Nearly every work day my entrance into downtown St. Louis is on Memorial Drive above the depressed lanes, in front of the Arch grounds.
It's a very routine trip. Almost all the cars do the same thing, day in and day out. They merge to the left, then turn left onto Market or Pine. It would be the perfect situation for the magnetized, computer-operated cars of the future.
The pattern is constant. As is the landscape: hard concrete, metal rails, chipped and worn curbs and faded paint. It's a dreary vision as you enter downtown.
The area is devoid of living color or life in general. The occasional jogger or dog walker looks out of place. Even if we never see a new Memorial Drive or removal of the depressed lanes, what a difference it would make for there to be vegetation in the area.
Granted, there's no place now to plant anything. But picture the area with trees, flowers, sprinklers, fresh pavement, attractive signage, and an overall landscape plan that remade the area into an inviting place.
Maybe that's something we could do with a manageable cost and immediate benefits.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Enterprise Leasing's "We Car" program
My office is on the 16th floor of a downtown office building, close to two different Metro stations. Down on the street, there's a Toyota Prius parked in a specially reserved space. Both the car and the parking space are marked with the decal "We Car". Around the corner, there's another one.
Apparently they're part of some sort of car sharing program. Yet I've never seen anyone ever driving the cars. Does anybody know about the program? How do you get in on it? Could I ditch my car, ride Metro downtown, and then have the We Car avaiable for trips during the day out of the office?
Apparently they're part of some sort of car sharing program. Yet I've never seen anyone ever driving the cars. Does anybody know about the program? How do you get in on it? Could I ditch my car, ride Metro downtown, and then have the We Car avaiable for trips during the day out of the office?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
St. Louis area leads way in "Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25" program
(From Tom Everson, Founder of "Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25")
Dear Friend in Safety,
This note is about being “Motivated in Missouri.” The story of the growth of KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25 in Missouri is a result of many motivated residents, law enforcement agencies, public works departments, neighborhood/homeowners associations, and businesses that have lead the way over the past 10 years.
Your efforts have made, and continue to make, a difference in keeping us all safer on neighborhood streets, and beyond.
Following are examples of those who are “Motivated in Missouri!”
The City of Hazelwood (Police Dept.) is the first community in the U.S. to enact a “KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25” ordinance making residential streets “double fine” zones for speeding. The City of Wildwood is the 2nd to enact such an ordinance in conjunction with their campaign.
The City of Florissant (Police Dept.) was the 1st in the State to enact a citywide KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® campaign.
Vicki and Gordie Faust of Lees Summit have been leading advocates for the campaign in memory of their 9 year-old son, Justin, who died as a result of being hit in November, 2004. Learn more on our "Run to Remember" page.
Our 1st “Memory Marathon” to remember all children who have died in traffic incidents was the 2007 St. Louis Marathon. Ford Motor Company Fund came on board as our 1st Corporate Sponsor to assist us in our mission.
The City of Raytown was the 1st to invite the local Hy-Vee Grocery Store to serve as a corporate partner with their campaign. The City of Belton invited their local Hy-Vee to participate as well.
The Southampton Neighborhood was the 1st in St. Louis to enact the campaign. They were followed by the St. Louis Hills and the Princeton Heights Neighborhoods.
St. Peters (City), O’Fallon (City), St. Charles (Neighborhoods), Fenton (Neighborhood), Kirkwood (Neighborhood), and Lake St. Louis (Neighborhood/City) have all initiated the campaign over the past several years.
For more information about bringing the Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25 program to your community, visit the organization's website here:
Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25
Dear Friend in Safety,
This note is about being “Motivated in Missouri.” The story of the growth of KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25 in Missouri is a result of many motivated residents, law enforcement agencies, public works departments, neighborhood/homeowners associations, and businesses that have lead the way over the past 10 years.
Your efforts have made, and continue to make, a difference in keeping us all safer on neighborhood streets, and beyond.
Following are examples of those who are “Motivated in Missouri!”
The City of Hazelwood (Police Dept.) is the first community in the U.S. to enact a “KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25” ordinance making residential streets “double fine” zones for speeding. The City of Wildwood is the 2nd to enact such an ordinance in conjunction with their campaign.
The City of Florissant (Police Dept.) was the 1st in the State to enact a citywide KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® campaign.
Vicki and Gordie Faust of Lees Summit have been leading advocates for the campaign in memory of their 9 year-old son, Justin, who died as a result of being hit in November, 2004. Learn more on our "Run to Remember" page.
Our 1st “Memory Marathon” to remember all children who have died in traffic incidents was the 2007 St. Louis Marathon. Ford Motor Company Fund came on board as our 1st Corporate Sponsor to assist us in our mission.
The City of Raytown was the 1st to invite the local Hy-Vee Grocery Store to serve as a corporate partner with their campaign. The City of Belton invited their local Hy-Vee to participate as well.
The Southampton Neighborhood was the 1st in St. Louis to enact the campaign. They were followed by the St. Louis Hills and the Princeton Heights Neighborhoods.
St. Peters (City), O’Fallon (City), St. Charles (Neighborhoods), Fenton (Neighborhood), Kirkwood (Neighborhood), and Lake St. Louis (Neighborhood/City) have all initiated the campaign over the past several years.
For more information about bringing the Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25 program to your community, visit the organization's website here:
Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
St. Louis and urbanism
Is St. Louis ready for urbanism? Does the answer vary by neighborhood? Do people even agree on what "urbanism" means?
We are an old, brick city, with high density in lots of old city neighborhoods. Yet we are also fiercely independent and generally not comfortable with a centralized planning system. We like neighborhood control. It's part of our tradition.
Being central city makes us urban. Some say being racially diverse makes us urban. Should we expect more? If you think so, how would you make it so?
We are an old, brick city, with high density in lots of old city neighborhoods. Yet we are also fiercely independent and generally not comfortable with a centralized planning system. We like neighborhood control. It's part of our tradition.
Being central city makes us urban. Some say being racially diverse makes us urban. Should we expect more? If you think so, how would you make it so?
St. Louis Post Dispatch: start the Arch design competition
Post Dispatch to St. Louis urbanist and design community: Let's get going on the design competition!
(...while we're young already!)
Is it fair to describe the Arch design competition as an urbanism project? Or is it much bigger than that? What are the competing interests?
Based on varying points of view, what does a winning design look like?
(...while we're young already!)
Is it fair to describe the Arch design competition as an urbanism project? Or is it much bigger than that? What are the competing interests?
Based on varying points of view, what does a winning design look like?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Maryland Plaza revisited
The Central West End is a beautiful place, and I think Maryland Plaza is one of the nicest spots in the entire region, if not country.
Months ago, we did a post that touched on the use of cobblestones in city neighborhoods. There was a suggestion to remove them from Laclede's Landing.
In Maryland Plaza, cobblestones have been replaced by smooth stone. I like the new street, but someone commented in defense of the old cobblestone streets. Read their comments here:
Commenter from NYC makes the case in defense of the old Maryland Plaza cobblestones...
Months ago, we did a post that touched on the use of cobblestones in city neighborhoods. There was a suggestion to remove them from Laclede's Landing.
In Maryland Plaza, cobblestones have been replaced by smooth stone. I like the new street, but someone commented in defense of the old cobblestone streets. Read their comments here:
Commenter from NYC makes the case in defense of the old Maryland Plaza cobblestones...
S. Kingshighway Planning Lab
The downturn in the US auto industry has created an opportunity for new development along S. Kingshighway, putting closed auto dealerships up for sale. What would you like to see happen?
Let's use this post as a virtual auction and planning exercise. Name your price and then describe what you would do with the property. We'll start off with some basic assumptions. Let's say the property consists of the following:
3.5 acre site on a heavily traveled commercial corridor in vibrant South St. Louis City, ample surface parking available in front, side and rear.
20,000 square foot showroom building, includes 6,000 square feet of executive/sales offices.
40,000 square foot, high ceiling, concrete floor, shop area.
Buildings recently renovated, all in good to excellent condition.
Some would start the bidding at $1.00. They wouldn't plan to actually build anything though.
They would simply tie up the property and seek another developer to buy it. Call it development in a sort of speculator, ebay sort of way.
Many investors would be willing to pay up to $100,000 for such a bottom fishing, speculative opportunity. So let's say the real planning and development ideas must start with a minimum bid of $100,000.
Name your price, but remember, you must also state your plans for the property.
Let's see how high the bidding gets, and what creative ideas emerge for the property's reuse.
Let's use this post as a virtual auction and planning exercise. Name your price and then describe what you would do with the property. We'll start off with some basic assumptions. Let's say the property consists of the following:
3.5 acre site on a heavily traveled commercial corridor in vibrant South St. Louis City, ample surface parking available in front, side and rear.
20,000 square foot showroom building, includes 6,000 square feet of executive/sales offices.
40,000 square foot, high ceiling, concrete floor, shop area.
Buildings recently renovated, all in good to excellent condition.
Some would start the bidding at $1.00. They wouldn't plan to actually build anything though.
They would simply tie up the property and seek another developer to buy it. Call it development in a sort of speculator, ebay sort of way.
Many investors would be willing to pay up to $100,000 for such a bottom fishing, speculative opportunity. So let's say the real planning and development ideas must start with a minimum bid of $100,000.
Name your price, but remember, you must also state your plans for the property.
Let's see how high the bidding gets, and what creative ideas emerge for the property's reuse.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Tornadic dreams
Living in a place prone to wild weather can yield some wild dreams. Yesterday's storms wreaked havoc on my dreams last night.
Driving to a mid day meeting, I was caught in the powerful storms that blew through town. From the conference room, we could see the darkening sky, and fingers of the thunderstorm reaching down out of the clouds. News reports described heavy damage to some buildings around town.
Dreams last night brought those storms back to life. I dreamt that our neighborhood was hit, and that I was caught in the path of another tornado while walking near the intersection of Jefferson and Chouteau.
In the dream, I found a big drainage inlet to climb into for protection. The best protection was when instead I woke up at about 3:00 AM and the weather outside was just fine.
It has been about fifty years since the city of St. Louis has been struck by a serious tornado. Given the time between recorded serious tornados strikes in St. Louis, we are overdue for another touchdown.
Tornados are strange events in the way they come so quickly, wreak major devastation, and can be followed within minutes by tranquil weather and bright sunshine. They're surreal and powerful, sort of like dreams.
Driving to a mid day meeting, I was caught in the powerful storms that blew through town. From the conference room, we could see the darkening sky, and fingers of the thunderstorm reaching down out of the clouds. News reports described heavy damage to some buildings around town.
Dreams last night brought those storms back to life. I dreamt that our neighborhood was hit, and that I was caught in the path of another tornado while walking near the intersection of Jefferson and Chouteau.
In the dream, I found a big drainage inlet to climb into for protection. The best protection was when instead I woke up at about 3:00 AM and the weather outside was just fine.
It has been about fifty years since the city of St. Louis has been struck by a serious tornado. Given the time between recorded serious tornados strikes in St. Louis, we are overdue for another touchdown.
Tornados are strange events in the way they come so quickly, wreak major devastation, and can be followed within minutes by tranquil weather and bright sunshine. They're surreal and powerful, sort of like dreams.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Cobblestones Rising
One of the cool things about living in an old city like St. Louis is digging stuff up. There are lots of interesting things below the surface, and you never know what you might find.
This month the city is doing lots of street work in downtown. They are using those big pavement grinders to lower the surface of the street to prepare for new pavement. They have to do this, because othewrise, if they just added new pavement over the old, eventually, the surface of the street would be up over the top of the curbs. So they have to grind down the street. And when they do this, they expose the old street surface of downtown from 150 years ago. Here and there, like poltergeists, the old cobblestones are popping through.
This week, you can see cobblestones near the Old Post Office and the new Busch Stadium. I wonder how much of the city originally had cobblestone streets? The labor involved in building a street one stone, or, as in other parts of town, one brick, at a time, put lots of people to work. It must have been an interesting, busy scene. I've also heard that in some places, oiled blocks of wood were used to build alleys. Apparently, there's one near the intersection of 11th and Locust.
You never know what you'll find when you start digging below the surface. A few months ago, I was on hand for a soils exploration on a vacant lot planned for new construction. Under the ground was the debris from a demolition carried out decades ago. A back hoe was digging trenches. They needed to go deep enough to get beneath the debris of the old demolition.
The tractor dug down to virgin soil. The trenches ended up about 8 feet deep. By the way, for the urban agriculture enthusiasts, the soils were excellent. Eight or so feet of dark, rich, top soil; we never found the bottom of it. There is something wonderful about the smell of good quality soil. It's a beautiful thing. It can make you feel good inside.
The tractor operator was skillfull and carefully pulled out huge stone parts of the old building and mass amounts of brick from the ground. There were also lots of unbroken bottles, even through the swishing around of tons of earth at the end of the tractor boom. The bottles glided smoothly with the earth behind the force of the tractor, like they were floating in water. A small bottle appeared, still with a glass stopper in the top. We climbed down into the trench and pulled out the little bottle. The contents were still inside.
The bottle had been buried with the debris of the old house for some thirty years. We opened it up. It was a spice bottle. When the top came off, the fragrant aroma of cloves was strong. I thought after such a long time, the contents would have dried out or turned to dust. Nope. The cloves were preserved and their scent was fresh. It seemed like you could have taken the bottle home and cooked with those cloves the same night.
Then I thought about what it must have been like the day they buried the house underground, kitchen spices and all, and covering it over with a foot or two of earth. They probably didn't think much about it. Strange.
This month the city is doing lots of street work in downtown. They are using those big pavement grinders to lower the surface of the street to prepare for new pavement. They have to do this, because othewrise, if they just added new pavement over the old, eventually, the surface of the street would be up over the top of the curbs. So they have to grind down the street. And when they do this, they expose the old street surface of downtown from 150 years ago. Here and there, like poltergeists, the old cobblestones are popping through.
This week, you can see cobblestones near the Old Post Office and the new Busch Stadium. I wonder how much of the city originally had cobblestone streets? The labor involved in building a street one stone, or, as in other parts of town, one brick, at a time, put lots of people to work. It must have been an interesting, busy scene. I've also heard that in some places, oiled blocks of wood were used to build alleys. Apparently, there's one near the intersection of 11th and Locust.
You never know what you'll find when you start digging below the surface. A few months ago, I was on hand for a soils exploration on a vacant lot planned for new construction. Under the ground was the debris from a demolition carried out decades ago. A back hoe was digging trenches. They needed to go deep enough to get beneath the debris of the old demolition.
The tractor dug down to virgin soil. The trenches ended up about 8 feet deep. By the way, for the urban agriculture enthusiasts, the soils were excellent. Eight or so feet of dark, rich, top soil; we never found the bottom of it. There is something wonderful about the smell of good quality soil. It's a beautiful thing. It can make you feel good inside.
The tractor operator was skillfull and carefully pulled out huge stone parts of the old building and mass amounts of brick from the ground. There were also lots of unbroken bottles, even through the swishing around of tons of earth at the end of the tractor boom. The bottles glided smoothly with the earth behind the force of the tractor, like they were floating in water. A small bottle appeared, still with a glass stopper in the top. We climbed down into the trench and pulled out the little bottle. The contents were still inside.
The bottle had been buried with the debris of the old house for some thirty years. We opened it up. It was a spice bottle. When the top came off, the fragrant aroma of cloves was strong. I thought after such a long time, the contents would have dried out or turned to dust. Nope. The cloves were preserved and their scent was fresh. It seemed like you could have taken the bottle home and cooked with those cloves the same night.
