A Beautiful 9 Months

As St. Louis enters the late part of May, we haven't had a run of hot weather since last September. In the meantime, we had another winter with no snow shoveling required.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, our annual sweat fete will begin. This year, I'll make the three month stretch of St. Louis heat driving a car without air conditioning. You'll recognize me - I'll be one of those few St. Louis drivers riding in a car with its windows open on a 90 degree day.

But come late August, early September, things will cool back down, and we'll be back to comfortable weather. For a place where weather is often held up as the big barrier to entry, it really is pretty nice.

"E.H. Lyle Academy"

Being the city parents of a 7th grade student, we are interested in educational opportunities, especially the ones that are tuition free. An interesting flier came in yesterday's mail. Here's the information we received.

The slogan:

"Inspiring Excellence, Building Bright Futures".

The copy:

E.H. Lyle Academy
706 N. Jefferson Ave, St. Louis MO 63103

E.H. Lyle Academy will provide a strong focus on preparing middle and high-school students for college and successful careers.

Our program provides a quality tuition-free education along with transportation for city residents, grades 6-10.

Call 314-588-8622 today or pre-enroll online at www.imagineschools.com or www.lyleacademy.org

The flip side of the brochure has the heading:

A Brand New School for the Road Ahead...

with a picture of three clean-cut male students, two black, one white, dressed in neat uniforms, working at their desks.

It sounds pretty good, and it's a quality marketing piece. Can anyone recommend the school?

St. Louis: Kingsford's New King

Known as home of the King of Beers, St. Louis has now risen to the top of the barbecue heap, according to top charcoal maker Kingsford.

The city has more than three hundred barbecue restaurants.

And we're not just great for barbecue. St. Louis is becoming a great place for dining out.

Southside Getting in the Game

While much deserved attention is being paid to the amazing progress happening in downtown St. Louis, watch for more and more good news to start coming out of the Dutchtown area of South City.

The historic commercial corridors of South Grand, Cherokee, Meramec and Virginia are places to watch.

The historic Virginia Mansion, once slated for demolition, has a condo conversion plan. Cherokee is turning into a burgeoning new arts district. And the state's largest histoic district is attracting developers.

Urban scale infill projects are happening through community-based initiatives. And its all happening in a historic, affordable, diverse city neighborhood.

Busting a Vein

There are times when getting out of the downtown parking garage I'm in is a major pain. Sometimes the cars are backed up the corkscrew ramp all the way to the top of the garage. Normally, it's no big deal. Today it was a real problem since I had to make it to a Heine Meine manager's rescheduling meeting before 6:15PM, and it was already 5:30. These garage-exiting delays have taken up to one hour.

Getting out of the garage could get so bad that sometimes frustrated drivers would drive down the building in the wrong directon. But since they've upgraded the entrance and exits gates, that doesn't work anymore. Today, we're all at the mercy of the automated system.

It took a half hour to make it out of the garage. That left fifteen minutes to make it to the Weber Road exit on Highway 55. Remembering back to those "line coach" recommendations at Florida amusement parks, I headed left instead of right. Everything was going great until I drove by the old ballpark site, headed toward the Old Cathedral, aiming to make a right turn on southbound 4th Street.

Which brings me to my near-name for this post: "It's Illinois' Fault". It's 6:00PM now. Every car around me has an Illinois plate and is trying to load onto the Poplar Street Bridge.

Light after light, the traffic sits. Then I notice a blocked off right turn lane, closed with those super-sized plastic MoDot-issue barrels. Other than the plastic barrels, the lane is completely passable, and there were no workers in sight.

I'm thinking, "good thing those barrels are so light". I arrived at the manager's meeting with about 5 minutes to spare...

Writing Class

A flier came home with Matt from the league organizers of one of his sports teams. It was announcing the opportunity to purchase tickets to a game at the new Busch. However, it also noted that ticket availability for the annual youth promotion would be reduced this year by a yet undetermined amount.

"Reduced ticket availability at the new Busch for youth group promotional dates."

If there's a story here, how would you present it? The Cardinals might write about the continuation of their youth day promotions. The Post might run another angle. I wonder what they'd teach you in writing class. There are lots of possibilities.

Speaking of possibilities, the choices for St. Louis baseball fans are increasing as summer approaches.

With high school leagues winding down, American Legion ball is getting ready to start. The Gateway Grizzlies and the River City Rascals are about to open their minor league seasons. And weekends to Memphis or Springfield to see the players coming up through the Cardinals minor league system are an option.

For more minor league baseball outings, you can check out:

At The Yard.Com

or

Minor League Baseball.Com

Mississippians Returning?

Has anyone noticed the huge earthen mound which has recently appeared across from Carondelet Park? It's on the northern edge of the new Loughborough Commons development.

Talk about STL Rising!

ESPN Zone and Borders to Anchor Ballpark Village?

St. Louis Business Journal has the story

Cordish Co. developed the old power plant site on the east side of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, across from Camden Yards. It's a spectacular project, drawing over 10,000,000 visitors each year to downtown Baltimore.

Hole In the Wall Pizza

One of the best things about St. Louis are all of the out of the way places, some of which turn out to be right under your nose. One such place is just across the city line, on a back street in Lemay, at the entrance to the old Stupp Brothers steel mill (similar to the place in the image above).

Weber Road is the northernmost South County interchange on Highway 55, just south of the city proper. Weber runs diagonally from Highway 55 to the River Des Peres at Carondelet Boulevard. The old Stupp Brothers plant is the largest landholding in the area. For decades, the Stupp Brothers forged steel bridge components at the mill.

Closer to Highway 55, the Stupp property has a large green space and newer warehouse buildings. But down in a low-lying area, near the intersection of Bridge Street and Weber at the eastern end of the site, you find the original entrance to the old steel mill. A familiar, US Steel sign hangs from the outside of one of the rusted mill buildings. The scene is reminiscent of something you'd see in the mountains of western Pennsylvania.

Up at the corner of Weber and Bridge, you're in a time warp. Some buildings date back eighty to ninety years. One appears to be an old tavern in the front part of an old home. It's easy to imagine a crew of grimy steel workers at the bar, knocking down a few cold ones just after the sounding of the 5:00 o'clock steam whistle. And at 3662 Weber, there's Monte Bello Pizza.

As a casual observer, it's hard to tell whether the place is still open for business. It is. The owners live above the restaurant. A peek through the window gives the impression the dining room might be in the basement.

Back at the intersection of Weber and I-55, standing in the gap of a possible eminent domain challenge, a homeowner has posted a "House Not For Sale" sign on the front porch. Developers are looking at the area for a large scale commercial project.

Whether new development comes to the area remains to be seen. However, for the time being, you can still explore a tiny corner of St. Louis County that hasn't changed much in over fifty years.

Who's Not Creative?

With all the talk about the rise of the creative class, it begs the question: who's not creative?

For the past few years, there have been lots of articles written about the so-called "creative class". Richard Florida's book, The Rise of the Creative Class, has created buzz around the idea, and cities around the country are vying to be the next breeding ground for the creative class.

But suggesting that there's a "creative class" must mean there is also an "uncreative class". We can't all be creative, can we?

Who is this "uncreative class", and, more importantly, are we doing everything we can to attract it?

An Alternative Reality

For a quirky take on St. Louis, check out: Failed Success in St. Louis

In the Street

If the lines at Starbucks are any indication of the vibrancy of downtown, this might be the week we passed the "tipping point" in terms of reaching critical mass in downtown STL.

All this week, customers have been lined up ten deep on the sidewalk to buy a cup of coffee at the 6th and Olive Starbucks location.

The Rosetta Stone of Jazz?

Try here

Best Use of an Eric Johnson Soundtrack

Virtual Tour of New Busch

Vacation in ...St. Charles?

Having just filled our ten-year-old mini-van to the tune of $47.00, I stepped inside the Amoco kiosk to pay the cashier. Ahead of me was a woman prepaying for $5 worth of gas. At $2.79 per gallon, she was buying less than 2 gallons.

The cashier and I talked about the financial squeeze high gas prices puts on the average family. Then she relayed how someone yesterday purchased .79 worth of gas for her car. That's barely enough to start it up. It costs more to fill the lawnmower.

Getting back in the car, the radio was playing a commercial promoting family vacations to historic St. Charles, Missouri. The commercial was targeted to St. Louis audiences. Now, St. Charles is a cool historic place right in our own backyard, but you've got to wonder how bad things are getting if there's a substantial market of St. Louisans actually making their family vacation plans for St. Charles.

