Stumbled upon another building I had to learn more about. Raincoats? St. Louis used to make them.
James Earl Ray - St. Louis Connections
Bosnian Culture - a Blip on the St. Louis Timeline?
Joseph Leisure Park
Christy Park
Christy Park, according to the city website, is comprised of 16.1 acres of park land, established in 1910. There are no official boundaries listed on that website, so I can only assume that Christy Park and Joseph Leisure Parks are one in the same. There is actually a band of parks that start at Kingshighway and Christy and head south and east toward the River Des Peres, following the Great Rivers Greenway Trail starting near Christy and Holly Hills Boulevards.
The Bevo Mill Neighborhood
Bevo Mill is charming mix of smaller single family homes and apartment buildings for largely German immigrant clay mine and factory workers. Once a beacon of immigration of Bonsians/Croats/Mesopotamians/Roma for nearly a decade and a half, now we’re back to the modern day gamish of St. Louis people and places. A true mixed neighborhood that is charming and largely stable.
Delor Street Improvements?
Delor between Alfred and Gravois in the Bevo neighborhood is getting some work. This could be a good sign, as it appears they are putting in new sidewalks, and maybe trees or lights.
I've always thought the city has done a terrible job of sprucing up this neighborhood for it's newest immigrant residents. When I first moved to the city, this was a completely different neighborhood. Closed businesses, shuttered storefronts, deteriorating homes, etc.
The neighborhood now is one of my favorites in the entire city. There are many, many great bars, restaurants, coffee shops, fruit/veggie stands, etc. The Bosnians, Serbs, Croats in this region have made it an urban, thriving, fun place.
The city should be selling this neighborhood. It should be marketed as little Sarajevo. Why aren't there flags, banners, commercials, ads to draw attention to this part of town? It is nearing destination status, just like the Hill.
One of my favorite things about Delor are the coffee bars that old Eastern European men frequent. They sit outside hunkered over an intense cup o joe looking surly and completely happy at the same time. I could see myself being one of those guys upon retirement.
Magic Wand
If you are like me and you loath the appearance of drive through fast food restaurants and you could make one of these joints magically disappear and replace them with your ideal vision of a replacement what would it be? Here are a few of mine/ours:
The Jack in the Box on Grand near Shaw/Compton Heights. With those cool new condos just to the south, wow what an improvement over the Shoney's that used to sit on that property. Look across the street at the beautiful Compton Heights gates. The Pelican Place development...man, this place will be blooming once again. Now if I could make that Jack in the Box disappear and fill it in with some modern, slender, 3 story condos.....
The Church's Fried Chicken at Skinker and Delmar in the Loop. This is such a high profile, high traffic area. Lots of potential here. The East Loop is my favorite stretch of Delmar, as it's in the city and the west side is the gateway to the suburbs. I'd like to see a library built hear. I realize there is a branch just south of hear on Skinker, but it's really small. I think this area deserves a bigger branch. And I like how libraries bring heavy foot traffic (see Schlafly, Carpenter branches). I think it would add diversity to the Loop. Check out a book, walk to an outdoor cafe....nice. There are lots of out of towners, tourists and musicians/artists passing through here. If they could just witness how incredibly top notch our libraries are, they may walk away even more impressed with the area. Heck, they might even want to move here. I like the idea of the east Loop becoming more of a neighborhood styled stretch vs. the more entertainment destination feel of the western Loop. I'd also like to see a drug store and/or grocery in the East Loop.
My wife has fantasized about the Ponderosa, Long John Silver, Burger King, Pizza Hut (Indian Restaurant) on Hampton being razed and replace with an Ikea.
There are so many others. I could think of the shuttered Hardee's (florist?) on Broadway between Soulard and
Choteau's landing. The crappy looking former Burger King just northeast of the Soulard Farmer's Market. The crappy looking former Burger King on South Grand in Dutchtown. The crappy looking Burger King on Jefferson/Gravois across from Trader Bob's Tatoos. The crappy looking former McDonalds at Chippewa/Grand. Man is it just me, or is it clear that these don't work very well in the city. Even reuse for these comes hard. You can't polish a turd. See the aforementioned Pizza Hut at Fyler/Hampton, the Captain D's (now Bosnian pizza joint on Gravois, so. of Bevo Mill), former Pizza Hut, now Bosna Gold restaurant so. of
Bevo. They just don't fit in with their surroundings.
However, they may be one exception. All things considered, I like the remodel of the former Pizza World on
Kinshighway. Granted, this was not your typical chain fast food joint with in store dining and drive through, but it was a chain nonetheless. Here's the kind of ??Mediterranean?? styled redo this building has recently gone through. There is a notice for a liquor license, maybe it will find new life as a Bosna/Croat dining establishment. Man, I could do without the Depot Door, but still, a net gain over the previous place.
Are you aware of any fast food restaurants in the city that fit in well with their surroundings? How about a successful redux of a drive through fast food joint in the city?
