Out of City, Out of Mind

This blog doesn't often cover non-City of St. Louis topics, but that's a fault of its own. Our metropolitan region is vast and full of discoveries. (By the way, check out the rapidly ballooning Facebook group "Secret St. Louis" for hundreds of recommendations on food, urban exploration, nightlife, and more across all corners of the region).

So I wanted to bring some sad, albeit non-city news.

> The historic Mansion House of Alton, Illinois is being demolished after a nasty fire gutted it. The 1830s-era building was Alton's first hotel. I never saw it, but I will miss it still. Despite what this Telegraph article says, I still wonder if at least the facade could have been saved.

The Mansion House pre-fire:

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> In other more lighthearted news, the St. Louis County Council must have listened to my advice, because Carondelet and Weber Roads will now be River City Boulevard rather than River City Casino Boulevard. I'm still skeptical on the need for a name change, since signage has been shown to work, but this is better. We are in fact a "River City", so perhaps, with luck, tourists will not make the connection that the road name is an ad for the nearby casino.