South Grand Blvd. – Two Garages

On bustling Grand Blvd.,  you could be forgiven for overlooking both of the former garages that face each other across four lanes of traffic. I'm not sure whether they were ever open simultaneously, although certainly it would have been long before my time.

Garage No. 1: South Grand Blvd. and Sidney St.

I wasn't the only person interested in the building the day I took this picture. Note the two people who've taken shelter at right.

I have seen this building so many times that when I started this project, it took quite a while for me to realize that the place must have once been an auto repair shop. Grand is a very busy place, and thousands of cars drive by this building each week. It hides in plain sight. 

This location has been, at some point, a laundromat and a veterinary clinic, but it's been vacant for years. More pictures after the jump.

I wonder if anyone would still enforce this ban. I've never seen cars parked on it, though.

I'm not entirely certain which business would have used this drive-thru window. If you have any clues as to what it might be, send an email or leave a comment.

Garage No. 2: Botanical Ave. and Grand Blvd. 
Year Built: 1909

Literally across the street from the previous building is this much older building. It was built as a garage, and for years stood vacant. About seven or eight years ago, it was gutted completely, then restored for use by SAIC, a somewhat mysterious aerospace company and military contractor. It's a beautiful building, but I wasn't particularly pleased with the pictures I took of it.

The amount of time that went into the original building and then the restoring of this place is remarkable. Certainly no modern repair shop would have such classy arched windows! And I really applaud the contractors for preserving the integrity of the building by putting in windows reminiscent of the old garage doors.

Discounting the big garage doors, the elegant stonework could almost lead you to believe that this was once a civic building.

After doing a little digging, I've found some more information. The place used to be called Anderson's, and closed down during the '90s. According to the city's Geo St. Louis site, it was condemned four times before it was restored. Below is a picture (credit goes to Geo St. Louis' photographers) of the building, apparently during renovation.