Then I thought about what it must have been like the day they buried the house underground, kitchen spices and all, and covering it over with a foot or two of earth. They probably didn't think much about it. Strange.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Information is power
Usually, I wouldn't post scanned images of our household mail to the STL Rising site, but the mail we received yesterday from AmerenUE is worth more attention.
Ameren is sending a report to all its ratepayers breaking down energy usage and charges by month for the past three years. It also contains practical recommendations for lowering energy use. I bet you didn't know that it costs four times as much to operate a 60-inch plasma television than it does a conventional 28-inch tube set?
Here's our personal household energy report for the period January 2007 through March of 2009:
And here is where Ameren offers some ideas for reducing energy costs:
Ameren has faced criticism in recent years for its handling of major power outages as well as its tree trimming practices. When they do a good job, they deserve credit. Kudos to the company for its work educating the public on important energy efficiency information.
Ameren is sending a report to all its ratepayers breaking down energy usage and charges by month for the past three years. It also contains practical recommendations for lowering energy use. I bet you didn't know that it costs four times as much to operate a 60-inch plasma television than it does a conventional 28-inch tube set?
Here's our personal household energy report for the period January 2007 through March of 2009:
And here is where Ameren offers some ideas for reducing energy costs:
Ameren has faced criticism in recent years for its handling of major power outages as well as its tree trimming practices. When they do a good job, they deserve credit. Kudos to the company for its work educating the public on important energy efficiency information.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Downtown scenes
With warmer weather, there are usually interesting sights to see downtown. Today, in no particular order, a few come to mind.
The windows are being installed in the Roberts Tower. They are in about a third of the way up the building. Looks good.
Shade trees along Washington Avenue have grown to the size where they are providing real shade. Walking back from a meeting, I took a turn down the sunny side of the street to enjoy the shade of the trees on the sidewalk.
A man was walking around the Ballpark Village site wearing a Depression-styled sandwich board sign. It said "No More Bars".
Lastly, a row of cars, motorcycles, and RVs were all parked on Memorial Drive in front of the Arch. Tourists probably. Traffic was moving around them with no problem, but there was a city police officer writing them all tickets.
Maybe its time to consider street parking on Memorial Drive during non-peak traffic hours. Given how seldom people park there, and the revenue potential from parking meters, it could be a good money maker. $1 for every 15 minutes?
The windows are being installed in the Roberts Tower. They are in about a third of the way up the building. Looks good.
Shade trees along Washington Avenue have grown to the size where they are providing real shade. Walking back from a meeting, I took a turn down the sunny side of the street to enjoy the shade of the trees on the sidewalk.
A man was walking around the Ballpark Village site wearing a Depression-styled sandwich board sign. It said "No More Bars".
Lastly, a row of cars, motorcycles, and RVs were all parked on Memorial Drive in front of the Arch. Tourists probably. Traffic was moving around them with no problem, but there was a city police officer writing them all tickets.
Maybe its time to consider street parking on Memorial Drive during non-peak traffic hours. Given how seldom people park there, and the revenue potential from parking meters, it could be a good money maker. $1 for every 15 minutes?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Doubling Downtown
What would it mean to St. Louis in the developable sites in the core of downtown doubled, if downtown formed a frame around the Arch grounds, and if connections throughout downtown and with the riverfront were substantially improved? What would change like that look like?
Friday, May 22, 2009
STL Rising launches new "NorthSide Blog"
The "NorthSide Blog" will be dedicated to discussions about the proposed "NorthSide" project, planned for the near northside of St. Louis, adjacent to downtown.
The first topic for discussion is: What do you think of the proposed name of the development, "NorthSide"?
Follow the project and join the discussion at northside-stl.
The first topic for discussion is: What do you think of the proposed name of the development, "NorthSide"?
Follow the project and join the discussion at northside-stl.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Targeting the hole in the donut
One of the negative descriptors for St. Louis over the years has been that it's like a donut: hollowed out in the middle. That description hurts, but there is some truth to it. Ground zero for the hole in the donut is where Paul McKee has set his sights for redevelopment.
There has been a lot of speculation for years about McKee's plans. The only thing known for certain is that his companies have bought up a lot of land inside the hole in the donut.
In that area, there remain some long time residents, a collection of historic buildings, the original city street grid, and lots of work to be done. Given the long time disinvestment in the area, it doesn't fit the traditional CDC driven model of community development.
There are community development corporations with capacity working in adjoining neighborhoods, such as Old North St. Louis Restoration Group. However, at the center of the "Blairmont" area, they are hard to find. There's not much left, especially in terms of "critical mass". Nonetheless, there are lots of organizations and other constituencies with an interest in what happens.
The hole in the donut creates an opportunity. The challenge is how we remake the area. Not just physcially, but by what means and through what community model.
There has been a lot of speculation for years about McKee's plans. The only thing known for certain is that his companies have bought up a lot of land inside the hole in the donut.
In that area, there remain some long time residents, a collection of historic buildings, the original city street grid, and lots of work to be done. Given the long time disinvestment in the area, it doesn't fit the traditional CDC driven model of community development.
There are community development corporations with capacity working in adjoining neighborhoods, such as Old North St. Louis Restoration Group. However, at the center of the "Blairmont" area, they are hard to find. There's not much left, especially in terms of "critical mass". Nonetheless, there are lots of organizations and other constituencies with an interest in what happens.
The hole in the donut creates an opportunity. The challenge is how we remake the area. Not just physcially, but by what means and through what community model.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Tin House
One of the best things about blogging is the comment section. You never know where someone might be reading and commenting.
This weekend, STL Rising received a comment from Australia on an old post we did about trivia nights. The reader was googling about organizing trivia nights, and found us here in St. Louis. Turns out trivia nights are popular in Australia too!
Based on her bio, the poster is a journalist, teacher, and broadcaster living in New South Wales, Australia. She blogs at the tin house, where she writes about simplifying life and sustainability, principles we can share here. You can read her comment about trivia nights here.
The Tin House looks like a pretty cool site, so we've added it to the links. The latest post there is about community work.
This weekend, STL Rising received a comment from Australia on an old post we did about trivia nights. The reader was googling about organizing trivia nights, and found us here in St. Louis. Turns out trivia nights are popular in Australia too!
Based on her bio, the poster is a journalist, teacher, and broadcaster living in New South Wales, Australia. She blogs at the tin house, where she writes about simplifying life and sustainability, principles we can share here. You can read her comment about trivia nights here.
The Tin House looks like a pretty cool site, so we've added it to the links. The latest post there is about community work.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Macklind Days
With a few hours of yard work done, and in between our next scheduled plans, we remembered that yesterday was "Macklind Days". We were thinking of going to get something to eat, so why not check out the options at the neighborhood event?
Organized by the Macklind Avenue Business District, Macklind Days brought together neighbors, local businesses, the curious, and by estimates well over 2,000 people to enjoy music, art, food, and friends all within the confines of a 1920s-30s vintage neighborhood commercial district.
Macklind Avenue starts near the Science Center and Forest Park, and runs south through the Hill, Tilles/Lindenwood, Southampton and Princeton Heights neighborhoods. Along the way you pass historic architecture, a neighborhod recycling center, the impressive Buder School (replete with upgraded playground), and in Southampton and Princeton Heights, you experience what is becoming one of the region's fastest rebounding pedestrian-scaled, neighborhood commercial districts. It's no wonder, within a couple of blocks on either side of the Macklind corridor, there are enough residents to make up a small town, with Macklind the local "main street".
Festival organizers could not have been happier with the weather. It felt more like fall than late spring. The air was clear and cool without a hint of humidity. EcoUrban, Manzo's, Onesto, Macklind Deli, along with a number of other southside businesses and organizations were represented. There was a large, professional sound stage with a full day's lineup of performers. Games, people walking dogs, visitors of all ages, were all around, affording many chance meetings for friends new and old.
Pete Manzo, owner of Manzo' Market (makers of arguably the finest salsiccia sausage in St. Louis) told me the event was many months in the planning and a substantial financial commitment on the part of organizers. To keep the project going, they will be looking for corporate sponsors for future years. Given the excellent PR for the neighborhood, I suggested they do it twice a year. With the amount of work for volunteers, Pete wasn't convinced about that idea. Yet, with the fun atmosphere and community building opportunity realized, building on the success of this first event would be a great goal for neighbors, local organizers, and the business association alike.
The Macklind Avenue Business District is a membership association. I will do some more research on the organization and update the post accordingly. If a 501.c.3 nonprofit, charitable contributions to fund future Macklind Days events would be tax deductible. In the meantime, congratulations to all the organizers for a great event!
One final note...the stretch of Macklind between Manzo's and Southampton Presbyterian Church is coming along nicely. Manzo's is a mainstay, along with EcoUrban, Big River Running Company, Macklind Deli, and the wonderfully rehabbed home office of Rainieri Construction (note to Landmarks Association that the Rainieri building at Macklind and Nottingham would make a great "most enhanced" candidate). However, in the middle of the block, south across the alley from Manzo's and across Macklind from EcoUrban and the Mack pub, there's one building left in need of TLC.
The building is solid, but over the years, it has suffered from inappropriate alterations, especially in the form of filling in sections of the original window and door openings with vinyl siding. The building appears to have 4-6 small bays, and, if historically rehabbed, would make a fine addition to the charm and walkable destinations within the Macklind Business District. Presently, the vacant bays all have little "for lease"signs in them.
Without an income, the owner has little incentive to improve the building. Southampton, not yet on the city's list of national register historic districts (but surely eligible) doesn't qualify for historic tax credits. So the pretty building with its terra cotta ornamentation, and strategic location in the heart of the Macklind Avenue Business District, sits looking quiet and tired. A challenge for neighbors is how to nudge the building owner to make progress with the building as part of the long range community efforts in Southampton. Maybe events like Macklind Days are part of that equation!
Oh, and as far as that bite to eat...for about a year now, Manzo's has been serving hot sandwiches. We had one of their signature Italian beef sandwiches: beef sliced very thin, piled high on a hoagie roll, adding aus jus and pepperoncini, then washed down with a sampling of Schlafy. We dined at one of the sidewalk cafe tables in front of Manzo's Market. Excellent!
Organized by the Macklind Avenue Business District, Macklind Days brought together neighbors, local businesses, the curious, and by estimates well over 2,000 people to enjoy music, art, food, and friends all within the confines of a 1920s-30s vintage neighborhood commercial district.
Macklind Avenue starts near the Science Center and Forest Park, and runs south through the Hill, Tilles/Lindenwood, Southampton and Princeton Heights neighborhoods. Along the way you pass historic architecture, a neighborhod recycling center, the impressive Buder School (replete with upgraded playground), and in Southampton and Princeton Heights, you experience what is becoming one of the region's fastest rebounding pedestrian-scaled, neighborhood commercial districts. It's no wonder, within a couple of blocks on either side of the Macklind corridor, there are enough residents to make up a small town, with Macklind the local "main street".
Festival organizers could not have been happier with the weather. It felt more like fall than late spring. The air was clear and cool without a hint of humidity. EcoUrban, Manzo's, Onesto, Macklind Deli, along with a number of other southside businesses and organizations were represented. There was a large, professional sound stage with a full day's lineup of performers. Games, people walking dogs, visitors of all ages, were all around, affording many chance meetings for friends new and old.
Pete Manzo, owner of Manzo' Market (makers of arguably the finest salsiccia sausage in St. Louis) told me the event was many months in the planning and a substantial financial commitment on the part of organizers. To keep the project going, they will be looking for corporate sponsors for future years. Given the excellent PR for the neighborhood, I suggested they do it twice a year. With the amount of work for volunteers, Pete wasn't convinced about that idea. Yet, with the fun atmosphere and community building opportunity realized, building on the success of this first event would be a great goal for neighbors, local organizers, and the business association alike.
The Macklind Avenue Business District is a membership association. I will do some more research on the organization and update the post accordingly. If a 501.c.3 nonprofit, charitable contributions to fund future Macklind Days events would be tax deductible. In the meantime, congratulations to all the organizers for a great event!
One final note...the stretch of Macklind between Manzo's and Southampton Presbyterian Church is coming along nicely. Manzo's is a mainstay, along with EcoUrban, Big River Running Company, Macklind Deli, and the wonderfully rehabbed home office of Rainieri Construction (note to Landmarks Association that the Rainieri building at Macklind and Nottingham would make a great "most enhanced" candidate). However, in the middle of the block, south across the alley from Manzo's and across Macklind from EcoUrban and the Mack pub, there's one building left in need of TLC.
The building is solid, but over the years, it has suffered from inappropriate alterations, especially in the form of filling in sections of the original window and door openings with vinyl siding. The building appears to have 4-6 small bays, and, if historically rehabbed, would make a fine addition to the charm and walkable destinations within the Macklind Business District. Presently, the vacant bays all have little "for lease"signs in them.
Without an income, the owner has little incentive to improve the building. Southampton, not yet on the city's list of national register historic districts (but surely eligible) doesn't qualify for historic tax credits. So the pretty building with its terra cotta ornamentation, and strategic location in the heart of the Macklind Avenue Business District, sits looking quiet and tired. A challenge for neighbors is how to nudge the building owner to make progress with the building as part of the long range community efforts in Southampton. Maybe events like Macklind Days are part of that equation!
Oh, and as far as that bite to eat...for about a year now, Manzo's has been serving hot sandwiches. We had one of their signature Italian beef sandwiches: beef sliced very thin, piled high on a hoagie roll, adding aus jus and pepperoncini, then washed down with a sampling of Schlafy. We dined at one of the sidewalk cafe tables in front of Manzo's Market. Excellent!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Business Unusual
So far, the general public has not seen a rendering of Paul McKee's plan for the north side. However, from word that is coming out, the project sounds like it is a monumental undertaking.
During a time of a national economic slowdown, with very challending financing markets, Paul McKee is proposing a revolutionary community development project for the City of St. Louis. From what it sounds like, the project is a city of the future.
It is being called transformative in the way it takes an area that has been largely neglected for half a century, and replaces it with a highly green, mixed use community. If the project succeeds, the narrative of St. Louis changes.
A project of this scale builds on themes promoted by the Obama administration and the nation's economic stimulus effort. There will be jobs created, and they will be green jobs. The opportunity exists to develop new, green infrastructure, lowering utlity costs across the grid of the redevelopment area.
While the plans are grand, and if successful remake St. Louis, are they on a track to make the chances of success the highest? Is there a way to improve those chances?
Does it makes sense to consider the formation of a blue ribbon panel of community development experts and city residents, to serve in an ad hoc capacity strictly for this project? The committee could include people from the areas of green building, community development, economic development, historic preservation, community representation, and transportation.
The committee could be established with no official power, but rather to serve as an initial advisory group to help build broad based community support for the project. With the right group, such a committee might bring added value to the overall design of the community.
Here's an example of a similar effort in Dallas:
Trinity River Corridor Project
The Trinity Commons Foundation - created to fully realize the vision of the Trinity River Corridor Citizens Committee
During a time of a national economic slowdown, with very challending financing markets, Paul McKee is proposing a revolutionary community development project for the City of St. Louis. From what it sounds like, the project is a city of the future.
It is being called transformative in the way it takes an area that has been largely neglected for half a century, and replaces it with a highly green, mixed use community. If the project succeeds, the narrative of St. Louis changes.
