1721 Hadley Street
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is always slow so I fill the days with odd little posts.
Last week driving around I spotted this gem. The detailing on the front porch, the proportions and the cute side entry caused me to stop the  car to get this picture. 1721 Hadley Street is a 1,714 sq foot house built in 1890. It’s owned by a couple on 13th Street. The main roof and back roof have both collapsed so this structure won’t be around long.
It faces the south end of the proposed Iron Horse Trestle:
The Trestle is an 1.5 mile abandoned railroad alignment purchased by Great Rivers Greenway. It is the same railroad alignment that connects from the McKinley Bridge to Branch Street and was renovated in 2007 as part of the McKinley Bridge Bikeway.
The Trestle project begins at Branch Street where it will connect with the Riverfront Trail and the existing McKinley Bridge Bikeway. The Trestle is elevated above North Market Street adjacent to Produce Row, the City’s fruit and vegetable wholesale district and continues as it crosses over Interstate 70. Offering views of downtown St. Louis, the Mississippi River and the adjacent neighborhoods. The Trestle touches down near the intersection of Howard and Hadley Avenues just north of the new Mississippi River Bridge.
Status:
Great Rivers Greenway purchased the Trestle in 2005 and in 2007 initiated work to develop a conceptual plan for developing the trestle into a linear public park and greenway. Over the past several years, detailed engineering plans have been prepared in anticipation of construction.
In 2010, Great Rivers Greenway hired a construction management firm to work with the design team to recommend strategies to construct the project in phases as well as identify construction methods for renovating the elevated deck. It was identified that the Trestle could be constructed in two phases and Great Rivers Greenway is determining the best strategy to move towards construction in the next several years.
In mid 2011, Great Rivers Greenway began work to develop plans to paint the portion of the Trestle over Interstate 70. The painting will occur in the 2013 or 2014 as permits are secured from the Missouri Department of Transportation.Â
1721 Hadley Street is zoned industrial, not residential.
– Steve Patterson
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I agree, this is an odd little post – what’s your point? To mourn the imminent passing of this structure? To encourage the owners to save it? To link it to the trestle project? To push for a quicker start to the trestle project? To question the current industrial zoning designation? To question why the city hasn’t forced the owners to maintain it? This house is typical of way too many others in St. Louis – decaying, with no viable use, yet it’s still here . . . . sort of.
And a tangential question – what’s up with your recent switch to a tinier font size for the comments? I, for one, find it harder to read, especially on my netbook.  I wouldn’t even want to try on a mobile device with a smaller screen.
I agree, this is an odd little post – what’s your point? To mourn the imminent passing of this structure? To encourage the owners to save it? To link it to the trestle project? To push for a quicker start to the trestle project? To question the current industrial zoning designation? To question why the city hasn’t forced the owners to maintain it? This house is typical of way too many others in St. Louis – decaying, with no viable use, yet it’s still here . . . . sort of.
And a tangential question – what’s up with your recent switch to a tinier font size for the comments? I, for one, find it harder to read, especially on my netbook. I wouldn’t even want to try on a mobile device with a smaller screen.
I wanted to make readers of what I thought was a cute house before it is lost. I wasn’t aware of a font change so I will look into that.
The change must have happened with the new theme. Mobile devices have a special mobile them formatted for them and that font didn’t change.
I wanted to make readers of what I thought was a cute house before it is lost. I wasn’t aware of a font change so I will look into that.
The change must have happened with the new theme. Mobile devices have a special mobile them formatted for them and that font didn’t change.
The real tragedy is the couple. Plain and simple: If you own property TAKE CARE OF IT.
The real tragedy is the couple. Plain and simple: If you own property TAKE CARE OF IT.
Or sell it to someone who can and will! I’m afraid that too many owners “don’t want to take a loss” and have an unrealistic expectation that their property values will somehow recover. Too bad owners can’t donate (or can they?) real estate to nonprofits like they can with used cars. I’d like to see Habitat for Humanity (or another group) look into a sweat-equity rehab model, instead of focuing exclusively on new homes. Letting a property reach this state and then to “lose” it to the city for back taxes makes no sense, for either the owners or the city . . . .
Or sell it to someone who can and will! I’m afraid that too many owners “don’t want to take a loss” and have an unrealistic expectation that their property values will somehow recover. Too bad owners can’t donate (or can they?) real estate to nonprofits like they can with used cars. I’d like to see Habitat for Humanity (or another group) look into a sweat-equity rehab model, instead of focuing exclusively on new homes. Letting a property reach this state and then to “lose” it to the city for back taxes makes no sense, for either the owners or the city . . . .
If you donate  property to an eligible nonprofit, you can receive a tax deduction.Â
If you donate property to an eligible nonprofit, you can receive a tax deduction.
10HLLBZBSGDX I like it very much!