Anotherone Bites the Dust - Servco Warehouse fire South of the Gateway Arch

If you look back through this blog you will see another short series of photos form a fire not very long ago. That fire was only two blocks away. It was in the Western Building of the Crundon Martin complex. This building, I will call the Servco Warehouse, burnt on Monday, December 16, 2013. Again another dramatic fire that will decimate yet one more piece of the historic riverfront fabric. Likely caused by some accident, carelessness or stupidity as the cause is  yet to be determined when I am taking these images.

Fox News Story with Photos of the Servco Building Fire in St. Louis

Servco Burning-Flames



Servco Burning- Smoke



Servco Burning - Far Away



Near the River

Today's post is a series of new images from areas just South and North of the arch. It is a gritty industrial  area that is somewhat of a no man's land  but very near my office so I spend time here. I have photographed this area a lot and you will see many of the subjects already on the blog. The St. Louis flood wall separates the workings of the river, with its giant barges for moving heavy raw materials such as coal, grain and petroleum from the city. The area is laced with both highways and heavy rail lines. Roads and train trestles transition onto Bridges that cross the mighty river. Here in St. Louis the edge of the city along the Mississippi has very often been left to industry. Heavy smoke stack industry, warehouses and many types of things that have long since become obsolete in the American economy. Yet the river remains an ever active place. All manner of work seems to always be going on along the banks as she remains ever powerful. Vast amounts of materials being made loaded or processed along it. Certainly it is still shaping this landscape.

Images from a lunchtime photography! If you like or dislike these images please comment! Thanks!

New Bridge and Barge Conveyor

Arch and Sign

1970

 

Tracks and Shed

 

Tankers and Tracks

Crane Gears II After High Water

Barge Crane II

 

Trestles Black and White

Suck This Cold Mother!

As it used to be

These shoes were made for walking

Collection of Rural and Urban Images

I took these images a few weeks back over a coupe of days between Christmas and New Years. I had to drive to Columbia Missouri for a project and decided to take the back roads home and photograph. I found some really interesting architecture, some abandoned buildings, and some powerful landscapes. Please enjoy. If you like these images please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Christopher Wren In America

Fulton Cornice

American Neoclassical

 

 

American Neoclassical 2

Rural Classical

Red Barn Interrupted

At the end of the lane

Callaway

Abandoned

Modern Medicine

New Bridge

Abstract

Cotton Belt Depot

The Office is Closed

Cotton Belt Depot 2

North Side Mansion

North Side Mansion 2

At The Top of the Hill

Approaching Storm on the Riverfront

Storm Clouds Over St. Louis

An Iphone image of tonights approaching storm.

The Death of the Merchant of Venice



Mississippi River and Merchants Bridge



A Giant in Decline

The Wound

Her Majesty

St. Louis

Today's post are from a recent series of images shot just North of the down town area of St. Louis. I call this the Death of the Merchant of Venice as it is in and around a recently renovated bridge across the Mississippi called what else the Merchant's Bridge. It connects North St. Louis with Venice IL. Just accross the river into Illinois is an Ameren UE power station which is being demolished. It is a place grand in scale and size as the river, the bridge and the power station as well as the views back toward the city are all grand in scale.

Working with 4x5 Film Camera





Barge Crane and Abandoned Power Station

Chapel Cornice

Tonight's post is of two subjects that I have photographed before. The first is a barge crane on the Mississippi River. Across the river is an abandoned power station. It is an ethereal place. Quiet and vast. This crane stands tall looming against the vista of the powerful yet mostly silent river. These were  photographed with my 4x5 Sinar  F2 and 150mm Schneider Lens using E100G film. The second is the cornice of a chapel at the Bellefontaine Cemetery. The cemetery provides examples of architecture that are more art than function. Most architecture serves two masters being both art and function. But in these temples, tombs and chapels at the cemetery serve little practical purpose being absent of function. Yes the structure must resist the elements but they are of little use but to serve and express the connection that architecture has with our emotions. These classical structures are so rigid in their execution. Still they are are so sculptural and three dimensional.