A project of this scale builds on themes promoted by the Obama administration and the nation's economic stimulus effort. There will be jobs created, and they will be green jobs. The opportunity exists to develop new, green infrastructure, lowering utlity costs across the grid of the redevelopment area.
While the plans are grand, and if successful remake St. Louis, are they on a track to make the chances of success the highest? Is there a way to improve those chances?
Does it makes sense to consider the formation of a blue ribbon panel of community development experts and city residents, to serve in an ad hoc capacity strictly for this project? The committee could include people from the areas of green building, community development, economic development, historic preservation, community representation, and transportation.
The committee could be established with no official power, but rather to serve as an initial advisory group to help build broad based community support for the project. With the right group, such a committee might bring added value to the overall design of the community.
Here's an example of a similar effort in Dallas:
Trinity River Corridor Project
The Trinity Commons Foundation - created to fully realize the vision of the Trinity River Corridor Citizens Committee
Monday, May 11, 2009
If Blogs United
What would the top issues be? Here's a list of possible items...
The schism over the San Luis
Reconnecting the Arch/downtown - A lid or?
Form-based zoning
Empowering city planning efforts
Historic preservation, tax credits
Downtown development, public financing incentives
Public school reform
What does this list suggest? Urban blogs must be dominated by city planners and architecture enthusiasts, because most of the stuff on this list is built- environment related.
Outside of the built environment, what are the other top issues that might be addressed?
The schism over the San Luis
Reconnecting the Arch/downtown - A lid or?
Form-based zoning
Empowering city planning efforts
Historic preservation, tax credits
Downtown development, public financing incentives
Public school reform
What does this list suggest? Urban blogs must be dominated by city planners and architecture enthusiasts, because most of the stuff on this list is built- environment related.
Outside of the built environment, what are the other top issues that might be addressed?
Friday, May 08, 2009
Arch camp?
One way to enliven the Arch grounds would be to allow camping. In Europe, camping is a popular way to travel. It's fun and relaxing. Would you be interested in being able to camp at the Arch?
How much would you pay for an overnight campsite? What amenities would you want? Allowing camping on the Arch would be a low cost way to create a fun and unique downtown tourist attraction.
Imagine if camping were allowed at the Arch, and on Friday and Saturday nights, there were historic re-enactors who would come around, telling stories of life on the old riverfront of St. Louis.
Campers would sit near a campfire, the actors would tell a story, families and friends would listen, maybe sing some songs or roast some marshmallows, enjoy refreshments, and spend quality time downtown on the riverfront.
What do you think? What would it take to get something like this going?
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Overgrown, dead vegetation a major eyesore
At STL Rising, we like to highlight the positives. Seldom do we focus on negative aspects of neighborhood life. However, as we are in the height of spring, with the summer growing season right around the corner, the subject of neighborhood greenery comes to life.
Street trees are a wonderful asset. On the other hand, unmaintained, overgrown, or dead vegetation is the exact opposite. Nothing can make a block look more neglected than poorly cared for plant life. And when plants go unmaintained for years, the cumulative appearance of years of neglect magnifies the eyesore.
There are places where wild trees have grown up in fence lines, enveloping the wood or metal fencing, then growing to maturity, only then to be cut down, perhaps with blocks of dead tree trunks left suspended in the air, floating in the overgrown fence parts.
To beautify neighborhoods, we need to make an effort to clear neighborhoods, alleys, and public rights of ways of these forlorn trees and plants. Operation Brightside Blitz Days are happening now across the city. This is the time of year for clearing away unwanted vegetation and junk.
Street trees are a wonderful asset. On the other hand, unmaintained, overgrown, or dead vegetation is the exact opposite. Nothing can make a block look more neglected than poorly cared for plant life. And when plants go unmaintained for years, the cumulative appearance of years of neglect magnifies the eyesore.
There are places where wild trees have grown up in fence lines, enveloping the wood or metal fencing, then growing to maturity, only then to be cut down, perhaps with blocks of dead tree trunks left suspended in the air, floating in the overgrown fence parts.
To beautify neighborhoods, we need to make an effort to clear neighborhoods, alleys, and public rights of ways of these forlorn trees and plants. Operation Brightside Blitz Days are happening now across the city. This is the time of year for clearing away unwanted vegetation and junk.
New cases in urbanity
Even in this slow economy, development projects are still happening in the urban core of St. Louis City. I saw three under construction just yesterday.
The first one was the new shopping center being built across the street from the City Hospital condo development. Foundations are being framed, a sign with a rendering of the total project is erected, and the project has financing.
The second was at North Florissant and Cass. It's a nearly completed multi-tenant neighborhood shopping center serving the near northside. Guessing, it looks to be about a 30,000-40,000 square feet.
The third was the new CVS pharmacy going in at Gravois and Germania. The store is replacing an abandoned Amoco/car wash. It appears that it will also take down four houses, relocate utilties, and involve an alley vacation.
I titled this post, "New cases in urbanity" because all three of these projects involve building on previously developed city locations. They are all urban core developments, neighborhood serving, being carried out by private developers in established neighborhoods. They are getting it done!
Kudos to the investors, neighborhoods, and all involved for bringing these projects online!
The first one was the new shopping center being built across the street from the City Hospital condo development. Foundations are being framed, a sign with a rendering of the total project is erected, and the project has financing.
The second was at North Florissant and Cass. It's a nearly completed multi-tenant neighborhood shopping center serving the near northside. Guessing, it looks to be about a 30,000-40,000 square feet.
The third was the new CVS pharmacy going in at Gravois and Germania. The store is replacing an abandoned Amoco/car wash. It appears that it will also take down four houses, relocate utilties, and involve an alley vacation.
I titled this post, "New cases in urbanity" because all three of these projects involve building on previously developed city locations. They are all urban core developments, neighborhood serving, being carried out by private developers in established neighborhoods. They are getting it done!
Kudos to the investors, neighborhoods, and all involved for bringing these projects online!
Good dog!
Yesterday's wonderful news that the three year old lost boy had been found safe was great relief. As details of the story started coming out, apparently two dogs played a big part in the boy's rescue.
On what was probably the last day of hope for finding the boy alive, a construction worker, who was home for the day due to rain, decided to enter the search. He didn't spot the boy, but he saw two dogs standing in the forest. He approached the dogs and found the boy being protected by them. And according to the news, these dogs didn't even belong to the boy. They belonged to a neighbor.
If memory serves, wasn't there a similar story last year? A boy was lost for a couple of days, and when they found him, he was with a dog that had stayed by his side?
We have always been around dogs, but I don't think I've ever had the appreciation for dogs that I have now. We have one and her degree of loyalty and love of children amazes me. It seems the tinier the person, the more she gives her love to them. It's like she makes them her people.
Congratulations to everyone involved in rescuing this young boy, and thank you to the people who care for the two dogs that were there when this little boy needed them most!
On what was probably the last day of hope for finding the boy alive, a construction worker, who was home for the day due to rain, decided to enter the search. He didn't spot the boy, but he saw two dogs standing in the forest. He approached the dogs and found the boy being protected by them. And according to the news, these dogs didn't even belong to the boy. They belonged to a neighbor.
If memory serves, wasn't there a similar story last year? A boy was lost for a couple of days, and when they found him, he was with a dog that had stayed by his side?
We have always been around dogs, but I don't think I've ever had the appreciation for dogs that I have now. We have one and her degree of loyalty and love of children amazes me. It seems the tinier the person, the more she gives her love to them. It's like she makes them her people.
Congratulations to everyone involved in rescuing this young boy, and thank you to the people who care for the two dogs that were there when this little boy needed them most!
Best Spring in 20 years?
St. Louis is known for having some rough transitions from winter to summer. Sometmes it seems Spring only lasts around a week. We can go from the 50s to the 80s with nothing in between. Not this year.
The Groundhog was wrong. Spring came early and has lasted. No violent storms (yet). No heavy rain. Mild temperatures. Flowers came early and have lasted longer than usual. This Spring is one for the books!
The Groundhog was wrong. Spring came early and has lasted. No violent storms (yet). No heavy rain. Mild temperatures. Flowers came early and have lasted longer than usual. This Spring is one for the books!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A plug for the neighborhood
We're trying something new this year...a community yard project. Here's an email that went out over our block email list:
Dear Neighbors –
Is the soil under your lawn so hard it feels more like concrete than earth? Does your grass struggle to grow and then go downhill from there? I know ours does. Mike Miller from the KMOX Garden Hotline says the best thing we can do in St. Louis to improve our lawns is to core aerate the ground once or twice a year (mid spring and fall). Core aeration is the process of removing little plugs from the ground to improve air flow into the soil and root system of the lawn. When the process is complete, your lawn looks like it has hundreds of little wine corks laying on the ground.
Home Depot rents core aeration machines for $80 per day (24 hours). We’ve set this Friday/Saturday as the day to rent the machine for our block. We’ll either divide the cost by participants, or collect $10 per household. Any surplus funds will be applied to 2009 block party expenses. It should take about 45 minutes to an hour to do each front yard. If we pick up the machine around 5 pm Friday, some of us can get stated Friday evening, with the rest using the machine on Saturday.
Note: Home Depot will not make reservations. They rent the machines on a first come, first served basis. The man in the rental office said that if we came by Friday around 5, we should be able to get one of the machines.
The block captain will sign for the machine and handle the funds. We will need some help picking up and returning the machine. It takes two people to load and unload it, and we will need someone to donate the use of a pickup to help with delivery and return. If you have access to the use of a pickup Friday after work and Saturday around 4:30, please volunteer. Without a truck, the project won’t happen. We need your help. Please volunteer if you can help in this regard.
The last thing is, it would be great if we had an idea of when you’d want to use the machine. (Friday evening till around 8 PM, Saturday morning – from 7:00 AM – noon, or Saturday afternoon till 4 PM.) If we could have interested folks sign up for one of those three time slots, we’d be able to make the most efficient use of the machine.)
After core aerating your lawn, it’s a good time to put down new compost/soil supplements, and new grass seed. If this project works this first time, we could try again in the fall and continue it as a block tradition. If we stay with it, our block could have great lawns in the coming years.
Thanks for your help and here’s to good gardening
Now while this yard improvement project will be a good community building effort (we've already got about ten neighbors signed up and an offer of a donated pick up truck), I have to ask the question...where are all those industrious snow shoveling/lawn maintenance people?
In all our years living in the City, we've had twice yearly deliveries of fire wood, mulch haulers offering to mulch our yard (with the free mulch from Carondelet Park - maybe, fine by me, that mulch pile looks like Mount Everest), snow shovelers offering to shovel our walks after every deep snow, but never anyone offering to aerate our lawn. An enterprising person could make money by the wheel barrow load if they offered to aerate your yard for $20-$25.
Dear Neighbors –
Is the soil under your lawn so hard it feels more like concrete than earth? Does your grass struggle to grow and then go downhill from there? I know ours does. Mike Miller from the KMOX Garden Hotline says the best thing we can do in St. Louis to improve our lawns is to core aerate the ground once or twice a year (mid spring and fall). Core aeration is the process of removing little plugs from the ground to improve air flow into the soil and root system of the lawn. When the process is complete, your lawn looks like it has hundreds of little wine corks laying on the ground.
Home Depot rents core aeration machines for $80 per day (24 hours). We’ve set this Friday/Saturday as the day to rent the machine for our block. We’ll either divide the cost by participants, or collect $10 per household. Any surplus funds will be applied to 2009 block party expenses. It should take about 45 minutes to an hour to do each front yard. If we pick up the machine around 5 pm Friday, some of us can get stated Friday evening, with the rest using the machine on Saturday.
Note: Home Depot will not make reservations. They rent the machines on a first come, first served basis. The man in the rental office said that if we came by Friday around 5, we should be able to get one of the machines.
The block captain will sign for the machine and handle the funds. We will need some help picking up and returning the machine. It takes two people to load and unload it, and we will need someone to donate the use of a pickup to help with delivery and return. If you have access to the use of a pickup Friday after work and Saturday around 4:30, please volunteer. Without a truck, the project won’t happen. We need your help. Please volunteer if you can help in this regard.
The last thing is, it would be great if we had an idea of when you’d want to use the machine. (Friday evening till around 8 PM, Saturday morning – from 7:00 AM – noon, or Saturday afternoon till 4 PM.) If we could have interested folks sign up for one of those three time slots, we’d be able to make the most efficient use of the machine.)
After core aerating your lawn, it’s a good time to put down new compost/soil supplements, and new grass seed. If this project works this first time, we could try again in the fall and continue it as a block tradition. If we stay with it, our block could have great lawns in the coming years.
Thanks for your help and here’s to good gardening
Now while this yard improvement project will be a good community building effort (we've already got about ten neighbors signed up and an offer of a donated pick up truck), I have to ask the question...where are all those industrious snow shoveling/lawn maintenance people?
In all our years living in the City, we've had twice yearly deliveries of fire wood, mulch haulers offering to mulch our yard (with the free mulch from Carondelet Park - maybe, fine by me, that mulch pile looks like Mount Everest), snow shovelers offering to shovel our walks after every deep snow, but never anyone offering to aerate our lawn. An enterprising person could make money by the wheel barrow load if they offered to aerate your yard for $20-$25.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Our house is haunted too...
Guide books say that St. Louis is one of the most haunted places in the country. From "Bloody Island" during the Civil War, to the Lemp Mansion and all around Alton, there are lots of stories about hauntings here. Come Halloween, St. Louis leads the country in commercial haunted houses. The whole thing to me is good fun. I never thought much more about it until these past few weeks.
A month or so ago, a woman was driving slowly down our block. I was doing work in the front yard. The lady was looking at all the houses. She stopped to talk to me through the car window. She said she was trying to find someone. I didn't recognize her or the name of the person she was looking for. She was a little agitated, and her appearance out of sorts.
She appeared dazed, as if she wasn't sure whether she belonged there. She was slight of build, with a pale complexion and dressed in loose fitting clothes. She drove away. I was a little concerned about her and her search, but I didn't think much about it after that.
Then last week, a very unusual message came across our neighborhood listserve. A member reported that their house was haunted and they were looking for someone who could come over and cleanse the place of spirits. This person was worried because they said this ghost was very strong and capable of causing injuries.
Other posters replied how their homes were haunted too, and that the whole thing was fairly common. They said the best thing to do was to call a priest because they are the best at removing restless spirits. Even a protestant poster said the best thing to do was to call a Catholic priest.
I chalk up the whole spirit and haunting stuff around St. Louis to our historic nature and strong Catholic culture. Lots of our neighborhoods are very old. There are many generations ahead of us here. Our cemeteries date to the early 1800s. A lot of people died violent or plague sickness deaths. It's no wonder we have more than our share of unquieted spirits.
So yesterday, I'm working in the backyard and the mysterious lady from last month returned, only this time she was much more specific in her search. She walked down the gangway and approached me. I was standing there with a power saw in one hand and dead tree branches in the other. She had the same unsettled appearance. From a distance, she looked like she could be in her early 40s, but once she was within a few feet, she looked much older. She might have been 50 or 60. It was very hard to make a close estimate of her age.
This time as she spoke, she was very focused in her questions. She asked me how long we had lived in the house. I told her that we had lived here for about four or five years. She said she knew that, and that when the house was up for sale, she had gone through the home back then. She began asking questions about the same person she was looking for on her last visit.
She said the man she was searching for was her sister's son. She gave me the impression the man had some connection to our house. I asked her his name and she said it was "Tom O'Toole". "O'Toole" is an old time St. Louis name. We know a family of "O'Tooles", but no Tom O'Tooles.
