The last house is gone and I have neglected this site for over a month. The only condolence I have is that I haven’t exactly neglected Carrollton itself. I also have not exactly been on top of answering email and site comments. I do thank you all for your comments, Carrollton memories shared, and questions too. I will try and get to the information when I can, but life in general has me very busy right now. The end of Carrollton’s life could not have come at a worse time for me. Its obvious to say that I am still compelled to go through the neighborhood once in a while, if only for a quick look around. They continue to gate off access to more roads, particularly on the southern end. Unless I’m in the mood for a hike, there really is not much to do there, but drive through and ponder what next.
I’m very much at a loss on what to do with Saturday mornings… I used to wake up early, grab the camera and wander around until the ground warmed the dew away. My initial (and continual) reasons for studying such a lonely place was not only because it was once my home, not only because I needed an inspiration for a thesis project, but because what was happening to the land was parallel to so much else. An organically evolving place that, although it was the one of the most abandoned places in St. Louis, it was strangely comforting for me to walk around in. Now, without the despite houses, the sense of extreme loneliness exists. As much as I was looking forward to, and even embraced the destruction of the last house, I also feared it. Perhaps I put too much weight on it, but it signaled the end of a long era.
I am looking forward to seriously digging into the research for and the design of this book. Being an art major, writing a book is a completely new endeavor for me but one I am looking forward to fully embracing. I can’t say I will be posting as continuous as I once did… only because there is not exactly a whole lot of new developments in the area. My predictions for the area remain the same; Carrollton will remain gated off for a number of years, perhaps until the economy improves or until Lambert International Airport develops it into some specialty storage (ie Chinese shipping hub). Maybe it in a few years, but I have a feeling it will more likely be decades. Sadly, there are too many issues, particularly environment and legal issues, to ever see it turn into a park. I still hold out a little bit of hope for a park… I will hold my fingers crossed, but I won’t hold my breath to it.
J. Desy Schoenewies
56 Houses Left 