Disappearing St. Louis is a book presenting 55 color images captured over a three-year period by photographer Amy Fontinelle. They depict the poor conditions of homes, churches, and commercial buildings across the city in historic neighborhoods such as Old North St. Louis, Vandeventer, Fountain Park, Academy, JeffVanderLou, and Hyde Park.
Since the photographs were taken, some of these buildings have been restored, but many have deteriorated further and quite a few have been demolished. Despite their appearances, many of these structures, both those that were destroyed and those that remain, were not or are not beyond repair.
Such neglect can be reversed—indeed, it already has been in neighborhoods like Lafayette Square and the Central West End. With an awareness of the issue and a committed effort, the cycle of abandonment and destruction could be stopped and the neighborhoods shown herein could also be restored to their original splendor.
All profits from the sale of Disappearing St. Louis will go to the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, a nonprofit organization that is successfully rebuilding a historic north side neighborhood one building at a time. To learn more, visit www.onsl.org.
The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group is not affiliated with Disappearing St. Louis. The book is an independent project by the author.
A preview of this book is available through Google Books.
To order copies of Disappearing St. Louis, please email me at alfontin [gmail]. Copies are $40 each; media mail shipping is free.
