Extra

Extra Edition, originally uploaded by dj denim.

Caption: “Corner of Tucker and Martin Luther King drive, downtown Saint Louis. Morning of Barack Obama’s first full day as President.”

Penney

Wellston J.C. Penney Building, originally uploaded by Dream Operator.

The caption: “Located at 5930 Martin Luther King Drive in the Wellston Loop commerical district, the Wellston J.C. Penney (actually in the city of St. Louis) was built in 1948 and designed by William McMahon in the International Style. St. Louis city once had another International Style neighborhood department store, but that store (a Famous Barr) was wrecked in 1994.”

Part of  a set of shots of the building.

Window shopping

Jeff Vander Lou: Luggage Cameras, originally uploaded by Postcards from North St. Louis.

Election (3)

VOTE, originally uploaded by dj denim.

“One of the best Obama posters I have seen. Displayed at Dr. Martin Luther King and Page.”

More from STL

MLK & Glascow 01.JPG, originally uploaded by Vanishing STL.

It’s been a while since Urban Review STL’s ongoing documentation of St. Louis has touched upon the MLK there. For more see earlier posts here and here.

MLK & Glascow 02.JPG, originally uploaded by Vanishing STL.

MLK & Glascow 03.JPG, originally uploaded by Vanishing STL.

Concerned neighbor, watching a fire

MLK Boulevard: Concerned neighbor watching a fire, originally uploaded by Postcards from North St. Louis.

Postcards from North St. Louis contributes this interesting scene:

I was a little worried this might reinforce stereotypes of the North Side, but then again I want to tell the part of the story that doesn’t get told about my side of town.

Sure, I see fires and other things like that, but the television news doesn’t tend to tell you about the way that the community pulls together up here. Some of my neighbors in ONSL recently suffered a fire that gutted their home, and neighbors have been feeding them, helping rehab their house, and providing all measure of other support. I think that’s the part of the story that people need to hear more about. Yes, we do actually care about our neighborhoods up here. If this man didn’t care, he’d be inside watching TV. He was not the only person I saw watching the scene that night.

St. Louis

Kingsway West: Wohl Community Center, originally uploaded by Postcards from North St. Louis.

Postcards from North St. Louis writes: “At MLK and Kingshighway sits the Wohl Community Center, one of my favorite modernist buildings in St. Louis. I swear one of these days I will go swimming there.”

More St. Louis

“IMG_8176.jpg,” originally uploaded by urbanreviewstl.com.

Steve Patterson of Urban Review STL — previously mentioned here — added a big batch of images to the MLK BLVD Flickr pool after that earlier post, so it’s worth highlighting a few. More of Mr. Patterson’s photography is here. Above: “Northside of MLK between Goodfellow & City Limits, former Welston Loop building.” Below: “Beautifully detailed building along Grand to be razed for a suburban-style Walgreen’s.” More after the jump.

“mlk_grand – 01.jpg,” originally uploaded by urbanreviewstl.com.

CLEANERS. ALTERATIONS.

“CLEANERS. ALTERATIONS.,” originally uploaded by Kirkbride Palace.

Shuttered (?) storefront. Taken last summer on the 4400 block of MLK, on the North Side of St. Louis.

St. Louis

“mlk charrette – 11.jpg,” originally uploaded by urbanreviewstl.com.

Possibly the most extensive and thoughtful documentation of any single MLK has been that carried out on the site Urban Review STL by Steve Patterson . The above photograph is one of several he contributed to the MLK BLVD Flickr Pool a while back. At the time, the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects was conducting a “design charrette” in St. Louis’ Ville neighborhood — a historic area where MLK Drive is a major street. “During the event I scootered up and down MLK getting photos of buildings both in the Ville and in areas east and west,” Patterson later wrote.

Of the above building he wrote: “Stunning building with corner storefront and attached flats.”

In September 2006, the building was razed:

“IMG_5456.jpg,” originally uploaded by urbanreviewstl.com.

Patterson wrote at the time: “The photos are all that remain of this building that, if rehabbed, could have made a nice contribution to the streetscape. Instead another vacant lot will join all the others along MLK.”

More of Patterson’s images, plus links to and highlights from his writing on MLK Drive in St. Louis, after the jump.