Loving Lindell Blvd!

Yet another long vacant building on Lindell – the Moolah Temple – reopened to the public yesterday. Once again, we have Amrit & Amy Gill to thank for their vision and hard work. In this age of ridiculously large multiplex theaters, the Gills and Harman Moseley are opening a single screen. The Post-Dispatch tells you what to expect:

What they’ll see is astounding, a theater space that is unlike anything else in town. It starts with the lobby, restored to its Moorish splendor after 20 years of slumber behind locked doors. To the right is the Moolah Lounge, a self-contained bar that Moseley hopes will attract a late-night clientele. Straight ahead is the ticket counter and concession stand, staffed by employees wearing conical red fezzes. And through the massive interior doors is the theater space, which is utterly unique from floor to ceiling. Six stories overhead is a barrel-vaulted ceiling, hung with chandeliers. Underfoot is carpet – rare inside a movie theater – and a flat-surface floor that leads to one of the largest movie screens in town. At 45 feet wide and 20 feet tall, it’s not exactly IMAX proportions, but it’s wide enough for Cinemascope.

BTW, I don’t like to Post-Dispatch stories online because they only work for a short period of time and I hate links that don’t work. So, not P-D links until they keep their stories online.

I tried to eat dinner at Nadoz in the Coronado last weekend but they were closed for a special event. The menu looks great. The new rush of activity along this stretch has been missing for decades and it is nice to see things happening. Saint Louis University (SLU) has been so busy fucking up the street grid, tearing down buildings and putting up fences they haven’t had the time, money or vision to do anything that actually makes a positive contribution to the city.

The Moolah is a major step forward and a very creative solution to the question about what to do with the building. The Biz Journal wrote a good story on the Gills & Moolah back in 2002. In August they wrote another story on a parking garage being built behind the Moolah to handle the extra crowds.

The Structural Engineers for the project go into great detail about what they had to do to make the project work. The city development website is rightly showing off all the activity in the city.

I personally can’t wait to see a film at the new Moolah. Bowling at the new lanes also will be fun. Great architecture and diversity of activities – a great combination. Now if only they had selected some simpler lights for the front of the Moolah I’d be completely happy…

– Steve

We need street cars, not planted medians

All over the City of St. Louis you can see newly constructed medians along our wider boulevards – Delmar West of Union, Russell near Jefferson, and most recently along S. Grand from I-44 to Arsenal. Unfortunately, these aesthetic improvements serve as a barrier to what we really need – street cars.

MetroLink is great but it currently only covers a small fraction of the region. Soon it will extend out to Clayton, Brentwood & Maplewood. But, much of the city & region is served only by bus service. Even when the south & north MetroLink routes are constructed much of St. Louis will not be within walking distance of a station.

Light rail is far more costly to construct than streetcars. In cities such as San Francisco – both fill an important need. The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) rail system in SF is only about a 5 minute drive from my brother & sister in-law’s house which is nearly an hour drive from San Francisco. Taking BART into SF I am able to get around quite easily on their system of streetcars and cable cars.

While I have ridden the bus here and in other cities I don’t think it is the best way to get around town. Not sure what it is but buses just seem like second class transportation. Street cars, on the other hand, are very enjoyable. Waiting for a bus is different than a street car – I can’t quite put my finger on why this is. Figuring out bus lines, especially for a visitor, is maddening. Street car & light rail lines are easily seen on a map. I think it is mostly a mental state of mind I need to get over. Still, street cars have proven to be very popular in other cities – if it will get more people out of their cars when why not?

Currently I know of only one planned streetcar line for the St. Louis region – serving Forest Park and the Delmar Loop. Given that the Loop got its name from an old streetcar line making a loop in the area, it seems fitting to return streetcars to this area.

• Heritage Trolly – St. Louis; a good description of the proposed streetcar line.
• Trollys To Go was created to promote the new Delmar Trolly/streetcar.

