Poll: What should St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones do with the site of the former Cupples 7 Warehouse?

The wrecking contractor is finishing up the demolition of the Cupples 7 warehouse at 1014 Spruce St, just west of Busch Stadium so now’s a good time to figure out the next step(s).  For those new to this issue here’s a recap:

1. The Cupples Warehouse district is very historic, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (see nomination). 
2. Various past attempts to raze most or all failed. The other remaining warehouses have all been rehabbed for new uses.
3. Private owners allowed a small hole in the roof of Cupples 7 to grow into a gigantic hole over the last 10-15 years, causing the wood interior floors to collapse.
4. The previous St. Louis Treasurer, Larry Williams, agreed to buy the note from the bank if the city issued a demotion permit.
5. A few years ago the city closed off adjacent streets out of fear the building would collapse.
6. The city said the building must come down, the risk of collapse was too great.
7. New Treasurer Tishaura Jones bought the note and began the demolition required by the city.

The eastern half of the building is basically gone, just rubble. The western half, however, remains. It too has internal issues but not to the degree the eastern half did.

The poll question this week asks “What should St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones do with the site of the former Cupples 7 Warehouse?” You’ll be able to pick up to 3 answers which range from paving the site for parking to stopping demolition on the western half.

I know what I want her to do but I’ll save that for the post presenting the results on Wednesday August 28th. You can vote in the right sidebar and share your thoughts in the comments below.

— Steve Patterson

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Forget Smelling Roses, I Stop To Take Pictures Along The Way

Leaving the Missouri History Museum the other night I just had to stop and snap a few pictures. Here was the best one.

It was a beautiful evening, almost chilly out — in August!  Have a great weekend everyone.

— Steve Patterson

Complaints About Our Pedestrians

I’ve done my fare share of complaining about motorists — blocking crosswalks, nearly hitting me making right turns, parking on sidewalks, etc. Today I want to talk about bad behavior among pedestrians.

First thing I should get out of the way, I’ve been known to exhibit bad pedestrian behavior. Specifically, I can think of one time crossing Tucker, I didn’t wait for the pedestrian signal. I started across because I knew the pattern of the lights. What I momentarily forgot was cars can legally make a right turn on red. They had the right of way but I cut them off by crossing when I did.

So what are some of my complaints?

1. People walking 2-3 abreast, expecting others to step aside so they don’t have to walk single file. We have very few sidewalks downtown where pedestrians can walk 2-3 abreast while meeting others going the opposite direction. So sorry folks, I’m not going to stop and wait behind a planter or trash can so your trio can remain intact.
2. People come out of stores clueless that anyone else is using the sidewalk.
3. People in front of me walking slowly but not letting me pass them, especially when they’re smoking.

We’re not Manhattan, but it would still be nice to have our pedestrians be more aware of their surroundings. To be fair, I probably encounter many pedestrians who are tourists so they aren’t familiar with downtown, they may not even be used to walking in a downtown context with crowded sidewalks.

— Steve Patterson

State-Owned Retail Space on 9th Street Finally For Lease

In October last year I posted about a downtown hotel that used a state-owned retail storefront rent-free for a decade. Then in December I noted the storefront was being emptied of the hotel’s stuff, they used it for long-term storage. Since December I kept expecting to see a for lease sign go up. Finally on Monday I spotted the sign!

From the flyer:

Short-term on-street parking is still needed in front of this space, and the retail spaces in the former Board of Education building to the immediate south. Right now the city has the  parking lane marked as no parking but also no driving, I don’t get the logic behind leaving a full lane completely unused.

Hopefully this will get leased soon so the state can get revenue ($54,945/year) and a long-vacant storefront gets activated.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Top Pick For Closed Restaurant They Wish Was Still Open: The Parkmoor

Hopefully the poll last week was a nice stroll down memory lane, it was for me at least. The question was the three closed restaurants readers wished were still open. The Parkmoor received 35 votes to top the poll with 7.94%.

Here’s some history about The Parkmoor you may not have known:

There were once six Parkmoors in St. Louis. I had thought that the Parkmoor at Big Bend and Clayton was the one and only. In fact it was the sole survivor as well as the original, in 1930 the site of a Tudor-style drive-in. Three more Parkmoors opened in the 1930s and two in the 1950s, but all five of them were gone by 1971.

From 1940 to 1953 there was also a McGinley Parkmoor in Indianapolis. Parkmoor was a popular name for mid-century drive-ins. The Parkmoors in Amarillo TX, Knoxville TN (one O), Dayton OH, and Sarasota FL were not related. (source)

Many drive-in restaurants continued even though the drive-in service didn’t.

Here are the remaining votes:

1. Tin Can 32 [7.26%]
2. Other: 29 [6.58%]
3. Rossino’s 23 [5.22%]
4. Miss Hullings 22 [4.99%]
5. Busch’s Grove 22 [4.99%]
6. Bleeding Deacon 22 [4.99%]
7. Papa Fabarre’s 21 [4.76%]
8. Duff’s 21 [4.76%] 4.76%
9. Del Taco 20 [4.54%]
10. Flaco’s Tacos 20 [4.54%]
11. King Louie’s 20 [4.54%]
12. 94th Aerosquadron 16 [3.63%]
13. Chuy Arzola’s (Dogtown) 15 [3.4%]
14. Stable 12 [2.72%]
15. Monarch 10 [2.27%]
16. Tangerine 9 [2.04%]
17. The Salad Bowl 8 [1.81%]
18. Shangri La Diner 7 [1.59%]
19. Delmar Lounge 7 [1.59%]
20. Chez Leon 6 [1.36%]
21. Sunshine Inn 6 [1.36%]
22. Red Moon 5 [1.13%]
23. Brandt’s 5 [1.13%]
24. El Burrito Loco 5 [1.13%]
25. Zoe’s Panasian 4 [0.91%]
26. O’Malley’s 3 [0.68%]
27. Marty’s Baking 3 [0.68%]
28. Pestalozzi Place 3 [0.68%]
29. Shuggas 1 [0.23%]
30. Empire Sandwich Shop 0 [0%]
31. Minions Cafe 0 [0%]

As you can see at the top “other” got a lot of votes:

1. Casa Gallardo
2. Tanner B’s (x3)
3. Seki’s
4. Beffa’s
5. Salt (x2)
6. Sunflower Cafe
7. Kitchen K
8. Garavelli’s
9. Il Vicino’s
10. Revival
11. Natural Fact Deli
12. Terrene
13. Moxy
14. Robert E Lee
15. redels
16. Sine Qua Non (Delmar) – Ethiopian
17. silk road
18. Newstead Tower Public House
19. Riddles
20. Dooley’s (downtown)
21. Dohak’s
22. Kopperman’s
23. Lake Forest bakery
24. wildflower pizza on pershing
25. mojo tapas
26. Diamond Head Inn

I have no great insight other than restaurants come and go.

— Steve Patterson