In August 2013 the vacant brake foundry in Midtown St. Louis, Vandeventer Ave. & Forest Park Ave., was an “eye sore” just south the main campus of Saint Louis University. IKEA’s announcement to build on the opposite side of Vandeventer was still a few months away. I visited the foundry site as best I could in my power wheelchair, taking 9 photos in a 20 minute period.
Before posting about the new City Foundry STL (with food hall, offices, retail space, and recently opened grocery store) I want to take you back to the afternoon of Saturday August 24, 2013:
Looking NE from the west side of Vandeventer, under I-64.A little further north, looking toward Forest Park Ave.Turning east, the rail spur (right) hadn’t been used in decades.Further north, looking east.Now east of Vandevener, looking east along the north side of the foundry site, Forest Park AveFrom the gently-sloping parking lot within the site, looking east.This is a cropped view from the previous image.Into the site a little more, looking SELooking south along Spring Ave, the east boundary of the foundry site.Down the hill, looking back north along Spring Ave. The eastern most foundry building is now on the left.Looking east from IKEA’s 3rd floor restaurant on September 23, 2015 — the day the media was allowed to preview the new store. IKEA’s Opening Day was a week later, September 30, 2015. The foundry site to the east was unchanged more than 2 years after my visit above.
Soon I’ll use these images to compare the foundry to the completely reimagined present. The single-story building along Vandeventer was razed, all other buildings remain today. See amazing before interior photos here.
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