Skyrocketing gas and gold prices. Rising interest rates. Inflation becoming a serious concern. A president with plummeting approval ratings and a troubling Iraq policy. Who knows what's next in Iran? And today radio commercials marketing St. Louis family vacations to St. Charles.

All I can say is, through it all, there is a bright side: We're glad we're living in St. Louis. And we're glad we do have cool local places that actually offer good in-town vacation options. (Don't forget the Graffton/Pere Marquette area).

Oh, and that scooter is looking more and more like an attractive alternative! Hmmm. I wonder if there's a bridge you can take to ride your scooter across the Missouri River...

"Last Missouri Exit"

After attending the Tell-Tale Heart show at Cummels, which was fantastic by all accounts, I rode over to check out the night game atmosphere around New Busch.

Maybe it's just the newness of the place, but there seemed to be a LOT more people walking around the streets of downtown near the ballpark. Mike Shannon's new, more visible, location was packed. Cards games on multiple high-def TVs were clearly visible from Market Street.

The feeling around the park is incredible. The vibe of the ballpark pours into downtown. From wide angles outside the park you see what's going on inside the stadium. The interior Jumbotron and scoreboards are in full view from the neighboring streets.

Everything feels closer. The roads around the ballpark are especially close. I like the intimacy of it. However, there's a potential serious downside to all the nearby intersecting streets.

On eastbound Hwy 40, you pass a sign that reads "Last Missouri Exit". From the elevated highway beside the stadium, the offramp drops you down right around the corner from the Broadway Oyster Bar, the Eugene Field House, and the ballpark. The end of the offramp is marked with "Do Not Enter" signs to prevent drivers from accidentally heading the wrong way up the exit ramp.

However, with all the lighting, traffic, glare and general distractions coming from the very nearby ballpark, it's easy to see how a driver, especially one unfamiliar with the area, and perhaps after having imbibed on a few too many of St. Louis' most famous beverages, could easily drive the wrong way up this exit ramp. It would be great if there was a good way to make this intersection safer.

The other dangerous intersection is the onramp to westbound Highway 40 from Broadway right next to southeast corner of the stadium. The area is filled with pedestrians. You see many of them sheepishly trying to walk across this highway onramp. Meanwhile, careless drivers will speed onto this ramp from Broadway at all hours. Combine the dangerous intersection with consumption of mass quantities of St. Louie Soda and you have another serious safety hazard.

State of the art pedestrian safety improvements have been made all around the ballpark on the new road improvements. So far however, it doesn't look like anything has been done to improve safety on these two old highway ramps. They deserve a look. We don't need that "Last Missouri Exit" sign taking on a new meaning.

Tell-Tale Heart

Every once in while, very seldom indeed, you see an artist who instantly gives you that prescient, "they're destined for greatness" feeling.

Gage Love, touring guitarist with Torch the Morgue from Quad Cities, was featured in this space recently along these lines. Twenty-five years ago, jazz duo Tuck and Patti gave us that impression at a small piano bar high in the Berkely Hills.

Today, right here in St. Louis, another young artist, Joel Dodson, is doing the same. Dodson's combination of excellent guitar work, the sonic power of his melodic vocals, combined with genuine enthusiasm and fun while performing, make for a great music experience.

The fact that he puts it all together at once is the most impressive part about him. Few performers combine guitar mastery and excellent vocals in the same person. Dodson does so flawlessly, while having a good time with his band and the audience.

Tonite at 7:30 Dodson will be performing with his band, "Tell-Tale Heart", at Cummell's Cafe, 1627 Washington Avenue. For those looking for a "we knew them when" experience, be sure to check these guys out.

Dream Sequence

The spring is turning into an early summer, and the Cardinals are playing in a fabulous new downtown ballpark, but it wasn't always certain things would turn out this way.

Invoking Wayne's World dream sequence imagery, let's go back to 2004 when negotiations were at their peak on the proposed new ballpark for the city.

Imagine for a moment that negotiations for a downtown ballpark had failed. Imagine that the cooperation between the city and the county never happened. And then imagine that the Cardinals followed through on their promise to get a new stadium somewhere. And imagine that somewhere turned out to be a "blighted" farm field up near Interstates 55 and 270, around Edwardsville, Illinois.

Baseball season 2006 opens and Busch Stadium sits dark and empty in downtown St. Louis. All the buzz about the Cardinals season would be happening at KTRS' studios in Westport Plaza and the new, suburban ballpark in Southwestern Illinois. Downtown would still have KMOX, but not the Cardinals. Columnists would write about the similar fates of our jilted downtown and KMOX- they still have each other, but not the Cardinals.

Fortunately, that scenario was avoided. We can pinch ourselves and see a fantastic new ballpark right where ballparks are supposed to be: downtown.

Halfway Home

New Busch is opening to rave reviews. Keeping the Cardinals in downtown STL marks another step in the continuing revitalization of our city. Thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen!

However, the total project is only halfway completed. The demolition of Busch II has created the largest vacant land development opportunity in downtown STL since the construction of the Arch, and the open-air style of the new ballpark is creating a whole new set of downtown issues and opportunities.

Busch III is more than just a new ballpark. It is an opportunity to build upon our year round experience in downtown STL. Here are a few suggestions ideas for the ownership group as they build up the neighborhood around our new downtown ballpark.

Before siting buildings for Ballpark Village, there should be a visual analysis completed to be sure we maximize the finished skyline views of downtown from inside the stadium. This view will be our money shot of downtown STL for national television audiences. It would be a shame if a new building blocked the views of the Old Court House or part of the Arch. The mockup version in the image above shows a blocky looking building that might block views of important buildings like the Old Court House. Let's take care when finalizing the site plan to make sure we get the best results possible.

If the visual analysis determines that some areas of Ballpark Village should maintain a lower height profile in order to preserve important views, what about using those spaces for small outdoor recreational uses such as sand volleyball, a mini wiffle ball/cork ball field, convertible to an outdoor ice rink during the wintertime? These could be in view of neighboring Ballpark Village sports bars and restaurants.

Speaking of the BV sports bars and restaurants, since lots of people without tickets will want to soak in the atmosphere of downtown baseball, the Cardinals could wire the closed circuit, commercial free baseball signal from inside the stadium to the neighboring BV sports bars. It would be the next best thing to being there. Large screen projection televisions, combined with the sound of cheers from neighboring Busch III would make a fun, exciting baseball experience.

And, for more neighborhood experiences, what about improving the adjacent stadium garages? A friend of mine is a city police officer who said he spent all day yesterday trying to keep people off of the top of the Stadium East garage. Rather than trying to keep people off of it, let's open it up.

Just like in Chicago, where the rooftops of neighboring buildings are used for bleacher parties to watch ballgames, the same thing could be done with the top of the Stadium East garage and other new BV buildings. It's even conceivable that an air-conditioned sports bar could be built into the second highest floor of the Stadium East garage. Bleacher parties on the roof; a/c on the second floor from the top. Cards ownership and the stadium people could work out a licensing arrangement.

One of the criticisms of downtown sports venues is that they are only open a limited number of dates. There is potential opportunities for those off days.

For some of us non-ticket holders who may wait years to attend a big league game inside new Busch, offer free stadium tours on the off days. And what about having one or two of the stadium stores and restaurants open year round? The stadium can be a draw all year.

And speaking of off-days, if you could get the MLB players to agree, schedule 10-20 Memphis or Springfield Cardinal games a year at new Busch. Offer lower prices, and you'd fill the stadium for more dates.

We can't wait for our chance to see the place in person. In the meantime, does anyone have links for good pictures of the ballpark and the new skyline views?

Building Up Young Ballplayers

StL Mark was looking for some ideas about how to teach a young person about baseball. Here are some of the things we tried that worked in raising our son to appreciate the game and want to play it.

Most important: Start young. When a child is 3 or 4 years old, he/she is old enough to learn how to catch and throw. Use a safe, spongy ball. Get them to throw near and far, and to corral the balls in front of them until they start catching them in the air. You probably will find yourself heaping on lots of love, praise, and encouragement. Do not stop.

Having good hand-eye coordination is an essential trait for playing baseball. It needs to be second nature. The younger a person starts developing these skills, the more natural they will be and the more enjoyment and success they will have as they get older.

