Downtown St. Louis: Where No St. Louisan Has Gone BeforeI took the opportunity the Friday before I headed back to DC to do an architectural survey of downtown St. Louis, or at least what's left of it. They're progressing on the new Busch Stadium; I hope the noise from the interstate overpass doesn't affect the viewing enjoyment of the fans in the south stands.
Here's a group of office buildings from the turn of the century; St. Louis has some of the best old skyscrapers after New York and Chicago, and they're horribly underutilized and frequently demolished for a parking garage. People, listen carefully, St. Louis will never revive its downtown with dozens of new parking garages; it needs pedestrian traffic that hopefully the new loft renovations will provide. DC's downtown has revived with a paucity of parking because it has real destinations, not plenty of parking.
I took this picture from the parking garage that I parked in; it shows some of the varied architectural styles present in the area around the Old Post Office. Several buildings in the picture represent the work of some of the 20th Century's greatest architects and need to be preserved.
I ventured into North St. Louis to visit Crown Candy and see what exactly was happening in the seeming netherworld of the northern part of the city. I found a fair share of abandoned houses, but surprising numbers of well restored houses and a lot of empty lots. The term "blank canvas" comes to mind when I think of some of the potential in the areas just north of downtown. Practically no one even lives there any more, so the area is ripe for redevelopment.
Your re-posting of the comments on Old North St. Louis couldn't have come at a better time. A huge amount of activity has occurred in the past couple years, including the construction and sale of new homes along North Market and Monroe and the Landmarks "Most Enhanced" Award-winning historic rehabilitation of 9 apartment buildings spread over 5 blocks in the same area.
ReplyDeleteOn Saturday, January 19, neighborhood stakeholders and outside friends and planners will gather for a charrette to explore ideas for the public spaces at the $35 million redevelopment of the former N. 14th Street Pedestrian Mall. Come on out and see - and be a part of - the dramatic transformation of this incredibly cool neighborhood just north of downtown. See NewOldNorth.blogspot.com for more details.