Oak Grove Mausoleum
Oak Grove Mausoleum was initially constructed in 1928 and was designed by architects Tom P Barnett and Sidney Lovell. The Mausoleum is a magnificent Byzantine Style domed building which is nearly 1/8th of a mile long and contains over 6,000 crypts and burial vaults. Its grand marbled dome was lavishly decorated by 22k gold leaf and was modeled after the Pantheon in Paris. There are several rare and unique sculptures and stained glass furnishings inside not to mention some of the worlds finest marble. Notable among these are the Tiffany and Co. Stained glass window titled "The Ascension of our Lord" which was custom designed for the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Saint Louis. The window was rescued just prior to the church's demolition in 1968. In fact, the south wing of the building is said to have been constructed to accommodate this huge 15x24' window. Additionally, the Mausoleum houses one of the original copies of the Gloria Victis, a sculpture created in 1874 by Antonin Mercié. "Mercié designed this sculpture following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. He intended to honor those French soldiers who had fallen in the conflict, especially his friend, the artist Henri Regnault (1843-1871)". Among those buried here are Henry Kiel, who was mayor from 1913-1925 and whom the Kiel Auditorium was named after.
Southern Funeral Home
The Southern Funeral Home was built in the late 1920's and was the first purpose built funeral home in the city of Saint Louis. It closed sometime around 2010.
Alabama Funeral Home NSFW/NSFL
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE
NSFW!! NSFL!!
Memorial Mound in Bessemer Alabama closed in 2002 and left some of its residents behind. According to al.com "The Alabama Department of Public Health has no authority over burial sites." The authorities knew about the situation here but nothing was done about it until photos of a corpse showed up on the internet.
NOTE: They have since removed the remains.
The Chinese Restaurant
In the mid 1980s, David was running a successful chain of Chinese restaurants in Saint Louis. But only a decade prior, he was forced to flee his home in Vietnam after the Communist Takeover in the spring of 1975 under threat of his life. In Vietnam, David was a well-known business owner who ran several hotels and restaurants until the Communists threatened to kill him for doing business with Americans. The US troop withdraw signaled that it was time for him to take his family and head to the United States. But this would not be easy. First they had to get out of the country. They were forced into hiding just outside the city for nearly a week until they found a fisherman willing to sell his boat.. for 20 ounces of gold. The plan was to head out to the ocean and hope to be spotted by a US boat in time. After floating aimlessly for 6 days at sea, they were discovered by a US ship and were towed to nearby Malaysia, from where they eventually made their way to the United States. David and his family arrived in Saint Louis in late 1976. Encouraged by a friend who declared St. Louis an easy place to start a business, he quickly discovered that Chinese food was popular here and soon got a loan to open his first restaurant in the US in 1977. In only 2 years, he managed to open another 4 restaurants and by the 1980s had opened at least 16 restaurants. David was passionate about his work and regularly put in 14 hour days with frequent trips to China in an effort to learn new recipes in order to keep up the quality and authenticity.
The Clocktower
The Clocktower was constructed in the 1890's. It proudly stands watch 230 feet above downtown Saint Louis. Facing out in all 4 directions, its hands have steadfastly toiled away at their work for almost 130 years now-illuminating every moment of our miserable existence and ensuring that the unending march of time continues to progress forward in a clockwise fashion. Unfortunately, the clocktower appears to finally be sealed up now and this may be the last time I would ever get to enjoy the views. But who knows. Maybe in another decade after the current owners abandon it, the great cycle will repeat itself with Saint Louis falling back into disrepair, becoming the filming location for another Escape From New York movie in which this building once again enjoys a starring role. It already happened once before and, well, we survived 2020. Anything is possible at this point.
I-70 Speedway
I-70 Speedway was a legendary paved oval race track which remained open consistently through the glory days of racing, spanning the decades from 1969 until its demise in 2008. I-70 hosted various types of races from Stock Car racing to NASCAR truck and Kart racing as well as monster truck events. At one point the main oval was changed to dirt then back to paved. In 2006 a permanent 3/8 mile dirt track was added at the back of the property and often races were held on both tracks on the same night. Known for its steep 28 degree banks, the venerable 5/8 mile racetrack was loved by both racing enthusiasts and the drivers who raced there. Some notable I-70 alumni include racing legends Rusty Wallace and Clint Bowyer among others. It was regarded as a tough white-knuckle racetrack which often sent drivers careening over the walls in a mangled wreck of metal and fire. It was as unforgiving as it was glorious.
