On my new Substack called Unseen St. Louis, I wrote about Pruitt Igoe, a housing project that was constructed in the 1950s and then demolished in the 1970s, and in my last Story Cauldron, I shared a couple of photos of a building that’s falling apart due to neglect.
georgeclerk / E+ via Getty Images
In today’s Story Cauldron, let’s hear from you! Tell us about a place in your city that’s gone now—a building, park, or something else. Are you glad it’s gone, or do you miss it? Describe a memory of that place and share it in the comments.
One of my favorite restaurants in LA was a barcade called Button Mash, which featured a great selection of games and an incredible dan dan noodle bowl. Sadly, it closed permanently due to the pandemic.
Sorry for the tangent but a great conversation starter.
Work has taken me all over the country including St. Louis over the years and at some levels it reminds me of home Buffalo, NY. St Louis has a real character with neighborhoods, past glory, etc. A city located at an important crossroads with some remarkable landmarks from another age. The city boomed at some point and it is tragic but a common problem that when a city shrinks there is only one moment when rebirth is easiest and possible. The amount of tax dollars required to shrink a city far exceeds what the new city or footprint can support. I am far from an expert but I think this is the challenge of cities like St. Louis, Buffalo, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Detroit have faced in their histories.
When I think of tragic failure in my home of Buffalo, it is the steel mill abandoned on the lake. At one time the largest steel production facility in the world. An incredible facility with more lakefront property than imaginable. The mill closed 40+ years ago and what to do with it is tragically still "up in the air". The truth is the window did pass long ago and the area is always in need of special grants from the state to fund rebirth. It is sad and tragic. I need only look to the other side of the lake and see gleaming Toronto which has always prioritized the importance of the water to the identity of the city.
I love when I am home to visit the "dots" on the map that define interesting spots to see in Buffalo like Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, a master-planned park system, etcetera. What was mismanaged was that the city needed to shrink and that requires great leadership and tough choices. I know the cities of Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Detroit better than I do St. Louis. Some of them have made strategic choices to reinvent their cities.Those decisions govern whether the cities can survive and thrive.
I miss the open spaces. My grandfather's house that he built himself and sat on 2 acres with a huge garden and a southern magnolia tree which is now an apartment complex. The field where I could always find dickcissels and meadowlarks nesting that is now a theater. Stevenson's apple orchard and their lovely home-style restaurant where we used to go for extended family birthdays and such. Even just the places that were fields that are now subdivisions and shopping centers.
Oh man, my childhood home. It was the house my great grandmother bought when she came to this country and she planted a rose bush in the front yard. I can remember so many details about it from the crystal doorknobs to the plaster attic ceilings. The property was doomed to be condemned because the house next to it was built too close, causing years of water damage. It was demolished about 5 years ago. When I heard, I was pregnant with my son and was too emotional to go back. I still have not stood at that spot to see what was put up in its place.
Oh that's so hard. I hate when houses get torn down like that. My first home that I remember was in a complex of townhouses. They razed the whole complex some time ago and it's just an empty field. One of these days I plan to go up there and check it out, but it's more difficult than I expected.
Yeah, I need to go up there and take some photos of what's there, as well as the complex where I lived briefly as a baby before they kicked out my parents for daring to have a baby. I've never seen that place before (well not that I can remember!) so that could be interesting. While I'm up there I also want to talk about this huge subdivision that you can see on Google Maps that was torn down years ago for an airport expansion that didn't happen. From Google maps it looks like you can still drive the streets, so that could be interesting. Maybe I'll try to do it later this week if the weather holds up. I do need an "easy" piece while I work on another longer research piece for March, so that might be a cool project!
Okay this is WEIRD. Just after I posted this, I opened up an article that the Missouri Historical Society emailed out, and it is about the neighborhood I was talking about! Serendipity wins!
Not my current city, but my Grandparents lived in Flint, Michigan. And when we visited them, we always stopped for donuts at Supreme donuts. They had a special donut there, a cinnamon roll with a peanut butter glazing and chopped peanuts on top, that I loved. Sadly Supreme donuts shut down about a decade ago. But the childhood memory lives on.