Play catch: More than anything else, it is the number one fundamental to playing baseball. Plus it's just plain fun. Without exagerating, in his thirteen years. I've probably played catch with Matt some 5,000 times, with probably close to a million tosses. Playing catch can be a great time for having talks with your child, and as he/she gets more skill, you can teach more applications. Simulated ground balls, popups, pitching sequences, etc.

Now that Matt is turning into a young man, he doesn't need me so much to play catch. So when it's late at night, and he asks me to have a catch under the street light, it's a gift he is unknowingly returning to me.

Teach no fear: Fear of the ball is the greatest obstacle to becoming a ballplayer. I didn't overcome it until I was about fifteen. Standing in the batter's box or fielding a hard hit ground ball can be intimidating. To help Matt overcome this fear, when he was about 2 and 1/2 years old, we went down in the basement with his Toys R Us-styled fat plastic bat and a foam softball to practice batting. He had this big grin on his face, and I would fire fast pitches to him from about 12 feet.

He'd take big swings, and, if I pitched it decent, he'd hit it. He couldn't get enough of it. If the foam ball would hit him, that was just part of the fun. Plus, he started to figure out how to get out of the way of an errant pitch. During the wintertime, the basement can be a great place to teach good applicable baseball skills.

Get out and play with other neighborhood kids: While they're little, seek out families with other kids who like to play. You'll probably find them right on your block. Besides learning to make friends, the kids get better at sports together. On our block, we have neighbor kids in four out of five houses in a row. They all play together, and each one of them are among the best athletes in their class, and good friends.

Seek out organized youth leagues: By age five, "T-Ball" is an option for boys and girls. The games are structured for fun and learning. It's a great way to meet new people, and give the kids a good time. Check out YMCA or CYC sports leagues. They specialize in youth sports.

Play other sports: Baseball is not a conditioning sport. Actually, in my opinion, baseball is really less of a sport than it is a game. Yet you need to be in good shape to play it. Basketball, soccer, and hockey are good sports to get kids in shape to play baseball. (Note: For what it's worth, my other strong recommendation is to not have kids specialize in a single sport until they are at least in 8th or 9th grade. Figure skating and gymnastics being the exception, otherwise, let the kids decide for themselves what they like best. Overzealous parents who think they are raising the next Nolan Ryan do their kids a disservice.)

Make the investment: In addition to all of the hours you will spend together, providing your young athlete with good equipment is important to their skills development, safety, and growing confidence. Quality hand-me-downs are a good option, or check out "Play It Again Sports". They deal in quality, used equipment for most sports.

Avoid over or undersized bats and gloves. By age 8 or so, invest in a leather glove. Make sure their bat is the right length and weight for their size. If you're unsure, take a friend who knows the difference. Lugging a too-heavy bat is a recipe for lots of late swings and strikeouts. Fielding with a wrong-sized, non-broken-in glove is a formula for lots of dropped balls. By age five or six, they should be throwing and catching a "safety" baseball (regulation size and weight, with a little cushiony give).

Build their confidence: Sports are fun but challenging. Sometimes they can be difficult and frustrating. Self-confidence is crucial to the development of all young people including young athletes. Practice and positive reinforcement work. Steer away from coaches who yell too much. Few young players respond favorably to adults who yell at them. If they're still playing by the time they're in high school, then they can deal with yelling coaches.

Set a good example: If you appreciate baseball, chances are your kids will too.

Have fun: It's the most important ingredient of all.

Bonus: Growing up in St. Louis doesn't hurt!

Tony and Me

At the annual fundraising auction for Matt's school, we bought a signed copy of Tony LaRussa's "Three Nights In August" book. The book is about a 3-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs as seen through the eyes of Cards manager, Tony LaRussa. I'm hoping that the book gives me some added coaching insights as we start our second year managing a youth hardball team down at historic Heine Meine field in Lemay.

The St. Louis Cardinals have adopted Heine Meine as one of their "Cardinals Care Fields". If you want to see true baseball in a restored, historic neighborhood setting, make a visit to Heine Meine field sometime this spring or summer. The atmosphere is great, the baseball entertains, and the concession stand has everything you're looking for at reasonable, midwestern prices.

The team I manage, the "St. Louis South Sox", is entering its second season, playing at the "Midget 2" level. Players range in age from 12-14. Bases are at 80 feet and the distance from the mound to home is 54 feet. Next year, the boys will move up to the big field, with full size, major league dimensions. Still, with 80-foot bases, it's a long throw from third to first for a twelve year old.

In 1980, before he played for Tony LaRussa, a skinny Mark McGwire played in an exhibition game at Heine Meine for the US Olympic Baseball Team. In that game, McGwire hit a towering a home run deep into the adjoining neighborhood of tidy, frame houses.

Last year the South Sox, named for the players who all come from different south side neighborhooods, finished the season with 5 wins and 7 losses. We enter the 2006 season with hopes for a solid year, having added more pitching, hitting and defensive strength. The team has a crisp, new look, and for the first time, an actual corporate sponsor - Bommarito Nissan. As the boys came over last nite to pick up their new uniforms, you could see the excitement on their faces.

Matt has played with some of these boys since first grade. Johnny "Boom Boom" is one of them. John plays first base for the South Sox. John has always loved playing baseball, and is growing into a fine first baseman. He has the lanky build and stretch play you want to see over at first. Of all the boys, John was the most eager to see the new uniforms. He had his dad call yesterday, and they were among the first to arrive last nite to pick them up. You could see a gentle smile come across his face and a gleam in John's eyes as he inspected the new uniforms and the "South Sox, sponsored by..." red and white team banner.

As crazy at it may sound, one of the top reasons we moved to St. Louis from California was to raise Matt in a baseball-drenched environment. We're living that life now, and it is a wonderful thing. Uncynical, these young players have baseball dreams. Based on a show of hands, almost every South Sox player has hopes to play high school ball in a couple of years. Their hearts are filled with anticipation.

So far, I've learned two things from "Three Nights In August". LaRussa does not follow conventional wisdom in any part of managing. He always tries new things. One of them was to move a powerful, dangerous hitter into the leadoff spot. Traditionally, you save those hitters for the middle of the lineup. LaRussa figured that challenging a pitcher early, before he can settle into a rhythm, would be a good strategy. With added pop in the South Sox lineup this year, we're going to try that same strategy.

Another lesson LaRussa shares is his job description of the role of a major league manager. Getting pampered, multi-million dollar, athletes to play at the top of their game is a difficult thing to do. To do so, LaRussa believes his job is mostly about
"unlocking players' hearts".

Coaching 12 and 13 year olds presents a similar challenge. These young guys are ballplayers on the inside, building up their potential. Unlocking their hearts will help unleash that potential. If by the end of the season, the players come together and the team plays with "heart", then no matter the win-loss record, it will have all been a very good year.

"Need and Not Have"

They say it's always better to "have and not need" than to "need and not have".

There's one thing we could use in St. Louis that at the present time is definitely in the "need and not have" category.

St. Louis is a place known for its wealth of architectural assets. Some of them are in need of emergency stabilization. Unfortunately, there is no fund designated for emergency stabilization of historic structures.

While there are many old buildings that make sense to demolish [if you don't believe me, let's take a tour sometime and you can draw your own conclusions..], there are many others worth preserving.

Some are important contributing structures located in St. Louis historic districts. Without a ready source of emergency stabilization funds, we wind up losing some of these important buildings.

With a wide variety of opinions, we've discussed donating funds to different sorts of nonprofit organizations. Would you consider making cash donations to an organization whose sole purpose was to award emergency stabilization funds for preserving historically significant buildings?

Summer in St. Louis

Hot? Yes. A Great Vacation Destination? Absolutely...

