Editors Note: This story was originally published in February.
Urban exploration, also known as urbanex, has become popular on Instagram the past couple of years. Photographers set out to find buildings in cities that have been abandoned so they can grow their portfolio. The more crumbling, overgrown with weeds and graffiti-covered the building is the more unique the photo. Unfortunately, you don’t have to go far to find a building that has been forgotten in St. Louis. The city has about 11,000 vacant buildings. 10,000 of those are located in north St. Louis.
Chris David, 46, lives in St. Charles County, but every day he visits a different St. Louis neighborhood. He spends 40 hours a week resurfacing bathtubs and countertops all over the metro area. As he drives from job to job he can’t help but notice the beautiful old buildings that had fallen into disrepair. In 2016 he stopped his work truck in front of a building, pulled out his Android cellphone and snapped a picture. He created an Instagram account called 'stl_ghost_buildings' that now has hundreds of photographs of forgotten places. The bio of his Instagram says “dedicated to the architecture that “once was” and merging of structure and nature to make “what is.”
With every photo, Chris snaps and uploads to his Instagram he is left wondering about the history and stories behind each special place. There are dozens of historical landmarks in St. Louis, but one of the most popular is the Grand Avenue water tower. It was built in 1871 which makes it the oldest water tower in St. Louis. Standing 154 feet, it is the tallest free-standing Corinthian Column in the world.
Click here to see the full list of certified local historic districts that possess national, state, or local significance.
Since becoming a non-profit in 1959, The Landmarks Association of St. Louis has worked to preserve, enhance and promote St. Louis' architectural heritage.
Chris David said his Instagram account is not meant to say “hey, look at this mess! Some of my pictures show devastation in St. Louis. But I hope the photos draw attention and make people stop and question why is it like that? Why isn’t anything done with these cool old buildings?”
Mayor Lyda Krewson announced a plan in the summer of 2018 to help attack the growing vacancy problem. When the mayor’s new program was announced, about 1 in 5 properties in St. Louis were vacant, which means approximately 25,000 vacant lots or buildings looking for somebody to show them some TLC.
149 buildings were demolished in the City of St. Louis in 2017. 313 buildings were knocked down in 2018. The majority were in north St. Louis.
270 buildings are currently under contract to be demolished in 2019.
To see which buildings and how much each demolition cost click here
Better Family Life has also made it their mission to demolish properties that sit vacant for years. The organization said these vacant buildings don’t help the crime problem. A spokesperson for Better Family Life's 'Operation Clean Sweep' said with the help of volunteers they have demolished 32 buildings since the start of their program in 2017. The group plans to tear down dozens of abandoned buildings in 2019. They will focus on high crime areas named as 'Hayden’s rectangles' and East St. Louis.
If you want to sign up to volunteer with Better Family Life click here
Instead of focusing on tearing buildings down some people want to see buildings fixed up. One north St. Louis alderman, John Collins-Muhammad, started a Dollar Housing Program, where the city leases vacant buildings that are in the city's land bank, also known as the LRA, to interested developers.
“If they rehab and redevelop these homes and buildings within 18 months, then the city will sign them over the official deed for the property for one dollar,” Collins-Muhammad explained. “We keep seeing families that are trickling out of St. Louis and we want to keep them here, but we have to give them the type of incentives to stay here,” he said.
If you want to see more of St. Louis’ forgotten properties check out stl_ghost_building’s Instagram page.