St. Louis Center – Save the Skybridge

Never before have I reprinted an entire email received from someone. But, in the case below I hope you get a big smile reading it just as I did:
– Steve

ST. LOUIS – As reported in Martin Van Der Werf’s
column in the Post-Dispatch today, efforts are afoot
to remove the pedestrian “skybridge” from the St.
Louis Centre complex, thereby forever altering the
scenic streetscape along this burgeoning section of
Washington Avenue. In response, a group of concerned
citizens is planning a multi-pronged approach to keep
the historic skybridge intact.

“Changing the dramatic exterior of the St. Louis
Center skybridge would be a mistake,” says Franklin
Jennings, a spokesperson for the ad-hoc “Save the
Skybridge” effort. “Once torn asunder, the views in
this area of eastern Downtown would never be the same.
We consider the skybridge to be part-and-parcel of the
robust nature and dramatic vista of this working
neighborhood. It has been a part of Downtown for
roughly two decades. Our contention is that it should
be serviceable for at least two generations.”

With City Hall rainmakers likely favoring the
demolition of this structure – which linked the old
Dillard’s department store to the vibrant commercial
hub of the Centre – overtures will be made to
insurgent Mayoral candidates Bill Haas and Irene
Smith.

“These are people who regularly trade in the ideas
market,” says Jennings. “No ‘isms’ apply with them.
Particularly age-ism, which is clearly in effect with
this anti-preservation move. The thought that the
contemporary design aesthetics of the late-‘70s and
early-‘80s can be so wantonly tossed aside, shows that
our civic leadership doesn’t value Generation X, the
people who grew up with the architecture so vividly
brought to life by the skybridge. This seems to stand
in stark contrast with ballyhooed efforts to woo young
residents to the City.”

Jennings suggests that those interested become
immediately involved, first by purchasing goods and
services from the vendors that call St. Louis Centre
home.

“Nothing speaks louder than a consumer response,”
Jennings says. “And the range and scope of commercial
endeavors currently taking place in the Centre will
surely surprise those who’ve not shopped there in
several years.”

Meanwhile, online efforts will be undertaken through
the (in-construction) internet portal:
savetheskybridge.org.

“We’ve seen countless Downtown buildings saved through
highly-public internet campaigns, featuring
sharply-designed, highly-intuitive and
dynamically-interactive sites” Jennings says. “Why not
here?”

Now that information of the potential demolition of
the historic skybridge is becoming public, Jennings
hopes to tap into the goodwill built through other,
recent efforts to save important Downtown landmarks.
He stresses that “outside-the-big-box thinking” might
be required here.

“Take the trendy ‘windowless condo’ idea so prevalent
in the American Northwest,” Jennings suggests. “It’s
not necessary for Downtown lofts to have, for example,
40 windows per unit. In our research, windowless
condos are increasingly popular in rain-saturated,
low-light cities such as Portland and Seattle, where
adaptive reuse is treasured, not mocked. To target a
handful of units to those with solid incomes and light
sensitivity is simply good business.”

For more information, contact Franklin Jennings
through Cee Wisp Communications @
franklinjennings@yahoo.com.