The Livestock Exchange Building
The Livestock Exchange Building was constructed in 1898, dedicated on June 9, 1899, and was a central hub for the local livestock, meatpacking and railroad industries in St Joseph Missouri for most of the last 100 years. The building provided offices for a variety of operations with a common interest; The first floor included the Stockyards offices as well as a bank, post office and even a cigar stand. In addition, the USDA, Western Union Telegraph Company and countless railroad companies, livestock commissions and packing companies had offices located here. It continued to serve in this capacity until roughly 2008. This building was directly involved in the prosperity of St Joseph in the early 20th century as it was the center of the livestock industries which were among the most important in the United States at the time.
Beaumont Telephone Exchange
The Beaumont Telephone Exchange was constructed in 1902 as a branch office and exchange for the Bell Telephone Company. This building represents one of few remaining examples of the period of rapid growth in the telephone industry in the early 1900's.
In November of 1877, Alexander Graham Bell's American Telephone and Telegraph company granted a license to expand service to Saint Louis. Early on, George Durant, the general manager of ADT (the American District Telegraph Company), leased equipment for private lines. Eventually it was decided that a central switchboard would be more efficient. Thus having started with twelve subscribers in 1878, this would be the first exchange in what would later be known as the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. By 1880, this new company had 600 subscribers. Soon they outgrew their offices and moved from 417 Olive to 902 Olive and finally, in 1902, to their present location, where it was said to be "one of the best equipped of modern exchanges".
Over the years, as advances in technology were made, additions were made to the building which directly reflect the exchange adapting to meet them. This building served the telephone services industry throughout its entire career up until the mid 1990's. It was used for a few years as a training center, but eventually the equipment must have simply become too obsolete for even that role. It has been vacant ever since.
Dillard's Department Store
This building was constructed in 1907 originally as the Stix Baer & Fuller department store. It closed in 2002 along with the adjacent Saint Louis Center mall. Currently it is awaiting conversion into lofts. The company who began the project went bankrupt and thus it sits mostly gutted.
Radio Station / Clothing Factory
I wasn't sure what to expect going in here but it definitely wasn't a Radio Staion/80's clothing factory. This location was originally an International Shoe Company building. More recently it was home to an odd little blip in fashion history: Leggoons Sportswear. Based on a very short google search, I've determined that Leggoons was basically the embodiment of the 1980's in the form of loudly designed shorts. Unurprisingly when 1980's fashion trends came to an inglolrious end with the dawn of the 1990's, Leggoons failed to stay relevant. Their shop here lasted until 1996 when a note was posted to the employee time-clock board indicating their sudden closure. The internet also tells me that someone had since tried resurrecting the brand in the early 2010's and are still operating today.A few years after Leggoons vacated the premesis, a local radio station set up shop originally as a country station, then changed format to 90's alternative. The antenna was installed on the frame of the old water tower where it is still mounted. They went under in 2014 when the owner ran into financial difficulties and for reasons I don't understand, they appear to have left everything behind.
The Melba Arcade
The Melba Arcade once served as a grand entrance to a theater which sat directly behind it. It was later used as a mixed retail shopping center. The theater burned down in the 1960's, but fortunately this Gothic trimmed arcade style building remains.
Hotel Jefferson
The Jefferson Hotel was the largest and probably most well-known hotel in the Saint Louis area throughout the first half of the 20th Century. It was hurriedly constructed in the early 1900's to assist in accomodating some of the 19.7 million guests who would attend the World's Fair. Construction broke ground in March of 1903 and work at the site would see sixteen hour days in order to meet the impending deadline. Prior to officially opening for business, this hotel was chosen as the location to inaugurate the social season of the World's Fair. A formal ball was held on April 8, 1904 and was sponsored by the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Confederate Memorial Society. The ball was said to be the "most strikingly brilliant social affair ever held" in the area and guests were reported to include "representatives of every civilized country, high World's Fair officials, soldiers, consuls and multimillionaires". The hotel was able to meet the construction deadline, opening on April 29th 1904, the day before the Fair was to begin. Among those registered at the hotel on the eve of the World's Fair included the official delegation of the U.S. Senate and House. President Theodore Roosevelt personally telegraphed the signal to commence the opening from the white house. The hotel would host several Democratic National Conventions throughout the years among other countless conventions and other events.
