Variations On The Theme

A little more of Lafayette Square architecture with moonrise. The City of St. Louis web site says the style is French Second Empire but there's lots of variety around. Contemporary rehab makes them a lot less dowdy.           

Lafayette, We Are Here

I really should shoot more around Lafayette Square, the gorgeous neighborhood of old townhomes a bit southwest of downtown. When I'm out of ideas I just cruise around the city, waiting for something to catch my eye.  Wandered by the square last weekend (that's when I shot yesterday's food trucks) and found a gorgeous moonrise.

(By the way, as to today's caption...)                     

Red Baron

It's snowing again. We're tired of it. Sure, people from Maine and Minnesota will think we're weenies but this has been the worst winter we've had in a long time. Same for most of the eastern two-thirds of the country.

So, to pass the time, some architecture shots. These large, old homes are on Lafayette Square, an historic district near the city center. Many of the beautifully restored homes are French in design, as discussed in the link. These however, are in what's called German Baronial style. Germany was the most important source of immigrants here in the 19th Century. Some of them hit it big (think Adolphus Busch). They built homes designed to impress, usually of red brick, based on patterns familiar to them. Sort an equivalent of today's McMansions way out in nether Chesterfield.