More Than a Matter of Scale

Most preservation & urban minded people would look at the picture on the right and say the problem is the scale of the dreadfully ugly HUD infill house. Yes, the scale is out of character for the neighborhood.

It is much shorter than the much grander house next door. Narrower too. The original house is elevated above grade whereas the infill it not. The ceilings are lower on the newer house which doesn’t help with its squat appearance. Again, most would say any new house need to have a similar scale to fit in with the old house. Most times I’d probably agree.

… Continue Reading

25th Ward Meeting on Thursday 1/27

Thursday January 27th at 7:30pm is the first meeting in 2005 of the ’25th Ward Regular Democratic Club.’ The meeting will be held at Resurrection School at 3880 Meramec 63116 – downstairs meeting room.

Map of
3880 Meramec St
St Louis, MO 63116-4450

If you live in the 25th Ward and would like to participate in the process this is a good way to do so. With over 6,400 registered voters in the ward it is unfortunate that we have less than 30 paid members. This means that less than half of 1% of the registered voters in the ward make the party endorsement for various races – including for alderman.

Dues are only $6.00/yr and for those over 60 the dues are reduced to $4.00/yr. Hopefully we can get the membership number up around 65 so that at least 1% of the registered voters are represented.

The ward endorsement meeting will be held on February 24th – same time and location. New members joining now are not permitted to vote at the endorsement meeting. Still, please join and participate. The 25th Ward Club is part of the St. Louis Democratic City Central Committee.

I hope to see you there.

Campaign Blog Launched

I’m pleased to announce that the latest news for my campaign will be presented in a blog format. I will keep voters, volunteers, contributers and the public informed of happenings and appearances via this space.

I will also be discussing various issues in greater detail here as well. I will demonstrate to the voters that I am a thinking candidate – I will bring up issues and offer solutions. The comments section will be an opportunity for the public to tell me if I am on tract or not. Public feedback to aldermen is a key component that is missing from our current system.

Part of the reason I decided on 25thward.com as my website address is because I think this will serve me well once elected to office. Through this website address I will be able to keep the residents of the 25th Ward informed of hot issues, public meetings, request feedback on upcoming decisions. Making use of current technology will just be one way of being an effective alderman.

The countdown to March 8th begins!

– Steve

Patterson for Alderman Website Launched Today!

Today I launched my campaign website – www.25thward.com – which includes information about me, the issues, voter registration information and a page on how you can participate by volunteering and/or contributing.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

History lesson found in country music

To the dismay of some of my friends I’ve started listening to more country music. I’ve had folksy country artists like John Denver in my library for years. But of late I’d added folks like Big & Rich, Bush supporter Toby Keith and our somewhat local girl Gretchen Wilson.

You are thinking what does this have to do with urbanity in St. Louis. Trust me, I’ve got a point. Be patient. Enjoy the story…

I’ve taken to watching a couple of country music channels on the satellite dish – CMT & GAC. Don’t get me wrong, I still watch VH1, MTV & Fuse. I’m just diversifying.

Many have likely seen Gretchen Wilson’s video for ‘Redneck Woman’ where she is 4-wheeling in the mud on an ATV and an old chevy pickup. I had always thought four wheeling in the mud was – well – just stupid. That was, until I went four wheeling in a friend’s Jeep on Halloween weekend. Another friend was having a great party & bon fire on his country place and the corn field had been cut down but not yet plowed under. I have to tell you it was a blast. My Audi is all-wheel drive but it would have looked silly in the middle of an Illinois corn field.

Ok, that last paragraph had nothing to do with my story but I’ve been wanting to share my off roading story for some time – seemed like the best opportunity. I’ll stay on track this time…

One of Gretchen Wilson’s latest singles is “When I Think About Cheatin.” The video starts off with Wilson and some of the other members of the Nashville “Muzic Mafia” walking past Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville in the evening. John Rich, of Big & Rich, pulls on the doors saying he has been trying for 10 years to find them unlocked so he could sneak in. This time a door is unlocked. The video is based on a true story from 2003.

For those of you that may not know, the Ryman Auditorium was built in 1892 as a church but in 1943 it became the home to the Grand Ole Opry radio show. Over the next thirty years the Orpy radio show expanded to television and in the meantime this near perfect hall became a symbol of country music. However, in 1974 that came to an end when the facility was shuttered as the Opry moved to larger facilities – namely suburban and ugly.

Back to the video. Wilson and company are sneaking into the Ryman and she takes her place on stage center. Rich grabs a guitar and stands to the side. The other friends take up seats in the auditorium. The brilliant video director was able to bring in images of classic country stars and audience members from decades past – long before Wilson was even born. The images, combined with a wonderfully written song and a beautiful voice, make this video haunting. When this video comes on I stop whatever I’m doing to watch it from end to end. They have very subtly paid tribute to the importance of place and the people that made that place so wonderful.

In 1994 the Ryman Auditorium underwent a multi-million dollar renovation. For 10 years it has served as a music hall for downtown Nashville for a variety of musical styles. The Grand Ole Opry is still based in its ugly replacement facility but recently they’ve been having a series of concerts called Opry at the Ryman. By all accounts, a huge success. When a country star wants to tape a video at the Opry they don’t use the new facility – they use the old Ryman.

In the 1970s the Grand Ole Opry, like so much of America, decided bigger was better. New was better. Away from downtown was better. They were lucky in Nashville, they just turned their backs on history for 20 years. They didn’t raze this wonderful piece of history for a shopping mall, a plaza, a stadium, or the worst of all – a parking garage. Realizing the error of their way they’ve been able to go back and reconnect with the past in a remodeled facility that serves the community well and will hopefully do so for the next 100 years or so.

And with that we have the point. Once it is gone it is gone. No picture or artifact in a museum can substitute. You lose more than the mere bricks & mortar when you raze a building. You lose the connection with the past that allows you to move forward. Staying put can be more progressive than always striving for bigger and newer.

So there you go, a lesson in why the past is so important to the future – all from a Gretchen Wilson video. Who knew?

For information on the historic Ryman Auditorium click here.

Did I mention I went two-steppin on Christmas night? No? Well, I’ll have to share that some other time…

– Steve