I don’t know who owns the building at 7187 Manchester or when it was built but I’ve long thought it sported a pleasing well-balanced Art Deco facade. I have photographed it many times in different seasons.
No doubt images of it exist somewhere in the small mountain of slides I made during the Kodachrome era most of which will never be seen again. The images I’ve made since I switched to digital in 2005 are easier to find. Here are a few of them.
The stained glass windows on this building were probably removed by the owner, But many (most?) of the missing stained glass on old buildings, particularly vacant ones, is the work of thieves.
The real criminals are the junk and antique dealers who knowing buy these stolen treasures.
When was the last time you ever read that one of these dealers was prosecuted for receiving stolen property ? Like never ?
I agree. How did this happen? Do you know who owns the building? It is SO sad!
I think there used to be a ‘bow factory’ either the 2nd flr of the 7187 bldg, or perhaps the vanished neighbor bldg. Chuck Kennedy would know better than I. I do not remember the blue glass, but i was very little when the music store was next door.
Doug, since you study the bldgs so carefully, i’m curious if there’s any significance to the diamond-shaped stone or brick accents? Are they just decorative or are they functional in some way? They’re widely used in Maplewood and South City. I’m wondering if they’re a signature of a particular builder.
Wanda, the ornament on this particular building is made of glazed terra cotta. It is fired clay like a brick with a glaze that has vitrified or turned to glass in the furnace. It and the basket weave pattern in the bricks are purely decorative. Other than the coping on the very top of the wall most of it serves no useful function. It sure is pretty though. Some builders or more likely architects have included signature details in their buildings but I doubt that you’re seeing any of that in this building.
Oh, dear. Yes, this is sad business.