Have you ever driven down Vandeventer Avenue between Tower Grove Avenue and Chouteau/Manchester and noticed the steadily decaying former Liberty Bell Oil Building?
The average passerby likely scratches their head and wonders why the façade of a decimated former light industrial building is being propped up.
Others wonder why St. Louis looks like a “war zone”, a term and sentiment that I despise; but, you hear it over and over, especially from visitors and suburbanites.
While I’m sick of this boring narrative, it is healthy to question why we allow things to sit and rot in this city.
Property owners don’t get fined or cited for letting properties decay for months, years, decades.
Citizens who do commit to St. Louis deserve better. But as we know, the city departments and policies are outdated, steeped in malaise and toothless, finger-pointing stagnation. I wish it was different and we could laud the hard work and improvements and modernization of these services and departments, but sadly, as a realist, I cannot. It’d be lying or putting lipstick on a pig and that is not my brand of optimism.
These properties do leave a stain on our city vista. But as we know, in zero to negative growth cities like St. Louis, development takes years and lots of subsidies, even intense environmental remediation in many cases.
Me, I’m fascinated by this building façade/property and the potential it could hold. I hope it will be stabilized before it falls.
I have a dream that utilizes a recently realized suburban concept that is done quite well and is sorely needed in St. Louis proper.
First, a little light history of the Liberty Bell Oil Company building. Back when America was living it up in the Industrial Age, we manufactured things. St. Louis was an engine in those times.
It took oil and lots of it to drive growth. Lubricants, grease and oil helped drive factory production and the automotive boom that America is known for.
Also, houses were heated with oil boilers that created steam heat transmitted through radiators. There were oil companies all over St. Louis, distributing fossil fuels throughout the region.
Liberty Bell Oil was just one of many that provided these services. It dates back to the mid to late 1920s and the façade of the administrative building you see today on Vandeventer was likely built right around 1930.
Both City records on Geo St. Louis and Post-Dispatch/Globe-Democrat clippings corroborate a 1930 build of the façade/building you see today.
The earliest photo documentation of Liberty Bell Oil Company I could find dates back to 1925 from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper. I found a few others from 1927 and 1928, showing that the company existed just prior to the administrative building erection.
There is also a photo available on the Missouri Historical Society website.
With the globalization of manufacturing and modern electric and natural gas technology, the oil needs subsided and eventually faded away.
The property was then used as a truck part and sales operation.
Online city records only date back to the late 1990s, so my leaning will be limited to the late 20th Century.
In the 1990s, Goldstein Truck Parts out of Brighton, IL owned an operation here. They sold to Friendly Truck Sales/Parts in 2006, then again selling in 2010 to Lawrence and Merle Albert and finally in 2014 it was sold to the Lama Family…all of Brighton, IL, likely a string of family members switching hands over the years.
With the trucking operations sunsetting, the property was purchased by Paramount Property Development who were entertaining a food truck park concept which never came to fruition.
Paramount Property Development owns the Liberty Bell building, the planned centerpiece of the project expected to cost more than $2 million. Kyle Miller, Paramount’s chief executive, said he believes Vandeventer will soon resemble the Grove entertainment district three blocks away on Manchester Avenue. Miller said the section of Vandeventer, predominantly an area of light industry, “is definitely prime for redevelopment.”
“In the next five years it will be interesting to see how it will develop,” he added. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Tim Bryant - September, 2016
The building was slated to be razed. Then, it burned in 2018…hmm, here come the Spidey-senses. The fire was considered suspicious per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting where a “vagrant” called in the fire and left the scene during the blaze.
The city's building division told fire officials that the building was slated to be torn down. Online property records show that it is owned by Paramount Property Development. On the east side of the building hangs a sign that says "Friendly Truck Sales & Parts." It used to be Liberty Bell Oil Co. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Kim Bell - June, 2018
For a building that was once storing oil underground, you can image the flammable content and flash point was relatively high. Arson is likely, accidental fire is also within the realm of possibility.
Per the city records, the latest owner is Greenstreet Properties who have an excellent record of getting things done and even moved their headquarters from the suburbs to St. Louis.
