Wisconsin trip

In June we took a weekend trip to Madison, Wisconsin for a lacrosse tournament.  Kay's team,  St. Louis Elite, did respectably on this trip playing against some really good teams from across the midwest. They even received the Sportsmanship award.  I guess in lacrosse that means you didn't try to tomahawk a girl's shins or whack her in the face.  St. Louis has a budding lacrosse scene.  Kay learned to play lacrosse in CYC- we are lucky at St. Margaret's to have a great girls lacrosse coach, one of just 6 parishes to even have lacrosse as a CYC sport.  

Added bonus on the Madison trip- saw my childhood BFF for dinner, Gus got a hair cut at the Great Clips in Fitchburg and I saw this Red Apple Enterprises mansard on the road.

Still for sale

These mansards have been on the real estate market for quite some time.  I featured the Brentwood Boulevard and Big Bend buildings in 2009 and again in 2009.

Softball mansard

 Back in 2009 I reminisced about this little street off Old Warson Road in the Rock Hill/Brentwood/Ladue triangle (I made that up).  It is adjacent to Stroup Field where I played softball as a girl.  With the entry of our parish and many others into the South Central CYC district I now find my daughter playing there too.

This mansard is the mirror twin of the house I featured in 2009.  The girls below are Audrey and friends.  These girls are good at many sports, but I tease that they are really good at sports they can play at age 30 while drinking beer:  volleyball, bocce ball and softball.

New Jersey

Thanks to Richard S. who sent this New Jersey bad mansard.  I collect bad mansard from other states like postcards.  I won't rest until I collect every state.

This very grey building almost looks like a normal square building where someone put a faux-mansard on the front?  Not sure.  The front roofline looks like a child's botched bang trim with that big piece missing from the front above the door.

Mansard photo fail

Lindbergh Road.  

Yes, the windows are weird with the slopey overhang but it's still remains an attractive mansard so I feel bad calling it a bad mansard.  

 I know I put some really poor quality photographs on badmansard.  But some are so bad they don't make the cut.  Here are some of bad mansard photo fails.

Can't edit out the rear view mirror.  Fail. 

Bad mansard apartment buildings are a dime a dozen. I tire of them quickly. This one just wasn't ugly enough to get its own post.  

I don't know what this is or where it was.  

Rodney D. Young Insurance.  ThinkYoung, Rodney D. Young. I keep meaning to get by this place again with a better camera but hasn't happened yet.  Between Rodney D. Young and Hans Weiman, you've got the entire Channel 11/KPLR 1987 commercial line-up represented by bad mansards.  

Looks like it's sinking into the ground. 

History Day

My 6th grade daughter had the history day competition this past Saturday at UMSL.  She is a hard worker and spent a lot of time working on her project.  The week before the competition she commandeered the basement to create her exhibit board.  Lots of printer anger, glitter letter, spray glue, construction paper, etc.

She didn't know what to expect out of history day.  So she was all, "I hope my board doesn't look stupid."

Imagine her surprise when she her project was chosen as a finalist.  Suddenly she revealed herself.  No longer was she just happy to be there and get it over with.  Oh no.  She wanted to WIN and go to state.  But she didn't.  Her friend got second place.  Kay didn't get anything.  And while she should have been proud to have been selected as a finalist, she was PISSED.  Kind of like the time she had two goals in soccer but instead of being happy, she was upset she didn't get a hat trick.

So she was really pissed when I stopped to take a picture a bad mansard church.  Here is the Normandy United Methodist Church on Natural Bridge Road next to the UMSL campus.  Pretty weird juxtaposition of the old church and ugly add on mansard.  Sorry about all the extra snow in the picture.

Primary

Sometimes your day doesn't go as planned.  Take, for instance, today.  The plan was to go the Ash Wednesday mass with the school kids, head into work for a full and busy day, and make a nice meatless dinner.  I had a cute Ash Wednesday post planned in my head.  None of that happened.  Child #1 threw up as soon as he got out of bed.  Child #2 said her head hurt and she didn't feel good.  I accused her of being a copy cat sickie so she could stay home with her brother.  But I felt her head and she was 102 degrees.