I told her that I had never seen nor heard of a Tom O'Toole, but that I would ask around for him. If anyone reading here knows of a Tom O'Toole that lived in South City, please reply.
A month or so ago, a woman was driving slowly down our block. I was doing work in the front yard. The lady was looking at all the houses. She stopped to talk to me through the car window. She said she was trying to find someone. I didn't recognize her or the name of the person she was looking for. She was a little agitated, and her appearance out of sorts.
She appeared dazed, as if she wasn't sure whether she belonged there. She was slight of build, with a pale complexion and dressed in loose fitting clothes. She drove away. I was a little concerned about her and her search, but I didn't think much about it after that.
Then last week, a very unusual message came across our neighborhood listserve. A member reported that their house was haunted and they were looking for someone who could come over and cleanse the place of spirits. This person was worried because they said this ghost was very strong and capable of causing injuries.
Other posters replied how their homes were haunted too, and that the whole thing was fairly common. They said the best thing to do was to call a priest because they are the best at removing restless spirits. Even a protestant poster said the best thing to do was to call a Catholic priest.
I chalk up the whole spirit and haunting stuff around St. Louis to our historic nature and strong Catholic culture. Lots of our neighborhoods are very old. There are many generations ahead of us here. Our cemeteries date to the early 1800s. A lot of people died violent or plague sickness deaths. It's no wonder we have more than our share of unquieted spirits.
So yesterday, I'm working in the backyard and the mysterious lady from last month returned, only this time she was much more specific in her search. She walked down the gangway and approached me. I was standing there with a power saw in one hand and dead tree branches in the other. She had the same unsettled appearance. From a distance, she looked like she could be in her early 40s, but once she was within a few feet, she looked much older. She might have been 50 or 60. It was very hard to make a close estimate of her age.
This time as she spoke, she was very focused in her questions. She asked me how long we had lived in the house. I told her that we had lived here for about four or five years. She said she knew that, and that when the house was up for sale, she had gone through the home back then. She began asking questions about the same person she was looking for on her last visit.
She said the man she was searching for was her sister's son. She gave me the impression the man had some connection to our house. I asked her his name and she said it was "Tom O'Toole". "O'Toole" is an old time St. Louis name. We know a family of "O'Tooles", but no Tom O'Tooles.
I told her that I had never seen nor heard of a Tom O'Toole, but that I would ask around for him. If anyone reading here knows of a Tom O'Toole that lived in South City, please reply.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Time for City-County Reconciliation?
The Great Divorce happened in 1876. Now, there is talk of the city reentering St. Louis County. I like the idea. I'd like to hear from people in St. Louis County about it, because for a reconciliation to happen, it has to be a marriage of equals.
Both sides bring value to the relationship. Will it happen? It will take some serious relationship counseling. One thing is interesting. Note the map above. The City is almost the perfect size to become the eighth County Council District. We'd have a member on the St. Louis County Council. Doesn't that sound good?
Selling fear with that furnace
The old saying in advertising is, "don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle". People are looking for more than a product when they buy something; they're buying an experience. They want their purchase to make them feel good. So marketers are always looking for that something extra to make a sale. More and more, that something is fear.
Today in the car I heard a radio commercial for a heating and cooling company. They were advertising for the sale of furnaces and air conditioners. The angle they used to promote their business had nothing to do with quality or value or customer service. They were making the case that their employees wouldn't commit a crime against you, their customer. Isn't that wonderful? Doesn't that make you feel good? This ad is running on the St. Louis area's leading FM conservative talk station.
The ad described how you don't want just anyone coming into your house or your basement. How you wouldn't want dangerous people around your family. It went on to say how this company turns away 97% of their job applicants (obvious implication being these unhired individuals are working for their competition). Then it said the leading trades taught in prisons are plumbing and heating and cooling. God knows no one would ever want an ex-con working on their air conditioner or going down in their basement.
Listen to the tone of conservative talk radio. Check out the advertising, whether it be for service companies or school choices. How often are we being sold to our fears? Does this approach cross the wide spectrum of society, or is it targeted against certain demographic groups?
Today in the car I heard a radio commercial for a heating and cooling company. They were advertising for the sale of furnaces and air conditioners. The angle they used to promote their business had nothing to do with quality or value or customer service. They were making the case that their employees wouldn't commit a crime against you, their customer. Isn't that wonderful? Doesn't that make you feel good? This ad is running on the St. Louis area's leading FM conservative talk station.
The ad described how you don't want just anyone coming into your house or your basement. How you wouldn't want dangerous people around your family. It went on to say how this company turns away 97% of their job applicants (obvious implication being these unhired individuals are working for their competition). Then it said the leading trades taught in prisons are plumbing and heating and cooling. God knows no one would ever want an ex-con working on their air conditioner or going down in their basement.
Listen to the tone of conservative talk radio. Check out the advertising, whether it be for service companies or school choices. How often are we being sold to our fears? Does this approach cross the wide spectrum of society, or is it targeted against certain demographic groups?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Bloggers Unified...About What?
Following up on yesterday's discussion, if there was an effort to unify blogs, what sorts of things would make sense to address? Progressive efforts range from national issues to very place-based concerns here in St. Louis.
The range of possible issues is very wide. From updating our region's waste water management system, to promoting the notion of St. Louis City reentering St. Louis County, to historic preservation, to urban design. Plus a lot more.
Going in too many directions dilutes the message to the point of having little impact. Are there areas where unified bloggers might help bring about community progress? Or is that happening already and maybe things should be left alone?
How about ending the policy of no beer sales at high school baseball games? That's a real head scratcher. Young ball players grow up from kindergarten through 8th grade playing at athletic association fields across the St. Louis region, where family and friends gather to enjoy watching games and share a beer if they like.
Yet when these same ballplayers make it to high school, playing on these same fields, the snack bar shuts down the tap. What's the difference? Maybe this is a topic better sought by the beer bloggers (they are out there, aren't they?)
The range of possible issues is very wide. From updating our region's waste water management system, to promoting the notion of St. Louis City reentering St. Louis County, to historic preservation, to urban design. Plus a lot more.
Going in too many directions dilutes the message to the point of having little impact. Are there areas where unified bloggers might help bring about community progress? Or is that happening already and maybe things should be left alone?
How about ending the policy of no beer sales at high school baseball games? That's a real head scratcher. Young ball players grow up from kindergarten through 8th grade playing at athletic association fields across the St. Louis region, where family and friends gather to enjoy watching games and share a beer if they like.
Yet when these same ballplayers make it to high school, playing on these same fields, the snack bar shuts down the tap. What's the difference? Maybe this is a topic better sought by the beer bloggers (they are out there, aren't they?)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Blogger Unification
I follow a number of blogs, a few regularly. The ones I read are grouped in the link section of popular urbanist blogs like Ecology of Absence. I think a big reason blogs are popular in some circles is because you can find information about things you're interested in written by people with an active interest in the same issues.
In the case of the urbanists blogs, the writers tend to be our neighbors, working in their daily lives on the issues they write about in their blogs. So there's a sense of involvement, community activism, and common interest.
With the growing use of online communications, what if the bloggers tried to focus on a few key issues? Would they be able to have a bigger impact? Or are bloggers just too independent a group to develop a set of shared priorities? If they did identify some priority issues, what would they be?
Historic preservation gets a lot of attention in the blogs, as does the idea of "form based zoning". Cycling and transportation planning are other areas often written about. All of these topics are part of the realm dealt with by government and community process. How would bloggers influence these arenas?
When attending neighborhood meetings, the impression I get is that most average citizens do not read blogs. So they wouldn't be aware of a unified blogger voice. Meanwhile, a good way to get a cold shoulder is to arrive at a neighborhood meeting, unknown to neighborhood regulars, coming from another part of town, pushing an issue or agenda. It seems for bloggers to have a bigger impact, there needs to be wider use of electronic communications by average residents and a wider sense of community beyond individual neighborhoods.
Maybe that's an issue blogger unification might address? Building a wider sense of community across neighborhood boundaries? How might that happen? Maybe it takes years since it is going against the grain of St. Louis tradition.
In the case of the urbanists blogs, the writers tend to be our neighbors, working in their daily lives on the issues they write about in their blogs. So there's a sense of involvement, community activism, and common interest.
With the growing use of online communications, what if the bloggers tried to focus on a few key issues? Would they be able to have a bigger impact? Or are bloggers just too independent a group to develop a set of shared priorities? If they did identify some priority issues, what would they be?
Historic preservation gets a lot of attention in the blogs, as does the idea of "form based zoning". Cycling and transportation planning are other areas often written about. All of these topics are part of the realm dealt with by government and community process. How would bloggers influence these arenas?
When attending neighborhood meetings, the impression I get is that most average citizens do not read blogs. So they wouldn't be aware of a unified blogger voice. Meanwhile, a good way to get a cold shoulder is to arrive at a neighborhood meeting, unknown to neighborhood regulars, coming from another part of town, pushing an issue or agenda. It seems for bloggers to have a bigger impact, there needs to be wider use of electronic communications by average residents and a wider sense of community beyond individual neighborhoods.
Maybe that's an issue blogger unification might address? Building a wider sense of community across neighborhood boundaries? How might that happen? Maybe it takes years since it is going against the grain of St. Louis tradition.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Neighbors Dedicate St. Cecilia Historic District
Saturday morning, neighbors met with elected officials and representatives from other interested organizations to dedicate the new St. Cecilia Historic District in South City. The new historic district is in the Carondelet area, bounded by Grand on the west, Delor on the north, Virginia on the east, and Bates on the South. The anchor institution in the district is the beautiful St. Cecilia Catholic church (photos available at links below).
Dignitaries including State Representative Jake Hummel, 16th Ward Alderman and Director of Institutional Advancement for St. Cecilia's parish, Donna Baringer, 13th Ward Alderman Fred Heitert, newly elected 25th Ward Alderman Shane Cohn were present, along with about 80 neighborhood residents.
The St. Cecilia historic district nomination was prepared by historians Nini Harris and Lynn Josse. Nini and Lynn were introduced and described some of their work in preparing the nomination, including the amazing fact that 673 of the district's original 700 buildings remain standing. After a brief presentation, the professionals turned the dedication over to young people living in the St. Cecilia area.
Carrying an American Flag, 2007 St. Cecilia graduate and current sophomore at Bishop DuBourg High School, Thomas Pollitte, led a processional of young people ranging in ages from about five to twelve to the front of the room. There they stood together, and took turns narrating the story of the historic St. Cecilia area.
The narratives were accompanied by historic images of the area. They spoke of South St. Louis Vernacular architecture, bakery brick buildings, and Arts and Crafts bungalows. They spoke of "window coolers" (someone still has to explain what those are), "coal chutes", and "laundry poles". In the middle of the presentation, right on time and wearing a big smile, one of the youngest presenters marched through the audience holding high over her head an antique wash board made at the Cupples Wooden Ware factory in downtown St. Louis.
After the young people completed their presentation, a choral group from St. Cecilia Academy came to the front of the room. With keyboard accompaniment, in a preview of their upcoming April 30th "Broadway or Bust" musical show, they sang wonderful renditions of "Meet Me In St. Louis" (twenty years of loving that song, and never knowing it had verses to go along with the "Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie" chorus), "There's No Business Like Show Business", and the theme song from the hit Broadway musical "Rent". The singing and music were excellent. STL Rising encourages readers to attend the April 30th, 6:30 p.m. concert.
Fr. William Vatterott spoke of the growth of the parish, now seeing average Sundays draw over 2,000 parishioners, including a solid hispanic base. St. Cecilia's is one of the most beautiful churches in the St. Louis Arch Diocese. Former Arch Bishop Burke authorized St. Cecilia's to take the name, "Cathedral of the South Side".
The St. Cecilia Historic District nomination is a story of people from various backgrounds coming together for the betterment of the overall community. City and state officials, local institutions, historic preservation professionals, neighborhood residents, and local business all supported the effort. At the dedication, there were members of the 2009 graduating class of St. Cecilia Academy, along with graduates from the 1930s and 40s!
Visit these links for more information about the church and school.
Dignitaries including State Representative Jake Hummel, 16th Ward Alderman and Director of Institutional Advancement for St. Cecilia's parish, Donna Baringer, 13th Ward Alderman Fred Heitert, newly elected 25th Ward Alderman Shane Cohn were present, along with about 80 neighborhood residents.
The St. Cecilia historic district nomination was prepared by historians Nini Harris and Lynn Josse. Nini and Lynn were introduced and described some of their work in preparing the nomination, including the amazing fact that 673 of the district's original 700 buildings remain standing. After a brief presentation, the professionals turned the dedication over to young people living in the St. Cecilia area.
Carrying an American Flag, 2007 St. Cecilia graduate and current sophomore at Bishop DuBourg High School, Thomas Pollitte, led a processional of young people ranging in ages from about five to twelve to the front of the room. There they stood together, and took turns narrating the story of the historic St. Cecilia area.
The narratives were accompanied by historic images of the area. They spoke of South St. Louis Vernacular architecture, bakery brick buildings, and Arts and Crafts bungalows. They spoke of "window coolers" (someone still has to explain what those are), "coal chutes", and "laundry poles". In the middle of the presentation, right on time and wearing a big smile, one of the youngest presenters marched through the audience holding high over her head an antique wash board made at the Cupples Wooden Ware factory in downtown St. Louis.
After the young people completed their presentation, a choral group from St. Cecilia Academy came to the front of the room. With keyboard accompaniment, in a preview of their upcoming April 30th "Broadway or Bust" musical show, they sang wonderful renditions of "Meet Me In St. Louis" (twenty years of loving that song, and never knowing it had verses to go along with the "Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie" chorus), "There's No Business Like Show Business", and the theme song from the hit Broadway musical "Rent". The singing and music were excellent. STL Rising encourages readers to attend the April 30th, 6:30 p.m. concert.
Fr. William Vatterott spoke of the growth of the parish, now seeing average Sundays draw over 2,000 parishioners, including a solid hispanic base. St. Cecilia's is one of the most beautiful churches in the St. Louis Arch Diocese. Former Arch Bishop Burke authorized St. Cecilia's to take the name, "Cathedral of the South Side".
The St. Cecilia Historic District nomination is a story of people from various backgrounds coming together for the betterment of the overall community. City and state officials, local institutions, historic preservation professionals, neighborhood residents, and local business all supported the effort. At the dedication, there were members of the 2009 graduating class of St. Cecilia Academy, along with graduates from the 1930s and 40s!
Visit these links for more information about the church and school.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
50 Downtowns
The map above is from a 1920s book about public transportation in the St. Louis area. What I like about it is the way it shows all the little downtowns dotted across the bi-state area (click to enlarge the image).It would be a fun outing to travel the roads connecting these historic settlements. I wonder how many of them resemble the way they looked back in the 1920s? In between towns, many old farm houses and commercial buildings would still exist.
Monday, April 13, 2009
No Free Zoos
Ray Hartmann has written an interesting article for St. Louis Magazine about why the Zoo Museum District ("ZMD") in St. Louis City and County should be expanded to adjoining counties, and why free admission to tourists ought to be eliminated.
He is clear in that free admission should continue for residents of the ZMD since, after all, we are the ones paying the taxes to support the system. However, Hartmann points out that over 50% of the region now lives outside of St. Louis City and County. Tens of millions of dollars would be raised by expanding the ZMD and charging admission to out of town tourists.