Here's a list of possible day trips starting from St. Louis:

French Discovery

Cahokia Court House and Cahokia Mounds
Fort Des Chartres
Chester, Illinois
St. Genevieve, Missouri
Belleville, Illinois
White Cottage for ice cream
Our Lady of the Snows

Mississippi River Country

Clarksville, Missouri
Louisiana, Missouri
Pere Marquette State Park
Illinois/Missouri Ferries
Alton, Illinois
Finn Inn, Graffton, Illinois
Elsah, Illinois
Cahokia Mounds
Wood River, Root Beer Stand
Hanibal, Mark Twain sites

Missouri River - Hermann - Missouri Wine Country

Historic St. Charles
Augusta, Missouri
Purina Farms
Daniel Boone Home
Meramec Caverns
Washington, Missouri
Gary Lucy Studio
Katy Trail
Hermann, Missouri

St. Louis County

Butterfly House
Laumeier Sculpture Park
UCity Loop
Prologue Room (Boeing)
Jefferson Barracks
Grant's Farm/Clydesdales
Swim outings
Museum of Transport
Glencoe Train
Magic House
Kirkwood/Webster
Six Flags over Mid America
Ice Skating

St. Louis City

Gateway Arch
Old Cathedral
Old Court House
Scott Joplin House and Historic Mansion Tours
City Museum
Crown Candy
Calvary and Bellefontaine Cemeteries
Soulard Market
Soulard Neighborhood
Lafayette Square Neighborhood
Central West End Neighborhood
New Cathedral
Missouri Botanical Garden
Forest Park
St.Louis Zoo
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
Union Station
Ted Drewes for frozen custard
Cherokee Antique Row
Fox Theater
The Muny Theater
Powell Hall and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour/Clydesdales
The Hill Neighborhood
St. Louis Cardinals
Eugene Field House and Toy Museum

Check back..more links to follow...

Education Vouchers For Missouri?

From the tone of yesterday morning's Wake Up call show on WGNU radio, it sounds like a bill to bring education vouchers to Missouri is gaining momentum in the state legislature. The topic was being discussed by Quincy Troupe, Irene Smith, and Lizz Brown. They were looking for St. Louis to be excluded from the proposed law.

4 of 5 Top City Wards for New Housing Construction in North City

Results consistent with city's overall recent population turnaround.

STL Must See: The Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad

St. Louis is blessed with some of the country's finest family-oriented amenities. The St. Louis Zoo, the Science Center the Magic House, and the City Museum are just a few of our region's great recreational and educational attractions.

One of our favorites is the historic Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad located in Glencoe (near Eureka) Missouri, off of Route 109. Most young people love trains, and these narrow guage steam locomotives are a pure delight.

You can ride a train at the Zoo and Grant's Farm, but for an authentic railroading experience, the Glencoe trains are the real deal.

Coal and oil smells. The hissing sound of steam from the boilers. The ear piercing whistle of the steam driven horn. The tinkering with valves and controls by the engineers. Followed by a 20 minute ride along the Meramec River, through dappled sunlight shining through the trees of a Missouri forest.

If you don't have kids of your own, still check out this place. For more fun, bring a young relative, and a camera. It will make a memory that will last a lifetime.

Eisele's Would Be Proud

Eisele's Black Forest on Cherokee and the Bavarian Inn at Gravois and Arsenal were two long-time German restaurant standards on the city's south side. Years ago, the Black Forest closed, followed some years later by the Bavarian Inn. Now, I don't think you can find a German restaurant in the city.

Not far from where the Black Forest and Bavarian Inn were located, a new restaurant has opened bringing added life to the city's Tower Grove East neighborhood. It's called "Pestalozzi Place", located at the corner of Virginia and Pestalozzi in a beatifully renovated, one hundred-plus year old building. We visited Pestalozzi Place for the second time this weekend.

I had the stuffed pork chop. The chop was stuffed with fresh spinach and andouille sausage. Delicious (and our server's favorite)! For a city built by lots of Germans, it's hard to find a good German meal in town.

Pestalozzi Place isn't known as a German restaurant, but their stuffed pork chop would make a fine addition to the menu of a German restaurant anywhere!

Teen Sex

St. Louis leads the country in V.D. cases. This stat probably has more to do with our goofy "city in a donut" status, but is a bad thing regardless.

Yesterday marked Matt's 13th birthday. In the past week, we've heard stories about two young teenage girls becoming pregnant. Teens having unprotected sex is probably the number one reason.

Blame the boys and to some degree the girls? Mostly the boys. Rumor has it that the impregnating boy of one the pregnant girls mentioned above is bragging to his friends about it.

Hormones are raging for the kids in Matt's seventh grade class. Phone calls from girls and "instant messaging" is a daily routine.

Girls have crushes on Matt, and he has crushes back. As a parent, trying to pull in the reigns on these young romances probably just makes them more alluring to the kids involved.

Add to that the peer pressure and a culture that pushes casual sex, and these kids are facing a tough challenge for the next few years.

Maybe all-boy and all-girl schools would lessen the pressure on them?

Servant Rider

Andy Krumseig, the Executive of the Jubilee Christian Development Corporation, a branch of the Jubilee Community Church based in the city's Lindell Park neighborhood, is leaving today for California, about to embark on a 2,600 mile, coast-to-coast bike ride to raise funds for the church and its ministries.

You can help Andy and Jubilee by sponsoring the ride by the mile. A penny a mile is $26.00. Ten cents a mile, $260.00. In total, the ministry is working to raise $500,000 to convert a vacant grocery store on North Grand into its new home.

Last year, the Landmarks Association of St. Louis recognized the Jubilee Community Church for the rehab of their current 3118 North Grand location as one of the "Most Enhanced Sites" in St. Louis. Through the Jubileee Christian Development Corporation, the faith-based organization is continuing to renovate homes in the Lindell Park neighborhood.

They can really use your support. Please consider making a tax deductible contribution in whatever amount you can afford. Thanks. More information is available at: stlouisjubileeride.com

Safe and happy riding to you, Andy! We'll see you when you get back.

Retirement Planning: STL Style

People often comment on the lower housing costs offered in the midwest compared to the coasts. Having lived for many years in California, we know that cost savings in St. Louis extend to all aspects of everyday life.

Presently, we are in the market for a new trombone. We are comparing prices in St. Louis versus California.

The retail price for the trombone pictured above is $300 higher in California compared to what it sells for here in St. Louis. And in California, the product must be back ordered, while here in St. Louis, the store has three in stock.

If you're ever thinking about retirement, consider how much faster your retirement savings could accumulate by living on a St. Louis budget!

Blogger Courtesy

I will defer to the comments of my fellow blogger on this topic.

Maybe if they added some shrubbery?

Moving Downtown?

We're considering moving downtown into one of the new Ballpark Village condo towers. Some questions we need to consider....

Are there dog walking services available? We wonder how much they charge...

Any predictions on the price of a 2 bedroom condo facing the new ballpark?

Or, we'd be interested in a unit with an Arch view, as long as the designers provide a roof top deck with views of the ballpark...

Any idea of the timing of construction and sales? And what about high school choices for downtown teens?

Future Role For Avalon Theater?

From an email sent to the Southampton email list:

We are professional actors and Southampton Neighborhood residents who have founded one of St. Louis' newest professional theatre companies, Avalon Theatre Company. Organized as a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization, Avalon is dedicated to the professional theatre artists who have chosen to live and work in St. Louis. In recognition of its artistic vision and commitment to St. Louis theatre artists, Avalon was recently awarded a grant from The Fox Associates Foundation.

Our inaugural production was the St. Louis premiere of BOSTON MARRIAGE by David Mamet. Our next production is Lee Blessing's A WALK IN THE WOODS, which runs March 17 through April 2, 2006 (preview performance March 16) at Union United Methodist Church, 3543 Watson Road. Directed by Heidi Winters Vogel, the production features Gary Wayne Barker* as Honeyman and John Contini* as Botvinnik.

The place is a "pleasant woods on the outskirts of Geneva," where two superpower arms negotiators, the Russian, Botvinnik, a seasoned veteran, and his American counterpart, Honeyman, a newcomer to the arms-control talks, meet informally after long, frustrating hours at the bargaining table. Through their absorbing and revealing conversations we become aware of both the deepening understanding between these two wise and decent men, and also of the profound frustration they increasingly feel – that the elemental differences in their two systems of government will continue to exacerbate as long as the real power rests in the hands of those burdened by the bitterness of the past.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm. Ticket prices are: $28 adult; $23 student/senior; $20 preview (Thursday, March 16). To learn more about Avalon Theatre Company or to make convenient ticket purchases online, please visit ATC's website at www.avalontheater.org or call 314-351-6482.

Avalon also has two volunteer usher/concession positions available per performance. Ushers see the show for free. If interested, please contact the theatre.

Thank you.

Larry Mabrey, Artistic Director
Erin Kelley, Managing Director
314-351-6482
ATC@avalontheatre.org - www.avalontheatre.org

*Member Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

Affton PeeWees Vie for State Championship

During the regular season, the two Affton "Gold" House PeeWee hockey teams finished 1-2 in the standings.

