Check out the latest topics on our minds
All posts written by St. Louis City Talk contributors unless otherwise noted.
OMG, St. Louis is prioritizing people over cars in some of the South City neighborhoods including Compton Heights, Fox Park, Gate District, Tower Grove East and Tower Grove South. Can you believe we are actually headed in the right direction in parts of our fair city? Some quick thoughts on the traffic calming efforts we noticed recently.
We recently gave St. Louis’ national retail declines some thought, now we’re on to discussion of grocery stores. This situation is not as dire, and the future may have indicators of better sites. Yet, the uncertainty in the market could hold some future apprehension for a couple of our grocery chains.
Curb appeal has been on my mind now that the weather is nice and the dogs are getting walked more often. What are the variables in the equation that makes up something as subjective as “curb appeal”. It’s complicated for sure, but our sidewalk and lack of street tree issues might just top the list. Some quick thoughts and examples from my neck of the woods.
The design and architecture firm to lead us toward the future of a fully realized Chouteau Greenway was chosen this week. Here are some quick thoughts and high-level considerations given to the jury report and strengths/weaknesses discussed. Well done Great Rivers Greenway! This city is doing things right an headed in the right direction.
I stumbled into another fascinating mystery relating to my two favorite topics in life: Rock and Roll and St. Louis. What started with a Valentine's Day present turned into a long research phase relating to guitartist Robert Quine and his connection to St. Louis and some of the best rock records ever made. This story culminates with an interview with one of Quine's lifelong friends who met in St. Louis while attending Washington University. Kind readers, I was giddy doing the research for this blog. I realize only a small handful of people know this music, but it means everything to me and having a St. Louis connection is a lovely bonus.
It can be an uphill battle to defend neighborhood historic codes and standards when the city doesn't enforce them and the local government doesn't advocate for an equitable solution for all parties. So, I sat down and talked to a couple neighbors who both happen to be talented architects to get the latest on a non-compliant site plan at the corner of Jefferson an Allen and talk alternatives that would work for all parties.
The city has been unsuccessful in developing and enforcing rules on new construction. This lack of vision has led to scads of suburban sites that have chipped away at the fabric of our city. This has been taking place for years, here's an example of the people fighting back against one such plan back in 1970's Skinker-DeBaliviere.
A massive 400+ acre swath of the city is targeted for redevelopment. You can weigh in on what a section of the area is named. We hope that the St. Louis Midtown Redevelopment Corporation, the group in charge of steering development and investment in the area can put the city first and share some of the success that we've seen in Forest Park Southeast to this important part of the city.
A mystery that started in an antique shop on Manchester Avenue led me to the library and then to the LaSalle Neighborhood to finally find what is becoming more and more clear, the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 that brought an Interstate highways instead of the old Route 66 was devastating for the city of St. Louis. It removed so much urban fabric and divided so many part of the city. Ritz Bottling Company is just one of the hundreds displaced by mid-Century progress.
Remember the painted red brick, cheesy signs and junk food adverts at the corner of Shaw and 39th Street? That building used to be the Shaw Theater, and boy is it looking good these days. This is a big historic renovation save for the Shaw Neighborhood and St. Louis in general. This one is an eye catcher.
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