In the print edition of the article, there's a chart comparing prices for zoos across the country. A free admission zoo is nearly unheard of, and most zoos charge $15 or so per person for entry. I don't think an admission charge for our zoo would hurt tourism. But I like the idea of starting with a lower admission fee at first - say under $10. After folks get used to it, then slowly raise the fee, a little at a time. Raise it gradually, so that within 5-10 years, we're on par with national averages.
As far as residents of adjoining counties joining the ZMD, that's a different question entirely. Now, they enjoy the benefit for free. Some might consider the free use of the ZMD an incentive to move to an outlying county. So how do you convince people to start paying for something they already get for free? I suppose you do it by giving them a choice - charge them at the gate if their county does not join the ZMD.
He is clear in that free admission should continue for residents of the ZMD since, after all, we are the ones paying the taxes to support the system. However, Hartmann points out that over 50% of the region now lives outside of St. Louis City and County. Tens of millions of dollars would be raised by expanding the ZMD and charging admission to out of town tourists.
In the print edition of the article, there's a chart comparing prices for zoos across the country. A free admission zoo is nearly unheard of, and most zoos charge $15 or so per person for entry. I don't think an admission charge for our zoo would hurt tourism. But I like the idea of starting with a lower admission fee at first - say under $10. After folks get used to it, then slowly raise the fee, a little at a time. Raise it gradually, so that within 5-10 years, we're on par with national averages.
As far as residents of adjoining counties joining the ZMD, that's a different question entirely. Now, they enjoy the benefit for free. Some might consider the free use of the ZMD an incentive to move to an outlying county. So how do you convince people to start paying for something they already get for free? I suppose you do it by giving them a choice - charge them at the gate if their county does not join the ZMD.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Cardinal Red
Working downtown, I get to watch the parade of Cardinal fans walking through downtown before and after games. The fans are easy to tell apart - they're mostly wearing Cardinal Red.
Cardinal fans are for the most part good natured people. They're here for a good time, and they love the Cardinals. But for a lot of them, for years, attending Cardinal games would be one of the few reasons they would visit downtown.
However, for the past couple of years, there's been an interesting change. Now before and after ballgames, you see more and more baseball fans actively exploring downtown. They are parking further and further from the ballpark and walking to the stadium.
On the way, they are stopping and looking in lots of storefronts. They are noticing lots of redeveloped buildings and cleaner streets. By the curious and sometimes a little surprised looks on their faces, I think their impressions of St. Louis are changing, for the better.
Lots of people were critical of the deal to keep the Cardinals downtown. They didn't like taxpayer financing of a stadium for rich players and richer owners. Yet, if you think in terms of the improved goodwill for downtown and the rest of St. Louis, those tax payer investments just might be paying off.
Cardinal fans are for the most part good natured people. They're here for a good time, and they love the Cardinals. But for a lot of them, for years, attending Cardinal games would be one of the few reasons they would visit downtown.
However, for the past couple of years, there's been an interesting change. Now before and after ballgames, you see more and more baseball fans actively exploring downtown. They are parking further and further from the ballpark and walking to the stadium.
On the way, they are stopping and looking in lots of storefronts. They are noticing lots of redeveloped buildings and cleaner streets. By the curious and sometimes a little surprised looks on their faces, I think their impressions of St. Louis are changing, for the better.
Lots of people were critical of the deal to keep the Cardinals downtown. They didn't like taxpayer financing of a stadium for rich players and richer owners. Yet, if you think in terms of the improved goodwill for downtown and the rest of St. Louis, those tax payer investments just might be paying off.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Turtles Rising
Since tomorrow's the official start of the weekend - a holiday weekend for many - that makes today the eve of a long weekend, and for many the getaway day. As Friday's are usually slow days for serious stuff, to get in the holiday spirit, STL Rising will start things off with a low key story about some of the little day to day things that make neighborhood life special. The following is a story about one of our old neighbors we lived across the street from for about ten years.
There are a million different stories. I am reminded of our elderly neighbor, now deceased. She used to give our young son, then about 6-9 years old, baseball cards in little brown paper bags she’d dig out of her basement. Nothing of great collectible value, just a thoughtful gesture from her. Matt didn't know the difference, and at that age, he just liked getting the cards. Our neighbor was widowed by this time, and she sort of adopted us as her family across the street.
She had one daughter who lived down on the gulf shore, and another here in St. Louis. The local daughter lived in a home our neighbor owned over in the Lindenwood neighborhood. Years previously, the house was given to our neighbors by some old friends of theirs. The Lindenwood couple immigrated to the US from Europe and met our neighbors.
Our neighbors hosted a wedding party for the Lindenwood couple in their home over near Lindenwood Park. After the party, the couple left things the same in the house, and when they passed on, they willed the home to my neighbor, with decorations from the wedding party still up in the dining room.
Our neighbor friends never changed a thing, they never uncovered the furniture, anything. Then when her one daughter moved in the place, the place was more than she could handle, and it started to show the wear. My kind neighbor didn’t know what to do about her daughter's situation; she was just trying to help her.
Meanwhile, she mostly kept to her self in her little brick house with the old air conditioner installed by her husband back in the 1950s. She never went on vacation and wore old clothes. When she died, I learned she was worth close to $3,000,000. From as far as I can tell, it was all left to her two daughters and grandkids.
After her death, the house across the street remained vacant for years until the heirs finally sold it. In the intervening years, it too was starting to show the signs of being vacant for an extended period. Our neighbor would have been embarrassed about that. She and her husband had always kept the yard perfect and they kept pet turtles they would find on country drives and bring back home to St. Louis.
In the winter the turtles would burrow under the ground to hibernate. Every spring our neighbor would wait for them to dig themselves out from under the ground and start foraging around her yard. She could tell if they all came back because she painted little numbers on their shells with nail polish so she could tell them apart. She gave them all different names. "Oscar" was one of them. I wonder what ever happened to those turtles?
Anyhow, when we first moved in to the neighborhood, it was our neighbor who invited us to attend our first neighborhood association meeting. My wife later became president of the organization. That was back in the mid ‘90s. My wife, way more techie than me, started the neighborhood listserve. It operates to this day with hundreds of subscribers. Although our old neighbor never had a computer, I'm pretty sure she would be very happy about that.
The houses and old buildings in St. Louis are great, but it is the people and neighborhoods that make it really special. I think I would rather have a neighborhood with 10 percent vacant buildings and engaged residents working together, than a fully occupied neighborhood with little sense of community. In St. Louis, you can find that.
There are a million different stories. I am reminded of our elderly neighbor, now deceased. She used to give our young son, then about 6-9 years old, baseball cards in little brown paper bags she’d dig out of her basement. Nothing of great collectible value, just a thoughtful gesture from her. Matt didn't know the difference, and at that age, he just liked getting the cards. Our neighbor was widowed by this time, and she sort of adopted us as her family across the street.
She had one daughter who lived down on the gulf shore, and another here in St. Louis. The local daughter lived in a home our neighbor owned over in the Lindenwood neighborhood. Years previously, the house was given to our neighbors by some old friends of theirs. The Lindenwood couple immigrated to the US from Europe and met our neighbors.
Our neighbors hosted a wedding party for the Lindenwood couple in their home over near Lindenwood Park. After the party, the couple left things the same in the house, and when they passed on, they willed the home to my neighbor, with decorations from the wedding party still up in the dining room.
Our neighbor friends never changed a thing, they never uncovered the furniture, anything. Then when her one daughter moved in the place, the place was more than she could handle, and it started to show the wear. My kind neighbor didn’t know what to do about her daughter's situation; she was just trying to help her.
Meanwhile, she mostly kept to her self in her little brick house with the old air conditioner installed by her husband back in the 1950s. She never went on vacation and wore old clothes. When she died, I learned she was worth close to $3,000,000. From as far as I can tell, it was all left to her two daughters and grandkids.
After her death, the house across the street remained vacant for years until the heirs finally sold it. In the intervening years, it too was starting to show the signs of being vacant for an extended period. Our neighbor would have been embarrassed about that. She and her husband had always kept the yard perfect and they kept pet turtles they would find on country drives and bring back home to St. Louis.
In the winter the turtles would burrow under the ground to hibernate. Every spring our neighbor would wait for them to dig themselves out from under the ground and start foraging around her yard. She could tell if they all came back because she painted little numbers on their shells with nail polish so she could tell them apart. She gave them all different names. "Oscar" was one of them. I wonder what ever happened to those turtles?
Anyhow, when we first moved in to the neighborhood, it was our neighbor who invited us to attend our first neighborhood association meeting. My wife later became president of the organization. That was back in the mid ‘90s. My wife, way more techie than me, started the neighborhood listserve. It operates to this day with hundreds of subscribers. Although our old neighbor never had a computer, I'm pretty sure she would be very happy about that.
The houses and old buildings in St. Louis are great, but it is the people and neighborhoods that make it really special. I think I would rather have a neighborhood with 10 percent vacant buildings and engaged residents working together, than a fully occupied neighborhood with little sense of community. In St. Louis, you can find that.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Maybe she can't read?
Driving again, I pass a number of bus stops on the way downtown. This morning, at one of the old stops where the sign is covered up with the announcement regarding Metro's disruption in service, a woman was bundled up waiting for something, a bus maybe. Do buses still stop at the stops where the signs are covered up? Is she waiting for a bus that will never come?
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Alley video cameras?
With the lower cost of video technology, some communities are considering the idea of installing video cameras in alleys and on street corners to keep an electronic eye out for suspicious behaviour. Is this too much of an infringement on personal liberty, or something we should consider?
No more electronic voting for me
In the last primary election, I decided to give electronic voting a try. I didn't like it. The machine seemed a little quirky, and I didn't like not having the feel of a depositing a paper ballot in a box. Today, I voted with a paper ballot - much better. Which gets me to the main point of today's post - what the hell happened in the 9th inning of the Cardinal's home opener yesterday?
Great outing by starter Adam Wainwright. Cardinals take a 2-run lead in the bottom of the eighth with a home run and an insurance run. Everything is set up perfect for a win on opening day. Then everything went wrong in the 9th. You know that things were pretty horrible when after the game, on one of the post game talk shows, the host said that the best thing about yesterday's game was that there is another game today. That's about it.
Still, I don't get it. First off, why leave Jason Motte, the closer, in the whole inning? The Pirates were roughing him up. He was totally ineffective, yet LaRussa leaves him the entire inning, and he gives up four runs, blows the save, and loses the game. Questions...
With two outs, and the Cardinals still leading by one run, runners on second and third, why not walk the batter to load the bases? Walking the batter would have created a force play at any base. Instead, Motte pitches to the batter and hits him. Same net result, but not good for the space between Motte's ears, which by now is must sound like herd of charging elephants.
Okay, so now there are two outs, bases loaded, Cardinals leading by one run, and Motte still pitching. That screaming noise of pressure is exploding in his head. He makes a pitch and the batter lifts a fly ball to medium deep left field - over the outfielder's head for a double. Three runs score. Pirates up 6-4. Game basically over. Cards go on to lose 6-4. Okay, so why was the left fielder playing so shallow? The ball did not even reach the warning track, but it lands over his head for a double? I don't get that. Can someone explain?
Electronic voting machines? Never again. Motte? Yes, we will give him another chance.
Great outing by starter Adam Wainwright. Cardinals take a 2-run lead in the bottom of the eighth with a home run and an insurance run. Everything is set up perfect for a win on opening day. Then everything went wrong in the 9th. You know that things were pretty horrible when after the game, on one of the post game talk shows, the host said that the best thing about yesterday's game was that there is another game today. That's about it.
Still, I don't get it. First off, why leave Jason Motte, the closer, in the whole inning? The Pirates were roughing him up. He was totally ineffective, yet LaRussa leaves him the entire inning, and he gives up four runs, blows the save, and loses the game. Questions...
With two outs, and the Cardinals still leading by one run, runners on second and third, why not walk the batter to load the bases? Walking the batter would have created a force play at any base. Instead, Motte pitches to the batter and hits him. Same net result, but not good for the space between Motte's ears, which by now is must sound like herd of charging elephants.
Okay, so now there are two outs, bases loaded, Cardinals leading by one run, and Motte still pitching. That screaming noise of pressure is exploding in his head. He makes a pitch and the batter lifts a fly ball to medium deep left field - over the outfielder's head for a double. Three runs score. Pirates up 6-4. Game basically over. Cards go on to lose 6-4. Okay, so why was the left fielder playing so shallow? The ball did not even reach the warning track, but it lands over his head for a double? I don't get that. Can someone explain?
Electronic voting machines? Never again. Motte? Yes, we will give him another chance.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Downtown Then and Downtown Now
After attending the dedication of the new Post Office Plaza on Friday, I thought about all that has happened in the last ten or so years in downtown. Riding Metrolink, I started a list of the memorable things. In no particular order...
Metropolis lots
Last Seinfeld episode
Men's Final Four, Walk to the Arch
Women's Final Four, Walk to the Arch
Record crowds attending Komen Race for the Cure
Mardis Gras parades, VP Fairs and parades, St. Patrick's Day parades
Rams Super Bowl Victory Parade
New Busch Stadium
Cards win World Series at home
Cards Championship Parade
New Schnucks under construction
Well-attended loft housing tours downtown
Thousands of new downtown residents
Illumination of the Arch
Illumination of Washington Avenue
Lots of completed historic rehab developments
Last Seinfeld episide
Street vendors selling lunches to lines of customers
Reversal of a corporate HQ decision to close the 6th and Olive Starbucks
Dedication of Old Post Office plaza
Soon to dedicate new sculpture park on the mall
Nicest casino in region
Roberts Tower going up
Possibilities of reconnecting the Arch, downtown, and riverfront
I started working downtown about 15 years ago. In those days, it was empty. There was nothing going on. In the evenings and on weekends, streets were empty. A lot has changed.
Now, it's hard to find a parking space on Saturday mornings. There are always things going on. Every day you see people walking dogs or babies in strollers. Downtown is a neighborhood again.
Metropolis lots
Last Seinfeld episode
Men's Final Four, Walk to the Arch
Women's Final Four, Walk to the Arch
Record crowds attending Komen Race for the Cure
Mardis Gras parades, VP Fairs and parades, St. Patrick's Day parades
Rams Super Bowl Victory Parade
New Busch Stadium
Cards win World Series at home
Cards Championship Parade
New Schnucks under construction
Well-attended loft housing tours downtown
Thousands of new downtown residents
Illumination of the Arch
Illumination of Washington Avenue
Lots of completed historic rehab developments
Last Seinfeld episide
Street vendors selling lunches to lines of customers
Reversal of a corporate HQ decision to close the 6th and Olive Starbucks
Dedication of Old Post Office plaza
Soon to dedicate new sculpture park on the mall
Nicest casino in region
Roberts Tower going up
Possibilities of reconnecting the Arch, downtown, and riverfront
I started working downtown about 15 years ago. In those days, it was empty. There was nothing going on. In the evenings and on weekends, streets were empty. A lot has changed.
Now, it's hard to find a parking space on Saturday mornings. There are always things going on. Every day you see people walking dogs or babies in strollers. Downtown is a neighborhood again.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Illinois poised to adopt MO-styled historic rehab tax credit?
While attending a conference on neighborhood redevelopment tools, I heard from a colleague active in the Metro East that the Illinois legislature is considering a new bill to create an Illinois Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.
According to my contact, the bill is being modeled after Missouri's successful historic rehabilitation tax credit program. If anyone has any more information on the possible new Illinois historic preservation and development program, please reply in the comment section. Thanks.
