Modern Infill And Other Excitement In The Botanical Heights Neighborhood

Inspired by a recent story on nextstl describing the UIC Vandegrove project, I learned that there is much activity in the Botanical Heights neighborhood including the new location for City Garden Montessori School and some housing rehabs and new construction around the area.  I wanted to do a drive by to see the progress for myself.

Holy cow, creative and inspiring infill right here in South City?  Indeed, and it looks dynamite.  St. Louis has so many holes and empty lots, this city NEEDS infill to make streets contiguous and sound.  You know not everyone wants to maintain a 100 year old home.  Some people simply want new and presumably lower maintenance, higher energy efficiency but with city living amenities.  Bring em on.  St. Louis NEEDS more infill of all types...and we can do better than the more traditional suburban designs that already exist in much of Botanical Heights (complete with cut off streets to form cul-de-sacs). 

This is a fascinating part of the city with so much potential to connect itself to the utterly amazing Shaw neighborhood and Missouri Botanical Gardens to the south and southwest and the dwindling (see SLU residential demolitions), but no less inspiring Tiffany neighborhood to the northeast and the burgeoning Forest Park Southeast neighborhood to the northwest.  For whatever reason I love this part of town.  The Willard Home Products and other factories are so well maintained and remind me of the old days when St. Louis MADE things and people lived near factories where they worked.  This area has tons of potential.

I've circled the area of Botanical Heights that is getting a face lift. 

I really like the idea of small chunks of the city undergoing a renovation.  The neighborhood, a trusted/proven developer and an overall plan for several blocks will go a long way toward improving a small bit of the city that has had piecemeal or no development interest at all in the last 10-15 years.  I think this is what St. Louis needs all over from north to south.

Again, note its proximity to Shaw immediately to the south of the I-44 barrier...now we just need to get rid of the out-lived Schoemehl pots and street barriers that were installed to impede access from the formerly problematic McRee Town to the burgeoning Shaw neighborhood.  Now that there is positive activity and a larger school in this area north of I-44, the city needs to reopen the streets that the tax payers pay for to provide...here it comes...access from one neighborhood to another.  Here's an example of the roads cut off at I-44, the unofficial barrier between Shaw and Botanical Heights.

Physical barriers between Shaw and Botanical Heights

To me, the reopening of a street means an area has "made it" and the ghetto behavior that got the roads closed in the first place is now in check. 

Back to the construction work going on in Botanical Heights.  In my opinion, this modern infill looks fantastic against our old brick beauties.  Here's a fact:  they don't build em like they used to.  You simply can't, so our old brick, stone and wood beauties are relics of another era.  Yet many of them have not withstood the test of time and disinvestment & neglect of owners, so there are plenty of empty lots in mostly all neighborhoods.  Some areas such as Lafayette Square and Soulard have seen AMAZING new construction that fit in very well with the old classics...other neighborhoods have not done so well.  I've got nothing against modern and crisp/clean lines...heck, I'd be happy if the empty lots on my block (in a local historic district) were filled in with well-done mod designs like you'll see below.  It's simply a compliment if you ask me.  One era saying to another:  "here's the best design and materials of their respective times living together in harmony".

Check out this nice looking new construction underway in Botanical Heights:

I really like how the bright colors stand out next to the red brick on the older buildings. 

And there are also plenty of old buildings/homes undergoing rehab:

Another good thing to see are the alleys coming back to life with new garages being installed.  So many homes in St. Louis do not have off street parking, and I could see this as a big draw for potential buyers.

And there's evidence of future work that lies ahead:

As well as plenty of other opportunities in the general vicinity:

This new construction in and around McRee Avenue fits in well with the already in-use and/or recently renovated building stock along Tower Grove Avenue:

Notice the narrowing of the street by the addition of a dedicated bike lane and on-street parking.

And if that's not enough to get you excited about this area, there is also the expansion of the school building for City Garden Montessori and the rehab of a former filling station soon to be a wine bar/restaurant:

The former gas station at 4266 McRee in the Botanical Heights neighborhood (old McRee Town) is currently under a $400,000 rehab into a wine bar named Olio. It will be attached via structural hyphen to an adjacent home to the east on McRee, which will house a restaurant named Elaia. The restaurant and wine bar will be curated by Ben Poremba, co-owner of artisan meat shop Salume Beddu.

This project is a sub-set of the larger Botanical Grove development, in which Urban Improvement Construction has set about improving the once forlorn 4200 block of McRee with rehabs and new homes. The development also includes the stretch of Tower Grove just north of McRee, where a new bakery (Chouquette) is set to open soon and where City Garden Montessori School is set to move and expand. (source)

Check out the work being done on the restaurant buildings:

And the City Garden Montessori school complete with thoughtful placement of new street trees, landscaping and parking:

So go swing by and see for yourself the excitement under way near Tower Grove and McRee.  I will update my neighborhood blog on Botanical Heights to reflect these amazing changes.

St. Louis: Brick City Becoming Beer City...Again

In passing I heard a local news story on one of those bets the Mayors of San Francisco and St. Louis made over who will win the 2012 National League Championship Series. 

The Mayor of the losing city will change his Twitter profile picture to the logo of the winning team for a day. Also, the losing Mayor will send food and beverages traditionally associated with the respective cities so the winning Mayor can invite the community into City Hall for a party to celebrate. Mayor Lee will send dim sum and Anchor Steam Beer. Mayor Slay will send St. Louis barbecue, toasted ravioli and a court of St. Louis brews, led by the King of Beers.  source

In the couple of seconds that took place before naming what the STL mayor would offer up, I was thinking what beer the mayor would choose from to represent our city...there are so many.  Then they said he would offer up several local beers.  Wow, how cool...

several

beers.  San Francisco isn't exactly a beer city...but we are.

I love the brewing history of St. Louis.  I love how the German immigrants lagered beer in the caves under our fine city in the days prior to refrigeration. They wanted to make beer like they had at home and keep their European traditions alive in the new country...and St. Louis was and still is a beer brewing heavy in the United States.  There were many breweries throughout the city and taverns on almost every neighborhood corner.  And with the influx of Irish, there were plenty of loyal customers (ba dum dum).

Ghost signs of these former breweries can be found all over the city:

Anyhow, I love how the Anheuser-Busch brewery was part of growing up near St. Louis.  The AB song

("Here Comes The King")

and the Clydesdales are synonymous with Cardinal baseball and the memory of Jack Buck and Mike Shannon together on the mighty KMOX meld very nicely into a lot of great memories.

I love smelling the hops in my neighborhood when the wind is just right.  It's simply a great traditional beer city....especially American lagers.

But the thing is, it's gotten exponentially better in the last 5 or so years.  If you like craft beer you are in heaven.  We have (if my numbers are correct) 9 microbrews in addition to the big one on Pestalozzi Street to choose from right here in St. Louis.  Did you know since the In-Bev takeover, we now brew Becks in St. Louis City?  How cool is that? 

And if that's not enough, there are another 2 micro breweries slated for opening in the near future.  Per a recent

Post-Dispatch article

 by the great "Hip Hops" PD reporter Evan Benn,

Alpha Brewing

is set to open by February, 2013 at 1409 Washington Boulevard in the Downtown West Neighborhood.  Here are a few words from the 26 year old owner Derrick Langeneckert:

Owner and head brewer Derrick Langeneckert, 26, a St. Louis native, says he plans to begin build out immediately on what will be a small craft brewery and modern-style tasting room with seating for about 60 people...Langeneckert chose a location downtown because he used to live there (he's since moved to south St. Louis) and wished he had a brewery within walking distance.  "Urban Chestnut is really more midtown than downtown, and 4 Hands is closer to Soulard. And Morgan Street is on Laclede's Landing, which is a different beast entirely. I just wanted something I could get to without having to get in my car."  His space is located in the back of 1409 Washington Avenue, facing City Museum. The front part of the building houses a credit union.

Another,

Heavy Riff Brewing

, is set to open in the awesome

Clayton/Tamm Neighborhood

of Dogtown at 6413 Clayton Avenue. 

So add that to the already existing list:

4-Hands Brewing

in

the LaSalle Neighborhood

Anheuser Busch InBev

in

Soulard

Buffalo Brewing

in Midtown

Civil Life

in

Tower Grove South

Morgan Street

in

Downtown

Perennial Artisan Ales

in the Patch/

Carondelet

Schlafly Tap Room

in

Downtown West

Six Row

in

Midtown

Square One

in

Lafayette Square

Urban Chestnut Brewing Company

in Midtown

Wow, what an impressive lineup; am I missing any?  It's hard to keep up, heck I haven't even tried all these yet.  How many other cities can claim 12 breweries in a city of ~320,000 people?  Many of the smaller micros are now being distributed in bottles including Perennial, UCBC and Six Row.  The suburbs and surrounding areas of St. Louis have a few as well:  O'Fallon, 2nd Shift, Schlafly Bottleworks, Crown Valley, etc.

What other American city has this kind of beer scene going on?  Boulder?  Milwaukee?  I think the Brick City takes the cake as the nation's Beer City capital.  Cheers to St. Louis!  Cheers to all the smart, dedicated young men and women working so hard to open small businesses in the city of St. Louis that give our city a feel and an identity.  Cheers to all those who support the locals!  Cheers to the tasting rooms and beer gardens popping up all over town that give us unique and soulful PLACES to hang out.  Thanks for choosing the city...Beer City U.S.A.