One of my favorite restaurants in LA was a barcade called Button Mash, which featured a great selection of games and an incredible dan dan noodle bowl. Sadly, it closed permanently due to the pandemic.
I think I had a great time there on a trip to the LA Auto Show :)
That sounds like a great place! Damn the pandemic. We've lost so many cool businesses.
Sorry for the tangent but a great conversation starter.
Work has taken me all over the country including St. Louis over the years and at some levels it reminds me of home Buffalo, NY. St Louis has a real character with neighborhoods, past glory, etc. A city located at an important crossroads with some remarkable landmarks from another age. The city boomed at some point and it is tragic but a common problem that when a city shrinks there is only one moment when rebirth is easiest and possible. The amount of tax dollars required to shrink a city far exceeds what the new city or footprint can support. I am far from an expert but I think this is the challenge of cities like St. Louis, Buffalo, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Detroit have faced in their histories.
When I think of tragic failure in my home of Buffalo, it is the steel mill abandoned on the lake. At one time the largest steel production facility in the world. An incredible facility with more lakefront property than imaginable. The mill closed 40+ years ago and what to do with it is tragically still "up in the air". The truth is the window did pass long ago and the area is always in need of special grants from the state to fund rebirth. It is sad and tragic. I need only look to the other side of the lake and see gleaming Toronto which has always prioritized the importance of the water to the identity of the city.
I love when I am home to visit the "dots" on the map that define interesting spots to see in Buffalo like Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, a master-planned park system, etcetera. What was mismanaged was that the city needed to shrink and that requires great leadership and tough choices. I know the cities of Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Detroit better than I do St. Louis. Some of them have made strategic choices to reinvent their cities.Those decisions govern whether the cities can survive and thrive.
I miss the open spaces. My grandfather's house that he built himself and sat on 2 acres with a huge garden and a southern magnolia tree which is now an apartment complex. The field where I could always find dickcissels and meadowlarks nesting that is now a theater. Stevenson's apple orchard and their lovely home-style restaurant where we used to go for extended family birthdays and such. Even just the places that were fields that are now subdivisions and shopping centers.
Oh man, my childhood home. It was the house my great grandmother bought when she came to this country and she planted a rose bush in the front yard. I can remember so many details about it from the crystal doorknobs to the plaster attic ceilings. The property was doomed to be condemned because the house next to it was built too close, causing years of water damage. It was demolished about 5 years ago. When I heard, I was pregnant with my son and was too emotional to go back. I still have not stood at that spot to see what was put up in its place.
I wrote about it on Medium.
https://medium.com/tell-your-story/on-my-way-home-56d883d82499
Oh that's so hard. I hate when houses get torn down like that. My first home that I remember was in a complex of townhouses. They razed the whole complex some time ago and it's just an empty field. One of these days I plan to go up there and check it out, but it's more difficult than I expected.
I went through the rooms in my mind and just stood in those memories. Whew! 🥹
I’d love to see the Going Home episode of Unseen St. Louis.
Yeah, I need to go up there and take some photos of what's there, as well as the complex where I lived briefly as a baby before they kicked out my parents for daring to have a baby. I've never seen that place before (well not that I can remember!) so that could be interesting. While I'm up there I also want to talk about this huge subdivision that you can see on Google Maps that was torn down years ago for an airport expansion that didn't happen. From Google maps it looks like you can still drive the streets, so that could be interesting. Maybe I'll try to do it later this week if the weather holds up. I do need an "easy" piece while I work on another longer research piece for March, so that might be a cool project!
Okay this is WEIRD. Just after I posted this, I opened up an article that the Missouri Historical Society emailed out, and it is about the neighborhood I was talking about! Serendipity wins!
🤘🏾
Not my current city, but my Grandparents lived in Flint, Michigan. And when we visited them, we always stopped for donuts at Supreme donuts. They had a special donut there, a cinnamon roll with a peanut butter glazing and chopped peanuts on top, that I loved. Sadly Supreme donuts shut down about a decade ago. But the childhood memory lives on.