Rooms With a View

Apartment at Rivercrest and Green Acres Drives 08-03-2014Our ramble took out out to Cape Rock, left on Rand Street, left on Green Acres Drive, then to the corner of Rivercrest Drive, where this set of buildings dominated the sky. I was captivated by the roof gardens, big bay windows and different shapes and stairwells.

Mother said she had seen the place before, but I know I never had. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

How old is it?

Apartment at Rivercrest and Green Acres Drives 08-03-2014The view from the east looking west is equally interesting.These are not your normal cookie cutter apartments.

When I turned around, I noticed through a gap that the apartments on the other side of the street had a view of the river.

There was a woman standing in the garage of one of those apartments, so I asked her how long her neighbors had been there. I don’t remember if she said 50 or 60 years or 60 or 70 years. Whichever it was, I told Mother, that sounded way too old.

Just about that time, a young women came down the driveway walking a dog. She thought the apartments were built in the 1970s. which meant that the first woman might not have been far off in her lower range. Second woman said she moved in after visiting a friend and discovering how pet-friendly it was. (Judging by the piles I had to avoid stepping in, I’ll have to agree with her assessment.)

Her apartment, she said, doesn’t have a river view, but some of the others and the roofs do.

I don’t know how I missed seeing it all these years. Just goes to show that there’s always another road you haven’t taken.

14 Replies to “Rooms With a View”

  1. I played on this acreage when I was very young. It was simply referred to as Dirt Hill by everyone I knew at that time. It had deep ravines, to a ten year old, and sparse vegetation. Excellent for dirt clod fights. I rode my first motorcycle on Dirt Hill. When the apartments you mention here first went up, they were considered to be upper crust condominiums. I expected them to still house some of Cape’s upper crust when I too recently visited there. But it looks to be in some disrepair. Friends looked at buying a house next to the complex which led me back there.

    1. Dick, my first impression was that the apartments had some miles on them, but I liked the unusual shapes.

      Had I been a little more ambitious, I would have tried to find someone who could get me up on a roof. I bet it’s got a great view.

  2. John Ford designed and built these apartments and the ones across the street in the late 1970’s. He used a lot of concrete. He designed them in his head. I always wondered how he got loans to build them since he did not have drawings. The roofs were like large patios and the top one offers a great view of the river and Cape river front. John sold them a few years ago.

    1. John also built the similarly styled house on Bertling, just before it dead ends into 177. He was still living there when we lived in his Rivercrest apartments in the late ’80s.

  3. Doesn’t the term ‘dirt clods’ evoke great memories of youth? Thanks to Dick McClard for reminding me of some memorable neighborhood wars.

  4. These apartments used to be MUCH nicer than they are now. My husband and I lived in one of the townhouses on Rivercrest, across from the pictured apartments, from 1987-89. Our next door neighbors were Herbert “Steve” and Jane Stevens, who had owned the old Flaming Pit on William Street. Gary Lynch (of CHS coaching fame or infamy, take your pick) and Helen Miner (CHS class of 1960-something) were also neighbors. Lots of parties, lots of good times ~ it was a very fun group of people!

  5. We ride our bikes near here pretty frequently. There was a pretty big fire at these apartments 4 or 5 years ago that took out some of those gables (not sure if that’s the right term or not).

    I had a friend that lived in the apartments across the way that had a river view (she also had two large golden retrievers). When she lived there, the property owner Phil Brinson was cutting down all the trees between the apartments and the river. Not sure if he was looking for a better view, or selling the trees to raise capital. I felt that he should have left them, it’s pretty barren there now.

  6. Hello I am Adriane. I am very interested in the river view apartments on rivercrest dr. I would like a room with a view to see the river! There will be two adults and three children living in it, we will have two small dogs to. How much rent would we have to pay for a view? And can any of those apartments accompany 5 people. What is the highest bedroom and bathroom count you have? And also can you please send me pictures of the inside of the apartments too? I would like you to send them to my email please. For I am out of town and can’t stop by right now. Thank you so much

        1. i called the number and they told me i had the wrong number does anyone know how to get a hold of these people?

  7. Desi, I fouled up. The correct number is (573)225-5495. Henry works for the folks that manage these apartments. Sorry for leading you astray. The other number gets you to a very nice feller but he can’t help with the information you need. I’ll tell him what happened.

  8. I lived in both sets of apartments when I was a little girl. John and Darlene lived in the apartment above us, and I loved them both so much.

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