The New Mississippi River Bridge and Tucker Boulevard

The new Mississippi River bridge, ramps and surface roads are taking shape just north of Downtown in the Near North Riverfront neighborhood.  With my curiosity piqued by a recent blog post on UrbanReviewSTL related to the insane amounts of surface parking lots lining Tucker Blvd. where traffic from the new bridge will be routed south into the city, I decided to take a quick ride over there to check on the progress myself.

This is a historic project for our region and even our country.  You don't get many opportunities to witness construction of a bridge of this magnitude during a lifetime, so it seemed like more photos are in order to help document this work for future generations to look back on.  For more great info and photos of this project, click here for a NextSTL story by Herbie Markwort.  I am fascinated by photos of bridge construction, especially the elegant national treasure that is the Eads bridge:

A trip to the riverfront will provide you with excellent views of the massive, soon to be, cable-stayed bridge currently under construction.  This beauty will consist of two towers, with cables supporting the bridge deck.  The main span of the bridge will be 1,500 feet in length, with a total span of 2,803 feet.  Cables will stretch from the bridge deck to the tops of two A-shaped towers, which will reach 435 feet above I-70. According to the Illinois and Missouri Departments of Transportation, the new bridge’s main span will consist of 1,000 miles of 0.6-inch-diameter stay-cable strand, enough for nearly two round trips from St. Louis to Chicago. Nearly 15,000 tons of structural steel will be used, along with 8,600 tons of reinforcing steel. Some 90,600 cubic yards of concrete will be used in the foundation, deck slab, and towers. Upon completion, the bridge will be the third longest in the United States. (sources) 

This bridge is no joke and it should look fantastic, especially if lit up at night.  The towers are visible from many different vantage points within the city and the cables are being installed now.  I'm glad we'll have something special here as opposed to another Poplar Street Bridge clone which is as ho-hum and utilitarian as a bridge can be.

So what are we going to name this new modern marvel?  How about the Mound Cities Bridge?  I love the connection to the Cahokians who erected mounds on both sides of the river.  And, Mound Street runs parallel to the ramps that enter St. Louis.

It seems like it would be a missed opportunity if we didn't honor modern-day St. Louis' and Cahokia's connection to the remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico circa A.D. 700 - 1400.

Another great call would be something to do with Lewis and Clark or the Louisiana Purchase.  You can't really call it the Lewis & Clark Bridge though, because the other cable-stayed beauty to the north in Alton, Illinois is named the Clark Bridge.

I read of someone else who suggested the Mary Meachum Freedom Bridge which would be another great call for memorializing our rich local history.

In the early morning hours of May 21, 1855 a small group of runaway slaves and their guides crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis, attempting to reach a route to freedom through Illinois. Accompanying them was Mary Meachum, a free woman of color and the widow of a prominent African American clergyman. Even today, the activities of the Underground Railroad remain largely shrouded in mystery. This event is remarkably different because the group was apprehended and, since the slaves belonged to the prominent St. Louisan Henry Shaw, a detailed story of the escape was covered in local newspapers. Thus was preserved for posterity a rare example, with exact location, of an Underground Railroad event in Missouri – in fact, the first documented site in the state. In December 2001, the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing was dedicated as part of the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. (source) 

Anything unique to the area would please me.  However no such luck to date.  So far politician-supported names thrown out include "Veteran's Memorial Bridge" (which the MLK bridge used to be called), Ronald Reagan Bridge (he was from Dixon, Illinois...albeit > 250 miles from STL), "Jerry F. Costello-William Lacy 'Bill' Clay Sr. Veterans Memorial Bridge" (which just rolls off the tongue) was recently shot down or "Women Veterans Memorial Bridge".  Seems like we can do better, no?.  But at the end of the day, people will call it whatever they want.  You know the PSB is officially named the Bernard F. Dickmann bridge...but no one calls it that.

Anyhow, at an estimated cost of $667M, the new bridge was designed to reroute I-70 off of the Poplar Street Bridge which currently carries I-44, I-55, I-64, I-70 and U.S. 40.  The deck will carry 4 lanes of traffic and will be able to support another lane in each direction.  The bridge should be open to traffic as early as 2014 and full completion is slated for 2015.  The new bridge will forever change the skyline of our great city; and could be one of the most photographed/iconic structures in the region.

The bridge enters St. Louis near Cass Avenue and will take you northwest on the existing I-70 lanes or southeast through the city eventually spilling onto Tucker Boulevard.Tucker Boulevard or Twelfth Street has been closed north of Washington Blvd. as long as I can remember.  The former Illinois Terminal rail tunnel that went under Tucker was filled in with huge styrofoam blocks and is still under construction.

This high profile stretch of road that divides Downtown from Downtown West has been an official city street since 1844.

Its name was changed from Twelfth Street to Twelfth Boulevard in 1932. It became Tucker Boulevard in 1979 in honor of former mayor Raymond R. Tucker. (source)

I agree with Steve Patterson's conclusion that the glut of surface parking lots on both sides of Tucker is less than an inviting stretch of road and infill is greatly needed to make this look like a functioning urban street.  This used to be a vibrant section of the city and has been whittled away over the years to make way for get in/get out auto commuters, especially the Post Dispatch employees. 

Anyhow, projects this big don't come around very often, so the following is my attempt at capturing some photos of the work while still under construction and adding to the many others who are interested enough to photo document this historic project.

For many first time STL visitors, the trip down Tucker will be their first impression. The massive surface parking lots and dead zones are part of the true picture of Downtown St. Louis in its current state...until you get toward Washington Boulevard when things start to look like a real city.  However, if commuters and visitors choose to look up beyond the dead asphalt expanses, you are afforded some nice views of the city skyline. 

And if you are a pedestrian, there are plenty of careful details within the new infrastructure to catch your eye.

From granite curbs to island/median plantings:

To many new street trees and easement plantings, curb bump outs, drop off lanes for buses/taxis/cars and creative/non-standard paver stone patterns in the sidewalks:

To new pedestrian crossings, streetlights and signage:

The bridges are getting new fencing and the street lights are varied with a mix of modern and faux classic.  I like it, you?

Anyhow, take a walk or ride north of Washington Boulevard and witness for yourself this transformational project.  Hopefully investors too will note the opportunities of many, many more commuters and visitors entering the city on Tucker and will scoop up some vacant or under-utilized property to make this part of St. Louis part of St. Louis again!  Instead of some fast food row or other suburban ho-hum generica.

Yet, this project is by no means complete, so we can still hope for more sustainable investment in this part of St. Louis.  We have another example of the "clean slate" mentality that so many developers think is the ultimate necessity for new projects, only time will tell if it anything transformational really happens.

So far only McDonalds has ponied up with a typical suburban drive thru junk food restaurant.

Signs In The City

We need more metal and neon signs in this town.  They are vibrant and cool.  Prominent signs get people's attention and can even be

landmarks

. 

Big, artistic signs say BIG CITY; they let you know that the place/brand is important and noteworthy.  The

Covenant Blu/Grand Center

neighborhood has done a great job with exciting signs both old and new.  Look no further than the Big Brothers/Big Sisters sign that wraps around the recently renovated building at Grand and Lindell.  Then you've got the Fabulous Fox Theatre and many others in the area.  See what I mean: 

photo source (B.E.L.T.)

photo source

 (B.E.L.T.)

Hotel Ignacio before and after prominent signage:

photo source

 (Count On Downtown)

City Diner jumped in with a fantastic new addition to a prominent corner of the neighborhood:

Notice how the neon lettering says "City Diner At The Fox"?  That means permanency and investment to me.  It means the Fox is here to stay and is a landmark, and City Diner is putting their hard earned money up to be part of the city and its surroundings. 

With KDHX and KWMU moving to Grand Center, why not put up some awesome signage there as well?  Heck, KDHX's new building even has the framework already in place on the rooftop.  Check out this photo-shopped vision of what could be:

It's simple:  Big city = big signs. 

We have lost some really prominent signs over the years, the most recent being the Globe Democrat sign on North Tucker.

St. Louis was once home the Globe-Democrat Newspaper which was in existence from 1852-1986.  It began operations on July 1, 1852 as the Missouri Democrat, which later merged with the St. Louis Globe. It was St. Louis' conservative daily newspaper for much of its long run.  Political commentator, syndicated columnist, author, politician, speechwriter, and broadcaster Pat Buchanan launched his career at the Globe-Democrat in 1961 (at the age of 23) as an editor.

St. Louis was once a great, influential city and the Globe was part of the city for over 130 years.  It was built to last and the sign they put on their most recent building on North Tucker Boulevard was bold as well. 

I witnessed the sign being dismantled and hauled away recently. 

Another great sign gone, another great part of our history erased.

New signs are needed to make bold streetscapes that people recognize and identify with.  They bring vibrancy and train the eye upward to the amazing architectural details our forefathers graced their buildings with.