According to my contact, the bill is being modeled after Missouri's successful historic rehabilitation tax credit program. If anyone has any more information on the possible new Illinois historic preservation and development program, please reply in the comment section. Thanks.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Old Post Office Plaza debuts this weekend
At 4:00 PM Friday, city leaders will dedicate the new Old Post Office Plaza. Festivities will continue throughout the weekend.
The Old Post Office Plaza will be the city's second major park/open space under private ownership and management, the other being Tower Grove Park.
Programming for the Old Post Office Plaza will be managed through the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.
Note: Thanks to a reader for emailing a question re. the ownership and management of Tower Grove Park. Check the comments section for a clarification of the status.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Building better neighborhoods one block at a time
With spring upon us, people are coming out of their houses. Parks are getting crowded with baseball practices and dog walkers. It's the season to work in the yard and in the neighborhood. St. Louis is a neighborhood city, and one of things that makes neighborhood life worthwhile are the interactions with good neighbors.
This year, we plan to rent a core aerator for the block and share it with all the neighbors. I'm the volunteer who thought this up, and there was enough interest from other neighbors, so we're going to give it a try sometime this spring.
We've got a block wide email list, so word about neighborhood stuff is quick and easy to circulate. Planning the aeration project was simple enough. To make better neighborhoods, we need to do more good neighbor projects. We need to do more little stuff that adds up to a better sense of community and more people knowing their neighbors.
What a difference St. Louis is from the commute-dependent place where I grew up. There, neighbors hardly knew each other, and never shared a meal or a ladder. Living in a place where neighbors know each other and work together is a blessing that isn't measured in dollars but peace of mind.
Block parties are great, and they take a lot of work and volunteers, but it's a one day thing. We need more little stuff going on the rest of the year. A beautiful block requires well maintained houses and yards. Working together as neighbors can make a so-so block better and raise property values. People want to live on blocks with good curb appeal and friendly neighbors.
There's lots of time spent complaining about things we don't like. What would the neighborhood be like if people instead spent that time doing positive things? They would be happier and the neighborhood would improve.
One good thing about the neighborhoods here is that the yards are small enough that it doesn't take all day or half a day to finish the yard work. That leaves more time to lounge on the front stoop, play some catch, play with the dog, or introduce the neighbors.
Given how much good neighbor work there is to do, maybe we should start looking for a place with even a smaller yard. Small yards, close together, with beautiful decorated brick, stone and painted wood trim houses look great all lined up on a traditional block.
Alleys? I could go on all day about alleys. That's a whole 'nother post. When an elderly lady neighbor lectures a bunch of teenagers about keeping the alley clean, that's a good sign you're in a solid neighborhood.
There is a critical mass to a good neighborhood, and it's about a lot more than property value. It's more about the distance between houses and people and how much good neighbor stuff is happening.
The amount of shared food and drink is a better indicator than just about anything else. It's a good thing that the fences between our houses are low enough that it's easy to share a cold beverage across them.
This year, we plan to rent a core aerator for the block and share it with all the neighbors. I'm the volunteer who thought this up, and there was enough interest from other neighbors, so we're going to give it a try sometime this spring.
We've got a block wide email list, so word about neighborhood stuff is quick and easy to circulate. Planning the aeration project was simple enough. To make better neighborhoods, we need to do more good neighbor projects. We need to do more little stuff that adds up to a better sense of community and more people knowing their neighbors.
What a difference St. Louis is from the commute-dependent place where I grew up. There, neighbors hardly knew each other, and never shared a meal or a ladder. Living in a place where neighbors know each other and work together is a blessing that isn't measured in dollars but peace of mind.
Block parties are great, and they take a lot of work and volunteers, but it's a one day thing. We need more little stuff going on the rest of the year. A beautiful block requires well maintained houses and yards. Working together as neighbors can make a so-so block better and raise property values. People want to live on blocks with good curb appeal and friendly neighbors.
There's lots of time spent complaining about things we don't like. What would the neighborhood be like if people instead spent that time doing positive things? They would be happier and the neighborhood would improve.
One good thing about the neighborhoods here is that the yards are small enough that it doesn't take all day or half a day to finish the yard work. That leaves more time to lounge on the front stoop, play some catch, play with the dog, or introduce the neighbors.
Given how much good neighbor work there is to do, maybe we should start looking for a place with even a smaller yard. Small yards, close together, with beautiful decorated brick, stone and painted wood trim houses look great all lined up on a traditional block.
Alleys? I could go on all day about alleys. That's a whole 'nother post. When an elderly lady neighbor lectures a bunch of teenagers about keeping the alley clean, that's a good sign you're in a solid neighborhood.
There is a critical mass to a good neighborhood, and it's about a lot more than property value. It's more about the distance between houses and people and how much good neighbor stuff is happening.
The amount of shared food and drink is a better indicator than just about anything else. It's a good thing that the fences between our houses are low enough that it's easy to share a cold beverage across them.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Metro's Top Ten List for March 30, 2009
With the calendar showing March 30, the day Metro debuts its drastically reduced schedule, what better way to usher in the new era of Metro service cutbacks than a top ten list of the benefits to the St. Louis region for having reduced public transit services?
Number Ten: No comfy train waiting at the platform
Number Nine: A banner day for cab drivers
Number Eight: Cheery station agents have way more people waiting to greet them
Number Seven: Fewer times riding in a car getting stuck behind a bus stopped to pick up passengers
Number Six: Fewer "bus people" coming to the neighborhood
Number Five: At the end of the year, I have about $60 bucks more in my wallet
Number Four: No further Metrolink expansion for at least another 20 years
Number Three: Transit riders have increased waiting times to ride longer and more circuitous routes to their destinations.
Number Two: Speeds up our personal timeframe to buy a second car
and, The Number One reason to celebrate the region's reduction in public transportation services: Lots of free plastic bags all over town being used to cover up bus stop signs on closed routes
All joking aside, this situation sucks on a variety of levels. People depending on public transportation have fewer options. Neighborhoods looking to position themselves with the benefits of improved public transportation have to put their plans on hold. St. Louis is less connected.
A Metro staff person handing out the new reduced service schedule at the station this morning said they hoped these cut backs would be short lived. Without a replacement source of revenue, the question is, how?
Number Ten: No comfy train waiting at the platform
Number Nine: A banner day for cab drivers
Number Eight: Cheery station agents have way more people waiting to greet them
Number Seven: Fewer times riding in a car getting stuck behind a bus stopped to pick up passengers
Number Six: Fewer "bus people" coming to the neighborhood
Number Five: At the end of the year, I have about $60 bucks more in my wallet
Number Four: No further Metrolink expansion for at least another 20 years
Number Three: Transit riders have increased waiting times to ride longer and more circuitous routes to their destinations.
Number Two: Speeds up our personal timeframe to buy a second car
and, The Number One reason to celebrate the region's reduction in public transportation services: Lots of free plastic bags all over town being used to cover up bus stop signs on closed routes
All joking aside, this situation sucks on a variety of levels. People depending on public transportation have fewer options. Neighborhoods looking to position themselves with the benefits of improved public transportation have to put their plans on hold. St. Louis is less connected.
A Metro staff person handing out the new reduced service schedule at the station this morning said they hoped these cut backs would be short lived. Without a replacement source of revenue, the question is, how?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Congress for the New Urbanism Federal Testimony on Reforming National Transporation Priorities
John Norquist is the President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism and former Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Last week he testifed before the House Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Urban Development. The following is a transcript of Mr. Norquist's congressional testimony. It is reprinted here with permission.
Chairman Olver and distinguished members of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, thank you for the privilege of appearing before you. I deeply appreciate your efforts to join the issues of transportation and neighborhood development. In government it is easy to get overly focused on narrow specialties. It's important to break out of silos and look for synergies that can benefit the people as you are doing on this committee.
One of these specialties is traffic engineering. Current road policy has focused on highways, arterials, and collectors as individual road segments with the goal of reducing congestion by adding lane capacity and separating the street from the built environment. In other words, getting everything out of the way of the traffic. The system depends on large road types that attract traffic and ultimately grow congested, particularly at rush hour when you need the roads most.
For thousands of years of human history, urban thoroughfares have served three purposes – movement, commerce and social interaction. This is the street that engineers were trained to build in the first half of the twentieth century — 50 feet of pavement and 8 foot sidewalks. This street, Kinnickinnic Avenue in Milwaukee, clearly fulfills the three traditional functions of an urban thoroughfare. Here are three of these streets coming together in Wicker Park in Chicago. And in this economy, places like this are holding their value.
Most streets today, however, are built for only one purpose, moving traffic. There are huge setbacks so the road can be widened later. There is no money left over for sidewalks, so people can walk in the dirt, or as an alternative walk in the gutter.
When you have lots of streets on small blocks as in Northampton, Massachusetts the streets don't need to be big. Many streets share the burden, giving travelers lots of choices, including walking. And networks like Northampton are a great setting for jobs, good living and hold high value/square mile. Yet Federal and state road policies put over half the money spent on pavement into grade separated highways- the top end of the functional classification system.
We now understand that freeways don't last forever. In 1973, New York City's elevated West Side Highway collapsed and was eventually replaced by a street. With views of the Hudson restored, Manhattan's lower West Side gained residents, jobs and vitality. In 1989 an earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had replaced a boulevard in 1950. The boulevard is now restored, the freeway is gone and jobs and residents are back. Even the traffic has improved since the boulevard helps distribute cars more evenly across the grid. In Milwaukee, without an earthquake, we removed a freeway segment, replacing empty lots and surface parking with the beginnings of good redevelopment. But by far the most dramatic change can be seen in Seoul, South Korea where an elevated roadway built on top of a river at the end of the Korean War was replaced in 2005 with two surface streets on each side of the restored river.
This is the man responsible, Lee Meoung-Bak, elected mayor in 2001. See how happy he is. He had the courage to do the right thing and now he's President. He was successful because he embraced the complexity of the city, rising above the narrow concerns of the traffic specialists. He saw the whole, the combination of river, neighborhood and infrastructure as greater than the sum of its parts.
CNU and our allies at the Institute of Transportation Engineers have collaborated on exciting reforms to make transportation work for people and communities, not just their cars. In cooperation with FHWA and EPA we have developed a manual that provides design guidelines to resurrect the street, avenue and boulevard. These are road types that Federal and State departments of transportation should allow and encourage.
Let’s start to plan urban and suburban transportation movements around highly connected networks of streets and transit rather than just individual road segments. We need to better appreciate the value of networks like this one, the Plan of Washington DC. The street network absorbs and distributes traffic just as wetlands absorb and cleanse water. And the grid serves as a setting for valuable economic and social activity just as the wetlands providing rich habitats for diverse plant and animal life. We’ve learned that paving steam beds isn’t always the best answer.
Street networks, especially when connected with transit, make life convenient and strengthen the bonds of community. They also dramatically reduce household driving and lower household greenhouse gas emissions. Residents of Atlantic Station, a new neighborhood with a walkable street network on the site of an abandoned can plant in Atlanta, drive an average of eight miles per day compared to a regional average of 34 miles per day.
Through its partnership with the United States Green Building Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council, CNU helped create the nation's first certification system for green development at the neighborhood scale. And to qualify, these green neighborhoods must have highly connected networks of walkable streets, with at least 150 intersections per square mile (including alleys). The oversized highways, and arterials that the federal government typically funds lead to not only higher infrastructure costs and carbon emissions, but less valuable neighborhoods. These road designs should no longer be promoted as the preferred option by federal policy.
Research by the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Brookings Institution confirms that neighborhoods with connected street networks and transit service give families real relief from high transportation costs.
Consumer preferences show that people are eager to live in complete, convenient, walkable neighborhoods. Future transportation policy should support this preference. Transportation investments should be at a compatible scale with the neighborhood. They should build on rather than undermine the efficiency and environmental performance of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods.
I urge you to take advantage of opportunities to realign federal transportation policies around sustainable transportation networks.
• Thanks to Senators Carper and Specter and Representatives La Tourette and Blumenauer, the CLEAN TEA legislation now promotes investment in new, local street and transit construction that enhances network connectivity and performance. That provision deserves your support.
• Likewise, T4 Reauthorization is an opportunity to further direct investment towards infrastructure that adds value to communities. Key CLEAN TEA provisions could be incorporated in T4 to help move it beyond the predictable highways vs. transit modal split debate. States and regions that receive T4 funds would benefit from plans that take into account the carbon impact of their transportation investments. Such planning will lead communities to high-performance street and transit networks that achieve transportation and economic development goals through cost-effective use of federal dollars.
• Transportation engineers at CNU and ITE realize that the federal highway program must evolve into a federal networks program. Congress can help speed that transition by asking the FHWA to extend its successful context-sensitive thoroughfares project to provide research and guidelines for the sustainable networks formed by those streets.
Our new President has declared his commitment to reforming and improving transportation. We need only look to the Internet, employed to so effectively by his election campaign, for a telling example of how 21st century transportation systems should work. Internet traffic makes use of a network of linkages, breaking up large volumes of data into small packets and distributing them through a web of available nodes. It's fast and it's reliable. The same model applied to transportation networks will allow all modes of traffic to flow over multiple routes, reducing travel times, making driving, walking and bicycling easier, and making transit service and emergency response more effective.
CNU, the Institute for Transportation Engineers, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and The T4 America Coalition( of which CNU is a proud member) are ready to help you get transportation moving in the right direction, adding real value to America’s communities.
By John Norquist, President and CEO, Congress for the New Urbanism, March 19,2007
Chairman Olver and distinguished members of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, thank you for the privilege of appearing before you. I deeply appreciate your efforts to join the issues of transportation and neighborhood development. In government it is easy to get overly focused on narrow specialties. It's important to break out of silos and look for synergies that can benefit the people as you are doing on this committee.
One of these specialties is traffic engineering. Current road policy has focused on highways, arterials, and collectors as individual road segments with the goal of reducing congestion by adding lane capacity and separating the street from the built environment. In other words, getting everything out of the way of the traffic. The system depends on large road types that attract traffic and ultimately grow congested, particularly at rush hour when you need the roads most.
For thousands of years of human history, urban thoroughfares have served three purposes – movement, commerce and social interaction. This is the street that engineers were trained to build in the first half of the twentieth century — 50 feet of pavement and 8 foot sidewalks. This street, Kinnickinnic Avenue in Milwaukee, clearly fulfills the three traditional functions of an urban thoroughfare. Here are three of these streets coming together in Wicker Park in Chicago. And in this economy, places like this are holding their value.
Most streets today, however, are built for only one purpose, moving traffic. There are huge setbacks so the road can be widened later. There is no money left over for sidewalks, so people can walk in the dirt, or as an alternative walk in the gutter.
When you have lots of streets on small blocks as in Northampton, Massachusetts the streets don't need to be big. Many streets share the burden, giving travelers lots of choices, including walking. And networks like Northampton are a great setting for jobs, good living and hold high value/square mile. Yet Federal and state road policies put over half the money spent on pavement into grade separated highways- the top end of the functional classification system.
We now understand that freeways don't last forever. In 1973, New York City's elevated West Side Highway collapsed and was eventually replaced by a street. With views of the Hudson restored, Manhattan's lower West Side gained residents, jobs and vitality. In 1989 an earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had replaced a boulevard in 1950. The boulevard is now restored, the freeway is gone and jobs and residents are back. Even the traffic has improved since the boulevard helps distribute cars more evenly across the grid. In Milwaukee, without an earthquake, we removed a freeway segment, replacing empty lots and surface parking with the beginnings of good redevelopment. But by far the most dramatic change can be seen in Seoul, South Korea where an elevated roadway built on top of a river at the end of the Korean War was replaced in 2005 with two surface streets on each side of the restored river.