Here are some other streetcar lines I’d like to see in St. Louis:
• Grand Blvd from the North Water Tower to Arsenal. This line would pass the MetroLink stop at the Grand Viaduct. Future MetroLink stops at Natural Bridge & Chouteau would make this line critical for getting mass transit to areas in North & South St. Louis that will never be served by our light rail.
• Jefferson from Natural Bridge to Broadway/Chippewa.
• Broadway from downtown to Lemay.
• Tucker/Gravois. Starting at Tucker & Cass heading South through downtown and following Gravois as far into St. Louis County as is feasible.
• Dr. Martin Luther King or Page. Start at Tucker & MLK and head West
• Union & Goodfellow.
• Chippewa from Jefferson/Broadway West to Watson Road/River Des Peres.

Such streetcar lines, combined with MetroLink and bus service would add needed diversity to our transportation system. I’d much rather invest in mass transit systems than pretty flower beds. Another blogger, Citywmn, posted her thoughts on Grand today – click here to read her take.

– Steve

How do I get there by foot, bus, rail or bike?

A couple I’ve been talking with online is planning a visit to St. Louis in March – if all goes well they may consider relocating from NYC (Staten Island). I’m working with them as their REALTOR® to find just the right house – one of their biggest criteria is proximity to mass transit (bus & light rail).

As part of their trip planning they are selecting a hotel and trying to decide on the various attractions they wish to see while they are here. Being native New Yorkers (born & raised in Manhattan) renting for the week is just not something that is in their mindset. If they can’t get around the city by foot, bus or rail then this is not the city for them.

So, in checking out places to visit they alerted me to a startling fact – places such as the St. Louis Art Museum only give you directions via car. Curious, I looked up a few more places and sadly found that many popular destinations assume access by car – even though bus or MetroLink are an option. None of the random destinations I searched even mentioned arriving by bicycle & availability of bicycle parking.

Many places such as the Contemporary Art Museum simply give you their address. It is up to you to figure out how to arrive.

The Saint Louis Art Museum does briefly mention a shuttle in the summer but doesn’t tell you to take the Forest Park MetroLink stop and walk through the park. After all, who walks besides poor people and we all know they don’t do to museums…

Directions to the Museum are:

By car:
From Interstate 40/64 West, exit right (34D). Continue north into the park, then follow the park signs to the Art Museum.

From Interstate 40/64 East, exit right (34D). Continue north on the highway overpass into the park, then follow the park signs to the Art Museum.

From Interstate 44 East, exit right (286). Turn left onto Hampton Avenue. Continue north into the park, then follow the park signs to the Art Museum.

From Interstate 44 West, exit right (286). Turn right onto Hampton Avenue. Continue north into the park, then follow the park signs to the Art Museum.

Free parking is provided in front of and behind the Museum. Allow plenty of time as parking is limited. Designated parking spaces for persons with disabilities are available.

During the summer, Metro St. Louis will be running the Zip2 shuttle bus, which will make getting round Forest Park easy.

The Roberts Mayfair – A Wyndham Historic Hotel downtown is only two short blocks from a MetroLink stop yet directions from the airport assume you are going to rent a car, take a shuttle or taxi.

STL - Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Distance : 17 miles

Directions
70 East, exit Broadway. Follow exit and turn right on Washington. Turn left on 8th Street, and the Mayfair is located on the right side.

Transportation Costs:
Shuttle $15.00
Taxi $30.00 (One Way)

The Chase Park Plaza hotel & entertainment center isn’t far from MetroLink and access by bus is easy. I believe a shuttle still runs up Euclid to get people from the MetroLink?

From the Lambert International Airport:
Upon exiting the airport, take I-70 East to 170 South for approximately 9 miles. Exit to Highway 64/40 East. Exit Kingshighway North and proceed to Lindell. Immediately after you cross over Lindell, make a right into our main entrance at 212 N. Kings highway.