Now, as the playoffs reach the final game, the same two Affton teams square off in an in-house rivalry to determine this year's Missouri state champions in the gold division.

Along the way, the teams defeated regional rivals, the St. Peters Spirits and the Twin Bridges Lightning, to make it to the championship game.

Matt's team is in the finals. If they win tonight, it will be his second state championship in four years.

The puck drops at 5:30 PM at the Kirkwood Community Center ice arena on Geyer Road.

RIP Kirby Puckett

Ever since the 1987 World Series, St. Louisans have a hard time appreciating Minnesota's brand of baseball, especially with their "Glad Bag" stadium wall. But we all respected Kirby Puckett. Puckett was a big factor in the '87 Twin's World Series victory over the Cardinals.

Way back before ballplayers routinely started charging for their autographs, I remember the time we sent a baseball book up to the Twins, attention Kirby Puckett. Puckett mailed it back to us with his autograph and a personalized note.

There weren't very many ballplayers who earned the widespread admiration of Kirby Puckett. He was a tough competitor and a great representative of the game. He would have looked great in a Cardinal uniform, but, turning down more lucrative contract offers, he would play his entire career with the Twins.

Cold Frostys

There was a time when St. Louis had more breweries than almost any other American city.

Based on the age of car parked in front, the picture above probably dates back to the Bevo Mill's alcohol free days.

I wonder what a cold beer at the Bevo Mill would have tasted like right after the end of prohibition? Pretty darn good I bet.

"The Oldest Road In St. Louis County"

"St. Charles Rock Road, the first road through St. Louis County, was laid out in 1772 as “The Road to St. Charles” by the Spanish. The road began in St. Louis (where it was called “Kings Road”), followed in a general direction the route now used and led to the bank of the Missouri River opposite St. Charles. In 1819, St. Charles Road was established as a post and stage road; in 1837 it was first incorporated as a turnpike. In 1865, St. Charles Road was rebuilt with macadam (successive layers of small broken stones) and renamed St. Charles Rock Road. In 1921, it became the first concrete state highway in St. Louis County."

Excerpted from the official website for the City of St. John, St. Louis County, Missouri.

Free Downtown Baseball

The Harris Stowe Hornets have started their 2006 college baseball season on their home field, located at the northeast corner of Compton and Market in the city of St. Louis.

They are playing their first game today against Webster University.

Traffic Forecast?

Frequently, when large crowds head for downtown STL to attend a major nightime event, coupled with thousands of daytime office workers exiting their parking garages, the result is gridlock around the Old Court House.

Savvy drivers in search of a speedier exit have been known to move their cars to street parking spaces ahead of the rush.

Any predictions on what traffic downtown is supposed to be doing after 4:00 pm this evening? Tonite is the night for the annual Fat Tuesday parade.

"It's Not Over...

'til we say it's over!!"

Nottingham Community Center proponent gives update on the effort's current status.

(Scroll to the bottom for the latest entry in the comment section).

STL-Something Rises Down in Texas

...Apparently, way down south in Texas, they love St. Louis-style pizza. At least they think they do.

The image in the picture is what some folks down in Texas actually believe is a St. Louis style-pizza. Hah!

The menu doesn't even offer provel!

If someone knows where in St. Louis you can find a pizza like the one in the picture, please share.

Maybe California Pizza Kitchen?

Good or Bad?

Over at South St. Louis Talk, there's a post about making Ballpark Village a sort of "Taste of St. Louis" experience. There's some appeal to that idea, but on the other hand, we might regret exposing the outside world to how bad St. Louis-style pizza really is...

There's talk of building a high-dollar, touristy, aquarium attraction, like the one in the picture above. That could be an awesome addition to the St. Louis destination downtown experience.

If you're aiming to create a sustainable, ballpark-anchored district, how would you approach it? Emphasize a ballpark/themed entertainment focus? Or just keep it simple and urban: high density and mixed use, with baseball a part of but not the central focus of the mix?

Ballpark Village

More than Balls and Strikes

Spring training and baseball are about belief in the possible. Possibilities and STL come together in a new downtown ballpark.

A Beautiful French Connection

The inspiration for our City Hall is the Hotel De Ville in Paris (shown above).



The second image is a historic postcard view of St. Louis City Hall. Back in the 1960s, many considered the building obsolete, and it was nearly demolished in favor of a modern civic center complex. Fortunately that never happened. But the building needs some costly repairs.

On the outside, it carries blemishes from failed attempts to remove discoloration caused by years of coal soot accumulation on the limestone exterior. Thanks to the St. Louis chapter of the AIA, there is a private effort to raise funds to rehabilitate the exterior of the building. But private fundraising is a slow business, and the dollar goal is substantial.

If presented to voters, would you support a bond measure to finance the cost to rehabilitate the historic building?

An Anchor On The Ivanhoe Strip

In the ground floor commercial space of a mixed-use, corner building in the heart of the ever-improving Ivanhoe Avenue neighborhood business district (near I-44 and Arsenal), an independent music store, "Killer Vintage", is quietly becoming one of the midwest's leading suppliers of rare guitars and amplifiers.

With the right pedigree (pre-CBS ownership, through 1965), a Fender Statocaster like the one in the picture above could bring $10,000-$20,000 American, and as much as $75,000 in Japan as a high-demand Americana collectible.

Given the popularity of the road-worn look, some guitarists have been known to tie their late-model Stratocasters into burlap sacks, and drag them down the street for a block or two, just to mimick the appearance in the picture above.

STL Rising---Not Just Buildings

In North St. Louis, near the intersection of North Kingshighway and Hwy 70, for years a bike racing track sat overgrown with weeds.



Now, the track looks like new again.



For more information, check out the website for the Missouri Bicycle Racers Association.

User Support for Dummies

This blog has needed some livening up for sometime, and so, starting today, thanks to the technical assistance of Matt and his friends, they are trying to show this old dog how to insert a photo into a blog....

and it works like this...

go to goodle images...

double click on the image...

click on "see full size image"...

then click on image icon in blogger posting screen...

then copy and paste url from your chosen google image into the blogger url space...

then use style and size features to center or size the image...

then click "upload image"...

then click "done"...

and if all goes well...

the Eads Bridge will be the inaugural STL Rising pic...

Charter Reform Pathologists

Robert Cropf and Todd Swanstrom of St. Louis University have written a detailed analysis of the failed Advanced St. Louis Charter Reform Measures A, B, C, and D.

You can read their entire report here.

MSN: Find out Where to Celebrate Mardis Gras...

...except for in St. Louis.

A Valentine to STL

A friend and I were talking today about our shared-adopted hometown of St. Louis. We agreed that one of the things that makes this place so endearing is the way it is so far from perfect. The place is a work in progress, and we are all a part of it.

For those of us with St. Louis in our blood, it is a passion. When Kerri and I moved away for a few years, I'll never forget how we missed it so much. We wanted to move back the whole time.

And now that we're back again, we're here for good. The place has worked its way into our souls. We love it.

StL Evolution Critiques Ballpark Village

Over at StL Evolution, blogger Matt Fernandez gives an upbeat overview of the Ballpark Village project. He even makes the point that locating the ballpark right next to Highway 40 is turning out well.

Ballpark Village represents another $450,000,000 investment added to the city's renaissance, including 1,200 condo units in four towers on a newly restored street grid. Naysayers take note: at present, there is more construction happening in the City of St. Louis than anywhere else in the region.

During the '90s, everyone was talking about the revitalization of downtown, LoDo, Denver**, with downtown baseball and loft conversions leading the way. Now, in the '00s, it's the revitalization of downtown St. Louis that is making national news.

**(Click on the LoDo link and note the similarity between our new ballpark and Denver's...)

Maybe the promoters of 2004 were right?

1804: Lewis and Clark
1904: St. Louis World's Fair
2004+: St. Louis Is Back

Historic District Nominations...Demystified

Thanks to Michael Allen for providing a detailed description of how the process works to nominate a neighborhood for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Michael's description can be found in the comments section of this posting.

A New Way

It was on the way home, via a short cut from the 4300 hundred block of West Florissant, south on Prairie Avenue, across Fairground Park, continuing south to Dr. MLK, and then west a few blocks to catch up with the Metropolis Walk in the Ville.

Driving down Prairie, I rode by three other inviting looking night spots in the Fairground neighborhood. Maybe on a another night the Walk visits Fairground? Maybe. Thanks to Brian Marston for organizing the Ville Walk. It was a good time with a lot of fun people.

