52nd City

North City Parking Lot Tour '06

So, this one's a bit left field, but stay with me.

I'm at the Missouri History Museum's research library, combing through some old Polk's City Directories. (And, already, don't you all just hate me for having such an exciting Thursday afternoon?) After a bit of cursory reading, I realize I need a better notebook and some materials from home, so I jot down a couple dozen addresses of old STL movie theatres, just so I have some specific places to look for pics while I drive around.

Having shot old moviehouses for an off-on while, I know that many, if not most, are long gone and today's jaunt confirmed that. In fact, I hit about six in a row that were just, pfft, gone. Most of these are North Side, with a couple Midtowns and Sou'siders, too.

Here's a recap:

Douglas, 4201 Finney: demo, parking lot
Gravois, 2631 S. Jefferson: demo, now Lee's Fried Chicken
Midtown, 4819 Delmar: demo, now a state office building
Pageant, 5851 Delmar: demo, now Big Jake's BBQ
Union, 1510 Union: demo, parking lot
Wellston, 6226 MLK: demo, empty lot
Star, 16 So. Jefferson: demo, now MSD HQ
Merry Widow, 1539 Choteau: there, warehouse for Hibdon Hardwood
Empress, 3616 Olive: demo, now a parking garage
Victory/Mikado: there, abandoned and crumbling
Will Rogers, 1217 Union: demo, parking lot
Cirlce, 4472 MLK: missed it, but it's there, now a tire shop

I've got a fair number of dead theatre pics on my flickr site, avialable via www.thomascrone.com, if so inclined. And more on the way, especially once I log in for than 45-minutes at the MoHist library.

Ta!