Interlaken
Interlaken resort began as a hotel in the late 1800s which was located next to the Twin lakes in Colorado. James Dexter purchased the site in 1883 and expanded it into what was to become one of the top resort destinations in Colorado. It only lasted about 25 years before the Twin Lakes themselves were transformed into a reservoir which raised the water level and flooded the main road to the site. The lakes are now connected by a narrow channel in the middle. Interlaken subsequently closed in the early 1900's and it wasn't until the 1970s that the Bureau Of Reclamation stabilized the structures and preserved them from destruction. To reach Interlaken today you can either take a ~5 mile trail from the nearest parking lot or you can cross the lake(s). Our plan was to take a kayak to Interlaken which meant going through the small channel connecting the lakes, turning right and eventually parking the boat onshore right up next to the old resort. The kayak rental guy warned us that if we tipped over in the middle of the lake then we'd likely get hypothermia before reaching the shore. And we only had two hours to get there and back with the kayak. Awesome. Naturally the wind picked up right about the time we got on the lake. The water itself was exremely cold and the wind relentlessly pushed waves against us which just about completely absorbed the energy were burning off just to stay still.
The Millenial Motel
After breaking the hell out of my collarbone earlier this year and subsequently being on the disabled list for the entirety of summer 2022 (wearing a sling and going through physical therapy) I'm FINALLY off the DL and cleared to return to normal activities. And with this post, months of boring, stupid inactivity on the blog has come to a glorious end; BACKSTREET'S BACK, SON! Welcome to the return of boring, stupid activity on the blog! I can tell you're excited, but PLEASE CALM DOWN. As a bonus, this post comes with a little backstory and a couple extra sections with helpful tips and incoherent rambling!
Holi-Rama Inn
This hotel was in use as recently as January 2012, despite it being in such an advanced state of deterioration by our visit in mid-2013.
Celebration City
Celebration City closed around 2009.
Abandoned Themepark #2
This themepark opened in 1990 and featured a variety of carinval rides and attractions designed for a young audience. The park closed in 2010.
The Strip - Lake of the Ozarks
The Strip at the Lake of the Ozarks is an entertainment corridor located along the Bagnel Dam at the popular tourist destination Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. As of the time of my visit, however, some of it had clearly fallen into disuse and neglect.
The Wright Arcade Building
The original Wright building was constructed in 1906 as a retail shopping center. The design featured storefronts facing a vaulted atrium running the length of the building from the front to the back. In 1919, construction began on the addition which wrapped around the 18 story gothic structure. The new portion housed an additional 1000 commercial shops and when completed was "the highest concrete structure of its kind in the world" (St. Louis Star, May 22, 1920).
Scraping The Skies
There were two ledges involved.. They were only separated by about 3 feet or so. But it was enough that you didn't have a great hold on either side as you crossed over. Close enough that if you are relaxed and you don't over think the gap, it really shouldn't be a problem, in most situations. But in this case, the gap happened to be roughly 75-100 feet above the ground. I'm not really sure of the exact height because I didn't want to look down long enough to figure it out. Either way, you're dead. This was far sketchier than anything I've done before in terms of height and it was messing with my head. I tried to just look at the ledge I was on and look at the ledge I needed to be on and make it happen. I reached out to it a couple of times as a warm up, trying to reassure myself that it's not that far. I decided to just do it, get it over with. I extended my leg to the other side, stretched further than it seemed like it should be. I let go of one hand on my ledge and began to grasp at the other ledge.
The City Club Building
The City Club building, also known as the Alverne, was constructed in 1923. As the City Club, it provided a forum and meeting place for persons active in civic and social issues and was notably inclusive of race, religion and gender among its speakers. The club claimed to have over 700 speakers "representing every quarter of the globe" and "virtually every race and nationality". The City Club addressed issues both locally and globally and sought engagement from its members in solving problems. In the mid 1920's, the Saint Louis branch of this organization counted 3700 members. This was a time when social clubs were at their height of popularity and this was the peak of the City Club's membership. And it wasn't all serious business. In 1928, City Club opened a rooftop mini-golf course and it's said that the Mayor had 5 holes-in-one on opening day. The October 1928 newsletter had a commentary on this course as follows: "Players losing their ball (over the edge of the building) must signal the following players to go through, after which they may hide in the pantry in the 14th floor until danger from enraged pedestrians is passed." Other notable amenities were offered here; its multiple dining rooms served lunch to leading politicians and businessmen of the day, billiards lessons were offered to members' sons, musical programs and regular dances were just some of the perks.