After visiting the Walk, I made another detour off the main routes, and headed straight south, down either Whittier or Sarah...I think Whittier (I couldn't tell; some of the street signs were missing). Somewhere around the corner of Washington and Whittier (or Sarah?), I arrived at a beautiful white stone church with a huge monolithic-shaped bell tower. I can't remember ever having noticed it before. A couple more blocks south, I would arrive in the heart of the new Gaslight Square development, situated along the northern edge of the Central West End neighborhood.

Prior to the Walk, the evening started out with a conversation with some Third Ward neighbors, including one long-time resident of the Fairground neighborhood. He's in his mid-80s now, but he remembers back as a young father, back in 1969, when his was the second black family to move on to his block in Fairground. Through the years, he's witnessed firsthand the long drought of disinvestment that blighted his community.

All along, he's remained active working as a volunteer to serve his neighborhood. Those years of work are starting to show a return. Today he sees more investment in the city's Third Ward than he's seen in the previous thirty-plus years. The drought years had seriously worn on his patience, and there's still a level of frustration, but now there's a new beginning too.

First Class Upgrade

Our Midget 2 baseball team, the South Sox, is returning for its second season of practices at Tower Grove Park in South St. Louis.

Tower Grove Park offers fee waivers on field use permits for youth sports teams. For more information, call (314) 771-4484.

Watch for the South Sox on Saturday mornings, beginning in early March. We'll be holding practices on the full-size baseball field located at the southwest corner of the park, just up from Arsenal along Kingshighway.

Architectural Irony

St. Louis has one of the nation's best collections of historic architecture. It's not surprising considering that back in the year 1900, St. Louis was America's fourth largest city. Many believe that our architectural heritage is one of the city's greatest assets.

We also have a culture that is very resistant to change. So today our conservative midwestern culture is challenged to think differently about the importance of our architectural resources. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard people say, "Oh, that's not historic."

Our mostly conservative culture isn't comfortable placing restrictions on the use of private property. Yet progressives want to see our historic architecture preserved and carefully reused.

Getting St. Louisans to think differently about the importance of our local architecture will take more than teaching them about the significance of historic buildings. It will take getting St. Louisans to become more willing to accept change.

And that has little to do with architecture.

Marketplace Snapshot

St. Louis neighborhoods are a diverse marketplace. There are many submarkets of people who make the city their residential destination of choice.

Given the diverse nature of city residents, what would you say are the leading household submarkets choosing city living?

Here's a start-

Empty nesters choosing downtown lofts

First time homebuyers seeking affordable housing

Bosnians moving into Little Bosna

Middle class African Americans wanting to move back to their old city neighborhoods

Catholic families with kids

Gays

There are lots more. What do you think?

South Sox Baseball Club

I manage a baseball team for 6th and 7th grade boys. The name of the team is the St. Louis "South Sox". The team practices at Tower Grove Park and plays out of Heine Meine Field.

We are looking for some new sponsors. If you are interested in supporting a youth baseball team, and promoting your business or organization at the same time, we'd like to introduce you to our team.

The budget for the season is approximately $1500. Our goal for sponsorships is $150 per sponsor. If you are a restaurant owner, your sponsorship cost would be made back through after-game visits by our team and their friends and families.

If interested, please contact me at rbonasch@sbcglobal.net. Thanks.

Maybe we're not paying the right people?

How is it possible that St. Louis is not mentioned anywhere on this website?

More Is Better

One thing that sets St. Louis apart from most other American cities is our historic neighborhoods. Much has been written about the marketing and reinvestment potential of historic rehabilitation. And much of that is made possible through the use of state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

However, only a small percentage of the city is currently eligible for historic tax credits. If we set out to substantially increase the number of city neighborhoods listed on the National Register, who knows how much more we could see in neighborhood revitalization?

With the exception of the new Jefferson-Gravois Streetcar Suburb Historic District and the expanded Tower Grove Heights Historic District, most of the city's historic districts are concentrated close to downtown, along the riverfront (Hyde Park and St. Boniface) or in the central corridor. Visit the neighborhoods listed on the National Register, and you 'll see a large amount of historic rehab, both underway and recently completed.

The rebirth of downtown has largely been driven by historic rehab. Good work is happening now in Old North St. Louis and Forest Park Southeast through the same resource.

Yet, the vast majority of North and South City is not part of any national historic district. The lack of historic tax credits makes it much harder to finance rehab in these neighborhoods. Where would be a good place to start next?

"Experiment a Success"

KMOX's Kevin Killeen reported this morning that McBride and Sons' experiment to build a "suburban-styled" subdivision in the city is a success.

Homes have sold at a brisk pace, and contracts for an additional twenty homes have been written.

Then Killeen asked the builder if crime has been an issue: "I've noticed a lot of signs for security companies in the front yards".

According the builder, there has not been a single break-in in the development. The developer noted how the new neighbors are cooperating with each other to make the neighborhood a safe place.

Overall, it seemed like a strange news story. For starters, Botanical Heights is not what most people imagine when they picture a "suburban styled" housing development. There are no ranch or single story homes. All the homes have rear garages off of alleys, and the side yard setbacks are much less than most suburban developments. And there are plans for attached townhomes.

Next, it's really not much of an experiment, but rather a successful formula that has been replicated in multiple housing developments all over town. The West End, the Gate District, and the near north side are all places where you can find large, new home developments that have sold well.

And even though there has been none, Killeen decided to make crime a key part of his story. He could have taken many angles when reporting on the success of the project. The fact that he chose to highlight the issue of crime when reporting on the success of a new home development in the city is disappointing.

Bored in St. Louis

Seldom played, late model Fender Telecaster, with original metal-flake blue finish, white pick gaurd, and maple neck, seeks new home. Owner desires a like-quality acoustic mandolin in even exchange. Interested parties, please contact the owner of this blog. Thanks!

"The trouble with boys"

Much has been in the news lately about the struggles of young boys making the passage into adulthood.

They are failing at greater rates than ever before, and schools are having a hard time figuring out ways to help them improve.

Some say boys are treated like defective girls, rather than looked at as individuals with their own unique concerns.

With Matt turning thirteen in a less than two months, we're facing these challenges on a daily basis, and much of what we're reading in the articles and watching on the news we have seen happen in Matt's life.

This week, two boys, one in 6th the other in 7th grade, were expelled from Matt's school. The news came as a shock to all of us since we've known these two young people since they were kindergarten age.

It's not a St. Louis thing, but a national concern. Some suggest all-boy middle schools would help. Others say the presence of a father figure in the home is a big factor. Reports are that 40% of young boys are growing up in homes without their biological fathers.

What about opening up the schools for evening study halls with sons and fathers? We could help each other out.

CBC High School Considers Mandatory Drug Testing

In a move that may lead to wider spread efforts, CBC High School in Town and Country Missouri, a posh suburb of St. Louis, is considering mandatory drug testing of students.

School administrators believe mandatory testing may provide students a way to say "no" to offers to experiment with illicit drugs.

A First for Downtown St. Louis

In an attempt to position the event as a major regional event, for the first time in its long history, the Annie Malone parade will be held this year in downtown St. Louis.

Annie Malone is not a city neighborhood, but rather a famous person in St. Louis history who was one of America's first African American millionaires. She made her fortune developing and selling hair products targeted to African American consumers. She resided in the historic Ville neighborhood.

Today, the Annie Malone organization serves low income St. Louis households, providing a wide array of services. The Annie Malone organization is based in the Ville neighborhood, 2612 Annie Maolone Drive, St. Louis, MO 63113. Telephone 314-531-0120.

The Annie Malone organization also operates a Day Care Respite and Crisis Nursery in the Penrose neighborhood at 4411 North Newstead, St. Louis, MO 63115. Telephone 314-381-2410.

RIP Mary Taylor

Longtime 3rd Ward neighborhood resident and volunteer Mary Taylor died recently after suffering a heart attack.

Ms. Taylor volunteered for many years on various neighborhood projects and served on the board of directors of the Neighborhood Council. She was a beloved friend, neighbor and dedicated city resident. She will be missed by her many friends.

5,000 + 50,000 = Great Family Fun

You don't have to wait for the 2006 season of Six Flags to find great family fun in St. Louis. At 1:00 pm on Sunday, February 19, visit Soulard for the annual Krewe Barkus Dog Parade.

5,000 dogs and 50,000 human spectators will fill the historic streets of Soulard for this offbeat, family-friendly festival.