I would like to see our city's myriad of ghost signs get repainted to their original splendor too.  (I would like to start up a business and do this if anyone wants to partner and research if there's a market)  I'd also like to see more businesses with cool signage.  Now I realize these are not cheap, and with the huge amount of turnover of small businesses, I can see why a new business like Big Shark or Left Bank Books entering a new market Downtown would not want to invest in a sign before they get a good understanding of the business they will do in their new locations.  However, if they are making a profit and plan on being part of the city, let's see some eye-catching big signs to mark their territory and get people's attention.  Be part of the neighborhood and the street scene!

St. Louis needs more artists painting signs on buildings.  St. Louis needs to make it as easy as possible for business owners to erect huge, attention-getting, artistic signs.

We deserve it.

Some facts before I move on...

I wanted to get some facts on the table before I move on to some topics like regionalism and cross-county cooperation. 

Whenever I say 'St. Louis', I mean it literally.  I don't mean the combined statistical region, I don't mean our TV market, I don't mean Cardinal Nation, I don't mean unincorporated St. Louis County, I mean St. Louis...the city, you know?  The place with the Arch and the Big Muddy to the east, Forest Park and Skinker Boulevard to the west, The bluffs along the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers & the old Chain of Rocks Bridge to the north and the St. Louis Skatium to the south (alright can you think of a better landmark between St. Louis and Bella Villa or Lemay, Missouri?)  Klebs Clothing or the River Des Peres would be righteous choices as well...

Anyhow, I don't point out these facts to further divide us or to be contentious in any way.  If I come across like that it's because I'm fed up with the fact that the majority of people I talk to DO NOT GET THIS.  I simply want the truth to be realized.  I am not drawing a line in the sand and saying St. Louis (my favorite city in the region) should separate itself from it's less exciting, but much more well-monied/well-educated influential neighbors.  It's actually quite the opposite.  I simply want to speak honestly and accurately about our region and my city.  In order to do that you have to face some facts:

• St. Louis City is its own County as well. St. Louis is not part of St. Louis County. It is in St. Louis City County (I kid you not, I learned this the first time I used Turbo Tax to file...it's true).
• There are 90 cities in St. Louis County (St. George just dis-incorporated) and huge swaths of unincorporated land, none of which can accurately be called St. Louis.
• Each city in St.Louis County has its own political, tax and other city entities. They have nothing to do with St. Louis.
• If you live in St. Louis County and work there, you don't pay any St. Louis income or property taxes.
• If you live in St. Louis County or elsewhere in the region and work in St. Louis, you pay 1% earning tax to St. Louis.
• If you work in St. Louis County or elsewhere but live in St. Louis, you pay an additional 1% income tax earnings tax to St. Louis.
• If you live in St. Louis County you cannot vote on St. Louis issues (mayor, taxes, reducing the # of aldermen, etc); and vice versa.
• As of July, 2011 official Census data, St. Louis had a population of 318,069.
• St. Louis is the 58th largest city in the United States, wedged right between Santa Ana and Riverside, California. (source)
• The Greater St. Louis combined statistical area's (CSA) population of 2,878,255 and is the 16th-largest CSA in the country, the fourth-largest in the Midwest. The Greater St. Louis area is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri. 
• St. Louis has the 62nd greatest population density/square mile of land area, wedged right between Erie, Pennsylvania and Detroit, Michigan.
• In the late 1960's the city and county voted for a special Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District to raise money based on property taxes in the county AND city to go toward funding essential cultural institutions in St. Louis.  The Art Museum, Zoo and Science Center were included; Botanical Gardens were added in 1983 and the History Museum was added in 1988 (source).   
• On March 23, 2007, the Missouri State Board of Education ended its accreditation of the St. Louis Public Schools and simultaneously created a new management structure for the district. A three-person Special Administrative Board was created, with members selected by the Missouri governor, the mayor of St. Louis, and the president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. The current board has authority to operate the district through 2013. The local school board remains in place but has no administrative authority over the district.  Cities in St. Louis County have their own school districts, distinctly separate from St. Louis'.
• St. Louis does not have local control of its police force.  St. Louis County and many municipalities have their own police and fire depts.

A brief break from the facts into opinion:  what are the 2 biggest issues facing St. Louis?  Many will tell you the schools and crime.  Hmmm, we don't have local control of either...

Similarly clustered up, St. Louis runs the suffering Lambert International Airport located in unincorporated St. Louis County between the cities of Bridgeton and Berkeley, Missouri.   The state voted down our ability to lure in international cargo business with the 2nd largest economy in the world:  China (

source

).  We are being held back as a region by competing interests and entities that should be feverishly working together to stem the bleeding and disinvestment.  We have external interests more powerful than our own controlling many of our key local interests.  I feel the county and state work against St. Louis more often than not.  That needs to change.

But when we

do

work together, the results can be astounding.  For example, the Zoo, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens are world-class institutions.  Every property owner in St. Louis and St. Louis County should be proud of there contribution to these amazing places.  This is the premier example of x-county monetary cooperation that I can think of.  Another prime example of x-county fruit is the

Great Rivers Greenway District

, funded by a 1/10th of 1 cent sales tax raised in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County, which generates $10 million annually. We can all be proud of that one too, and the bike trails seen throughout the city and county unite us as opposed to dividing us.

Maybe I'm in the minority in thinking that this region is drastically over engineered from a political standpoint...but the simple fact is, both St. Louis and St. Louis County are losing population.  People are voting with their feet and vacating this region at alarming rates.

Here are some other Midwestern cities and how we compare:

• Indianapolis, IN #12 in population @ 827,609
• Columbus, OH #15 in population @ 797,434
• Nashville, TN #26 in population @ 609,644
• Oklahoma City, OK #30 in population @ 591,967
• Kansas City, MO #37 in population @ 463,202
• St. Louis, MO #58 in population @ 318,069

We are a tiny city bleeding residents.  We are a large metropolitan region that is fractionalized more than maybe any region in our country.  The political systems are bloated and the people are stubborn.  We are an

inbred

(read: promotes from within entreched ranks) region that doesn't like change and is wary of new comers and progressive thought patterns.  We're now seeing where that is getting us.  2010 Census data indicate that the mighty County of St. Louis has posted its first population loss in its short history.  The city is bleeding, the formerly shiny all white suburbs are aging and showing signs of slipping infrastructure, unsafe streets, mounting debt, etc.  The County population is wicking out to St. Charles and other green fields to find cheaper new construction and less pesky poor people, with their social ills and minorities.  We have to fix this.  We need to be honest about where we live and how services get paid for and who foots the bill.  We need to embrace our problems and assets as a unified region, not a bunch of petty little suburban fiefdoms and one formerly grand city.  We need to become the biggest city in Missouri.

Understanding these facts are an important place to start.

I am not from St. Louis, so I had to learn these things myself.  And don't believe the Interstate signs sprinkled throughout St. Louis County, they too are misguided in false local lore, as the "Welcome to St. Louis" signs exist miles from St. Louis' actual borders:

I hope these facts are clear and provide readers with the proper context when thinking about and debating regional issues in an honest manor.

Donnybrook-II The Next Generation

I am a big fan of the locally produced show "Donnybrook" on public television station KETC Channel 9. 

Per the

KETC website

:

The show that gives new meaning to the word “debate.”

Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., Followed by Donnybrook…Your Turn at 7:30 p.m.

don-ny-brook (don’e-brook), n. [slang], a rough, rowdy fight or free-for-all

See what happens when five quick-witted, highly opinionated St. Louis journalists disagree on tough topics. This is not another dry, tame talk show. On Donnybrook, the issues are hot and so is the discussion. It’s a high-energy, no-holds-barred debate on the week’s news topics. With tongue-in-cheek, Donnybrook’s subtitle is “polite conversation on the issues.” With host Charlie Brennan, the conversation is highly opinionated and not always “polite.” The panel of regulars tackles tough issues and controversial subjects. The opinions are well-informed and widely divergent.

I like that they are discussing local issues and try to maintain a broad range of opinionated panelists.  It can be very entertaining.

But, after tuning in (off and on) for several years now, I can't help but think it would be fun to expand on the local show and have a sort of Donnybrook-II...The Next Generation.  One with even more emphasis based on St. Louis issues as opposed to the more regional or statewide topics.  An urban-progressive donnybrook so to speak.  I take from the next generation...Generation Y.

I believe the current panelists are all Baby Boomers.  And while I appreciate their perspectives, I think the next generation in their 20s and 30s (ones who want to live in a vibrant city) are the keys to St. Louis' future.  They will be the ones that move back in large enough numbers to maybe, just maybe, bring us to our first population gain in over 60 years.  I hear many of the baby boomers in St. Louis talking about why something

won't

work in St. Louis, and constantly pointing to events of the past 50 years in STL as to why something will fail now.  Now I get it, you have to look to the past to understand the future.  But you've got to admit, we've had among the worst 50 years in the history of any American city. We've been beaten, battered and left as broken.  I don't blame the boomers, they've seen St. Louis get worse and worse, decade after decade.  We've had failure of leadership and massive population decreases and a beautifully crafted urban city destroyed and abandoned...all in 50 years or less. 

But, maybe St. Louis is on the mend.  Maybe the more optimistic generation Y'ers will be able to pick up the pieces, forget the worst years in our history and be more prone to look forward more often than not to create a city they want to live in, not the one the boomers watched go to pot during their lifetime.

