Random Rant: The decaying doughnut that is St. Louis

image from The Ecology of Absence
There's an ongoing analogy used by Saint Louisans to describe the layout of the city to those who haven't seen it: The Donut. So called, because the exterior counties seem built up and prosperous while the interior is rotting away; it’s Victorian-era luster forgotten, once bustling structures marking a major cultural and commercial bastion on the western frontier dissapearing.

Perhaps no one understands this urban decay better than Michael Allen and Claire Boyd, founders of eco-absence.org and Saint Louis city residents.

Their website and blog, The Ecology of Absence, features some of the most moving, harrowing images of the gradual destruction of Saint Louis' architectural heritage. Since 2001, Allen and Boyd have phtographed and documented the history of many buildings throughout St. Louis and several other locations throughout the midwest.

The pair enters buildings, often illegally due to their state of disrepair, photographing both the damage and the remnants of occupancy, drawing one's mind to wonder what the structures and their owners were like during their long-gone heyday.

The gateway to the west, of course, has retained some of its charms over the years: parts of the concrete walls from the 1904 worlds fair (though not in the best condition), Forest Park and the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Soulard Neighborhood, and the Fox Theatre are good examples. But for the most part, the city looks like Berlin in August, 1945 - A shell-shocked, withering, loveless patch of ground that consumed not only the blood and sweat of frontiersmen, the refined charm of the Victorian era, and post-war, modern structures, but seemingly also time itself.

To me, it's as if the land itself is trying to reclaim its former rusticity and openness.

I met up with Michael and Claire in the summer of 2004 in a small, late night Sushi bar in the South Grand area. We sat with my friend, Eric Seelig, who introduced us, we chatted about architecture, local politics, and naturally, urban decay.

Michael, who works for the Landmarks Association of St. Louis by day, has a keen eye on local politics, it turns out. His blog frequently details decisions made by the City of Saint Louis, as well as keeping abreast on pending demolitions. All in all, it is a very informative site with cool visuals, and energetic, vivid documentation the ongoing abandonment and decay of Saint Louis.

The Ecology of Absence