An Interesting Blip

Most of the ancient Indian mounds in St. Louis proper have been lost to development. There are the partial remains of one next to Highway 55 near S. Broadway. A '50s vintage home was built on the carved out side of the mound.

One of our longtime friends, a local historian who talks about having personally "shoveled out Lafayette Square townhouses back in the 70s", prides herself on having travelled nearly every south city neighborhood street by foot. Sometimes she leads historic walking tours of city neighborhoods.

St. Louis is a place layered in history. Recently, we were on foot, walking every block of a neighborhood on the city's near north side. A large part of the area had become industrialized, and then mostly abandoned by industry. There was one spot in the middle of the neighborhood that didn't fit the rest. It was undeveloped, yet surrounded by heavy industrial uses.

On one side was a fenced yard holding dozens of retired trailers. On the other lay parallel rows of abandoned railroad track, along with an overhead signal fixture. Sandwiched between the train tracks and the trailer lot was a small forested hill, roughly thirty to forty feet wide, rising approximately 8 to 10 feet above the grade of the sidewalk-and the grades of all the nearby blocks.

I wondered, why was this lot left alone when the rest of the blocks were originally developed? Was it created by transporting fill to the site in past decades? Or could it be the remains of an old Indian Mound? I hope it's an Indian mound.

If you want to visit this mound yourself, you can find it on the eastern side of the intersection of Hadley and Howard, two blocks north of Cass Avenue.

Urban Studio Presents D-I-Y Plaster Repair Course

Plaster is a beautiful wall and ceiling material found in most older city homes. However, the repair and installation of plaster is a dying art, and expensive to hire..

The Urban Studio, a nonprofit community resource center located next door to Crown Candy in the Old North St. Louis, is presenting a course to learn do-it-yourself plaster repair:

Learn How to Repair Your Own Plaster (and save thousands of dollars) with Master Plasterer, Eric Aulbach

For more information about the plaster class and the Urban Studio, please visit:

The Urban Studio Blog

"That's not North St. Louis"

I was at a gathering recently near Calvary Cemetary where a group of neighborhood residents were discussing perceptions of the city's north side.

They explained to me that if you are in the know, which I wasn't, you know that much of what is generally referred to as "North St. Louis" isn't considered so by local residents.

By their traditional standards, areas south of Page and west of Union are not considered North St. Louis. Those areas are considered Central or West End.

School Board: "Thanks but no thanks"

Citizen-led effort to build a Southwest City community center hits roadblock as city school board rejects offer to purchase Nottingham School. There are no plans for an alternative location, Journal reports.

Katrina'd Out?

The issue of insurance companies ending earthquake coverage on older masonry buildings has barely made the local radar screen.

The St. Louis Oracle wrote about it in November.

Since ours is a stone foundation built in 1933, we were just talking about this over the weekend. Has anyone else heard about insurance companies dropping such coverage?

Maybe the insurance industry figures better to plan on a federal bailout than provide earthquake coverage near the New Madrid fault zone?

Scene at Ramp Riders

Matt has been getting more into the BMX biking scene, so we've been spending lots of Friday nites lately with the skateboarders and acrobatic cyclists down at Ramp Riders at Salena and Gravois in the Benton Park neighborhood.

Given the warehouse setting, the management invites bands to perform in the space. The bands are loud, metal, and drawing a young, skater-friendly crowd. Most of the ones we've seen so far haven't been very good.

That all changed Friday nite. Not since seeing Tuck and Patti in the Berkeley Hills back in 1985, have I had such a "we saw you when" experience as we had watching Gage Love (guitarist extrordinaire) and the band he plays with, "Torch the Morgue".

Love learned music through song and trumpet and his college major was opera. He's only played guitar for five years, but he's as good as anyone I've seen. He's played with Torch the Morgue for about a year.

The setup at Ramp Riders wasn't the best. The promoter didn't have an adequate PA, so you really couldn't hear the singer. Torch the Morgue normally has two vocalists, but they only had one for this show.

Torch the Morgue comes to St. Louis from the Quad Cities area of Iowa/Northern Illinois, and has a built up a local following there. They were on a tour midwestern towns. This nite they would only make $9 apiece. These guys have a real shot to make a lot more.

Thinking back to that list of possible bands for St. Louis summer concerts...this'd be one that could get a much deserved break with a chance to play in front of a larger audience. I'd recommend them. Not for the baby stroller or 3-wheeled scooter crowd, but definitely a showcase of serious talent in the metal niche. We plan to see them again.

Gage Love's personal music project

"Torch the Morgue's" myspace site

Promontory Point St. Louis, 2008? 2009?

Promontory Point is that desolate place in the middle of northern Utah, where in 1869 two train track laying crews met to connect the nation's first transcontinental railroad.

Everyone's seen that famous picture where the crews are standing on the two locomotives having a toast as the golden spike was driven into the last section of rail.

Why not apply the same principle to the widening of Highway 40 through St. Louis?

Hire two companies, start one on the east end of the expansion, the other on the west end. Build in bench mark and completion date incentives to the construction contracts, and make it a competition between the two companies. The company exceeding the most benchmark goals and the final completion goal date by the greatest number of days gets a BIG final incentive payment. Just think of the gaming possibilities!

Track the competition in St. Louis media. Then sometime during 2008 or 2009 (hopefully), when the job is finished somewhere around Highway 40 and McKnight, recreate the Promontory Point photograph, with the crews of roadbuilders sitting atop massive tractors, along with the County Executive and the Mayor of St. Louis, all raising commemorative mugs of famous St. Louis beverages in a toast to the successful completion of this massive civic endeavor.

Have fun with it!

Oh, and build it so that at least one lane remains open in both directions during construction.

Neighborhood Choices

St. Louis is known as a city of neighborhoods, with each having its own character and various pluses and minuses. There are many great neighborhood choices.

As neighborhoods work to improve, they want to know what potential new residents are looking for in a new neighborhood. If you were thinking of moving, what would be your top three priorities in selecting a new neighborhood?

Postcard Views of Historic Belleville

Follow this link to visit a website offering hundreds of scans of historic postcards and photographs old Belleville.

"Signal Hill", the tiny (unincorporated?) neighborhood on the bluff connecting East St. Louis to Belleville, is a little-known gem from this part of our metro area, with one beautifully-maintained, hillside mansion with that unmistakable, antebellum look. Is it authentic? It sure looks like it.

Jack Snow Dies from Staph Infection

Former Ram player and KTRS sportscaster, Jack Snow, died last night due to a staph infection. Staph infections have become very resistant to antibiotics, and do not only affect older people.

Young athletes are highly susceptible to developing staph infections from bacteria that can grow in their equipment. A few years ago, a young Affton hockey player nearly died this way.

Summertime Concert Series

Every year, the City of St. Louis and other sponsors offer free concerts downtown. One of the challenges in planning such events is signing the best possible mix of artists given the financial constraints.

Given that the concerts are planned for larger-sized audiences (5,000-15,000), which bands would you encourage promoters bring to St. Louis in 2006?

Winnebago Revisited

It was the winter of 1986, and we were about to spend our first night in St. Louis in the vacant and unfurnished upstairs unit of a 2-family on Winnebago, a couple blocks east of Grand, near the old Lindy's Sausage shop.

A couple of months previously, and only a few months into married life, my promising new job working for a prominent Northern California real estate company came to an abrupt end when the company owner drove his 1984 Corvette off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean in the tiny resort town of Mendocino. The company shut down its development arm, and I was given notice about my job ending.

In the meantime, Kerri had joined Citicorp, and was in daily communication with people in their St. Louis offices. She developed a friendly working relationship over the phone with one of the St. Louis staffers, and, as my job was ending, Citicorp was closing down its Northern California leasing operations, leaving Kerri and I both out of work. Citicorp was looking to fill lots of positions in St. Louis, so we figued, why not? Let's check it out.

Kerri's Citicorp telephone-friend encouraged us to visit St. Louis, and invited us to stay with them at their Winnebago 2-family. We booked a flight, and afer a whirlwind tour and Kerri's job interview, we made the decision to relocate to St. Louis.

We were immediately taken in by the neighborhood around our friend's apartment. Coming from the land of frame and stucco, we had never seen so much brick. Even the streets were brick. That was 20 years ago, and our friends no longer live on Winnebago, but we still live just a few minutes away from this building.