Back to the current Donnybrook panelists; do they represent current thought patterns in St. Louis?  Do they even live and have the right to vote in the city?  Based on the bios below, at least one (Wendy Wiese) does not:

Charlie Brennan

Charles Brennan is in charge of radio station KMOX’s top-rated weekday mid-mornings. Brennan has been voted St. Louis’ favorite talk show host four times in the Readers Polls of the Riverfront Times. In 1998, he was named Media Person of the Year by the St. Louis Press Club. Brennan was named one of America’s top 25 “most influential radio talk show hosts” in USA Today. Brennan has worked at KMOX since 1988, after working in Boston radio beginning in 1982. He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and a graduate of Boston College. Brennan assumed the role of host in January 2010.

Ray Hartmann

Martin Duggan gave Ray Hartmann his first newspaper job as a copy boy at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Surprised? Don’t be. Despite the chasm in their political views, the two seeming adversaries know friendship isn’t limited by such boundaries. Hartmann founded The Riverfront Times in 1977 and with partner Mark Vittert, sold it in 1998. Today, Hartmann Publishing also owns St. Louis Magazine. Hartmann is a native of St. Louis and a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Bill McClellan

Letters to Channel 9 about Bill McClellan comment as much about his clothing as about his political opinions. Whether or not viewers regard McClellan as a sartorial icon, his style is as firmly entrenched as his love for his hometown baseball team, the Chicago Cubs. He joined the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1980, shortly after moving to St. Louis. He and his wife, a graduate of Washington University’s dental school, have been married since December 29, 1979, and have two children.

Alvin Reid

Alvin Reid is lead sports columnist for the Globe-Democrat, the latest stop in a 26-year journalism career that has taken him from Danville, Ill, to Little Rock, Ark., to Lansing, Mich., to Washington, D.C. and finally back to his hometown of St. Louis. Reid spent 12 years at the St. Louis American, where he twice was honored by the Missouri Press Association as Best Sports Columnist. He also is a member of the 101 ESPN radio staff and in January 2010 became a regular member of Donnybrook.

Wendy Wiese

Wendy Wiese has anchored newscasts, interviewed local, state and national newsmakers, narrated award-winning documentaries, and has been a fixture in St. Louis radio for more than 20 years. A recipient of Ohio State Radio and Television News Directors and Missouri Broadcasters Association awards and a graduate of Visitation High School and Fontbonne College, Wendy is active with Catholic Charities and a board member of the Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club. She lives in Chesterfield with husband Chris and daughters Kate and Maggie

This panel is made up of very experienced and respected journalists and broadcasters.  It's a good group of people and I like the mix of opinions; but, I'm wondering if a "Donnybrook-II:  The Next Generation" could draw from a broader pool of the hoi polloi...a more "word from the streets" take on debating St. Louis issues.

Maybe this would be a nice panel:

• successful young city business owner
• libertarian-bent, charter school loving, voucher wanting, govt-shunning person
• fed-up ex-city suburbanite; but still loves the Lou, just had to leave though
• unabashed cup half full city lover with heart on sleeve
• preservationist
• urbanity/density or death type
• regionalism advocate = consolidation of regional political entities and boundaries or die!
• city government insider willing to speak to the challenges of the status quo/baby-boomer/entrenched nepotism laden govt and what is needed to lead us toward brighter future

See where I'm going?

It would be nice to see a broader mix of people invited into the discussion as well.  Occasionally allow the host to invite experts and guest panelists based on the topic of discussion.

I'd also like to see the younger generation take on some of the subjects that really are affecting the city, but the older guard may consider too taboo or risky based on their generational purview.  Think how much different baby boomers and Gen Y see the issues of race, suburbs and quality of life...very, very different.  Wouldn't that be fun? 

How about a topic about immigrants in St. Louis.  What's it like to be a teen or young person growing up in an English as second language family living in St. Louis?  Invite a Bosnian-American, a Vietnamese-American, a Hispanic-American, a Somali-American for lively discussions. 

Or, being black in 21st Century St. Louis:  get a privately educated, de-seg educated, public school educated, etc mix of people from all over St. Louis City to speak up on the topic.

What's it like to be a white urban pioneer in Hyde Park, St. Louis Place or Old North St. Louis?

How about some more gritty subjects that get swept under the rug:  high rates of black on black murders, STL gonorrhea and syphilis rates among the tops in the nation, gentrification, what do county kids think of city kids and vice versa, why aren't there more indie/neighborhood businesses in St. Louis, why can't we retain the top educated people from SLU and Wash U in the city, top 10 FAILS from the previous generation...on and on...

As a Gen-X'er raised by boomers in the burbs/small town America, I think it would be fascinating to sit back and watch and listen to intelligent, out spoken people from Gen-Y in their 20s and 30s talking it up on the St. Louis we see now.  They are the ones who will bring meaningful change to St. Louis.  They are the ones with more optimism and less guilt and bagage.  They seem to have a more can-do spirit. 

I want to see their Donnybrooks.  How about it KETC?

Child Rearing In The City or Cheers to Dubb Nubb and SCOSAG For Bringing It All Back Home

Art is important to kids.  They need it in their lives as much as they need sports.  Fact.  The arts challenge kids to use their minds in creative and personal ways that sports don't always bring.  I'm not knocking kids sports as they are important, healthy and can be a hell of a lot of fun too.

I'm basing much of this opinion on the fact that my kids have been involved in several youth sports across several different organizations.  And, in the not too distant past, they went to a summer arts camp for a couple years called

SCOSAG

in Tower Grove Park. It wasn't cheap for sure (thankfully, the grandparents subsidized the venture), but my wife was staunchly in support of it. So, we sign em up, they have fun and it was creative and unique and they love Tower Grove Park as a result of going there. During the course of this summer camp, they discovered a part in the park called "the tree's knees" which is a grove of mature Bald Cypress against a man-made creek that flows through the park where you can race little boats down. It's one of those things that are very personal and I won't try to explain why, but parents likely know what I'm talking about.  It's simply got a good vibe and Tower Grove Park is now the backdrop to some very fond memories of the kids and us as parents as well.

Anyhow here's the crux of this post, and why, based on having experienced both sports and arts related kid activities, I feel more rewarded with a musical memory that I will always carry, instead of the fleeting charge I may get out of a goal or a base hit or a win (although that's a lot of fun too).

One day my kids came home from the camp with this hand drawn picture. I didn't know what the hell it was, but I liked it. It reminded me of a record cover with a track list. After awhile I learned what it was. The kids were talking over and over about a band that came and played at SCOSAG. They loved it, they sang it and hummed it and the melodies were subconsciously growing on me. I assumed it was kids music and I must confess I don't usually enjoy kid music, so I was naturally resistant.  I have heard Barney and others that could make the Dalai Lama wanna shank a mutha. But my oldest who had taken a recent interest in music was starting to gain my respect. He had to have '

Harnessed in Slums

' as the opening track on his new mixed tape, so I started listening to him a little more. He showed me the CD he wanted me to listen to. The artwork was similar to the picture he drew and is now framed in his room:

We were heading down to southwest Missouri on a long drive, so my wife brought the CD and insisted that we listen to it.  So I popped it in the mini-van CD player with full skepticism and hovered my elitist finger over the eject button. The first track caught my full attention, 2nd did too, by the 3rd track, the back of the van was rocking and I recognized the melodies I'd been hearing filtered through 3, 5 and 7 year old ears...this was not kids music by any means, but it was created by teenagers. 

Then it happened, track 4

'Soldier'

stopped me in my tracks and wife and I had a good, tearful moment in the front row of the van. Now, I'm a softy when it comes to lit, poetry and song writing (the greatest of all writing)...and I don't mind admitting that, music just has that power. I also have a soft spot for soldiers/veterans, especially ones who were forced (read drafted, not volunteered) to kill or be killed in war. So the song resonated and made me think of A Farewell to Arms, and All Quiet on the Western Front...World War I in general. It stopped me in my damn tracks. Everyone in the front row of seats was teared up, a quick view in the rear view mirror revealed the youngest two mouths agog staring plaintively out the windows worried about why mom and dad were upset and taking in what a sad lyric can do to people. The third row of seats had the oldest one teared up too. He got it, I got it, we all got it and marveled in the power of youth and the written/sung word.

Dubb Nubb is the band, they are from the suburbs of St. Louis. And they were teenagers when this album was recorded.  They are part of the underrated local music scene, they are now part of our life and experience and everything else. Here's the song I'm talking about:

You've got to read the lyrics:

When the war was over

I went home and cried into my pillow until dawn

I put my gun in the drawer

Sold my old clothes and bought some new ones, put them on

I lost my best friend in the battle

I watched him fall dead right into the snow

I lost me too much blood

But I bandaged up my wounds so nobody will know

It's alright, it's alright

I could have yelled surrender, but I thought that I could win the fight

It's alright, it's alright it's my own fault

I've been holding on to my own lies to tight

When the war was over,

I couldn't sleep with all these nightmares of my past inside my brain

I didn't win the medal

All I got are all these memories all traced across my face

It's alright, it's alright

I could have yelled surrender, but I thought that I could win the fight

It's alright, it's alright, it's not my fault

All these bullets have impaired my sight

Some day I'll go back to the battle ground

And cry for what was murdered, what was mine.

