The Admiral and the Robert E. Lee, ca. 1970

The Admiral and the Robert E. Lee, 20th century entertainment riverboats, were part of the St. Louis waterfront for decades. Although the Admiral spent much of its recent years as a moored stationary casino, it once plied the waters of the Mississippi as a streamlined dance hall.  The Admiral was scrapped in 2011 after the revocation of its casino license and the deterioration of its hull. The Robert E. Lee, a recreation of an earlier steamboat of the same name, was primarily a floating restaurant until its destruction by fire in 2010 while it awaited renovation as a restaurant in St. Charles on the Missouri.

For video of the burning of the Robert E. Lee:
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=198427

Nord St. Louis Turnverein, ca. 2005

The Nord St. Louis Turnverein, located at the corner of Salisbury and 20th Streets, was built in stages starting in 1871 as one of several athletic recreation centers for German immigrants in the city.  Turnvereins were the brainchild of a Prussian, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, who conceived of them as places to practice and teach the new exercise known as gymnastics in the early 19th century.  In addition to fire damage, the Nord Turnverein bore the scars of decades of vacancy after the group moved out in the 1980s, and in 2011, the remnants of the building were demolished and replaced with a vacant lot. With its removal, the intersection of 20th and Salisbury now has no structure at its corners for the first time since prior to the invention of the ice cream soda, the cash register, and earmuffs.

The photograph above is from the city of St. Louis' Geo St. Louis web site. For more images of it:
http://www.builtstlouis.net/northside/hyde_park03.html

The Sud St. Louis Turnverein survives at the corner of 10th and Carroll Streets.  For images of it:
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/turnverein.htm

Downtown Pontiac, ca. 1955

From the Boston Public Library Flickr photostream is this postcard of the Downtown Pontiac dealership at 4141 Lindell Boulevard. According to the postcard, Downtown Pontiac offered "personalized service" at "15 minutes from everywhere," while exhorting that "most everyone likes us." The early midcentury modern building has been replaced by a retail strip mall that currently features a Blockbuster Video rental outlet.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5532147918

King Bros. Motel, ca. 1955

From the Boston Public Library Flickr photostream is this postcard of the King Bros. Motel at the junction of Routes 40, 61, 66, and 67. Today the intersection is better known as Lindbergh Boulevard and Clayton Road ( next to the Interstate 64. The motel also was known as the Smith Bros. Motel for a time, but has since been replaced by upscale retail establishments.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5532147274

An aerial view of the motel:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5531563615

Masonic Home of Missouri, ca. 1920

From three eBay postcard listings are these images of the Masonic Home located at 5351 Delmar Boulevard. The original purpose of the Masonic Home was to house and assist the wives and children of deceased Master Masons, but later expanded to include assisting the elderly, the infirm, and orphans. The first buildings on the site were constructed in 1889, but these were replaced in 1914 and expanded upon multiple times (the newest structure was built in 1959). Due to budget constraints, however, the Masonic Home of St. Louis was closed in 1989 and all buildings on the site were demolished. The site is now occupied by the Metropolitan St. Louis Psychiatric Center.

View of Olive Street, ca. 1905

From an eBay listing for a postcard is this image of Olive Street and Broadway, looking west on Olive. As far as is known, no building in this picture survives. On the right is an unknown building that was demolished in 1909 to make way for the LaSalle Building. In the midground distance on the right is the Carleton Building, identified by the wall paint at the top and its distinctive cornice. It was located at the northeast corner of Sixth and Olive, and was demolished after 1967 and replaced by a modern office building. On the left is an unknown building demolished in 1907 and replaced by the 3rd National Bank Building, which itself was demolished in 1980 and replaced by the Metropolitan Square Building.

Hotel Jefferson, ca. 1920

From two eBay listings are these postcard images of the Hotel Jefferson (since renamed the Jefferson Arms Apartments), located at 415 N. Tucker Boulevard and built in 1904. The hotel played host to President Woodrow Wilson and President Harry Truman, and it was the location of meetings and the hotel for dignitaries at the 1916 Democratic National Convention. Although the building still stands, according to news reports the interior of the building deteriorated after its conversion to senior apartments in the 1960s. It was purchased by the Pyramid Company in July 2006, which evicted the building's more than 500 apartment-dwellers. Redevelopment into condominiums failed with Pyramid in 2008, and the Jefferson remains vacant.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/07/24/story6.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/05/05/story1.html

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/article_44353de2-5efd-11e0-8040-001a4bcf6878.html

Washington Hotel, 1905

From an eBay listing is this postcard of the Washington Hotel (Apartments), designed by Eames and Young and built in 1902 at the northeast corner of Kingshighway and Washington Place. In its original form, it was a full service hotel (no kitchens in the rooms), but it is considered a forerunner of the luxury apartment buildings that soon dotted the Central West End skyline. It still stands, but its apartments now feature kitchens, among other amenities.

Photographs of the Washington Apartments

Forest Park Band Pagoda, 1910

From eBay listings are these postcards of the original Forest Park bandstand in Pagoda Circle near the Municipal Theater. The bandstand was built in 1876, but in 1911 (around the time of these postcards) it was closed. The next year, it was damaged by a storm and caught fire, and the remnants were demolished. The current pagoda is known as the Nathan Frank Bandstand, after funds for its construction were donated in 1925 by Nathan Frank, a former U.S. House representative of the Missouri 9th district and St. Louis lawyer.