St. Louis Brick by Brick (2023)(beltmag.com)
beltmag.com
St. Louis Brick by Brick (2023)
https://beltmag.com/st-louis-brick-by-brick/
13 comments
It’s not just the buildings, even then shoreline of the Mississippi in StL is paved with bricks. All of this gives it such a much older feel than KC.
I'll need to read the rest of the article, but it is amazing how many brick homes and buildings are in St. Louis.
The brick house in St. Louis I rented previously was built in the late 1800s and has a brick walkway in the back yard that was put down at the same time, so nearly every day I was walking on bricks that had been walked on for nearly every day for more than a century.
The brick house in St. Louis my wife and I purchased a couple of years ago was likewise built in the late 1800s. If you don't know what tuckpointing[+] is, and the cost involved, you definitely will after purchasing a brick house! Thankfully, it doesn't have to be performed every decade, and you don't necessarily need to have it done to the entire exterior in one go.
[+] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckpointing
The brick house in St. Louis I rented previously was built in the late 1800s and has a brick walkway in the back yard that was put down at the same time, so nearly every day I was walking on bricks that had been walked on for nearly every day for more than a century.
The brick house in St. Louis my wife and I purchased a couple of years ago was likewise built in the late 1800s. If you don't know what tuckpointing[+] is, and the cost involved, you definitely will after purchasing a brick house! Thankfully, it doesn't have to be performed every decade, and you don't necessarily need to have it done to the entire exterior in one go.
[+] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckpointing
From the context, it seems you mean repointing, not tuckpointing. (As described in the Wikipedia article you link, which admittedly does make an allowance for some regions using the terms interchangeably.)
But, the true meaning of tuckpointing (two-toned bands of grout to give the appearance of finer grout lines) is something I did not know about and found pretty interesting. Thank you for the comment.
But, the true meaning of tuckpointing (two-toned bands of grout to give the appearance of finer grout lines) is something I did not know about and found pretty interesting. Thank you for the comment.
It seems everyone uses the term wrong around here - I live in the area and when I had my home repointed, every tradesman called it tuckpointing. Probably a regional thing.
Yeah, even the ads on the radio talk about tuckpointing, when they just mean repointing.
There are tons of beautiful brick buildings in North St. Louis (one of the areas highlighted in the article), which are blighted over time, as they start crumbling after decades of no maintenance.
One such building is this an old victorian mansion that's slowly and meticulously being restored by a local: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuteYo4Kgm1t1DqkUV33BcQ
I've visited the area a few times (and used to drive through it on the way into the city), and it's a little depressing how every time I drive through I see another couple of buildings gone.
Just last month, one of the historic church buildings (mostly brick) burned down [1], while last year another historic church building that was converted into an indoor skate park (Sk8 Liborius) also burned down [2].
The tough thing is, the developers in that area are happy to let all the buildings rot and fall over, and eventually they can sell larger plots of land to projects like the NGA, who are building a new $2 billion HQ [3]
[1] https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/crews-battle-fire-at...
[2] https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/news/2023/06/29/fl...
[3] https://www.stlpr.org/economy-business/2022-12-20/ngas-nearl...
One such building is this an old victorian mansion that's slowly and meticulously being restored by a local: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuteYo4Kgm1t1DqkUV33BcQ
I've visited the area a few times (and used to drive through it on the way into the city), and it's a little depressing how every time I drive through I see another couple of buildings gone.
Just last month, one of the historic church buildings (mostly brick) burned down [1], while last year another historic church building that was converted into an indoor skate park (Sk8 Liborius) also burned down [2].
The tough thing is, the developers in that area are happy to let all the buildings rot and fall over, and eventually they can sell larger plots of land to projects like the NGA, who are building a new $2 billion HQ [3]
[1] https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/crews-battle-fire-at...
[2] https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/news/2023/06/29/fl...
[3] https://www.stlpr.org/economy-business/2022-12-20/ngas-nearl...
> The tough thing is, the developers in that area are happy to let all the buildings rot and fall over,
That's not how developers work.
Developers make money by, wait for it, developing.
Developers don't "buy and wait for rot". They don't buy until they're ready to develop or the cost+carrying is almost free, which is after someone else has let the rot happen.
Developers lose money holding. They buy as late as possible because undeveloped land/buildings are another word for "cash going out the door" and the cost of said assets is money that could have been spent on buying something to develop NOW.
That's not how developers work.
Developers make money by, wait for it, developing.
Developers don't "buy and wait for rot". They don't buy until they're ready to develop or the cost+carrying is almost free, which is after someone else has let the rot happen.
Developers lose money holding. They buy as late as possible because undeveloped land/buildings are another word for "cash going out the door" and the cost of said assets is money that could have been spent on buying something to develop NOW.
> The tough thing is, the developers in that area are happy to let all the buildings rot and fall over, and eventually they can sell larger plots of land to projects like the NGA, who are building a new $2 billion HQ [3]
You're being awfully unfair to "developers." NGA was built on the former Pruitt-Igoe site. It was simply a demolished wasteland since 1976 and is now a functioning area with economic activity.
As for the rest of it, "developers" won't even touch these buildings, many are abandoned and worth less than free considering the tax liens.
You're being awfully unfair to "developers." NGA was built on the former Pruitt-Igoe site. It was simply a demolished wasteland since 1976 and is now a functioning area with economic activity.
As for the rest of it, "developers" won't even touch these buildings, many are abandoned and worth less than free considering the tax liens.
I live in one of these red brick homes! It’s amazing how well they hold up. The architecture is pretty desirable too, St Louis has a really dense style that makes lots of city neighborhoods extremely walkable.
New Madrid Fault? Brick buildings hardest hit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone
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They are fortunate to still have so many old buildings/houses compared to most of the rest of the Midwaste where I see the older places quickly disappearing, being torn down and replaced by modern structures.
Also, the discussion of the Indians reminded me too that just next door to St. Louis are the remnants of the Cahokia mounds, a UNESCO World Heritage site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia
(Also, couldn't help but be reminded of Settlers of Catan reading about their brick empire, ha ha.)