No mass.  No ashes.  Two sick kids home from school.  One kid has Influenza A and taking Tamiflu.  While waiting for the prescription from the Lafayette Walgreens I found this mansard hiding in plain sight.  I have never seen this RYB (red yellow blue) mess before.  DId it just get painted?  Here's hoping my week gets better than this mansard.

Hotlanta!

An Atlanta, Georgia bad mansard sent by Richard S.  Study it a bit.  Can you see it?  It's a little hard to see.  In this bulky study of gray, brown and green is a tiny splash of blue and red.  It's a kid's swing hanging from the tree.  Swings say a lot about a neighborhood.  If they're hanging from a tree that means you live in a neighborhood with trees mature enough to handle a swing.  And everyone knows* big trees are awesome.

I don't find this mansard to be quite so bad.  The lot is nice and roomy.  The window proportion is pleasing and the trees soften everything.  I almost wouldn't mind standing the front yard and pushing a small child in the swing.

*Phaedra/Real Housewives of Atlanta reference.

Alaska!

I see Michael R. Allen, author of the great blog Preservation Research Office, socially about once a year.  In 2011 he rode along to narrate the VW van/architecture tour /bar crawl trip we bought at a St. Margaret school auction.  I recently saw him at the Way Out club where some SMOS school parents were performing in a rock band.  One time he asked me when I would stop writing bad mansard.  The answer?  Never, or at least not until I have a bad mansard from every state.

I can now say I have Alaska!  A lakefront gem on Mirror Lake in Chugiak, Alaska.  But seriously, as homeowner Allison points out, if you're living on a beautiful lake who care what the roof looks like.  I imagine this lake ices over in the winter and you could ice skate all winter.  Sigh.  I wish any lake around here would freeze over to ice skate upon.

I am including a bonus picture of John and our friend Pete S. from the architecture tour.  Pete is one of those people we know in all sorts of ways.   The S. family grew up near John's family, John's dad went to grade school with Pete's dad, Pete and I went to law school together, our kids go to school together, Pete is John's company's attorney and Pete was in the SMOS rock band (and the law school rock band, if you're keeping track).

*I would like to point out that in this picture my wonderful husband is drinking bourbon from a Voltron coffee mug.

Tennessee

I like doing the badmansard blog because I meet a lot of nice and interesting internet peoples all of whom like making fun of bad mansards.  And sometimes I realize I've probably already met some of them in real life.

Take Ruth, for instance.  She sent me this copper topped goddess in the Belle Meade part of Nashville.  Aside- how fast would this thing be torn apart by St. Louis copper thieves?

Ruth was friends with my friend Megan's older brothers Kevin and Wade.  She was on swim team with them at Brentwood Bath and Tennis, a pool where I spent a great deal of my summers as a kid as the guest of Megan and other Brentwood kids.  So I probably met Ruth already, but nice to meet her again especially when she sends me shiny bad mansards.  Thanks!

New Madrid

It's becoming a familiar story. At the last minute my boss asks me to make an outstate road trip, this time to New Madrid, Missouri.  Of course that meant I only had my iphone camera because I usually don't take my good camera to work with me.  And low and behold, just staring at me from behind the courthouse, is this bad mansard apartment building.  Hopefully you can still make out its fine detail- the wood work, piled stone masonry and plastic sheeting on the windows.

I also learned a new boot heel word.  An attorney told me his client was as dumb as a stump (she was!).  He also told me she was as simple as a creek minner.  Yes, minner.  This is a small fish that lives in creeks and describes unsophisticated people in the boot heel.  In case you don't live in our fine state, the boot heel describes the southeast corner of the state of Missouri which is shaped like a boot heel.  Just like Italy.  That sure would be an interesting coffee table book- comparing he boot heels of Missouri and Italy- people, architecture, culture and art.

dry cleaner

Thank you to my new friend Richard S. who sent me this bad mansard dry cleaner on Clayton Road near St. Mary's Hospital.  Looks like the tile work on the roof is newish because this looks a little different that how I remember.

And I do have many memories of St. Mary's hospital and the surrounding vicinity.  3 of the 4 badmansard children were born there.

This Thanksgiving we are going to Webster Groves to bounce between my mom's house and John's sister's house.  I married the youngest of 5 kids.  It's great- no one expects much out of me at Thanksgiving.  I am bringing brownie pie, pecan pie and a brussel sprout dish.