This is the man responsible, Lee Meoung-Bak, elected mayor in 2001. See how happy he is. He had the courage to do the right thing and now he's President. He was successful because he embraced the complexity of the city, rising above the narrow concerns of the traffic specialists. He saw the whole, the combination of river, neighborhood and infrastructure as greater than the sum of its parts.
CNU and our allies at the Institute of Transportation Engineers have collaborated on exciting reforms to make transportation work for people and communities, not just their cars. In cooperation with FHWA and EPA we have developed a manual that provides design guidelines to resurrect the street, avenue and boulevard. These are road types that Federal and State departments of transportation should allow and encourage.
Let’s start to plan urban and suburban transportation movements around highly connected networks of streets and transit rather than just individual road segments. We need to better appreciate the value of networks like this one, the Plan of Washington DC. The street network absorbs and distributes traffic just as wetlands absorb and cleanse water. And the grid serves as a setting for valuable economic and social activity just as the wetlands providing rich habitats for diverse plant and animal life. We’ve learned that paving steam beds isn’t always the best answer.
Street networks, especially when connected with transit, make life convenient and strengthen the bonds of community. They also dramatically reduce household driving and lower household greenhouse gas emissions. Residents of Atlantic Station, a new neighborhood with a walkable street network on the site of an abandoned can plant in Atlanta, drive an average of eight miles per day compared to a regional average of 34 miles per day.
Through its partnership with the United States Green Building Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council, CNU helped create the nation's first certification system for green development at the neighborhood scale. And to qualify, these green neighborhoods must have highly connected networks of walkable streets, with at least 150 intersections per square mile (including alleys). The oversized highways, and arterials that the federal government typically funds lead to not only higher infrastructure costs and carbon emissions, but less valuable neighborhoods. These road designs should no longer be promoted as the preferred option by federal policy.
Research by the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Brookings Institution confirms that neighborhoods with connected street networks and transit service give families real relief from high transportation costs.
Consumer preferences show that people are eager to live in complete, convenient, walkable neighborhoods. Future transportation policy should support this preference. Transportation investments should be at a compatible scale with the neighborhood. They should build on rather than undermine the efficiency and environmental performance of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods.
I urge you to take advantage of opportunities to realign federal transportation policies around sustainable transportation networks.
• Thanks to Senators Carper and Specter and Representatives La Tourette and Blumenauer, the CLEAN TEA legislation now promotes investment in new, local street and transit construction that enhances network connectivity and performance. That provision deserves your support.
• Likewise, T4 Reauthorization is an opportunity to further direct investment towards infrastructure that adds value to communities. Key CLEAN TEA provisions could be incorporated in T4 to help move it beyond the predictable highways vs. transit modal split debate. States and regions that receive T4 funds would benefit from plans that take into account the carbon impact of their transportation investments. Such planning will lead communities to high-performance street and transit networks that achieve transportation and economic development goals through cost-effective use of federal dollars.
• Transportation engineers at CNU and ITE realize that the federal highway program must evolve into a federal networks program. Congress can help speed that transition by asking the FHWA to extend its successful context-sensitive thoroughfares project to provide research and guidelines for the sustainable networks formed by those streets.
Our new President has declared his commitment to reforming and improving transportation. We need only look to the Internet, employed to so effectively by his election campaign, for a telling example of how 21st century transportation systems should work. Internet traffic makes use of a network of linkages, breaking up large volumes of data into small packets and distributing them through a web of available nodes. It's fast and it's reliable. The same model applied to transportation networks will allow all modes of traffic to flow over multiple routes, reducing travel times, making driving, walking and bicycling easier, and making transit service and emergency response more effective.
CNU, the Institute for Transportation Engineers, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and The T4 America Coalition( of which CNU is a proud member) are ready to help you get transportation moving in the right direction, adding real value to America’s communities.
By John Norquist, President and CEO, Congress for the New Urbanism, March 19,2007
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Park East Freeway to McKinley Boulevard
A Milwaukee case study in freeway removal....
Freeway razing sets stage for $250 million in development
Former Milwaukee mayor John Norquist editorial re. cost savings and benefits of replacing downtown interstate with new boulevard
Congress for New Urbanism summary
Man, this looks familiar...
Freeway razing sets stage for $250 million in development
Former Milwaukee mayor John Norquist editorial re. cost savings and benefits of replacing downtown interstate with new boulevard
Congress for New Urbanism summary
Man, this looks familiar...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Fountain Square
The plaza across from the Old Post Office is nearly complete. The project spans the south side of the block between 8th and 9th Streets. The plaza shares the block with the Roberts' Orpheum and Tower projects. The plaza has a sleek design, with modern lighting and an impressive water feature.
At the east end of a giant flat metal projection screen is a 4-story fountain. Well, it's more like a 4-story waterfall. Water pours down the side of a round metal surface and then drops four floors straight down into a stone pool.
The falling water makes the loud, continuous crashing sound you'd expect from a sizable waterfall. I'm guessing here, but this is probably the tallest waterfall in the midwest.
Both the sight and sound are impressive. I wonder if it will be lit up with colorful lighting at night? Passersby were stopping on the sidewalk to take it all in.
At the east end of a giant flat metal projection screen is a 4-story fountain. Well, it's more like a 4-story waterfall. Water pours down the side of a round metal surface and then drops four floors straight down into a stone pool.
The falling water makes the loud, continuous crashing sound you'd expect from a sizable waterfall. I'm guessing here, but this is probably the tallest waterfall in the midwest.
Both the sight and sound are impressive. I wonder if it will be lit up with colorful lighting at night? Passersby were stopping on the sidewalk to take it all in.
Monday, March 23, 2009
STL to star in Hollywood movie
The news is reporting that Sutton Avenue in Maplewood is closed to traffic today for the filming of George Clooney's "Up in the Air" movie. For the next few months, film crews will be working in St. Louis on Clooney's next big screen production. I don't know anything about the movie, except with George Clooney in it, it's sure to get a lot of attention. And that's good for St. Louis.
Over the past few weeks, film crews have been downtown. They were lined up along Memorial Drive near the Arch, and also by the Bowling Hall of Fame/St. Louis Cardinals Museum. With the great renaissance happening in Maplewood, it's no wonder location scouts have landed upon Sutton Avenue.
St. Louis makes some sense for film makers. We have four seasons. We have a wide variety of scenery. And we're an affordable place to do business. In the 70s, our run down buildings were chosen to serve as the backdrop for a post-civilized New York City in "Escape from New York". Today, STL is being chosen as an authentic American landscape.
It will be interesting to learn the impressions from movie people about their experiences working in St. Louis. With good word and a successful project, St. Louis can raise it's standing as a viable option for more Hollywood movie making.
Over the past few weeks, film crews have been downtown. They were lined up along Memorial Drive near the Arch, and also by the Bowling Hall of Fame/St. Louis Cardinals Museum. With the great renaissance happening in Maplewood, it's no wonder location scouts have landed upon Sutton Avenue.
St. Louis makes some sense for film makers. We have four seasons. We have a wide variety of scenery. And we're an affordable place to do business. In the 70s, our run down buildings were chosen to serve as the backdrop for a post-civilized New York City in "Escape from New York". Today, STL is being chosen as an authentic American landscape.
It will be interesting to learn the impressions from movie people about their experiences working in St. Louis. With good word and a successful project, St. Louis can raise it's standing as a viable option for more Hollywood movie making.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Older North
This weekend we are enjoying a milestone celebration in our house, so we were looking for some nice ways to commemorate the event. We visited a place we haven't been in over ten years, and are happy to report, the place is as authentic and enjoyable as ever. I'm referring to one of the oldest homes and entertainment venues in the region, the Bissell Mansion.
Built in 1823, the Bissell Mansion is one of the oldest homes in St. Louis. Much of the original building is intact, with the main interior bearing wall around two feet thick. The building's original owners have important history dating back to the founding of the United States, with General Bissell a veteran of the War of 1812. Back in the 1820s, St. Louis was barely a dot on a map, so it's fun to walk the grounds, see the view of the Mississippi, and think about what St. Louis was like, forty years before the Civil War. The Bissell Mansion is a dinner theater, so a visit there is an interactive and entertaining evening. Staff serves the meals and acts in the show. The artists both perform and write the shows. The place has a lot of heart; the performers give their all; and the food is good too. Guests are given scripts and are invited to participate in the show. But no worries - you're given the option of a small or larger part when you make your reservation.
Attendance was good, with a large party upstairs, and our group downstairs. Nonetheless, in tight economic times like these, competiton for discretionary restaurant dollars is tough. For an authentic St. Louis night out, to experience a special occasion with family or friends, and to help preserve an important piece of St. Louis history and tradition, STL Rising recommends the Bissell Mansion dinner theater.
Shows change four times a year. This year we will make an effort to visit again for their fall or winter performances.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Bevo Mill - For Sale or Rent?
Bevo Mill has closed its doors. The property was recently donated to the City by Anheuser Busch, and so, it really belongs to you and me - the city taxpayer.
The building is one of the city's destination landmarks for tourists. Approaching it from Delor on the west is the ultimate in a Scrubby Dutch St. Louis view. So what should happen with it?
Rent for a $1 and offer it to the operators of the Boat House in Forest Park? Convert to an urban Bed and Breakfast? Sell to the highest bidder?
Offer rent free to Schlafly for a southside microbrewery with live music, splitting proceeds with the Bevo community organization to help fund neighborhood improvements?
Something needs to be done to ensure the building lasts another 100 years. How do we make sure it's something good?
The building is one of the city's destination landmarks for tourists. Approaching it from Delor on the west is the ultimate in a Scrubby Dutch St. Louis view. So what should happen with it?
Rent for a $1 and offer it to the operators of the Boat House in Forest Park? Convert to an urban Bed and Breakfast? Sell to the highest bidder?
Offer rent free to Schlafly for a southside microbrewery with live music, splitting proceeds with the Bevo community organization to help fund neighborhood improvements?
Something needs to be done to ensure the building lasts another 100 years. How do we make sure it's something good?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Grounds For Action
Yesterday closed the public comment period for the draft General Management Plan for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Sometime over the next few months, the National Park Service will finalize and adopt the new General Management Plan. The GMP will guide the future of the park for the next 15-20 years. That's a generation of urbanists to you and me.
The GMP lays the ground work for action. Action to fix the connectivity problems plaguing the Arch. Connectivity is the common thread identified for improvemenet in all three action alternatives of the draft General Management Plan. What those action measures include will become the outcomes of the current planning process.
The Danforth Foundation and the National Park Service have gotten the momentum going. It is time for the rest of the community to build on that momentum. Investors in Chouteau's Landing, casino interests, MODoT, the Army Corps or Engineers, Laclede's Landing merchants, the City of St. Louis, and the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis - as well as average citizens like you and me - all have vital roles to play in bringing about improvements to our downtown and riverfront area.
Success is built on partnership and collaboration. Leveraging the resources of the multiple stakeholders involved will bring about the best outcomes for future generations of St. Louisans, and help draw more people to our region. Our challenge is to switch from planning mode to action on solutions. It will be interesting and fun - and let's hope rewarding - to see how well we do.
What do you think? How would you proceed? What would you do?
The GMP lays the ground work for action. Action to fix the connectivity problems plaguing the Arch. Connectivity is the common thread identified for improvemenet in all three action alternatives of the draft General Management Plan. What those action measures include will become the outcomes of the current planning process.
The Danforth Foundation and the National Park Service have gotten the momentum going. It is time for the rest of the community to build on that momentum. Investors in Chouteau's Landing, casino interests, MODoT, the Army Corps or Engineers, Laclede's Landing merchants, the City of St. Louis, and the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis - as well as average citizens like you and me - all have vital roles to play in bringing about improvements to our downtown and riverfront area.
Success is built on partnership and collaboration. Leveraging the resources of the multiple stakeholders involved will bring about the best outcomes for future generations of St. Louisans, and help draw more people to our region. Our challenge is to switch from planning mode to action on solutions. It will be interesting and fun - and let's hope rewarding - to see how well we do.
What do you think? How would you proceed? What would you do?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Deadline Approaching to Submit Comments on Future of Arch
The deadline for the public to submit comments on the Draft General Management Plan for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is Monday, March 16.
More information can be found here:
NPS Update on Arch Planning Process
The link opens with a good video and provides all the information you need to offer public comment.
More information can be found here:
NPS Update on Arch Planning Process
The link opens with a good video and provides all the information you need to offer public comment.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Arch Connections Group Gets New Name
The ad hoc riverfront connections group that's been meeting for a few months has a new name: "City to River Group".
The group has been looking at ways better connections might be made between downtown, the communities of the central riverfront, the Mississippi River, and the Arch grounds. The link on the right side of this page will take you to the group's Google page.
For years, it has been said that St. Louis has turned its back on the river. With better connections reestablished between the City and the riverfront, St. Louis will start to feel like a riverfront city again.
So, in an effort to rebuild the idea that St. Louis is a river city, and that its rightful front door should face the river and not turn its back to it, the riverfront connections group has given itself a name that's all about reorienting the city's relationship with the Mississippi River.
If you would like more information or to get involved, please visit the Google page linked on the right side of this page.
The group has been looking at ways better connections might be made between downtown, the communities of the central riverfront, the Mississippi River, and the Arch grounds. The link on the right side of this page will take you to the group's Google page.
For years, it has been said that St. Louis has turned its back on the river. With better connections reestablished between the City and the riverfront, St. Louis will start to feel like a riverfront city again.
So, in an effort to rebuild the idea that St. Louis is a river city, and that its rightful front door should face the river and not turn its back to it, the riverfront connections group has given itself a name that's all about reorienting the city's relationship with the Mississippi River.
If you would like more information or to get involved, please visit the Google page linked on the right side of this page.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Vernal Equinox at Cahokia's Woodhenge
March 20 is the date of this year's Vernal Equinox. That's one of two days in the year when day and night are of equal length and the path of the sun splits the heavens.
It's also a day when people gather over at Cahokia Mounds to witness the event from inside Cahokia's Woodhenge.
At least that's what one of the regulars gathered at Iron Barley told me last night...
Cahokia is on the UN list of World Heritage sites. Now there's talk of adding the Gateway Arch to the same list.
There's all sorts of cool and creative stuff going on around St. Louis.
It's also a day when people gather over at Cahokia Mounds to witness the event from inside Cahokia's Woodhenge.
At least that's what one of the regulars gathered at Iron Barley told me last night...
Cahokia is on the UN list of World Heritage sites. Now there's talk of adding the Gateway Arch to the same list.
There's all sorts of cool and creative stuff going on around St. Louis.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
They Heard Us!
Walking outside in search of a cup of coffee, I looked over with an empty feeling to the corner of 6th and Olive where workers were scheduled to box things up and close the one downtown STL storefront Starbucks location.
Jaywalking to Met Square, things didn't look right at the Starbucks. It looked like employees were wearing their green service aprons and white oxford shirts. And there weren't just employees in the store, it looked like a short line of customers. What was going on?
I walked up to the front door and found an impromptu sign taped up. It said they were staying open! Management decided to renew the lease and keep the store. People in St. Louis voiced their concerns, and the corporate decision to close the store was reversed! Today they are restocking everything and coffee and pastries are being given away free all day!