From Points South or North (Interstate 270):
Follow Interstate 270 to Highway 64/40 East. Exit Kingshighway North and proceed to Lindell. Immediately after you cross over Lindell, make a right into our main entrance at 212N. Kingshighway.

The Saint Louis Science Center like the others assumes arriving by car when bus, bike or a walk from the MetroLink to the Planetarium entrance are feasible.

Our main entrance is off of Oakland Avenue, half-a-block east of Kingshighway. From Highway 40/I-64, exit south on Kingshighway then immediately go right on Oakland for half a block. From I-44, exit north on Hampton for almost a mile, then go right at the light on Oakland for a mile, half a block past Macklind. Lot parking behind the Science Center is at $7 per vehicle for the whole day.

Our Planetarium entrance is in the Southeast corner of Forest Park. From I-44 and from Highway 40/I-64, exit north on Hampton. Turn right on Clayton Avenue into Forest Park and follow the Planetarium signs for half a mile. The Planetarium building is on your right. Limited free parking is available adjacent to this building and elsewhere in the Park.

A notable exception is the Saint Louis Zoo which gives detailed instructions from various sources. If they had mentioned cycling and at which entrances they had bike racks they’d get an A+.

Directions

By Car:
From US-40/I-64 — take Hampton Avenue/Museums/Zoo exit.

From I-44 — exit Hampton Avenue. Follow Hampton north one mile to the Zoo.

From I-270 — take I-170 south the U.S. 40/I-64 east to Zoo/Museum exit.

By Metrolink:
Ride the Metrolink mass transit system to either the Forest Park or Central West End stop. Then take the Route# 52 Forest Park bus from the Central West End station or Route #90 Hampton from the Forest Park Station to the Zoo.

By Bus:
Bi-State Transit Authority buses stop and pick up at the Zoo. Take Route #52 Forest Park or Route #90 Hampton.

Parking:
Parking on the Zoo’s two lots is $8 per day. Limited street parking around the perimeter of the Zoo is also available for free. RVs, buses and motorhomes can park on the South lot only (Wells Drive) for $16 a day.

Another exception is the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Given that you can see the MetroLink stop from the building it would have been foolish if they didn’t mention it. Bus & bicycle rack information, however, is missing.

From MetroLink
Exit MetroLink at the Forest Park Stop History Museum is 2 blocks to the south along Debaliviere.

History Museum Parking
Parking is on the east and west sides of the museum Bus drop off is at the north side in front of the fountain.

But the most humorous directions came when I was searching the city web site trying to find directions to city hall. I never found general directions but did find direction to the City of St. Louis Division of Air Pollution Control. Yes, the division of city government charged with controlling air pollution assumes you’ll be driving a car from a major highway if you are visiting them. They are located on North 13th Street a couple of blocks North of Cole so walking from a downtown MetroLink station is not out of the question and buses certainly run along Tucker. Sad, very sad.

Driving Directions:
From Interstate 70:
Follow I-70 into downtown area. Exit at Tenth Street.
Follow Tenth Street south to O’Fallon Street – turn right.
Follow O’Fallon Street west to Tucker – turn right. Parking lot and building are on the left.

From Interstate 55:
Follow I-55 through downtown (becomes I-70). Exit at Madison Avenue.
Turn left at sign at the top of the off-ramp – cross highway and turn left.
Follow Tenth Street south to O’Fallon Street – turn right.
Follow O’Fallon Street west to Tucker – turn right. Parking lot and building are on the left.

From Interstate 44:
Follow I-44 to I-55 North. Follow I-55 through downtown (becomes I-70). Exit at Madison Avenue.
Turn left at sign at the top of the off-ramp – cross highway and turn left.
Follow Tenth Street south to O’Fallon Street – turn right.
Follow O’Fallon Street west to Tucker – turn right. Parking lot and building are on the left.

