St. Louis carries one of the most layered abandoned landscapes of any American city — a brewing dynasty that destroyed itself through a series of suicides after Prohibition, a 57-acre urban forest where 33 public housing towers once stood, the Chain of Rocks Bridge that appeared in Escape from New York and an 1840s industrial corridor decaying along the Mississippi River. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places in St. Louis, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
Why St. Louis Is a Hidden Gem for Abandoned Buildings & Urban Exploration
St. Louis's urbex landscape is defined by the city's dramatic population loss — from nearly 900,000 residents in 1950 to under 300,000 today — which left behind an extraordinary concentration of abandoned industrial buildings, civic structures and entire neighborhoods. The city's German brewing heritage, its Mississippi River industrial waterfront and the legacy of mid-century urban renewal all created layers of abandonment unique in the Midwest.
1. Lemp Brewery Complex – 1840s Brewing Empire That Collapsed After Prohibition, Underground Limestone Cave System Still Intact, South St. Louis (Known Location)
At its peak the William J. Lemp Brewing Company was one of the largest breweries in the United States, producing over 500,000 barrels annually from a complex of brick buildings stretching across several south St. Louis city blocks — with a network of natural limestone caves beneath used for cold lagering before mechanical refrigeration existed. Prohibition killed the brewery in 1920; unlike Anheuser-Busch, the Lemp family simply closed and sold the equipment. The family's story darkened rapidly: William Lemp Sr. shot himself in 1904, William Lemp Jr. shot himself in 1922, a third Lemp shot himself in the adjacent mansion in 1949. The brewery buildings are partially reused but the core complex and the limestone cave system remain in various states of abandonment. The caves extend for thousands of feet with original brick archways still intact. One of the most historically gothic abandoned places in St. Louis.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Lemp Brewing Company
2. Pruitt-Igoe Site – 1956 Housing Project Demolished 1972-1976, 57-Acre Urban Forest Where 33 Towers Once Stood, North St. Louis (Known Location)
Pruitt-Igoe was a 33-tower public housing complex completed in 1956 and demolished in stages from 1972 to 1976 — one of the most famous failures in American urban planning history, its demolition broadcast live on television and cited by architect Charles Jencks as the symbolic death of modernism. The 57-acre site in north St. Louis has remained almost entirely vacant since the last tower came down; dense second-growth forest has reclaimed the land where 12,000 people once lived, with the original street grid still traceable beneath the trees and occasional concrete foundations visible in the undergrowth. One of the most historically significant and most unusual abandoned places in St. Louis — a void in the city shaped exactly like what used to fill it.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
3. Chain of Rocks Bridge – 1929 Mississippi River Bridge with a 22-Degree Mid-River Bend, Filming Location for Escape from New York, Closed Since 1970 (Exclusively on Our Map)
Built in 1929, the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi is uniquely bizarre — it contains a 22-degree bend at mid-river, the only bridge in America with an angular kink in the middle, built to avoid a rocky underwater obstruction. Closed to vehicles in 1970 when the new Interstate 270 bridge opened, it appeared in John Carpenter's 1981 film Escape from New York as the bridge Snake Plissken crosses into Manhattan. Now a pedestrian and cycling crossing managed by a local trust, the Chain of Rocks Bridge is one of the most atmospheric and most unusual abandoned places near St. Louis — a kinked 1929 bridge above the Mississippi with pump houses visible on the river islands below. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
4. Abandoned St. Louis Falstaff Brewery – 1840s-1950s Industrial Brewing Complex, Brick Towers and Fermentation Buildings Still Standing, North St. Louis (Exclusively on Our Map)
The Falstaff Brewery complex in north St. Louis was one of the great American brewing empires — at its peak in the 1950s, Falstaff was the third largest brewer in the United States. The sprawling brick industrial complex with its distinctive tower silhouette still stands in north St. Louis, a block-scale reminder of the German immigrant brewing culture that defined 19th-century St. Louis before Prohibition destroyed most of it. The fermentation buildings, bottling plant and loading infrastructure of the complex are in various states of abandonment alongside sections that have been partially reused. One of the best abandoned places in St. Louis for industrial brewing heritage photography. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned St. Louis Near North Side – 1890s-1920s Brick Residential Blocks in Advanced Decay, Vacancy Rate Exceeding 60%, North St. Louis (Exclusively on Our Map)
North St. Louis lost over 200,000 residents between 1950 and 2020 — a population collapse that left entire blocks of 1890s-1920s red brick residential architecture in various states of abandonment across a near-contiguous urban landscape. Ornate pressed brick facades with terracotta decoration, carved stone lintels and the distinctive St. Louis architectural vocabulary of a prosperous working-class neighborhood still readable in the surviving streetscape. The concentration of abandoned brick residential architecture in north St. Louis is among the most extensive in any American city — comparable in scale to Detroit but in a distinctly different architectural register. One of the best abandoned places in St. Louis for urban residential decay photography. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips for Urban Exploration in St. Louis
- North St. Louis awareness: always research current neighborhood conditions, explore in daylight and in groups — never explore abandoned north side sites alone
- Structural collapse: St. Louis brick buildings have often lost roof integrity — always test floors and avoid upper levels in any structure showing signs of water damage
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and let someone know your location
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ – Abandoned Places in St. Louis
What is the most famous abandoned place in St. Louis?
The Lemp Brewery Complex in south St. Louis — an 1840s brewing empire that produced 500,000 barrels annually before Prohibition destroyed it in 1920. Three members of the Lemp family died by suicide in the decades that followed. The above-ground brick complex and the underground limestone cave system used for cold lagering remain partially standing and accessible through periodic events.
What is Pruitt-Igoe?
A 33-tower public housing project completed in 1956 and demolished between 1972 and 1976. Its demolition was broadcast live on television and has been cited as a defining moment in 20th-century American architecture and urban planning. The 57-acre site in north St. Louis has never been redeveloped; a dense urban forest has grown over it, with the original street grid still visible beneath the trees.
Why does St. Louis have so many abandoned buildings?
St. Louis lost nearly two-thirds of its peak population between 1950 and 2020 — from 857,000 to under 300,000 residents. This population collapse, driven by suburbanization, deindustrialization and the decline of the Mississippi River port economy, left behind an extraordinary density of abandoned residential, commercial and industrial buildings across the north and near-south sides of the city.
🎯 Summary
St. Louis's abandoned buildings range from a brewing empire destroyed by three suicides and Prohibition, to a 57-acre urban forest where 33 public housing towers once stood and a kinked 1929 bridge over the Mississippi where Snake Plissken drove in Escape from New York. Each of these 5 abandoned places in St. Louis captures a different layer of a city that once aspired to be the greatest in America — and left behind extraordinary evidence of that ambition in its decay.
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