THE ARCHITECTURE WHICH DEFINES OUR LANDSCAPE IS A TANGIBLE PART OF OUR COLLECTIVE HISTORY. WHEN HISTORIC STRUCTURES ARE DEMOLISHED, A PART OF OURSELVES IS RELEGATED TO MEMORY AND CONDEMNED TO BE FORGOTTEN. IN THE REDISCOVERY OF OUR ABANDONED, OFF-LIMITS, OR OTHERWISE HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTS, I DOCUMENT THEIR EXISTENCE AS WELL AS OUR OWN THROUGH THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND ADVENTURES PRESENTED HERE
November 21, 2011
St. Mark’s School
St. Mark’s School was constructed in 1909 and features Gothic Revival architecture. This all-girl’s school opened on September 15, 1909 with 180 pupils. In 1910, the Sister-Teachers formed a High School department due to the lack of available all-girl high-schools in the area, forming St. Mark’s Academy. The education was highly regarded and students came from as far as St. Ann and Glasgow Village, Missouri to attend school here.
St. Mark’s was always funded solely by the members of its congregation or through the cost of tuition. But their numbers began to decline throughout the 1960s as more people moved out of the city and fewer women chose religious vocations as nuns. Ultimately, it closed its doors in 1975 due to lack of funding.
Source: NROHB
Historic Photos of St. Mark’s School Saint Louis
Saint Marks School Historic Photo Courtesy Missouri Historical Society
2 of my sister's and my sister in law and I went to St. Marks. I was thrilled to find this, but sad to see the condition of the school. The class photo on the last page includes one of my sister's and sister in law! Thanks for the pics.
I also attended St Mark's and it brings tears to my eyes to see what's become of the beautiful building. I remember Miss Lee, a custodian, who dust mopped the gym floor daily. The wooden floor was so perfectly kept that we were required to take off our saddle oxford shoes except when in gym class (tennis shoes required) or when walking to class along the edges of the gym. It's sad to see the condition of the stage where we'd put on operettas yearly. I was on the stage crew. I'm forever grateful for the excellent, classical education I got there, equivalent to far more expensive private schools in the area.
This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of adventure and exploration in Saint Louis, Missouri and beyond. Here you will find photographs of, and history pertaining to, some of the most interesting, unique, old and/or abandoned locations across the United States.
1. With the exception of any historical photos, all of the photographs here are copyrighted and not to be used for any purpose without my consent. Credit for historical photos will be cited whenever possible. Images sourced via public domain may not have known citations.
2. "Don't try this at home." I absolutely will not be held responsible for anyone else's stupidity. Do not attempt to recreate any activities shown here. Sometimes I am granted access to the things you see here and attempting to follow in my footsteps may get you arrested, hurt or killed.
3. "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." I do not condone or tolerate: vandalism, theft, littering or any other disrespectful activity in any of these locations. Vandalizing and/or stealing from vulnerable locations is weak and lame as hell.
4. Do not ask me for (or comment) specific location information. If identifying information is not provided in the post, it was left out intentionally to protect the identity of the location. Any information will be provided either at the time of posting, or updated years later, at my discretion.
5. Any reference to "I/me, we/us" anywhere on this blog is probably just a metaphor. Metaphors are often employed to simplify complex technical details when storytelling. As such, they can never be considered as admission, nor proof, of guilt; They do not provide sufficient evidence as to who (or what) actually took any of the photos shown here. Anything portrayed here may be the result of a tour or a bribe or photoshop. I/we may or may not actually exist.
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2 of my sister's and my sister in law and I went to St. Marks. I was thrilled to find this, but sad to see the condition of the school. The class photo on the last page includes one of my sister's and sister in law! Thanks for the pics.
I also attended St Mark's and it brings tears to my eyes to see what's become of the beautiful building. I remember Miss Lee, a custodian, who dust mopped the gym floor daily. The wooden floor was so perfectly kept that we were required to take off our saddle oxford shoes except when in gym class (tennis shoes required) or when walking to class along the edges of the gym. It's sad to see the condition of the stage where we'd put on operettas yearly. I was on the stage crew. I'm forever grateful for the excellent, classical education I got there, equivalent to far more expensive private schools in the area.