Every City Needs An Old Fashioned Soda Fountain

Crown Candy Kitchen in St. Louis has been a favorite place of mine since my first visit in the Fall of 1990. Every city should have a family-run soda fountain and perhaps every city does.

A few days ago I retuned from a trip that included a day in Dallas, a couple of hours in Ft. Worth and five nights in my hometown of Oklahoma City. I was 23 when I moved to St. Louis but at no point did I ever make it to Kaiser’s. That changed Tuesday.

Like Crown Candy, Kaiser’s has a history starting with an immigrant:

In 1910, Swiss born Anthony “Tony” Kaiser opened Kaiser’s Ice Cream Parlor on NW 7th and Robinson. In 1918 he moved his operation to this very spot. Through hard work, imagination, and commitment to his guests Tony shaped Oklahoma City and manifested the American dream. While the Kaiser’s building and concepts therein have evolved over the years, the philosophy Mr. Kaiser predicated over 100 years ago remains the same: feed people and make them happy. (Kaiser’s)

Oklahoma didn’t become a state until 1907 but Kaiser’s is three years older than Crown Candy (or 5 years younger at this location). Not sure why I find that fascinating,

As a kid this area was one of those nobody would visit, it was rundown to say the least. Today a roundabout solves a decade-old traffic problem and popular restaurants abound in the area.  The Plaza Court building was built in 1926 and it includes structured parking at the back of the building, a new thing for the 1920s. It was largely vacant and derelict most of the time I lived in Oklahoma City.

The lesson here is for St. Louis natives, St. Louis has had rough times, some self-inflicted, but things are improving even if you refuse to open your eyes and see them. During my visit to Oklahoma City I found myself in areas I’d have felt uncomfortable driving through 25+ years ago and now I was in them as a pedestrian after dark.

I don’t want to move back — St. Louis is home, but I’m glad to see Oklahoma City doing things to force me to drop my notions about how I thought Oklahoma City will always be.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Support Soulard Market Renovation

In the poll last week readers indicated they’re supportive of renovating Soulard Market.  Read the original post and comments here.

Q: Support the Planned $14 Million Renovation of Soulard Market?

1. Yes! 57 [62.64%]
2. No! 14 [15.38%]
3. Don’t know enough to decide 10 [10.99%]
4. Unsure/no opinion 5 [5.49%]
5. Other: 5 [5.49%]

The five “other” answers were:

1. Let it be – OLD is OK…why is history such a crime in this City!
2. I would support it if the food was local and not the same crap from Schnucks
3. most underperforming venue
4. Support some of the improvements, but not all
5. what’s the vision?

The Soulard Market Master Plan can be downloaded here. I’ve not had an opportunity to study the plan so I’ll reserve any judgement. When I used to shop at Soulard I’d do a circle to see what looked good and would then return to the farmer vendors to buy from them — I rarely bought from those reselling produce row items. I’d like to see more farmers and fewer resellers.

– Steve Patterson

Fire Cleared Forest Park Highlands, St. Louis Community College Forest Park Opened 7 Years Later

The site of St. Louis Community College at Forest Park was a popular amusement park since 1896, but it came to a dramatic end 49 years ago today:

July 19, 1963: St. Louis’s most popular amusement park went up in flames as a fire of unknown origin swept through Forest Park Highlands, leaving only scorched debris.  Located just south of Forest Park on land now occupied by St. Louis Community College, the Highlands had been a favorite site for picnics since before the turn of the century.  It was a place to enjoy the roller coaster, merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, and fun house, with its maze of tipsy floors and disorienting mirrors. The park also had an excellent pool and a dance pavilion where, in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, leading bands performed.

Always a respectable resort, the Highlands enforced strict rules for dress and behavior. In 1913, for example, the management banned the tango, the turkey trot, the bunny hug, and the grizzly bear on grounds that these dances were “indecent, immoral, and detrimental to public morals.” The only new dance to pass the decency test that year was the hesitation waltz.   (From the book St. Louis Day By Day by Francis Hurd Stadler).

A year before the fire voters approved establishing the “Junior College District of St. Louis-St. Louis County and a board of trustees”, a 1961 Missouri law made this possible. Meramec and Florissant Valley came first with temporary facilities in 1963. The Forest Park campus on the Highlands site opened in 1970 (see STLCC history).

The carousel from the Highlands survived the fire and is located in Faust Park:

The St. Louis Carousel is home to an original carousel created by the Dentzel Company of Philadelphia in the 1920’s. The Carousel was installed in 1929 at the Forest Park Highlands. When the Highlands burned to the ground in 1963, the carousel was the only thing left standing. Howard C. Ohlendorf purchased the carousel to prevent it from being dismantled and donated it to St. Louis County Parks in 1965. The department operated it during the summer months at Sylvan Springs Park until 1980. The St. Louis County Historic Buildings Commission and Faust Cultural Heritage Foundation raised enough money to restore the carousel to its original beauty and installed it in a climate controlled building in Faust Park in 1987. (St. Louis County Parks & Recreation) 

Additional resources:

• A Look Back • A raging fire in 1963 ended 67 years of fun at the Highlands (with 15 excellent images)
• ForestParkHighlands.com — impressive resource!
• Video from KETC

I can’t help but wonder what would’ve become of the Highlands had it not been destroyed by fire. Would it still be open and popular? Would it have died a slow death?

— Steve Patterson

Where’s The African American Cultural Center?

Located in University City and St. Louis, the Delmar Loop is a vibrant street. New venues have been added like The Pagent, Pin-Up Bowl, Moonrise, Regional Arts Commission and the St. Louis African American Cultural Center.  As of last Saturday the Visit the Loop website says the latter is “opening in 2011”:

It’s 2012 and the center is not open and nothing appears to be happening at the proposed site, the project was proposed in 2006.

In 2011 the project DeclareItArt.com posted the following on the wall and online:

This piece is designed to serve as a metaphor for the innumerable empty promises laid at the feet of a once-subjugated minority. In building this non-building, a wooden barrier with a large, ostentatious sign reading “African American Cultural Center,” the artist references an uncomfortable truth.Not unlike the post-emancipation pledge of 40 acres and a mule, this work evokes the United States’ propensity to trade actual product or progress for the emptiness of ‘good intentions.’The wall, complete with a quintessentially multicultural mural, satirically espouses a commitment to a Center the community is unable or unwilling to construct. A microcosm of minority race and religious relations, this piece embodies both the best and worst of “mainstream” American priorities.Other “forever-under construction” projects proposed by the artist include a “Native Americans: Here’s Colorado Back” installation and a thrilling piece that “promises” to allow the Iraqi Army to invade and “liberate” Washington D.C., with the guarantee of a meager and underpowered defense from the U.S. military.

Interesting statement.

— Steve Patterson

Metro’s Multi-Use Transfer

For many transit riders the bus transfer is an important piece of paper.  Until this year I didn’t know the why or how to use a transfer but I learned quickly.

The current MetroBus adult fare is $2 and a “multi-use transfer” costs $1 more. Depending upon your trip it’s worth the extra buck. When you board a bus and pay $3 you get a transfer good for at least two hours. The driver tears off the transfer at the appropriate spot depending upon the current time.

Here are some examples where the transfer comes in handy:

1. Transferring to another bus to reach your destination.
2. Transferring from bus to light rail to reach your destination.
3. Return bus trip for a quick visit somewhere.

— Steve Patterson