Let me say these words take me to somewhere very, very few words do. It's a WWI, Civil War imagery that gets conjured up and an amazingly sensitive take on a soldier's story, and to be transported to that place through the interventions of my child...that's good stuff.

This good parental memory would not have been possible without my kids experience at SCOSAG and seeing Dubb Nubb play for them.  My kids' opportunities growing-up and being introduced to so many different cultures, and experiences of sound and sight and taste and people and places, I feel are opportunities that are enhanced by my choice to be a city dweller and raise kids right here in St. Louis vs. the calm/staid cul-de-sacs of a suburban municipality. I like art and it's influence on our lives, and how St. Louis elicits thought and emotions on nearly every block.

I am sharing my joys and interests with the kids to the best of my ability; but as they grow, they share and teach me new stuff as well. I hope that when it is all said and done, they appreciate these gifts and broad experiences, and make the choice to hand them on to their own kids.  I hope that St. Louis is part of their experience and they realize how lucky they are to live in such a beautiful place with so many caring, dedicated, creative people in their midst.  Artists inspire me daily in this city...

The effect of this song didn't wear off, it still means a lot after a couple years.  So, I had to find out more about the song and get the scoop from the writer herself.  I was able to 

catch up with 1/2 of Dubb Nubb - Delia Rainey, who wrote the song.  Note that this was not a live interview, rather a list of

questions sent

/

answered

, so the flow is not interactive and conversational.  Anyhow, here are her replies to my questions:

I understand that you wrote the lyrics, is that correct?

Yes, I did.

Has this song had the same effect on your friends and other fans?

'Soldier' is definitely a big favorite among my family members and other people who have been listening to us for a while, since we don't play it at shows very much any more. Every time we do play it, everyone gets super quiet and people really pay attention. We really only play it at intimate acoustic shows where this is possible. 

How does Soldier stand out to you personally compared to the other songs on the record?

I wrote Soldier by myself while desperately heartbroken in my bedroom. It came to me very organically and was probably written in about an hours time. For me, it truly is the most genuinely written songs on the record.

Is the soldier in the song triumphant in beating war and getting over his past; or is it a depressing tale of having lost innocence and a piece of his life lost forever?

Definitely the second one. The Soldier in the song is a metaphor for me trying to 'soldier through' a really tough time in a relationship, and not being able to fix it in the end, or 'win the fight'. It's always funny to reveal to people who really love this song that it is about a breakup with my high school boyfriend when I was 16, which is super silly and embarrassing now that I am 20!

Was there special consideration to sequence it as the 4th track, right in the middle? It’s between two really upbeat happy songs.

I have no clue why we would've chosen to put it there, we made that album so long ago! We re-recorded Soldier for our most recent full-length with glockenspiel and violin added (Sunrise Sleepy Eyed 2011), and put it in a similar spot in the middle of the track list (track 5), but I think putting an emotional song like that in a the middle of a record is a good turning point; 'moving on' to the happier times with the next song!

On to the melody. Did you also come up with the melody? Was it written on piano or guitar? I love whistling as a melody maker, and the whistling fits this song perfectly.

Thank you!! I did write the melody. I am horrible at guitar, (and have since moved on to ukulele), but back when I wrote this song I was still pretty into playing a little kid learn-to-play guitar, and that's how this song was written. I think I get this from my Dad, but I am always whistling little tunes, and putting them into songs! I'm really fond of Andrew Bird's quote that whistling should be considered as it's own musical instrument.

Is that a mandolin? Was it single note plucked? Was that played by you guys?

Yeah, that's Hannah on mandolin. She is amazing at stringed instruments - she has been playing classical guitar since she was 10 and it's now her music major in college. She says, "I was tremolo-ing on one note at a time"

Was it recorded live together, or was it recorded on multiple tracks and put back together?

For this whole record, we recorded each song in one take, and all together! It also only took us about 3 hours to record the WHOLE album! It was crazy. We never do this anymore with our other recordings, so The Best Game Ever is a special one.

In the last 2 lines are the lyrics: “Some day I'll go back to the battle ground

And cry for what was murder, what was mine.” Or “cry for what was mine, what was mine”?

You were close!! The line is: "cry for what was murdered, what was mine."

Finally, since my blog is a STL centric one, I’ve got to somehow tie this back to my audience. 

Are you from St. Louis? If so, what neighborhood?

Yes!! We are third generation St. Louisans, and grew up in Olivette

What’s it like gaining traction in the music community here? Was it hard to get gigs when you were in high school?

We were lucky to be a part of a really supportive group of high school musicians from around the county that had house shows and stuff, and that's how we found our support group. For the release of Best Game Ever, we played on Cherokee Street at Cranky Yellow, and ever since then, Cherokee Street has been our favorite place to play - mostly at Foam Coffee. Especially our last year of high school, we were surprised by how many shows we were able to play. Some of our biggest shows were at Firebird and the Billiken Club, and we got the honor to play at the RFT music showcase and also Loufest after winning the high school battle of the bands!! Because of school priorities and our parents worrying, we tried to only play one show a month in high school.

Do you think your sound and writing style is influenced by St. Louis or Missouri or the Midwest in general?

We are SO influenced by where we are from. We love to write songs about our love for St. Louis and midwest nature. The glory of the city and then also the beautiful country side of the midwest where we have traveled has a lot of emotional meaning to us, which gives inspiration to write songs. Also, we use some 'twang' in our music, which definitely derived from St. Louis music.

Are you inspired by the city in any meaningful way as an artist?

Driving into the city and seeing shows with traveling bands and local acts really inspired us to become part of the St. Louis music scene. The DIY venues and supportive community we encountered really helped us keep going with our art. As well, the feel and scenery of the city inspired us to write a hometown song called 'Mound City Baby', which you can listen to on bandcamp:http://dubbnubb.bandcamp.com/album/sunrise-sleepy-eyed

So there you have it.   Cheers to SCOSAG and Dubb Nubb for being part of my kids' lives...and our evolving music collection and the St. Louis artist scene.  The CD is on the shelf and the kid drawing of the album cover in on the wall...forever.

Dubb Nubb are playing at Plush on August 2nd.

I've been everywhere man (in St. Louis that is)

Recently I completed my personal goal to visit and photo document each and every St. Louis neighborhood.   I didn't traverse each and every block of each and every street but I came pretty damn close.  With a camera in hand and gas in the scooter/car tank, I hit em all man.  My modus operandi evolved as the adventure continued (sometimes dragging on) for 27 months.  My only goal at the onset was to take plenty of pictures and let them unfold and tell the story of current day St. Louis and keep the commentary light and conversational.  You know, informal and simple; not a lot of academic analysis or historic perspective, to me that's being done so much better on other blogs/websites.  I didn't want to specifically point out exact locations of signs, scenes, buildings or homes.  I wanted people to have their curiosity piqued and maybe go visit the neighborhood themselves and try to find the things I noted in each piece.

I started by looking at a list of 79 neighborhoods, man where to start.  I thought, well there are many "Heights" neighborhoods, why not start with thosse.  So our maiden voyage was in

Botanical Heights

driving around with my wife in the car, me behind the wheel and her with the camera.  We had an absolute blast.  But I knew I was going to have to change my method if I was going to do a good job at this for the other 78 neighborhoods.  First of all, it's too hard to take pictures from inside a car.  Battling the sun, traffic, etc is a bear.  Just navigating the chopped up street grid, one way streets, cul-de-sacs, Schoemehl pots and multitudes of stop signs is a monumental task.  This was clearly a job for a more urban-friendly get a bout....the 125cc Yamaha Vino:

This fuel efficient and highly maneuverable scooter allowed me to get in and out of alleys, streets, up on sidewalks and everywhere else I needed to go to get the access and photos I wanted.  And in St. Louis, where scooters are rare, there's another benefit...they get people's attention and folks naturally want to talk to you.  And in some neighborhoods where the locals are not used to seeing white dudes, esp white dudes on scooters, I got a lot of social commentary that I probably wouldn't have had I been in a car.  Scooters are not something you ride if you want to assert your manhood, I get that.  And for whatever reason, guys doing their best to live up to the thug stereotype are seemingly programmed to hurl racial and homophobic slurs when seeing someone on a scooter in the hood.  It was actually pretty funny, and by the end of my treks, I could almost anticipate a block away who was going to hassle me, give me shit or try to front/threaten me.  Some prostitutes even grinned and wanted to talk as opposed to do business.  But the vast majority of people who came across me on the scoot with the camera around my neck were simply curious and friendly.  They would typically ask the 2 most common questions of all "what kind of mileage does that thing get?  How fast does it go?" 

Then came the issue of photographing from public property.  People would see me taking pictures and many would stop and ask me what I was doing.  This elicited many responses from anger/hatred related to the current poor state of many neighborhoods to jovial conversation and little history lessons and personal stories.  I have so many great stories in my head, some I shared in the neighborhood pieces, some I couldn't corroborate or thought too personal or I simply forgot the whole story before I wrote it up.  But usually, when I explained my intention, people would chime in and tell me what I should make sure and photograph.  People would point out their favorite buildings, homes, tree houses, restaurants, etc.  Most people are proud of where they live and want to talk about their neighborhood and their home.

