Citylover Blog

Another McRee Town?

2006-04-17T00:40:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile hasn't!!

In all seriousness a major threat to St. Louis's historic urban fabric has come to my attention. While skimming through the planed agenda for the months Preservation Board meeting I noticed several Forest Park Southeast address, listed under new applications. While checking some of the properties through Geo St. Louis, I saw that they all had demolition permits that where applied for earlier this month.Apparently they are own by Forest West Properties, who give an address of 4317 Vista Ave suite 250.

It is unclear who the people at Forest West are, and what their plans are after the buildings are demolished. The possibilities seem endless though another McRee Town, a rumored Wal-Mart coming to the city, or just a land grab for Washington University. What is clear is that this will harm our urban fabric and set a dangerous precedent for the type of development we will see in the City of St. Louis. One can hope the Preservation Board will do the right thing.

The planed Preservation Board agenda can be viewed here on page 2.

Im Still Here...

2005-10-11T01:23:00.000-05:00

Yup it’s been awhile hasn’t it? I haven’t given up on the blog I have just been too busy and lazy to update. Latter today I will be going to the unavailing of the Riverfront Master plan with some people at Urban St. Louis, in Forest Park. Hopefully the plans will innovative which by the description on STLtoday it sounds like it will, but just hope this plan actually happens.

2005-09-09T01:45:00.000-05:00

Libeskind in St. Louis

Below are believed to be the renderings for Daniel Libeskind's design for the Bottle District which will be located north of the Edward Jones Dome. The project includes 250,000 square feet of entertainment retail, 300-500 new condominium units with spectacular 360-degree views and 150,000 square feet of historic buildings will be redeveloped into loft residential and office space with retail located at the street level. Ground breaking is currently slated for September 27.

More renderings can be seen here

2005-09-03T21:36:00.000-05:00

Watching a City Die

Yeah I know im late on discussing the whole Hurricane Katrina ordeal, but I have been in complete awe over our Government's poor handling of this disaster and the fact that we may lose a great and treasured city New Orleans. The media had been talking about the hurricane and the possibility that New Orleans could submerged almost a week before it actually happened even with this information it took the Government four days after it hit to react and send needed supplies and aid the evacuation. While babies where dying in there mothers arms and residents of New Orleans where looting their city to survive our "fearless" leader was prancing around Crawford with his cowboy hat comptemplating to end his months long vacation because of a national emergency. But look on the brightside we get to look forward to a week of mourning for Rehnquist, screw the thousands that have died and those who have lost everything.

2005-08-22T16:46:00.000-05:00

Preservation St. Louis Style

Eight St. Louis area buildings and a cemetery have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. And the winners are....

The Wildwood House in Ferguson in St. Louis County
The Charles S. & Mary Warder Rannells House, also known as Woodside, in Maplewood
The New Mount Sinai Cemetery in Affton
The Dr. Leander W. Cape Buildings in Maplewood
The Elias Haas Building in St. Louis
The Polar Wave Ice and Fuel Co., Plant No. 6, in St. Louis
The Ben J. Selkirk & Sons Building in St. Louis
The Centennial Malt House in St. Louis
The LaSalle Building in St. Louis
Source

But more danger looms in Hyde Park.

Four properties are threatened with demolishion.
4008 N. 25TH Street

1919 Anglerodt street

4242 and 4244 N. 19th Street
August Preservation Board Agenda

2005-08-17T18:38:00.000-05:00

Even the dead are leaving Detroit

A link to this article was orginaly posted over at the skyscraperpage forums. The article seen here starts off discussing the number of vacant homes and racial tennsions in Detroit. Then this blurb pops out.

"Suburbanites are taking the bodies of their relatives out of cemeteries because they're afraid to come to the city," Vogel said. "There are about 400 to 500 hundred (being moved) a year which shows you the depth of racism and fear."

YIKES! I really hope this is really a bad nightmare or just bad journalism. Racism and suburban sprawl have just hit a new low.

2005-08-17T15:18:00.000-05:00

Streetcars coming Back to

St. Louis?