Us customers stood together smiling and half stunned. The employees were joyful. One man said it was like showing up to class to take a test you hadn't studied for, only to hear the teacher say the test had been postponed. Another man said it was like finding money in a pair of pants you hadn't worn in months. I'm going back for another free cup of coffee!
Jaywalking to Met Square, things didn't look right at the Starbucks. It looked like employees were wearing their green service aprons and white oxford shirts. And there weren't just employees in the store, it looked like a short line of customers. What was going on?
I walked up to the front door and found an impromptu sign taped up. It said they were staying open! Management decided to renew the lease and keep the store. People in St. Louis voiced their concerns, and the corporate decision to close the store was reversed! Today they are restocking everything and coffee and pastries are being given away free all day!
Us customers stood together smiling and half stunned. The employees were joyful. One man said it was like showing up to class to take a test you hadn't studied for, only to hear the teacher say the test had been postponed. Another man said it was like finding money in a pair of pants you hadn't worn in months. I'm going back for another free cup of coffee!
"Park Into the City" - an approach for Chouteau's Landing?
Improving connectivity is the one common theme throughout most of the discussions about how to enliven the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. In the draft General Management PLan, there are multiple alternatives and one preferred alternative. The preferred alternative is called "Program Expansion". Another alternative is called, "Park Into the City" and the last action option is called "Portals".
Through the design competition, combinations of the various alternatives may emerge. During the student design charette, one proposal showed the park growing across Memorial Drive, into the heart of downtown. That may be among the interesting but undoable ideas, but what about considering this approach for the connection with Chouteau's Landing?
Yesterday we described the no-mans land under the Poplar Street Bridge between Chouteau's Landing and the Arch grounds. At Chouteau's Landing, there's good potential for historic rehab, artists lofts, and new investment. Could a "Park Into the City" approach breath life into the Chouteau's Landing neighborhood?
Thinking of improving connectivity in an incremental way is one approach to making progress in manageable stages, that over time add up to a better connected downtown and riverfront.
Through the design competition, combinations of the various alternatives may emerge. During the student design charette, one proposal showed the park growing across Memorial Drive, into the heart of downtown. That may be among the interesting but undoable ideas, but what about considering this approach for the connection with Chouteau's Landing?
Yesterday we described the no-mans land under the Poplar Street Bridge between Chouteau's Landing and the Arch grounds. At Chouteau's Landing, there's good potential for historic rehab, artists lofts, and new investment. Could a "Park Into the City" approach breath life into the Chouteau's Landing neighborhood?
Thinking of improving connectivity in an incremental way is one approach to making progress in manageable stages, that over time add up to a better connected downtown and riverfront.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Richard Florida on the Economic Crisis, National Reset
Interesting take by writer and academician Richard Florida on our current economic problems. Florida is best known for his work promoting the important role of the "creative class". He was a guest yesterday on NPR.
Florida is not a fan of the term "depression". He thinks it's too, well, depressing. Instead, he prefers the term "reset", and that's what he thinks our nation is going through now.
According to Florida, the days of long commutes, unsustainable sprawl, and homeownership based economies are fading. Instead, he sees an era of emerging mega-regions, increased emphasis on affordable rental housing, and a concentration of creative talent in fewer select areas.
Florida sees tough times ahead for second tier, rustbelt cities, with most Americans being drawn to mega regions. On the other hand, he offers Pittsburgh as an example of how smaller cities can remain competitive. From a current piece in the Atlantic magazine, Florida writes:
"Finally, we need to be clear that ultimately, we can’t stop the decline of some places, and that we would be foolish to try. Places like Pittsburgh have shown that a city can stay vibrant as it shrinks, by redeveloping its core to attract young professionals and creative types, and by cultivating high-growth services and industries."
One of the points Florida made about the revitalization of Pittsburgh during the NPR interview was the important role of "CDCs - Community Development Corporations". He described the way CDCs work at the neighborhood level to rebuild community.
I wish someone would made it on the air to ask a question about St. Louis. St. Louis also has a major CDC presence. I wonder where Florida would rank a sense of community in the heirarchy of things attracting the creative class? Given his support of CDCs, probably pretty high.
You can read the entire Florida article from The Atlantic here.
Florida is not a fan of the term "depression". He thinks it's too, well, depressing. Instead, he prefers the term "reset", and that's what he thinks our nation is going through now.
According to Florida, the days of long commutes, unsustainable sprawl, and homeownership based economies are fading. Instead, he sees an era of emerging mega-regions, increased emphasis on affordable rental housing, and a concentration of creative talent in fewer select areas.
Florida sees tough times ahead for second tier, rustbelt cities, with most Americans being drawn to mega regions. On the other hand, he offers Pittsburgh as an example of how smaller cities can remain competitive. From a current piece in the Atlantic magazine, Florida writes:
"Finally, we need to be clear that ultimately, we can’t stop the decline of some places, and that we would be foolish to try. Places like Pittsburgh have shown that a city can stay vibrant as it shrinks, by redeveloping its core to attract young professionals and creative types, and by cultivating high-growth services and industries."
One of the points Florida made about the revitalization of Pittsburgh during the NPR interview was the important role of "CDCs - Community Development Corporations". He described the way CDCs work at the neighborhood level to rebuild community.
I wish someone would made it on the air to ask a question about St. Louis. St. Louis also has a major CDC presence. I wonder where Florida would rank a sense of community in the heirarchy of things attracting the creative class? Given his support of CDCs, probably pretty high.
You can read the entire Florida article from The Atlantic here.
Chouteau's Landing - Connections Waiting to Happen
When you exit northbound 55 onto Memorial Drive, you have two options, continue north on Memorial Drive past the Old Cathedral, or make an immediate right turn to the east, heading down the levee toward the riverfront.
Making the right turn, you're driving along the southern edge of the Arch grounds, the Mississippi River flood wall is a couple of blocks ahead, and on your right side is the sea of concrete support columns for the Poplar Street bridge. It's a sort of no-man's land now. But is there potential for something better?
Chouteau's Landing lies across the divide created by the Poplar Street bridge. You can see it from the Arch side, but you're looking through the eerie landscape of a mostly abandoned area with dozens of cylindrical concrete columns holding up the PSB. The original city street grid under the bridge is intact. The space between the columns is paved with asphalt, striped for surface parking, and is mostly empty and fenced off with 6' cyclone fencing.
It's sort of a haunting feeling, driving the original riverfront street grid, under the PSB, between the support columns holding up the bridge, seeing mostly vacant or underutilized warehouse buildings in the Chouteau's Landing area, and being directly adjacent the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
With so much dead space, existing road network, and underutlized building stock, redevelopment of the area and connection with the Arch and the rest of downtown doesn't seem so much a question of if but how and when?
Planners like to talk about buildings or neighborhoods having "good bones" for redevelopment. In this case of the southern edge of the Arch grounds and its connections to Chouteau's Landing, driving through the support columns of the PSB feels like you're in the middle of big, dry, urban bones. Is there life in those bones? Can the planning for the future of the Arch help bring back the area and improve the vitality of the Arch and downtown in the process?
Making the right turn, you're driving along the southern edge of the Arch grounds, the Mississippi River flood wall is a couple of blocks ahead, and on your right side is the sea of concrete support columns for the Poplar Street bridge. It's a sort of no-man's land now. But is there potential for something better?
Chouteau's Landing lies across the divide created by the Poplar Street bridge. You can see it from the Arch side, but you're looking through the eerie landscape of a mostly abandoned area with dozens of cylindrical concrete columns holding up the PSB. The original city street grid under the bridge is intact. The space between the columns is paved with asphalt, striped for surface parking, and is mostly empty and fenced off with 6' cyclone fencing.
It's sort of a haunting feeling, driving the original riverfront street grid, under the PSB, between the support columns holding up the bridge, seeing mostly vacant or underutilized warehouse buildings in the Chouteau's Landing area, and being directly adjacent the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
With so much dead space, existing road network, and underutlized building stock, redevelopment of the area and connection with the Arch and the rest of downtown doesn't seem so much a question of if but how and when?
Planners like to talk about buildings or neighborhoods having "good bones" for redevelopment. In this case of the southern edge of the Arch grounds and its connections to Chouteau's Landing, driving through the support columns of the PSB feels like you're in the middle of big, dry, urban bones. Is there life in those bones? Can the planning for the future of the Arch help bring back the area and improve the vitality of the Arch and downtown in the process?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Misery and Flexibility
Way back in the 1980s, when I first started work in the field of community development, an architect friend and mentor passed along to me two principles of his practice that he always tried to factor into his work: the concentration of misery principle and the flexibility principle.
When it came to concentrating misery, he always tried to combine the negative aspects of things spatially and chronologically. He wanted lousy experiences to be minimized, so he worked to put them close together, and get them out of the way. If he had a bunch of unpleasant things to do, he tried to get them all done together. That way, the rest of his time would spent on more positive work.
On the other hand, when it came to making choices or finalizing alternatives, he took an opposite approach. He always worked to preserve as much flexibility into the planning and development process as possible. Rather than painting oneself into a corner by making firm decisions too soon in a planning or development process, he would create room for new ideas and options to emerge in a forward moving, collaborative process.
This week, the planning process for the future of the Arch moves forward. There will be two public meetings regarding the Draft General Management Plan for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. When the General Management Plan is adopted, it will establish the direction for future management of the Arch site. This is a key process for defining the future of our riverfront and downtown.
Thinking back to my old architect friend's advice, he would recommend that the final product promote flexibility. With the top issue of agreement being a lack of connectivity, are there flexible approaches about how to improve connectivity?
Regarding the concentration of misery, I think he would like the way the Arch site concentrates its new service area all on the southern part of the site. But what about the parking area on the north end of the site? What ways might it be repositioned to increase flexibility at the site?
In terms of difficult connections, they are found all around the Arch grounds. Poor connectivity is a problem surrounding the entire park. Is there a way to minimize the bad connectivity experience at the Arch and maximize the better connections? Where are the key connection points?
As Laclede's Landing and Washington Avenue as well as the Chouteau's Landing areas continue to draw more downtown businesses, visitors and residents, how can we best connect those activity generators to the Arch site?
Information about tonight's public meeting for the future of the Arch can be found here.
When it came to concentrating misery, he always tried to combine the negative aspects of things spatially and chronologically. He wanted lousy experiences to be minimized, so he worked to put them close together, and get them out of the way. If he had a bunch of unpleasant things to do, he tried to get them all done together. That way, the rest of his time would spent on more positive work.
On the other hand, when it came to making choices or finalizing alternatives, he took an opposite approach. He always worked to preserve as much flexibility into the planning and development process as possible. Rather than painting oneself into a corner by making firm decisions too soon in a planning or development process, he would create room for new ideas and options to emerge in a forward moving, collaborative process.
This week, the planning process for the future of the Arch moves forward. There will be two public meetings regarding the Draft General Management Plan for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. When the General Management Plan is adopted, it will establish the direction for future management of the Arch site. This is a key process for defining the future of our riverfront and downtown.
Thinking back to my old architect friend's advice, he would recommend that the final product promote flexibility. With the top issue of agreement being a lack of connectivity, are there flexible approaches about how to improve connectivity?
Regarding the concentration of misery, I think he would like the way the Arch site concentrates its new service area all on the southern part of the site. But what about the parking area on the north end of the site? What ways might it be repositioned to increase flexibility at the site?
In terms of difficult connections, they are found all around the Arch grounds. Poor connectivity is a problem surrounding the entire park. Is there a way to minimize the bad connectivity experience at the Arch and maximize the better connections? Where are the key connection points?
As Laclede's Landing and Washington Avenue as well as the Chouteau's Landing areas continue to draw more downtown businesses, visitors and residents, how can we best connect those activity generators to the Arch site?
Information about tonight's public meeting for the future of the Arch can be found here.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
St. Louis Stimulus
Today President Obama signs the $787 billion dollar economic stimulus package. The plan calls for a wide range of interventions aimed at reviving our nation's struggling economy.
The plan calls for major infrastucture investments, aid to state governments, and tax breaks for working Americans and corporations. At $787 billion, the amount works out to about $2,600 for US citizen. That doesn't sound like much. So government leaders have been working to decide how best to target the resource.
A major priority for the stimulus plan is jobs. Whether job creation or job preservation. President Obama states the plan will generate approximately 3.5 million jobs. Second on the priority list is housing. The third leg is infrastructure.
The nation's housing market is in trouble, with millions of foreclosures and declining property values. St. Louis is one of the nation's major centers for automobile manufacturing. The future of the US auto industry looms large in determing the direction of our region's economy. For years' we've had a national call to rebuild our nation's aging infrastructure, and contained in the stimulus plan is billions for new light rails, road construction, and education projects. So what about St. Louis?
At about 3,000,000 (give or take), the St. Louis region has about 1% of the US population. If we receive a prorata share of the stimulus plan, our region would realize $7.87 billion in stimulus help.
With the City of St. Louis having about 1/10 of the region's population, the city would see about $787 million in help (thanks to a reader for correcting this amount). However, knowing that things won't be doled out on a prorata basis, there's likely going to be a substantially larger amount of funding coming to St. Louis for local stimulus efforts.
The National League of Cities has made the case for projects to managed at the local, not state level. They are working to get the help to the project locations more quickly. St. Louis submitted a proposal for local priorities as part of the League of Cities request. The package included light rail and multiple public infrastructure investments.
A website, "Stimulus Watch", details proposed economic stimulus spending. St. Louis has a request in the amount of $2.45 billion pending. The breakdown is available here. The site is interactive and allows visitors to vote on individual projects.
Knowing that stabilizing housing markets, building new infrastructure, and providing for job creation and preservation are the nation's top goals of the stimulus plan, what projects would you like to see prioritized in St. Louis?
The plan calls for major infrastucture investments, aid to state governments, and tax breaks for working Americans and corporations. At $787 billion, the amount works out to about $2,600 for US citizen. That doesn't sound like much. So government leaders have been working to decide how best to target the resource.
A major priority for the stimulus plan is jobs. Whether job creation or job preservation. President Obama states the plan will generate approximately 3.5 million jobs. Second on the priority list is housing. The third leg is infrastructure.
The nation's housing market is in trouble, with millions of foreclosures and declining property values. St. Louis is one of the nation's major centers for automobile manufacturing. The future of the US auto industry looms large in determing the direction of our region's economy. For years' we've had a national call to rebuild our nation's aging infrastructure, and contained in the stimulus plan is billions for new light rails, road construction, and education projects. So what about St. Louis?
At about 3,000,000 (give or take), the St. Louis region has about 1% of the US population. If we receive a prorata share of the stimulus plan, our region would realize $7.87 billion in stimulus help.
With the City of St. Louis having about 1/10 of the region's population, the city would see about $787 million in help (thanks to a reader for correcting this amount). However, knowing that things won't be doled out on a prorata basis, there's likely going to be a substantially larger amount of funding coming to St. Louis for local stimulus efforts.
The National League of Cities has made the case for projects to managed at the local, not state level. They are working to get the help to the project locations more quickly. St. Louis submitted a proposal for local priorities as part of the League of Cities request. The package included light rail and multiple public infrastructure investments.
A website, "Stimulus Watch", details proposed economic stimulus spending. St. Louis has a request in the amount of $2.45 billion pending. The breakdown is available here. The site is interactive and allows visitors to vote on individual projects.
Knowing that stabilizing housing markets, building new infrastructure, and providing for job creation and preservation are the nation's top goals of the stimulus plan, what projects would you like to see prioritized in St. Louis?
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