The Skyscraper Downtown
This location is one of the tallest buildings in Saint Louis and has been the subject of some controversy after it was announced that it would be vacated. Naturally we began to eye the place up. But we soon discovered that although the major tenant has in fact moved out, there are still some active offices on the upper floors. My valiant comrade and I nevertheless found our way inside and made it to the very rooftopiest hatch only to find a big padlock in our way. Fortunately, the next roof platform one flight of stairs down from there was not secured in such a way as to deny our advances. We opened the door to the glorious howling of air currents above Saint Louis at heights that are normally reserved for the flying rats we call pigeons. Tall buildings seemed small and humans were no longer easily distinguishable. After enjoying the view from the roof, we proceeded down to the executive level, the topmost habitable portion of the skyscraper. We found chandeliers, ugly contemporary paintings and a large, but sadly empty, bar. We carefully made our way around inside while looking for motion sensors or alarms and found no obvious signs. Soon, however, I opened a hall closet on the South-East corner of the top level and found an alarm panel which was lit up light a Christmas tree. Evidently silent, and well hidden, alarms are the current situation here. We immediately headed for the exits just as security was making their way after us. But luck was on our side and the day was won by the good guys as we exited without incident.
Alexa Chemical Building
The Alexa Chemical building was constructed in 1896 by the Chemical Building Company as new facilities for the Chemical national bank, although it was never actually used in that capacity. A few notable Saint Louis business occupied space here over the years including a school for secretaries and even the legendary local cafeteria called Miss Hullings, which opened its first location here.
The building is mostly vacant now and has been for a long time. But a recent foreclosure and purchase means the building will likely be renovated very soon.
The Continental Life Insurance Building
The Continental Life Building had been abandoned for years, but it has been renovated and is now nearly finished. Only part of the first floor remains to be remodeled for some commercial space. It's a nice building and the view from the roof is the only of its kind in the area as it's easily the tallest building in this part of town. When I was almost done, the cleaning crew spotted me coming back into the topmost suite, from the roof. As I headed for the elevators, the guy asked me if I was "looking for someone". I don't know who he thought I could have been looking for, on the roof, but I'm sure we could have had an interesting conversation out there, high above the traffic.
Kansas City Power and Light Building
KCPL was constructed in the 1930's and was the tallest building in the area at that time. The original occupants inhabited the space until the 1990's. Currently, it is undergoing conversion into lofts.
This place was a lot of fun. Thanks go to my comrades who made this one possible. Elevator rides to the top made exploring such a tall building much less work than I'm accustomed to. The top featured unparalleled views of the city in all directions and we arrived just as the sun was setting. The blustery winds carried the noises and smells of the city all the way up to our clandestine observatory. Enjoying our various illegitimately acquired views of the world around us are some of my favorite moments that only this hobby can provide. And at the low price of free* (*if you do it right), you really can't beat it. I could have stayed up there all night, but we had some shenanigans to engage in later (the true height of the levels of ridiculousness that our shenanigans would reach was not entirely apparent from the outset, but I can assure you that many shenanigans were had on this night).
Saint Louis Health Department
This was, at one time, the headquarters of the Saint Louis Health Department.
The Sun Theater
The Sun Theater in Saint Louis was built just prior to WWI in 1913 as the Victoria Theater. It has undergone several name-changes throughout the years, becoming a Jazz club and even an X-rated movie theater, until eventually obtaining its current designation as the Sun. It has been abandoned since its last occupants, the Faith Tabernacle, left in 1981.
The Majestic Theater
The Majestic Theater opened in 1928 in East Saint Louis and was known as a movie palace. It was notable for being the first theater in the city to feature modern air conditioning. The first shows here were "Spotlight" starring Esther Ralston and "Sporting Goods" starring Richard Dix. After installing a new "vitaphone" system, the Majestic theater became the first theater in southern Illinois to show motion pictures with synchronized dialogue and the first film shown here which took advantage of this system was "Warming Up" starring Richard Dix. This is actually the second Majestic Theater at this location. The first one opened in 1909 but burned to the ground in 1927. The new Majestic theater closed in the 1960s. And now, inside it is pitch black and mostly gutted, the only light inside comes from the roof behind the stage. This makes photography challenging. For this reason, I had to resort to using HDR with multiple exposures stacked on each other. I'm not a fan of HDR but in this case I had no other choice.