I tried not to research neighborhoods before I went.  I wanted to be surprised and curious upon first witness.  I wanted this to be part of the experience.  And when I'd come up on something really unique, I'd ask the neighbors about it.  This was a lot of fun, and something I'll never forget.  St. Louisan's are generally very kind.  There are a lot of accents and dialects that I loved hearing.

At first I was kind of shy about pointing a camera at people or private property, but as I went on, my confidence increased and I used street smarts to know what was and was not a good scene.  Trust me, I got in a couple sticky situations.  I know a lot more about racism, ghetto scenes and other crazy stuff going on in St. Louis. 

Anyhow, my method for visiting a neighborhood ended up being:  go down every street, talk to as many people as you can, go early in the morning, take a shitload of pictures....come home with the feel and the stink of the neighborhood on you and the stories still fresh in your head and open up the gallery and write the blog based on the feel I had or the feel of the pictures I had just taken.  What I've got here on this blog is merely a snapshot in time of St. Louis' neighborhoods.

I hope to update these neighborhood posts from time to time, espescially as positive developments evolve and new census data come in.  My goal at the onset of this project was to become more informed about the city as a whole.  As a non-native St. Louisian and since moving to STL, an extreme southsider (Holly Hills/Boulevard Heights/Dutchtown/Northampton), I heard about North City being scary and dangerous.  I read about brick theft.  I read about "bombed out wastelands", I read about Paul McKee's delapidated properties.  But I had no first hand experience.  I'd get pissed when people in the suburbs would trash the city with no first hand knowledge.  I would staunchly defend the city carte blanche.  But I also know folks who thought I was being hipocritical when I'd defend the city and denounce that it's not a crime infest ghetto shithole.  They'd say, you know, you living in

Boulevard Heights

isn't the same experience, how can you tell me you know what it's like to live on the state streets or north city.  Yeah, they have a point.  So my goal was to visit every nook and cranny in St. Louis and form my own opinions and hopefully share them with like-minded people.

You know, to not be scared in your own city, or at least now where you might run into real non-random trouble is priceless to me.  I've refined my urban spidey senses and feel like I'm more street smart as a result.  I had to endure a couple weird and sometimes scary situations and some insane amounts of racism/anti-scooter commentary (funny actually).  It made me reach out to many other neighborhoods when thinking about where to live and hang out. 

In retrospect, I've looked back at the 79 neighborhood posts and realized I need to make some updates.  For instance, it took me awhile to get my sea legs with the process and I really fell short on some areas like Clifton Heights.  When I first started, I thought people would get pissed if they saw me taking pictures of their home/business, and this was evidenced in CH.  As it turns out, my overall experience was quite the opposite.  People in St. Louis love their homes and take quite a bit of pride in them.

I feel a bond with parts of the city I never will live in or frequent.  It is an emotional roller coaster to visit some of our worst neighborhoods.  Sometimes I would come back home with a camera full of destruction and negativity, a headful of racial insults and sneers, mean mugs and hate and be left trying to paint the picture in a balanced light.  I firmly believe that if you don't have anything positive or thought provoking to say, just keep your mouth shut.  Much of North City certainly falls in this category.  Sometimes it's a reach to find the positives; but they are there and ignoring them is the worst thing you can do.

I never wanted this site to be for profit, or copy protected in anyway.  It is all meant to be free, referenced, lifted, whatever for the good of St. Louis.  It's my 79 love letters so to speak.  With that in mind, some friends and readers criticized me for painting with too bright a brush...polishing too many turds...not keeping it real...when it comes to the downtrodden, neglected areas of the city.  Yes, I am guilty of that.  I don't see how tearing someone or something a new one on the internet does any good.  Unless of course you are directly working toward positive change in that area; then you have the right to intelligently criticize. 

What I hope this project did was encourage others to explore their own city.  To get people to start their own project related to St. Louis.  To open up people's eyes to the good the bad and the ugly.  To form more educted opinions of what this city is really like.

So anyhow, thanks to all for reading and linking, etc.  I never thought I'd have the responsibility of writing for an audience, but it came to that.  I learned a lot and met some new people I consider to be friends along the way and for that I am very thankful.   The top 3 neighborhood profiles based on readership are Hyde Park, Tower Grove South and Bevo.  I'm happy that there is interest in Hyde Park, a neighborhood with huge potential, yet not much of a spotlight on it. 

The content of this blog will be changing away from the neighborhood/photo based posts and getting into lighter stuff and focusing in on some other areas like parks and cemetaries, parenting in the city, gentrification, local activism, etc.

So here's the fair warning to all who have linked to this site based on the neighborhood posts.  The content is changing, so feel free to adjust accordingly. 

Cheers-Mark

St. Louis' own language: "Hoosier"

Starting off my series on words that have a STL connection or unique meaning, I wanted to explore the word hoosier. 

So you think you know what a hoosier is, eh? Well, I guess a lot of that depends on where you're from? If you're from Indiana, the word is a source of pride and local identity...ummm, not so much here. As a kid growing up in Belleville, Illinois just a mere 7.5 miles from St. Louis, I heard the term infrequently, but didn't really understand it, and rarely used it.  Some friends and family from the Metro East did use the word, but most don't.  I had to drop some knowledge of this fine St. Louis term on my parents among others. 

Hoosier has a very distinctly alternate meaning in the STL metro region than it does in other parts of the country.  From wikipedia:

Hoosier ( /ˈhuːʒər/) is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana never use these derivatives. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150 years ago.[1] "Hoosiers" is also the nickname for the Indiana University athletic teams. Hoosier is sometimes used in the names of Indiana-based businesses and organizations. In the Indiana High School Athletic Association, seven active athletic conferences and one disbanded conference have the word Hoosier in their name.

In other parts of the country, the word has been adapted to other uses. In St. Louis, Missouri, the word is used in a derogatory fashion similar to "hick" or "white trash".[2] "Hoosier" also refers to the cotton-stowers, both black and white, who move cotton bales from docks to the holds of ships, forcing the bales in tightly by means of jackscrews. A low-status job, it nevertheless is referred to in various sea shanty lyrics. Shanties from the Seven Seas[3] includes lyrics that mention hoosiers. Hoosier at times can also be used as a verb describing the act of tricking or swindling someone.

That last sentence is startling...ever been hoosier'd?  Another part of the above definition that caught me off guard is the use of the term for black people.  That just doesn't follow my experience.  The term hoosier has always been reserved for white people.  Agree? 

Either way, chances are, if you are a St. Louisian, or even a metropolitan St. Louisian in the burbs, you probably know exactly what a hoosier is and some version (likely with a mullet) comes to mind...and, it probably has nothing to do with Indiana University basketball.  Frankly, I love the word, it adds to our local flavor, history and it's a distinct description.  It's not a bad word, and the politically correct set that takes offense in it can get lost.  You've got to embrace this word...it works too well to not have it in your vocabulary.  Other variations of the term I've heard:  hoos-wah (noun), hoos (adjective), turbo hoos (descriptive noun).

For those readers who have never been to St. Louis, allow me to prove my point.  Go to google and type hoosier in the search box and select images.  You'll see many pictures of Hoosier brand racing tires, Indiana basketball players, and other Indiana-related images.  Nothing of the STL hoosier though.   Now type in St. Louis Hoosier and see what you get...ah, now that's more like it.  Here are couple of the images that popped up on the first page:

^Hot looks for hot times, indeed.  I hope this doesn't seem mean spirited, I'm not poking fun as much as I am fascinated by the conscientious, deliberate work that it takes to hone this look.  It's on purpose, it's not an accident...these men seek this look out...this is a big part of who they are.  Notice the shirtless theme? Notice the many photos taken at Busch Stadium?  The Blues get the local rap for having hoosier fans, but I think that is tied to the old days at the Checkerdome with it's cheap seats/beer and proximity to Dogtown that brought that on.  When the Blues moved to the Scottrade Center and starting charging major $$ for admission, the hoosiers started staying at home.  I think Cards game are more hooʒ than Blues games.

But being a hoosier is so much more than ridiculous tattoos, mullets and sleeveless shirts.  More than anything, it's an attitude...a thought process...a way of life.  Lord knows I've done things that are hoosier (usually involving duct tape); I get the mindset...it comes with the y chromosome...although women are not immune from being hoosiers.  Hell, there may be a little hoosier in all of us.  But, at their core, are hoosiers funny?  Or, are hoosiers mean spirited and destructive to a dignified way of life?  I don't general find the latter to be my experience, but I have seen some crazy fights and lewd behavior from hoosiers.  Usually alcohol induced.  There are some great South City bars that are prime hot beds for hoosier sightings....I won't name names, but I'm sure everyone has their own favorites.  I've generally found hoosiers to be harmless and even quite endearing.  They are tough to have as immediate neighbors though, I've lived that.

Let's give the regional aspect of the hoosier some more thought...

Today, is the STL hoosier more common in the suburbs of St. Louis?  Rural counties on the outskirts?  St. Charles and Jefferson County?  Or is the hoosier more prone to settle right here in the City of St. Louis?

