River Views

River Views

Although at the present time, I'm in no position to consider moving to a different house, I can still dream. So today, I was thinking: how many areas are there in the City of St. Louis where you could actually buy a house with a view of the Mississippi River?

Using some basic GPS software and my own recollections from having explored some of these areas, this is what I've got:

--Coal Bank Rd and Riverview Dr: This is the northernmost part of the City, north of I-270 in fact. There are still a handful of private residences clustered here, although most of the vicinity is owned by government agencies.

--10100 Block of Lookaway Dr: A little further south, you can find what's basically a private street of mostly 1930s houses, off Riverview Dr (via Spring Garden Dr) and just west of Chain of Rocks Park. Between I-270 and here are the Hidden Park Apartments, and the Lookaway Drive Public Housing complex, neither of which you could buy, but which probably have decent views as well.

--Lookout Dr at Lookout Ct: Still further south along the bluffs overlooking Riverview Dr, are these cul-de-sacs of 1930s homes accessed via Bluff Dr off Riverview. There are several houses in this area located within the City limits.

South of that area, it gets a little sketchy. I don't know if anyplace in Baden has particularly interesting views, given the fairly gentle rise from the river in that section. I think the part of Baden east of Broadway may be in the floodplain.

Then there's the cemeteries, which are definitely magnificent, but not opportunities for residential living - at least, not for the living!

--Southeast of O'Fallon Park, another public space with nice views (regrettably interrupted by I-70), there are residential areas. For example, the now closed Lowell School is on a pretty high spot. There are probably houses around there on Von Phul, Linton, and DeSoto with some decent views across the industrial area to Mosenthein Island.

--Bissell Mansion, and the surrounding block of Randall Place, certainly have decent views too. I'm not sure, but some of the buildings closer to East Grand might, too.

--Clay Elementary School and the surrounding area are high up enough to have decent views across I-70, although the McKinley Bridge approaches obscure that view somewhat. South of Salisbury, I-70 and its ramps, along with the largely abandoned elevated railway/streetcar tracks leading from the bridge into downtown, prevent most views eastward.

Likewise, although several apartment buildings downtown have stunning views, those aren't really homebuying options. And the elevated I-55 prevents you from seeing much south of there.

Does Soulard have a view? I'm not entirely sure. Again, I think there isn't a well-defined bluff line in that area. While the residences are not in the flood plain, the area east of Broadway probably is.

--9th & Utah, the "St Agatha District" or "South Soulard" has a bit of a slope, so some of those houses might have decent views.

--Kosciusko St in Marine Villa has nice views, although across I-55. Still, there are some pretty cool, big old houses there.

The areas further south with river views are a little better known: River Bluff Place, the house on the Mound off I-55 near S. Broadway, and the nursing home district. Here, the houses are actually prized for their river views, so it's not easy to find something on the market very often; although it happens occasionally.

--Minnesota Ave in Carondelet near the Sisters of St. Joseph motherhouse might have decent views, too, but I don't really know. It does seem high up enough.

--Likewise, I wonder if any of the houses along Water Street in the Patch area are high up enough? I think some of them are. There could be some potentially stunning views in that area, of the river and the vast agricultural bottomlands across the way.

End of dream sequence...