Per an environmental, health and safety company called Aton (based in Tower Grove East), remediation was started but stalled (source).
“While the project is still ongoing, past development efforts have stalled and the local and state level. Since Green Street’s acquisition of the property, the redevelopment efforts associated with the property have been applauded by the local and state regulators and stakeholders given the prior adverse environmental impacts at the site and the complexity of the conceptual site model and cleanup. The RAP includes hot spot soil removal, in-situ soil and groundwater treatment, as well as vapor intrusion mitigation consistent with new building design and construction. Development plans include an urban, mixed-use approach with multi-family and retail components.”
The tanks that once existed on the south side of the property, as evidenced in the 1930s drawing, are long gone. But, the underground tank(s) were just recently removed; so some of the tough, expensive remediation has been completed.
Another interesting note in that post from Aton is the mention of Porter Oil, which my amateur clicking could find no relevant info.
After the fire, the retention and stabilization of the facade are a bit…well, as the Post-Dispatch and City said: “suspicious”. But a simple historic reminder, teamed with a largely cleared out property owned by a reasonable candidate for historic tax credit could provide a recipe for saving the façade and redeveloping the property. While I’m no conspiracy theorist, arson has been a tool of developers and property speculators for decades. No accusations here, but any pragmatic thinker weighs these events in the big picture of reality and capitalism.
So the food truck idea has passed, what could work here?
I personally think we can do way better than that.
While a food truck park was an interesting idea, I’ve never understood these places. While 9 Mile in nearby Affton, MO seems to make it work, it doesn’t seem sustainable in St. Louis.
Food trucks work in the suburbs near corporate campuses that have no soul or decent food nearby. You can pull right up and feed employees with decent food. That make sense. But, I don’t really want to go somewhere and eat with a plastic fork and paper/plastic plate at fancy food truck prices. I think the variety is what people like. Further, the concept seems decidedly of our time, but not very sustainable.
As a contrast to the County/burbs, St. Louis has scads of great breweries, restaurants and Food Truck Friday’s in Tower Grove Park, etc. Do we need a food truck park?
I have been to similar spaces in Portland, OR that seem to work pretty well; but again, I think we can do better with this property.
I’d rather have this space provide something that we need badly. Something a bit more memorable, all the while hitting back at the burbs who are trying to use our name and capitalize on the region population for…live music.
Against all odds, we made a recent trip to the far flung suburbs to a rock and roll concert with my kids. I rarely go the burbs to enjoy art and performances, but I will go all the way out there to enjoy bands that me and the kids mutually like. These shared experiences are fewer and farther between these days. So when an opportunity pops up, I’ll make the trek to soulless-ville. The suburbs are taking us on when it comes to music. Hollywood Amphitheater, the Factory and the St. Louis Music Park are taking aim at us as an arts venue. They are coming for our live shows. The latter even co-opted our city’s name when they clearly are not in St. Louis nor something that even resembles St. Louis on any level.
Here’s the big surprise, I loved the Maryland Heights, MO venue. First, I thought I was actually going to the Hollywood Amphitheater, but I was thrilled to learn it was not that shitscape, rather just across a levy near a casino. It was a soulless shitscape for sure, but the venue worked due to the huge floor, covered space and small bleacher section for those who prefer sitting.
It was a great night and dare I admit, venue. The stage was appropriately sized, the overhang had large fans to cool the floor crowd, the stadium seating was metal, allow fans to pound their feet in admiration to the band and the crowd.
It just needs some context and cooler surroundings than a floodplain, dying office park, casino and suburban housing for miles.
“St. Louis” Music Park - Accurately read: Suburban Music Park
There are no options to make it a day or night of a show. It’s get in, get out. We can offer so much more with the nearby breweries, the Grove, Foundry, Armory, etc.
That’s when it hit me, the Liberty Bell Oil building façade could provide an office or concession area for an outdoor venue with train tracks framing it. And, cool venues and amazing neighborhoods right there. Sound? No biggie, there isn’t much housing in this exact area.
Hey St. Louis, let’s reclaim the lost arts venues and live shows from the suburbs.
It could work. I dunno, just a thought.
