Poll: your thoughts on the future of the SS Admiral

At the end of next month the President Casino on the Admiral will close, leaving the future of the art deco boat unknown.

The SS Admiral has a long history on the St. Louis riverfront:

The hull of the Admiral once belonged to a side-wheel steamboat called the SS Albatross, built in 1907. The Albatross was built in Iowa and used to haul railroad cars at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Streckfus Steamers bought the ship in 1937, and gave it a completely new appearance, new function, and a new name. The designer was Maizie Krebs, a fashion illustrator for Famous-Barr department stores. It was converted from steam to Diesel in the 1970s. In it’s heyday, the Admiral was the largest river cruise ship in the world. It could carry 4,400 passengers. (source)

When I moved to St. Louis in August 1990 I was struck by the beauty of the SS Admiral, then located south of the Eads Bridge.  I’d hate to see it go away but I don’t know if it has a place on the riverfront going forward.

Resources:

• Wikipedia
• Vintage pictures from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Thomas Kempland Collection (photos & history)

The poll this week tries to get at your feelings on the subject.

– Steve Patterson

The future of the Alverne?

The long-vacant Alverne at the SE corner of 11th & Locust had a fire on Monday:

“Firefighters battled a three-alarm fire at an old downtown hotel building Monday evening.

Heavy black smoke billowed from the 15-story, building at the corner of 11th and Locust streets. Several streets in the area of the fire were shut down for hoses and equipment.” (KMOV)

Reports indicate the fire started in the basement and spread to the first floor.  From the exterior you can’t really tell except for the plywood over the doors and windows and the new fire smell.

My question is what does the future hold for this building?  During the height of the loft boom this building was not rehabbed.  But first a bit of history:

“Originally home to a progressive social club, then the Desoto Hotel after 1933. It was then home to a convent for many years, then a seniors residence. The building has lost virtually every bit of its original ornament; however, with the coming of the convent, it gained a stylized 1960s street level facade.” (Source: Built St. Louis)

Reasons for not being rehabbed are numerous:.

“The small windows on the building’s north and west elevations most likely negatively affect its conduciveness for use as an office building, but the building would work well as apartments or a hotel. It has two ballrooms, including one on the top floor that features some amazing views of the city. Its ground floor is ideal for retail or a restaurant.” (source: Downtown St. Louis Business)

I’ve heard greedy owners and a small floor plate as well.  But if we look at an aerial image:

We see the Alverne (right) appears to have larger floors than the Louderman (left).  The Louderman has both lofts and offices (lower floors).  Perhaps the location of the stairs and elevator shaft make arranging residential spaces difficult?  I hope someone can find a way to reuse the building.  It is better as a vacant building than as a vacant lot.

– Steve Patterson

Readers support removing the homeless to replace failing tunnel

In a pretty decisive vote in the poll last week readers made it clear the homeless living in the old Tucker tunnel had to be displaced so the failing structure could be replaced:

Q: St. Louis displaced the homeless living under the Tucker bridge, your thoughts? Pick only one:

1. The homeless had to go so Tucker can be replaced. 96 [45.71%]
2. Larry Rice used the issue just to raise a stink. 68 [32.38%]
3. The homeless had to go, but the city could have been more sensitive to their needs. 25 [11.9%]
4. Other answer… 8 [3.81%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 6 [2.86%]
6. Larry Rice was the only person to stand up for the rights of the homeless. 5 [2.38%]
7. The city shouldn’t replace Tucker so the homeless can stay in place. 2 0.95%

More thought Larry Rice was just using the issue than genuine concern for the homeless.  Two people actually voted to not replace the bridge so the homeless can keep living under the roadway as it collapses!

Here are the “other” answers:

1. Move them if need be, then allow them to move back when construction is complete
2. Larry Rice put these tunnel dwellers in the tunnel to gain publicity/donations.
3. Rice takes advantage of the homeless. They had no rights to the property.
4. The city should find a place for these people to live.
5. Bill Siedoff is doing a great job. He is very caring
6. tunnel is unique, should save for future reuse
7. get a job
8. Homeless had to go. Period.

b

– Steve Patterson

Hey U.S. Bank, your parking garage is an eyesore!

The St. Louis Centre skybridge across Washington Ave.,   more than a block from the entrance to the convention center, will be gone in a few weeks.  For so long officials have focused on the bridge as a eyesore:

Kitty Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, has long advocated for the removal of the skybridge, which is located a block away from the entrance to the city’s convention facility, America’s Center.

“The bridge over Washington Avenue makes people think our city is dirty, that it is unsafe and that we don’t really care about our city,” she said. “This is going to change that dramatically. It’s going to make a very different impression.”

Read more: Downtown St. Louis’ biggest eyesore to come down -  St. Louis Business Journal

Yet visible from the convention center is an atrocity that is never mentioned — the 1975 parking garage for U.S. Bank:

Hmm, what does this garage say about our city?  When built  it was then then Mercantile Bank and the convention center was two years from opening and when it did it stopped a block to the north.  In the mid-1990s  the Cervantes Center was renamed and expanded a block to the south and given a prominent entrance aligned with 8th Street.

When visitors leave the convention center they see two buildings across the street — the ugly U.S. Bank garage and the Renaissance Grand hotel.

The hotel is obviously fine but the garage is so out of place.  It needs to go away and be replaced with a structure of similar massing but with say doors and windows.

– Steve Patterson

Chess tables, chairs and umbrellas added to the Old Post Office Plaza

The Old Post Office Plaza opened in April 2009. All last year it was a bit, um, harsh.  Lots of concrete and no relief from the sun.

For 2010 the plaza now sports tables, chairs and large white umbrellas.

I’ve yet to see anyone playing chess at the new tables but in time that should change.
New Planters attached to the railing of the ramp going to the overlook is also a needed touch.  One thing is still missing: bike racks.

– Steve Patterson