I
have been out again driving and shooting photos around my fair city of St.
Louis for decades. St. Louis has its share of dead and decaying urban
buildings. Many impressive buildings left over from a time when St. Louis was a
booming metropolis in par with any major city in the nation. Buildings that
have lost their luster but still are rich in detail and beauty. In the past few
years however I have noticed a depressing trend. The copper thieves have been decimating buildings that while
vacant for many years had weathered their abandonment fairly well. That is
until this scourge of copper thievery. The copper thieves will go to great
lengths scale walls, climb on roofs and dangle from steeples to rip off
gutters, fascia, trims and other details. Building parts that would and did
last almost indefinitely when left only to the elements. Once the copper thieves
are finished the gaping wounds that are left behind allow the elements to
quickly destroy these buildings. For a few dollars gained at the scrap yard beautiful
old historic buildings, buildings that have endured long vacancies, are quickly
being destroyed. The lengths these people will go for such small amounts in
return are amazing. They will risk life and limb. For a hundred bucks in scrap
they cause immense damage in the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands
of dollars. I hope you enjoy these photos. Some of these buildings are
going to be gone soon.
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| Old Church and Buzzard |
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| Smitten and Afflicted! |
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| Steeple |
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| The Green Green Grass of Home |
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| Green Green Grass in Black and White |
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| Corner Detail |
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| Jackson School |
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| Closed |
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| Bridge and Big Sky |
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| The Orb |
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| Orange With Vent |
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| Closed Color! |
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| Broadway! |
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| Manifold |