One of my morning routes to work goes through the intersection of Chippewa and Gravois. Usually, I'll head up Gravois toward downtown, but it's not necessary, or even faster. So, today I decided to stay on Chippewa, heading east toward Grand.

Crossing Grand, I passed the Keystone Place project. It's good to see a few new homes starting construction. I made a left, and drove one block north to Winnebago. I made a right, heading east. On the second block, I passed our friend's old apartment. Whenever I'm on this block, I check out that old 2-family where we spent our first night in St. Louis. It looked pretty much the same. Brick buildings are pretty slow to change.

I decided to stay on Winnebago and head over to Jefferson. The street is now part of the Gravois Jefferson National Register Historic District, and you can see why. Nearly every original building is intact, with historic live-work commercial buildings on the corners. There are lots of original, faded wall signs painted on the sides of buildings.

One block before Jefferson, Winnebago has been barricaded to through traffic, diverting me north past the historic Lutheran Church where a few years ago we attended the funeral of firefighter Rob Morrison, the father of one Matt's then-classmates, who along with fellow firefighter Derek Martin died fighting a fire in a south city refrigeration company.

I crossed Jefferson, headeding east, entering the south side of the Benton Park neighborhood. There has been a noticeable amount of new, single family, infill residential construction. My route took then me through the Cherokee Antique Row district, where this time of year the place looks its best. The Bradford Pear trees have dropped their leaves, so you can easily see the beutiful detailing of the all the buildings.

The building that housed one of the first "Nickelodian" movie theaters in St. Louis is part of this district. Many of the Antique Row buildings have newly added decorative lighting, which added a warm glow to the brick buildings and sidewalks.

I crossed I-55 at the historic St. Agatha's Church, and hit a traffic jam on Broadway at the Brewery. Being a snob (or smart?) city driver, and loathing traffic tie-ups, instead of sitting in the Broadway traffic, I turned at Arsenal, merged onto northbound I-55, and finished the trip downtown to the office in about the same amount of time that I would have had I made that northeasterly turn back at Gravois and Chippewa about fifteen minutes earlier.

Downtown Improvisationalists

Personally, I don't have much use for car alarms. The sound of them used to inspire a sense of urgency. But now their honking blasts have become so commonplace, that when one goes off, it's less of a call for alarm, and more just unwanted noise pollution.

Car alarms have become so mundane, yet annoying, that they're about as welcome as the sound of someone's cell phone ringing in a movie theater. Often, the reactions on the owner's part are about the same: a frenzied search for the "off" button.

Much more welcomed are the sounds of street musicians, and, lately, there has been a noticeable increase in the amount and talent of downtown street musicians.

A couple of weeks ago, we attended the unfortunate Rams-49ers game at the Dome. Set up and playing furiously was a New Orleans-styled trio, jamming to Christmas music. They sounded pretty good, and were headed towards pulling down a thousand dollars in tips from the tide of football fans walking past them on the way to the game.

Then there's the fellow who plays his saxophone mid-days near the corner of 7th and Olive. From Met Square to the Laclede Gas Building, you can hear him playing a wide variety of jazz standards.

Yesterday his stylings were being crowded out by the dissonant blastings of a car alarm coming from the middle floors of one nearby parking garages. When I stepped out of our office building, he was playing, but not any recognizable tune.

I listened harder, and then realized he was improvising. He was playing accompaniment to the car alarm. He was harmonizing with it. Together, it didn't sound half bad. Now that's what I call a real "street musician".

Making Eye Contact

The Zoo's "Penguin and Puffin Coast" exhibit is a great place for a wintertime visit.

The penguins are always entertaining to watch, and the Zoo has taken great care to make the whole exhibit a positive experience, from the time you're waiting in line, until you exit through a penguin and puffin-themed gift shop. The place reminds you of a major theme park attraction in Florida, except at the St. Louis Zoo, it's free!

In summer, there are long lines to see the penguins and puffins. Sometimes up to an hour or more. Over the winter, you practically have the place to yourself. Last week, we stopped by the Zoo thirty minutes before closing time, just to visit the Penguin and Puffin Coast.

When we arrived, there were maybe ten or so other visitors at the exhibit. And during the winter, it's actually warmer inside the exhibit than it is outside! Plus, with so many fewer visitors, there are way more penguins per person.

Rather than the way the penguins scan out over the huge summertime crowds shuffling past them during the summer, when you visit during the winter, the penguins swim up next to you and look right at you. Sometimes, with them so close, you get splashed when they dive in or pop up out of the water. It's great fun.

The person working at the exhibit told us that sometimes the over-exuberant ones pop right out of the exhibit and land on the floor next to you. That's when he has to bend down and pick them up and help them back onto their side of the glass.

Another interesting fact about the exhibit not obvious to the casual observer is the way the tank holding the penguins is one continuous tank. It connects under the walkway, so the penguins can swim back and forth to both sides of the exhibit.

Suburban Journal Front Pages Blogs

Featuring Urban Review St Louis, ACC, and Joe Frank's blogs

New Year's Resolution

For 2006, adults and parents should resolve to discourage the increasing practice of encouraging specialization in youth sports.

Young athletes should be encouraged to play as many sports as they enjoy, can be afforded, and without conflict with other family priorities and school.

Instead, there is a growing trend for adults and parents to encourage specialization in youth sports, starting with children as young as 8 or 9. This practice does a disservice to young people and should be discouraged by all adults parenting or coaching kids.

KMOX had a baseball coach on the air this weekend promoting a January baseball camp for kids. He said he coaches a "pretty good '9-U' ballclub" (players at or below 9 years of age). He said he sees lots of young players practicing baseball 10 months of the year.

We have had coaches tell us that Matt would not be able to play on their baseball teams if he was not available to attend January baseball practices, forcing him to choose between year round baseball or playing hockey and basketball over the winter months.

Everyone knows that 99.9 percent of youth athletes will never go on to professional sports. Most will never even make it at the college level. Yet while they're in middle schools, overzealous parents and coaches are encouraging them to specialize in a single sport.

Youth sports are supposed to be about exercise, fun, teamwork, and making friends and memories. Let's make 2006 the year when we encourage the only specialization in kid sports to be HAVING FUN!

Water Skating

Our January thaw was right on time this year, with nighttime temperatures in St. Louis close to 60 degrees on the evening of January 1st.

We decided to take the ten minute ride over to Steinberg Rink in Forest Park with a group of friends for some ice skating. When we arrived, the place was packed.

As far as urban St. Louis goes, Steinberg has got to be one of our most urban destinations. The huge outdoor rink is located right off of Kingshighway, on the edge of the largest urban park in the nation, and under the high rise towers of the Barnes Jewish Hopsital complex.

With last nite's unseasonably warm temperatures, the Zamboni was getting a workout. There was so much melting of the ice, they had to send the Zamboni out ever forty five minutes or so to mop up the water. In some places, it was over an inch deep. They could have erected temporary "no wake" signs.

As far as 2006 wishlist items go, an beautiful and functional upgrade to the Steinberg cafe space would be to add a new stone fireplace, similar to the one at the remodeled Boat House.

The cafe area is already much improved, featuring an expanded food and drink menu, and adding a large, 2-sided (possibly indoor/outdoor) stone fireplace would elevate the ambiance to resort-quality status and help warm the chilly toes of Steinberg's winter customers.

Rolen, Edmonds, Pujols

I heard that a local urology group paid $2,000 apiece for the urinals from the Cardinals' locker room at the old Busch Stadium. I wonder what the plans for them are?

Maybe there's inspiration from another downtown institution, the Anheusuer Busch Clydesdales. (click for a great historic view of the brewery)

If you've ever visited the Clydesdale stables at either the Brewery or Grant's Farm, then you've seen the way horses have their names engraved on polished brass plaques affixed to the gates of their stalls.

Now picture you're in the men's room at the same urology practice. They have installed the urinals on the wall, decked out the room in Cardinal red, and attached the names of famous Cardinal players on brass plaques above each stall.

Well, they will have to do something to distinguish these from plain old fashioned garden variety urinals, right?

Nottingham Community Center Updates

Bill Burnes, committee member for the project, updates us on progress and further project details with this recent entry (scroll to the bottom to read Bill's comments).

Also, according to an article in the latest edition of the Suburban Journal, the organizers of the effort have recently submitted an offer to purchase Nottingham School.

www.gotostlouis.org

The RCGA has introduced an infomative new program to market the St. Louis area.