CINDERELLA LEFT

Lots of cities have horse-drawn carriage rides for tourists. I’ve seen them in New York’s Central Park for as long as I can remember. We have them in downtown STL, although the scenery is perhaps not as opulent. I haven’t seen it before, but this empty, horse carriage is parked beneath the railroad lines south of the Arch. I wonder if Cinderella made it to the ball - and whether we have one.                 

MORE TERRA COTTA

More terra cotta.  Why someone would call a building Cinderella is beyond me. The original owner wouldn't want businesses to start in rags before they achieved riches. (Too much of St. Louis has followed the opposite trajectory.) It apparently started as a skating rink (meet your Prince Charming on wheels) and then, two years later, was converted to a movie theater. One of our town's leading architectural and social historians, Chris Naffziger, wrote a wonderful article six years ago describing its decay and restoration. Maybe this Cinderella held closer to the original story. See https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2014/03/12/cherokee-streets-cinderella-building-finds-its-prince-charming?showFullText=true 

It is located on funky and eclectic Cherokee Street on the South Side. The ground floor is occupied. Don't know what if anything is upstairs.