During a routine maintenance visit for "Rite of Location" we stumbled upon demolition day for 3954 Enright Ave. Upon arrival, my guard immediately raised, and my confusion began, from the presence of an active construction zone, situated at our destination. Any chance of seeing the brick sculpture from the street was blocked by industry-sized bulldozers and other machines made for a job of this nature.
“Root shock”, coined by Dr. Mindy Thompson Fullilove, is defined as the emotional trauma a person experiences when their environment is destroyed. Like an aftershock from an earthquake, the dispossession of one's home and those surrounding this event can feel the effects for years, and many times, generations to come. The unease is guttural for those whose memory and eyes look to find what was, but no longer remains.
3954 Enright Ave, St. Louis, MO was built in 1884 and demolished in 2022. It was one of the oldest homes on the 4000 block of Enright Ave and boasted corbels and window sills made from cast stone with a coveted slate tiled roof. During demolition, all of the building’s historic architectural features were destroyed, none preserved. Our sculpture’s proximity to its devastation made our mission that much more focused, and poignant. We're determined to tell this story and many like it. We are here to promote healing. We see you St. Louis and we love you.
Check out the before and after in the photos below.