Sure STL professional sporting events, Soulard Mardi Gras and other city events and locations are great for luring in hoosiers from far and wide.  But are they coming from somewhere else?  Are they coming from the STL neighborhoods?  Hoosiers used to be strongly associated with Carondelet and the Patch for sure, maybe even the 3 neighborhoods of Dogtown.  But is that true today?  Are they an endangered species, are they leaving for the suburbs and rural areas?  Does the modern hoosier still listen to classic rock or has he morphed to a more contemporary country music, a mod-hate rock/nu-metal ensemble as can be heard on  105.7 F.M., or even better yet, the urban white hip hop hoosier?

As a middle-aged guy, the hoosier vision that is etched into my brain is the one who identifies with Molly Hatchet or Metallica.  But the old KSHE 95, cut-off-jorts hoosier may be going the way of the dodo bird.  But I think his spirit will live on for my kids generation to continue to experience.  But the future STL hoosier probably will not have a mullet and a sleeveless shirt; the future hoos I envision is a more ghetto take on the original hoosier.  One who tries to identify with low-class black urban lifestyles (ghetto is another misunderstood word that I'll approach next...stay tuned).  I think there is a new brand of white trash or hoosier in town that has sprung up in the post hip-hop era.

What's your description of a hoosier?  Where are they most spotted?  Are they leaving St. Louis or gaining in numbers?  Will the STL hoosier live on, or is he/she a dying breed?  Is hoosier an endearing term (like homie) or is it an insult or mean-spirited?

Back to wikipedia:

The term "hoosier" began to take on its negative connotation in St. Louis during the mid-1950's when the Chrysler Corporation built a large automobile assembly plant in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton and closed a plant it had been operating in Indiana. At the time, the city of Fenton, was at the then-rural southwest rim of St. Louis county. During this time, Many former employees of the closed Indiana plant moved to Fenton for employment; so many, in fact, that entire subdivisions of new homes sprang up south of the plant, near what was then US Route 66. It became something of a local joke to refer to the new arrivals from Indiana as "hoosiers", and before long, anyone from the rural edges of St. Louis County was considered such.

That last sentence is an important tie to my understanding of the word.  I truly think this is a St. Louis and St. Louis County term...not used as universally in the Metro East and maybe not as common in St. Charles and other exurbia counties.

And finally:

Thomas E. Murray carefully analyzed the use of "hoosier" in St. Louis, Missouri, where it is the favorite epithet of abuse. "When asked what a Hoosier is," Murray writes, "St. Louisans readily list a number of defining characteristics, among which are 'lazy,' 'slow-moving,' 'derelict,' and 'irresponsible.'" He continues, "Few epithets in St. Louis carry the pejorative connotations or the potential for eliciting negative responses that hoosier does." He conducted tests and interviews across lines of age and race and tabulated the results. He found the term ecumenically applied. He also noted the word was often used with a modifier, almost redundantly, as in "some damn Hoosier."

In a separate section Murray speaks of the history of the word and cites Baker and Carmony (1975) and speculates on why Hoosier (in Indiana a "neutral or, more often, positive" term) should remain "alive and well in St. Louis, occupying as it does the honored position of being the city's number one term of derogation." A radio broadcast took up where Murray left off. During the program Fresh Air, Geoffrey Nunberg, a language commentator, answered questions about regional nicknames. He cited Elaine Viets, a Post-Dispatch columnist (also quoted by Paul Dickson), as saying that in St. Louis a "Hoosier is a low-life redneck, somebody you can recognize because they have a car on concrete blocks in their front yard and are likely to have just shot their wife who may also be their sister."

I don't agree with the Elaine Viets description.  Are hoosiers murderers?  My definition is a more harmless one...annoying, sometimes crude yes, murdering thugs, no.  I also don't think hoosiers use their look and lifestyle to intimidate others.  I could be wrong.

So who is this Thomas Murray?  I must know more.  He wrote a book called: "

The Language of St. Louis, Missouri: (American United Studies XIII, Linguistics, Vol 4) 1986". 

So I went to my trusty public library website to order a copy of this book from the central stacks.  It was shipped to my local branch (Barr) and in my hands within 5 days.  Damn, we have a great library system...but anyhow, here's the book:

Now, I take issue with Murray's sampling methodology because he chose not to interview any black people.  His research was done in the 80s yet he didn't speak to one black person...ummm, did you know that 1/2 the city is made up of black people.  He explains the broad range of ethnicities:  southern blacks, Czechs, Italians, Dutch, Irish, German, French, Poles, etc.  but when he sampled the population he excluded blacks and he goes on to say that St. Louis is now populated "almost exclusively by blacks".  Huh?  Did this guy look at the demographics of St. Louis at all?  Here's the paragraph I'm referring to:

It becomes clear, then, that the linguist who wishes to study "the" language of St. Louis faces the problem of selecting informants that will not bias the final results of the study. Rather than choosing equal numbers of each ethnic sub-population of the city, I elected to avoid "pure" informants as much as possible. None of the ethnographic collecting of data reported above was done in strongly ethnic sections of the city, just as none of my other informants came from any but an ethnically mixed background. Furthermore, because one of the requirements to be met by all non-phonological informants was that both they and their parents had to have lived in St. Louis all of their lives, all of my data come from the mouths of white speakers. It is true that Inner St. Louis is now populated almost exclusively by blacks, but the vast majority were born in other parts of the country and then migrated to the Gateway City; thus, I could not, strictly speaking, label their speech "the language of St. Louis."

Am I missing something here?  St. Louis has never been almost exclusively populated by blacks and in the 1980's there are plenty of black families whose parents had lived in St. Louis their whole lives as did their progeny.

Aside from disagreeing with his sampling methodology, I also don't think there's much to gain from this book regarding the word hoosier:

66. PEJORATIVE TERM FOR A WHITE PERSON

Hillbilly occurs in the speech of one middle-class female over the age of 60, but the popular favorite in all other demographic cells in hoosier.

And:

68. PEJORATIVE TERM FOR A BLACK PERSON

The two favorite in this semantic category are hoosier and [the n-word (sorry, I can't do it)]. Hoosier is preferred most often by members of the upper class except males between the ages of 20 and 40, middle-class males over 40 and middle-class females under 20 and 40 to 60, and lower-class males under 40. Spook is used infrequently by members of each gender and socioeconomic class, hillbilly is reported by one middle-class and two lower-class males over the age of 40.

The book has some insight on other debatable words like crawdad vs. crayfish and soda vs. pop.

Anyhow, hoosier is a word that has a completely alternate meaning in St. Louis.  Enjoy it, use, it...we own this word.  It's ours.  Cherish it.

I'd love to hear your personal take on the word and where you first heard it and where you are from (please be specific on the last one i.e. Des Peres is not St. Louis).

Jefferson Avenue In The Fox Park Neighborhood

Jefferson Avenue is brimming with potential as a commercial corridor.  Just take the stretch that serves as the eastern boundary of the

Fox Park neighborhood

which goes from I-44 down to Gravois.  I'm going to take some photos and talk up the western side of the street in this post.

View Larger Map

First of all, this is such a critical part of our city. It is the gateway to the south city neighborhoods directly south of the burgeoning

Downtown

and

Downtown West

neighborhoods which were two of the few St. Louis neighborhoods that actually saw a gain in population from 2000-2010. The 3 neighborhoods of

Fox Park

,

Benton Park West

and

McKinley Heights

are critical to St. Louis' future wedged between the successful neighborhoods of Compton Heights and Lafayette Square.  A strong, vibrant Jefferson Avenue could serve as the main corridor to the southeastern neighborhoods.  Some of these near south neighborhoods had taken a beating when people started packing it up for the burbs starting after WWII and continuing through the 1990's crack epidemic years when things were completely out of control in this part of St. Louis.

Things have calmed down from a crime perspective and historic tax credits urged rehabbers to come into these neighborhoods and help make a much needed change for the better.  There are lots of residual effects from those bad years, but these neighborhoods are clearly on the rise.  And Jefferson Avenue should be the attention getter and commercial business district that it could and should be to attract more people to choose this part of town as their home.

In its current state, Jefferson is a speedway where cars travel at high speeds mainly getting to I-44 and I-64. I would like to see a road diet here, similar to the changes made on Grand between Arsenal and Utah. Angled on-street parking, median plantings, street trees and wide sidewalks could make a major difference. Actually, just a little clean up and infrastructure improvements would go a long way toward making Jefferson less...um...gritty...and more inviting to a pedestrian/neighbor/visitor.

So let's take a look at what exists today along Jefferson on the east side of Fox Park.

Starting on the north just south of I-44, you have a typical suburban McDonalds complete with 24 hour drive through.  This place is always crowded and must do an amazing business being right off of a major Interstate off ramp.  it is also one of the main nutritional sources for many in Fox Park as evidenced by the excessive amount of littering of McD's trash throughout the entire neighborhood. Whatever you think about these junk food restaurants, this one is probably going nowhere anytime soon judging by the traffic.

Geyer and Allen Avenues dead end with a cul de sac preventing traffic to enter Fox Park from Jefferson.  In fact many if not most of the perpendicular streets are intentionally cut off at Jefferson; Accomac, Ann and Armand all dead ends.  Russell, Shenandoah, Victor and Sidney are the only streets one can use to access Fox Park from Jefferson.  Allen and Geyer pick back up on the eastern side of Jefferson in the McKinley Heights neighborhood only to be butchered again by I-55 and then picking up in Soulard again.