It was rumored that during the 1920s St. Louis had the second most extensive streetcar system in the world only behind Paris, there was even a car that went all the way out to Creve Coeur Lake Park . But since May of 1966 streetcars have been missing from the St. Louis scene. Luckily Joe Edwards wants to bring them back on the Delmar Loop. The trolley line would begin at University City City Hall travel down Delmar turn onto DeBaliviere and make a loop around the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Hopefully they will add the streamlined PCC cars that where used from the 1940s until streetcars vanished in 66.

For photos of the streetcars click here or you can view them in person on the north lawn of the history museum or at the east parking lot of Commerce Bank on The Loop. Also a recent article from the Suburban Journals here.

2005-08-11T00:43:00.000-05:00

Tell me St. Louis Sucks Again!

If you really think St. Louis is the biggest shithole on the earth then check out this photo thread at Urban St. Louis let it load it is definitely worth it! If you cannot appreciate this city for what it is after seeing the thread then just leave and enjoy the 12 lane highways in soulless Atlanta.

2005-08-08T22:41:00.000-05:00

Fixing Jefferson Avenue

Over the past 50 years the urban fabric of St. Louis's major throughfares has been marred by "car oriented development" such as strip malls, drive thru fast food restaurants and big box retail. One that sticks out the most is Jefferson Avenue, which is a poor representative of the neighborhoods it cuts through. However two new developments may be the beginning of positive change for Jefferson Avenue. The Fleurs-de-Lis at Benton Park (Shown in the rendering above.) will be situated at Jefferson and Arsenal across from Benton Park. The Fleurs-de-Lis which is being developed by Millennium Restoration who has rehabbed many homes in Benton Park and beyond will house 30 condominium units, street level retail and underground parking, but the best part is that it will be replacing a Hardee’s and a large vacant lot. The other development in planning for Lafayette Square area will be a 25,000-square-foot mixed-use development calls for replacing The old Foodland store at 1605 S Jefferson and a strip mall to the north. Gilded Age will be the developer and according to the July 29, 2005 print edition of the St. Louis Business Journal the city is trying to lure Whole Foods as an anchor tenant for the Project.

2005-08-03T00:26:00.000-05:00

Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection

The Cushman Collection home to 14,500 Kodachrome color slides which where taken between 1938 and 1969 throughout the world. My favorite sections of the collection are the galleries of Chicago, San Francisco, Beirut, New Orleans and of course a few of our humble river city St. Louis and the rest of the World enjoy looking through the collection for hours!

2005-08-01T12:29:00.000-05:00

The New Grand Ave. Bridge

The drawings for the new Grand ave. bridge/viaduct have been released and they can be viewed here. I like the design and it is a huge improvement from what is there now. However I wish we hadn’t torn down the original Grand viaduct back in 1960 seen here

2005-07-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

Downtown Famous, err Macy's will stay

Federated Department Stores Inc which is planing to buy May Co will not close the Downtown department store. However The Famous-Barr name will scrapped along with other May Co. nameplates. I hope they keep they Famous-Barr sing that is on the roof of the Railway Exchange Building. It’s a shame we are losing a name that has been around for a hundred years, but I am gland there will be a department store still in Downtown.

2005-07-28T23:55:00.000-05:00

A Disaster waiting in Hyde Park

Two proposed projects under review by the St. Louis Preservation Board could if approved destroy a major portion of the Hyde Park historic district. The first proposal by Shreves Engine Company with the support of alderman Freeman Bosley Sr. calls for tearing down nine historic residential structures to construct "Security walls" six to eight feet tall around a seven block area. The pdf file for preliminary review of this project can be viewed here.

The other project calls for demolishing three historic commercial buildings located on the 1100 block of Salisbury Avenue to expand a neighboring gas station. This project however seems to have little support by the preservation board. The pdf file can viewed here.

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Please voice your concern about these projects that will severely harm the urban fabric of the Northside to our city leaders.

2005-06-24T21:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome!!

Hello my name is Paul and welcome to my blog. I am a recent Graduate of Marquette High school in Chesterfield, Mo which is where I live This blog will be used as a place too express my opinions on things happening in St. Louis, urban development, politics and ordeals in my personal life.

Paul