. They do not fit the stereotype of "North St. Louis."

Great set!

[Centropolis]

You got some great shots in there, it's not all bad though...



my favorite!

[STLgasm]

These photos are professional quality! Even the most bombed-out sections of STL look great through your lens.

[photoLith]

I added some more to this set, so please come back and check em out.

[STLgasm]

I think this thread proves that St. Louis is truly the last Eastern city.

[photoLith]

Theres nothing else like St. Louis, other than Chicago, until you start to get out towards the northeast. Theres no city that has such an impressive urban fabric in the south, not a one. Houston wasnt old enough, Memphis never got as big, Little Rock was tiny, New Orleans comes close but still, St. Louis is on a level all its own.

[photoLith]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...igoeUSGS02.jpg


This church is the one located at the front of the Pruit Igo development and its all thats left of that once huge neighborhood.

I just cant believe that all of that is gone today for the most part. Think of how amazing the city would have been around the late 20s, no gigantic highways cutting it apart and just the built environment running for miles and miles like that. It must have been a sight to behold. Seeing this picture and others like it brings tears to my eyes, its almost too painful to bear. But, luckily, a lot of the city still exists in its original form, lets hope it stays that way and improves.

Now, I know that during the 40s and 50s, living in those old buildings probably was pretty terrible as most were most likely in bad shape. So, Im sure that the citizens of St. Louis saw it as a beacon of hope when all of those irreplaceable buildings were torn down.

What I found to be really tragic though was that a lot of north STL was getting infill in the form of shit suburban styled housing developments next to the remaining stock of old buildings. I hope that isnt a continuing trend throughout that part of the city.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Again, it's such a treat to see this city and the quality of picture is amazing. I really wish I could have seen St Louis in its prime...such a beauty.

[LSyd]

awesome!!! i so need to get back there and visit my family (and photograph the city.)

i love these shots, especially the skies. like in this one especially

Originally Posted by photolitherland

Theres nothing else like St. Louis, other than Chicago, until you start to get out towards the northeast. Theres no city that has such an impressive urban fabric in the south, not a one. Houston wasnt old enough, Memphis never got as big, Little Rock was tiny, New Orleans comes close but still, St. Louis is on a level all its own.

while not as massive, Richmond isn't too far off.

-

[BG918]

Originally Posted by photolitherland

Theres nothing else like St. Louis, other than Chicago, until you start to get out towards the northeast. Theres no city that has such an impressive urban fabric in the south, not a one. Houston wasnt old enough, Memphis never got as big, Little Rock was tiny, New Orleans comes close but still, St. Louis is on a level all its own.

Agree, not in the South. But the central region Kansas City, Denver and Minneapolis are similar but in smaller amounts than St. Louis. I haven't explored the north side but driving east down Delmar from Washington Univ. is an interesting ride going from a really nice area to a bad area and then back into nice areas in and around downtown.

[JivecitySTL]

Originally Posted by BG918

Agree, not in the South. But the central region Kansas City, Denver and Minneapolis are similar but in smaller amounts than St. Louis. I haven't explored the north side but driving east down Delmar from Washington Univ. is an interesting ride going from a really nice area to a bad area and then back into nice areas in and around downtown.

There are definitely great neighborhoods in the cities you mention, but none of them are nearly as old as what you'll find in abundance throughout St. Louis City.

[photoLith]

Richmond is quite well preserved and does have some really beautiful old neighborhoods its not even like 1/8th the size of St. Louis.

[Highrise_Mike]

Wow those pictures are awesome. Although the neighborhood has seen better days, I think it is so cool. All the older homes right on the street, they were originally designed for people and not cars. Can you imagine if more streets were restored and an entire neighborhood like that was brought back to the way it was. I would definately recommend trees along the streets and add leave some green space to enjoy.

[Suburban Lou]

Your photos are amazing! You need to hurry up and come back to capture the rest of the city.
Downtown looks so much better without stl centre.

[Coldrsx]

Outstanding indeed!

Sickening how some of that stuff has been left for dead or treated.

Mind you some equally amazing restorations.

I would kill to own some of those

[Thundertubs]

Excellent set. #3 in particular is a stunner. A great, haunting tour.

Originally Posted by LSyd

Richmond isn't too far off.
-

Richmond is my favorite slab of Southern urbanity.

Originally Posted by BG918

Agree, not in the South. But the central region Kansas City, Denver and Minneapolis are similar but in smaller amounts than St. Louis.

I haven't been to Denver, but as far as Minneapolis and KC go, they have plenty of individual buildings, and a handful of blocks that match STL's old-school urbanity, but no solid districts.

[Expat]

St. Louis is a beast. Not everyone understands it and few truly comprehend it. Once you fall in love with the city, you never get out of your system.

[photoLith]

I never knew until I went there last weekend how truly massive it is and awesome. I still dont really comprehend how I could have not known really too much about all the amazing urban neighborhoods that reside in STL. My image of the city for sure changed after going to it. I havent been able to stop thinking about STL since I got back. It's so fucking awesome and I had no idea.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by photolitherland

I never knew until I went there last weekend how truly massive it is and awesome. I still dont really comprehend how I could have not known really too much about all the amazing urban neighborhoods that reside in STL. My image of the city for sure changed after going to it. I havent been able to stop thinking about STL since I got back. It's so fucking awesome and I had no idea.

Glad you had a good time in this tough old battleship of a city. I'm really looking forward to your Memphis photos and insights, I haven't actually stepped foot in Memphis in years, been in too much of a hurry passing through.



I just realized that this is 3 1/2 blocks from my house! The neighborhood to the right, which is mine, is better than gritty Gravois Avenue would indicate, it's called Tower Grove South, and is a wonderful neighborhood with many "interior" corner commercial buildings...you were also right at a tiny "little" Vietnam, all of the buildings on each corner of that next intersection you see there at Spring Street is a Vietnamese business, I eat at Truc Lam on the northwest-ish corner ("upper" right, you can barely see a sliver) a lot and usually I'm the only non Vietnamese customer in there.