Goldenrod Showboat
"The Goldenrod Showboat was built in 1909 by the Pope Dock Company of Parkersburg West Virginia at a cost of $75,000. 200 feet long and 45 feet wide with an auditorium of 162 feet long, it had a seating capacity of 1,400. In 1910, 22 showboats visited 15 states as part of their regular route along the Mississippi. By 1938, only four remained in operation and by 1943 the Goldenrod was the last of its kind still touring. Goldenrod was the last showboat operational on the Mississippi. Under Capt Bill Menke, she was moored at the Saint Louis riverfront in 1937. In 1947, the original wooden hull was placed into a steel barge by the Saint Louis Shipbuilding & Steel company. By 1950, she had been partially sunk and salvaged twice. On June 1, 1962, a disastrous fire all but destroyed the superstructure of the autitorium and caused severe damage to the entire structure. The Goldenrod was then purchased by a group of Saint Louis businessmen and was subsequently restored to her original glory. Many of the new furnishings came from old Saint Louis mansions that were being demolished. When the $300,000 renovation was completed, Goldenrod had her Grand Re-Opening in May, 1965. In 1967, she was registered as a National Historic Landmark. Eventually, the city of Saint Charles purchased the Goldenrod and she was subsequently moved there. In 2001, she was run aground and closed due to repairs. She was eventually moved to Kampsville, Illinois and was eventually sold for $5,000. After changing hands several times through various circumstances, she was ultimately destroyed by issues related to mooring and finally the destructive fire which brought about her demise."
Injun Joe's Theater
I went camping this weekend and was surprised to find this abandoned outdoor theater. The seats are on one side of the lake and the stage is on the opposite side, thus utilizing the geography as a natural amphitheater. Apparently there used to be several prop buildings on the stage side and even a riverboat at one time.
Sky Bank
The Sky Bank and Trust, aka State Bank or Wellston Bank was built in the 1940's and saw use as late as 2006 when it last functioned as a Regions Bank. It's hard to imagine it was being used that recently, however, considering that the decor appears potentially original and the basement is completely flooded. The overall condition suggests it had been vacant for much longer. Inside it is very dark and moldy. The floors are buckling from the humidity of a basement full of murky water and the giant steel safe doors are beginning to rust away.
Cass Bank and Trust
The Cass Bank and Trust Building was constructed in 1927, the same year the Ford Model A was introduced. This was a tumultuous time for transportation in general which meant that customer traffic was going to be evolving rapidly and Cass Bank would need to change along with it in order to survive. Over the subsequent years, they did just that as they worked to continually tailor products and services to meet their customer's needs. For example, when a new highway was constructed in the 1950s which divided the neighborhood and brought increasingly concentrated industrial facilities and truck terminals into the area, Cass Bank constructed a drive up facility in 1957 on the east side of the bank along with walk up teller windows to serve these clients and in so doing boasted that they were the first of their kind. Ten years later, in 1967, they were one of the first banks in the nation to utilize electronic computers to process payroll. Cass Bank eventually vacated this building in 1988 and it sat vacant until 1991 when it became a Greyhound Bus Station. Greyhound remained at this location for 17 years until ultimately moving to another location in 2008. It has been vacant since Greyhound left and has been in a steady decline since then. There were talks of converting this property into a Veterans Center, a role that would be beneficial in this area, but as of 2016 this project still hasn't come together.
Boatmen's Bank
Boatmen's Bank was founded in Saint Louis in 1847 and claimed to be the oldest bank west of the Mississippi. George Knight Budd started Boatmen's Savings Institution to serve the working class and named the company for those "Boatmen" who worked on riverboats on the Mississippi.
On April 5, 1854, a robbery occurred in which "the bank's secretary Joseph Thornton was implicated because the vault had been opened at night with a bank key. Testifying against him was Joseph Charless, president of the Bank of Missouri, who had received for deposit water and mud-soaked notes from Thornton. Thornton was acquitted but was to shoot and kill Charless on the street afterwards. Thornton was nearly lynched, and later hanged following a trial." -Wikipedia. Boatmen's would become the largest bank in Missouri in the 1980's. By the time of its acquisition by Nations Bank in 1996, it was one of the 30 largest Bank Holding Companies in the United States. I'm not sure of the exact date of closure on this branch but I would guess that it didn't last very long, if at all, after the company's acquisition.
Nightclub Bank
Here, we found ourselves inside an unusual bank-turned-nightclub somehwere in Saint Louis.
