Drew and I spoke with Reggie for a good while about the neighborhood. He has been an East St. Louis resident for 48 years and has military experience.
We got the impression that he knew everyone in the neighborhood. Passers by took their time to wave or say hello to him. He was all for us photographing the neighborhood.
Reggie also hit us with an astounding statistic: There have been 15 fires in East St. Louis in the last 10 days. (Notice the burned out home behind him.)
A red brick home painted completely black in East St. Louis.
I drove by in December 2009 and the plastic was not present. I was really hoping to explore this hospital, which has been closed since 1990. I had planned my day around it.
I spoke with an East St. Louis resident about the hospital. He informed me that the plastic had gone up recently. Demolition is well under way.
A guard sitting in a truck in the parking lot adjacent kept a close eye on Drew and I as we circled the hospital.
Behind the Murphy Building in East St. Louis. The center of the building has collapsed inward. The main stairwell has been all but obliterated. Drew and I were not about to test the fire escape stairs.
If you look closely you can see flora growing out of the brickwork.
Front facade of the Murphy Building in downtown East St. Louis.
Flying skull graffiti located behind the Spivey Building.
I’m standing two blocks away with a new 75-300mm lens set on 75mm to compose this shot. I was quite impressed with the zoom capabilities of this lens.