THE ARCHITECTURE WHICH DEFINES OUR LANDSCAPE IS A TANGIBLE PART OF OUR COLLECTIVE HISTORY. WHEN HISTORIC STRUCTURES ARE DEMOLISHED, A PART OF OURSELVES IS RELEGATED TO MEMORY AND CONDEMNED TO BE FORGOTTEN. IN THE REDISCOVERY OF OUR ABANDONED, OFF-LIMITS, OR OTHERWISE HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTS, I DOCUMENT THEIR EXISTENCE AS WELL AS OUR OWN THROUGH THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE ADVENTURES PRESENTED HERE
Allenton Missouri was a large sprawling residential area near Six Flags outside of Saint Louis which included 45 houses, a church, pawn shop and post office. By the time of our arrival in 2006, it was all vacant and walking through it was admittedly a little eerie. Most of the structures were left behind fairly recently, but one house in particular (#108) had been empty for much longer.
During about half of our visit, the houses were in the process of being torn down, so we had to literally stay one step ahead of the wrecking crew. We were inside one of the houses as the bulldozer pulled up. So we left and never saw the place again.
#108 was built in 1924 and as of our visit this was the oldest house still standing:
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
This sums up the experience:
Before:
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
After:
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
Allenton Missouri Ghost Town by sublunar
This thing scared the shit out of me as I walked into the room and saw it out of the corner of my eye..
This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of adventure and features urban exploration in Saint Louis, Missouri and beyond.
1. With the exception of historical photos, all of the photographs here are copyrighted and not to be used for any purpose without my consent. The historical imagery is courtesy of the Historical Society or as otherwise noted.
2. "Don't try this at home." I absolutely will not be held responsible for anyone else's stupidity. I do not recommend anyone try visiting any of these locations. Sometimes I am granted access to the things you see here and attempting to follow in my footsteps may get you arrested, hurt or killed.
3. I do not condone or tolerate: vandalism, theft, littering or any other disrespectful activity in any of these locations. I have the utmost respect for the history of these locations and for the history of my city, Saint Louis. "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints."
4. Do not ask me for (or post) specific location information. If identifying information is not provided in the post, there's usually a good reason for that. Any information will be provided either at the time of posting, or updated years later, at my discretion.
5. Any reference to "I/me, we/us" anywhere on this blog is probably just a metaphor. Metaphors are oten employed to simplify complex technical details when storytelling. As such, they can never be considered as admission, nor proof, of guilt; They do not provide sufficient evidence as to who (or what) actually took any of the photos shown here. I/we may or may not actually exist.