The 2000 block of Jefferson is more attractive between Allen and Russell.  Infill and rehab could transform this block.  I love the old sign on one of the available buildings in this block:

There are gaps between nearly every building between Allen and Russell where buildings once stood. The building just south of the McDonald's is literally falling in on itself and the sidewalk surrounding the building. The back half or so is completely missing and the second story is falling on the sidewalk. In this part of St. Louis, this kind of crap is completely tolerated. This is the ghetto element of the near south side that leaves an impression with passers by. It doesn't have to be this way, but it is. It gets better though as you head south.  Here's what the falling building and adjacent sidewalk looks like:

Again, there are many gaps where buildings once stood.  These are currently empty lots or surface parking, so this block does not appear very contiguous.  Here's are some other buildings between Russell and the McD's:

Just south of Russell, you have the 2100 block of Jefferson which currently has a former suburban fast food drive thru and restaurant.  I believe this used to be a Taco Bell and it now serves as an ATM.  I'm not kidding, it's an ATM.  This vacant eyesore was built in 1994. 

I can only imagine what beautiful buildings were destroyed to make way for the junk food restaurant...and now it stands vacant and shuttered just a few years later.  The point I'm trying to make is that destruction for these fast food joints is a major failure for our historic neighborhoods.  They almost always go out of business in a matter of 15 - 20 years or so, leaving major scars on the landscape and sucking the soul out of St. Louis.  Look no further than the former Burger King across the street in McKinley Heights...same story.

The good news is

South Side Day Nursery

(SSDN) has purchased the property of the former Taco Bell along with 2 beautiful brick storefronts/ and a large dwellings right at Ann formerly owned by DeSales Community Housing Corp. 

The Beacon reported on this back in December, 2011

and the buildings that SSDN are proposing seem like an upgrade over the surface parking and drive through ATM.  It appears to be built to the street with decent looking modern design.

South Side Day Nursery has been around for 125 years as a non-profit to provide kids with a safe and healthy place while their parents are at work.  They currently serve 97 kids between 6 wks and 5 yrs of age.  The new 19,000 sq. ft. building will increase the capacity to 140 kids.  More on SSDN from the Beacon article:

Started in 1886 by 15 Unitarian women, the Nursery's mission was to provide children with education and a hygienic place to stay while their parents worked. The first home was at 10th and Sidney, where they remained until 1954. The move to Iowa Avenue was caused by construction of Interstate 55.

The bad news (in St. Louis nearly all new uses come with a loss of our brick beauties) is that we are losing several classic buildings in the process.  There will be no intricate design or craftsmanship on the new buildings.  There was of course plenty of history and care and charm in the old buildings.

So the historic buildings have been demolished and the brick nicely palleted up for somewhere else. 

The Beacon article says the historic buildings will be taken down before the ATM/Taco Bell is dealt with:

According to South Side Day Nursery's plans, the store fronts and residence would be demolished and work begun before dealing with the American Eagle part of the parcel. 

So if this thing really gets built to the street with the design proposed, and the shuttered ATM is replaced, I'll consider this a net gain even though we lose more of St. Louis' treasure.  I'm sure SSDN will provide a great resource for many in the city and it will bring some life to a dead stretch of Jefferson....but it comes with the cost of losing a piece of our history and charm.  I welcome SSDN to Fox Park and wish them nothing but the best, but I'm disappointed they did not give this historic neighborhood enough consideration when it came to bulldozing the one thing that will draw more people to our neighborhood and our city.

The next block gets better.

Kakao Chocolate

,

the Warehouse

, the Way Out Club, Trader Bob's Tattoo are all spots for quality products and entertainment.  Just imagine if a few more businesses moved into these storefronts?  The potential is huge.  Another quality addition to the Fox Park stretch of Jefferson is

Tenth Life Cat Rescue

which will be renovating and occupying a currently empty building south of Kakao.

There are other businesses including a tire shop and a sock/resale shop among other things.  Successful neighborhoods need successful and useful businesses.  There are several spaces ready for immediate new life and other ready for future rehab.

I know cities need gas stations and other auto centric businesses, and the Fox Park stretch of Jefferson has several suburban examples:

Jefferson along the Fox Park stretch also has many beautiful homes and churches both old:

And some much needed new in fill to take care of those gaps:

A healthy Jefferson means a healthy near south side.  Jefferson is a major north/south connector.  We need simple beautification like sidewalk repairs and street trees.  We need on-street parking.  We need to attract more business, we need more infill.  We need a commercial corridor not an Interstate feeder.  We need a little TLC for the sidewalks, the trees, the street lights and everything else to spruce this stretch of STL up.  Otherwise we're left with the current state which just isn't good enough.

Here's to attracting more people and proprietors willing to be good stewards of their property and streetfronts.

The Plastic(k) Pavilion in Botanical Heights

Public art is one of the things that makes our city great.  Without a doubt, it's great to see new sculpture popping up all over the city.   The most recent installment I discovered is the Plastic(k) Pavilion at Blaine and Thurman in

the Botanical Heights neighborhood

. 

 This amazing work of art is billed as a "shade structure":

“This shade structure is a good representation of our neighborhood because it’s half finished” announced Nancy Symeonoglou, president of the Botanical Heights Neighborhood Association at last night’s grand opening of the nearly completed Plastic(k) Pavilion, a shade structure which will complement the incoming playground at Thurman and Blaine in Botanical Heights.

Symeonoglou’s statement refers to the opportunity and momentum for future development activity in the area. Botanical Heights has seen recent activity in development as well as infrastructure improvements, decreased crime, and large community involvement in projects such as the Plastic(k) Pavilion and the Botanical HeightsCommunity Garden and Orchard across the street. However, there is also room for future development on vacant lots and boarded up homes. TheGarden District Commission as well as UIC + CDO have been working to stimulate more development projects in the area, starting with the Botanical Grove development, until the entire neighborhood is occupied.

The design of the Plastic(k) Pavilion was developed by a Washington University graduate architecture class led by Professor Ken Tracey along with community input, addressing safety concerns and preferences on appearance. Students are constructing the structure as well and should be complete in the next few weeks. Residents are currently organizing to find funding and designers for the playground that will be constructed adjacent to the Plastic(k) Pavilion. (source)

Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  And here are some shots of the community garden across the street at Folsom and Thurman.  It's complete with a fruit tree orchard, native prairie planting and several raised beds. 

Congrats to the fine folks of Botanical Heights, Washington University and Gateway Greening for the wonderful progress.  Keep it up!

The Temtor 8125 Michigan Avenue

A recent development in the Patch neighborhood includes the fantastic $27M rebirth of the former Coca-Cola syrup plant re-branded as "the Temtor" at 8125 Michigan Avenue which will have several loft-style dwellings and will be home to Perennial Artisan Ales, another microbrewery tasting room/bar and beer garden which will add to St. Louis' reputation as a premier U.S. beer city.

Seventy-seven apartments will be built in the former Coke plant and 32 apartments will be built in nearby buildings. The project also includes 27,000 square feet of office or retail space in the former Coke plant and 8,000 square feet of space of commercial space on South Broadway.

In addition to the former Coke plant, nine nearby buildings will be converted to apartments and retail space as part of the redevelopment. (source)

 A little history on the Temtor:

On the National Register of Historic Places, the Temtor building was designed in the early 1900s by noted architect Harry G. Clymer. Early press reports about the structure spoke of “integrity through workmanship, design, location and material.”

Named for its first tenant, the Temtor Fruits and Product Company, and years later purchased by Coca-Cola to manufacture the secret syrup supplied to bottlers in a five-state area. (source)

The new windows look dynamite against the red brick of the former factory.

I simply cannot wait to sip a local brew in the beer garden of one of St. Louis' finest and most soulful neighborhoods. Cheers to all those involved in bringing this place back to life. It's folks like you that make me hold on to hope that this rust belt city can evolve into a cool place that will attract people from all over.

Food Network Stars - Casting Call in St. Louis

I was contacted by a casting assistant for the Food Network who is reaching out to any chef, home cook, caterer or culinary enthusiast who might be interested in becoming the host of his or her own cooking show on Food Network.

So I'll pass her information along:

My name is Amy Weiser and I am a casting assistant for Food Network Star, Food Network's hugely successful culinary reality series. We are currently casting for season 8 and would like to inform you and your readers that we are holding an open casting call in St. Louis on Saturday, July 30th, 2011. For your convenience, I have attached a copy of our flyer that further details what we are looking for. Please feel free to post our information on to your website, send it out to any list serve you may have or forward it on to anyone you think might be right for the show. Any help spreading the word about our search is greatly appreciated!

We are looking for people who are full of life, passionate about cooking, and knowledgeable about food to meet us in person at our open casting call. Please help us reach out to any chef, home cook, caterer or culinary enthusiast who might be interested in becoming the host of his or her own cooking show on Food Network!

The details of our event are as follows:

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

10am-2pm

Sheraton St. Louis City Center

400 S. 14th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103

If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,

Amy Weiser

Casting Assistant

212.359.9479

amy@jenscasting.com

Food Network Star

So how about it St. Louis?