Of course that leaves me with a big to do list otherwise- family in town, want to swim with kids, skate at Steinberg, go running, ride bikes, get outside decorated with lights and garland (YES it it too soon but I need to be ready because the neighborhood is on tour December 1-2) and house needs a deep clean.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Pink

Since October features a lot of pink for breast cancer awareness, I present to you a pink trimmed bad mansard on the near north side.

October is a month of crazy parties, school events, neighborhood events, festivals, Halloween, birthdays, soccer, volleyball and camping.  I have been tired, over committed and frequently hungover.  But at least I can see the end in sight.

November will be  my purifying month- I will clean my mind, body and house.  Exercise, church, clean eating, clean the house,  etc.  And I will clean up bad mansard starting with the overly large header pic and getting some good pics.

Carbondale

Duplex:  new porch, bad window placement.    This particular model mansard is pretty prevalent in mansard apartment complexes.  There is always lack of window in the middle of the side elevation (or front, depending on your point of view). I am guess there is a wall running between the two units bisecting the duplex?

It looks like a weird block head person with eerily wide set eyes.  Or draw lines from window to window to make an "X".

Hannibal

 Tuesday I found myself driving to Hannibal without my good Mother's Day camera.  Drat. My boss asked, "hey, can you go to Hannibal today?  The case is set at 11 and I know it's 8:30 am and it's a 2 hour 15 minute drive, but could you handle it anyway?"  I wasn't worried about preparing for the case.  Rather, I was all "Hannibal has a TON of bad mansards and I am not going to have my good camera."

So if Huck Finn needed his teeth cleaned or a payday loan, he would have gone to these two bad mansards.

Freaky mountain bad mansard

Mountain mansard!  This place is called "Tabernasty" in Fraser, Colorado.  Fraser isn't very far from Tabernash.  By the name you'd think it was a adult entertainment place but it's not.  Glassblowing and tattoos.  Only in Colorado.

Avalanche Liquor Store

Here's a Colorado bad mansard.  I know it is not a technical bad mansard, but close enough.  I love liquor stores with mansard roofs.  That's my husband loading or unloading a child during the 14 hour road trip to Winter Park, CO.  And that is my van nearing 100,000 miles.

I almost made the novice mistake of picking up beer at a Colorado grocery store- just 3.2%!  You have to go to a liquor store for spirits or full alcohol beer.  We're somewhat spoiled in Missouri with full alcohol privileges.  You can walk in a grocery store at 8 am on a Sunday and buy whatever you want- vodka, beer, wine, whatever.

A timely subject matter.  Today marks the 1/2 way point to Mardi Gras 2013.  I better start stocking up.  And I kind of do.  If I overbuy wine or beer or booze, I say, "well, we can  drink the extra at Mardi Gras."

Any trip to a liquor store requires the parties sing this song by an old friend Steve Ewing and his band the Urge.  Now go inside and get my pickle.

Providence sucks

Sorry for my almost 3 week delay in posting.  Local tragic news events of the first week of August involved a friend and her children and I couldn't focus on much of anything, let alone a bad mansard blog.

Then we went on vacation.  We stopped in Columbia for gas and I made the huge mistake of telling John to stop on Providence for gas.  We missed the gas station near 70 and I told him to keep going south on Providence for gas.  What was I thinking?  Providence just south of Broadway is just nasty.  It was a dump in the early 1990's and seems even worse now.

But here's a bad mansard.  A trend if you will- pay day loan shops in bad mansard buildings.

More mansards to come as well as some vacation pictures.

Rodeo Drive mansard

Here's a mansard on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.  I think this is my first LA mansard.  May as well start in Beverly Hills.

I do really like the rounded boxwood hedge.  It seems to take the edge off the sharp points of the mansard roof.

Thanks to my friend Emily who snapped this picture on a recent business trip. She is the president of her family's electrical contracting business (the one with the orange trucks with the lightening bolt) and she is always going to fabulous locations to attend interesting conventions.  She also hold the distinction of being one of the first mom friends I made at school back in 2004 when our daughters started in the Montessori pre-school together.  Thanks Emily!

Mansard des gendarmes

Affton police substation on Gravois Road.  I know I am technically incorrect:  this is probably not architecturally a mansard roof and "gendarmes" refers to the French national police, not really the local beat cops.  But here you have it anyway- a bad mansard police station.