From State Highway 40:
Follow Highway 40 into downtown area. Exit at 10th Street (left-side exit).
Follow off-ramp to stoplight at Clark – turn left.
Follow Clark west to Tucker – turn right. Follow Tucker north approximately .5 miles – past O’Fallon Street.
Parking lot and building are on the left.

The city web site does redeem itself a bit with a good list of Transportation Links.

Our businesses and institutions need to think multi-modal if we are going to curb our auto dependance and make our city more pedestrian & bicycle friendly. It only works if we all participate in changing the predominate mindset.

– Steve

St. Louis’ Central Library: One of the world’s most beautiful

From the Saint Louis Public Library website:

Recently, the St. Louis Public Library’s Central Library was named one of the 12 most beautiful and historical libraries in the world. As part of this honor, Central Library’s Great Hall is featured for May in the 2005 Renaissance Library Calendar. The calendar is in its fifth year of publication. It contains libraries from Austria, Croatia, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The St. Louis Public Library is one of three U.S. libraries featured in the distinguished publication. The Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington in Seattle and the Library of the Boston Athenæum are the other two. Library and information professionals, as well as book lovers in more than 40 countries chose the winners.

The calendar is published by ISIM, Information Strategy and Information Management, which is based in Sweden. For details or to purchase the calendar for $12.95, call the St. Louis Public Library Foundation at 539-0359.

I must agree. The library is a great example of civic design.

– Steve

I’ve been Googled!

Regular readers of Urban Review – St. Louis will notice something new – Google advertisements to the right. This is not intended as a money maker – just enough to cover server expenses. What is interesting is to see what ads come up based on the keywords of my site.

One such ad as was for a publication called Markets & Morality from the Action Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty. That certainly got my attention! While I have my own brand of personal faith, I haven’t a religious bone in my body. Which, considering that my father was raised Southern Baptist and my mom raise Mennonite, is certainly amazing. Thankfully, my parents raised us to be honest & moral – not necessarily religious. Anyway, I’m getting off subject.

This ad peaked my interest so I clicked on the link and began to peak around on the various perspectives & editorials in PDF format. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found:

I have come to the conclusion that “community” is a very elusive concept. The way that we even use this word in our contemporary culture is confusing. At one time, “community” meant the people living near us. Currently, “community” seems to mean people with whom we share an interest or an advocacy with no expectation that we live near or even have met anyone in our “community.” We mostly hear the word community in phrases such as “gay community” or “Christian community.” To talk about community as a physical place or a setting for real human relationships, as the New Urbanists have taught us to do, is revolutionary.

Quite true, community as a physical place beyond a sprawl subdivision is revolutionary. The above quote is from Eric O. Jacobson, an Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Missoula, Montana in a paper entitled, “Receiving Community: The Church and the Future of the New Urbanist Movement.”

The ideas behind the New Urbanist movement represent a significant challenge to the reigning orthodoxy, which has held sway within the guild of professional developers and planners over the past fifty years. The town of Seaside, and other successful New Urbanist developments, have demonstrated that this movement represents a viable alternative to post-World War II development practices. For the first twenty years of its existence, the New Urbanist movement has been primarily a secular movement, but it must not remain exclusively so. This article, argues that if the New Urbanist movement aspires to be more than just a short-term economic success or a market correction it is going to have to take the church more seriously as a conversation partner in its cultural project. In particular, the church can help the New Urbanist movement grapple with some of the powers and forces, which have an impact upon communities in ways that are more profound and enduring than economic factors alone. These forces involve such Christian concepts as redemption, interdependence, selfless service, and even right worship. Understanding these forces may not help New Urbanists to build community more efficiently but, rather, may teach us all how to graciously receive community as a gift.

Interesting. Certainly worth a read.

Churches certainly can play a role in the revitalization of St. Louis – or in the case of the Catholic Church – ignoring the city. Pastor Battle from the House of Deliverance Pentecostal Church in Hyde Park could benefit from these ideas of community & church.

In the meantime, if you bid on any “Urban Renewal” from the eBay ad let me know how that works out…

– Steve