Poll: Should New LGBT Businesses Locate Within The Grove “Gayborhood” or Elsewhere?

One debate often heard in cities is about gayborhoods, or gay village. Let’s start by defining this term which may be new to many of you, from Wikipedia:

A gay village (also known as a gay neighborhood, gay district) is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people live or frequent. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as gay bars and gay pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, and bookstores.

Such areas may represent a gay-friendly oasis in an otherwise hostile city, or may simply have a high concentration of gay residents and/or businesses. Much as other urbanized groups, some gay men and women have managed to utilize their spaces as a way to reflect gay cultural value and serve the special needs of individuals in relation to society at large.

Typically, today, these neighborhoods can be found in the upscale or trendy parts of town, chosen for aesthetic or historic value, no longer resulting from the sociopolitical ostracization and the constant threat of physical violence from homophobic individuals that originally motivated the homosexual communities to live together for their mutual safety.

However, these neighborhoods are also often found in working-class parts of the city, or in the neglected fringe of a downtown area – communities which may have been upscale historically but became economically depressed and socially disorganized. In these cases, the establishment of a gay community may eventually turn these areas into more expensive neighborhoods, a process known as gentrification – a phenomenon in which gays often play a pioneer role. However, this process does not always work out to the benefit of queer communities, as they often see property values rise so high that they can no longer afford them as high rise condominiums are built and gay bars move out. (Or the only gay establishments that remain are those catering to a more upscale clientele.)

Today’s manifestations of gay “ghettos” bear little resemblance to those of the 1970s.

In St. Louis today the gayborhood is The Grove on Manchester Ave. In the 21+ years I’ve lived in St. Louis the location of the gay village has moved around a bit, although this is the first time in my memory that we’ve had such a concentration in one area. Many feel empowered by such a strong presence and want to continue that direction.

Enter Hamburger Mary’s, a franchise of the small gay-friendly chain that originated in San Francisco.

ABOVE: You can't miss Hamburger Mary's on Olive. Click to view website.

I’ve heard some who are upset Hamburger Mary’s is on Olive in the Midtown Alley area rather than be grouped with other LGBT-friendly establishments in The Grove. For me the location on Olive is more convenient but I see the other side of the argument too.  I want to know your thoughts on the subject so this question is the poll this week. The poll is in the right sidebar.

- Steve Patterson

Real Neighborhood Restaurants Aren’t Chains

For many eating out means visiting a familiar chain like a McDonald’s or an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar. The funny thing is places like Applebee’s are rarely in actual neighborhoods. But in St. Louis we have so many locally owned establishments within our neighborhoods. I recently retuned to one such place for lunch.

ABOVE: The patio at Rue Lafayette is great in warmer weather.

Rue Lafayette is on Lafayette Ave facing Lafayette Park. It’s not part of a commercial district or adjacent to other commercial businesses. All the surrounding buildings are residential.

ABOVE: Interior of the west half of Rue Lafayette

The menu changes which is easy since it’s written in chalk. Area residents can walk down the street to grab a bite and enjoy a glass of wine or beer as well. I didn’t have any alcohol but I did treat myself to dessert after a salad.

ABOVE: Bread pudding is hard to resist

You can keep the big franchise places out there, for me I’m happy with locally owned establishments.

- Steve Patterson

The Council Towers Brick Relief Sculpture is Back

Last July I posted about the brick relief sculpture being removed from the Council Towers building in midtown (Brick Relief Sculpture Nearly Removed from Council Towers). Here was the scene in July:

ABOVE: Just one small section remains on the east face of Council Towers, July 2011

The developer has kept his word and rebuilt the artwork.

ABOVE: Brick sculpture is nearly finished, January 2012

The sculpture was designed by artists Saunders Schultz and William Severson.

- Steve Patterson

Intersection of Chouteau, Vandeventer & Manchester is Bleak

The other day I found myself in the 7-story Chouteau Building located adjacent to the intersection of Chouteau, Vandeventer & Manchester.

ABOVE: The point where Chouteau becomes Manchester Rd as it crosses Vandeventer

Bleak, depressing, and hostile are just some of the adjectives that popped into my head as I looked out the window. The above is just east of the emerging area known now as The Grove:

The Grove is a growing vibrant business and entertainment district along Manchester between Kingshighway and Vandeventer in St. Louis City. In the Grove you can find a diversity of independently owned restaurants, nightlife, retail, and services. It is also home to the premier nightlife in the area, and is a thriving center for the LGBT, artist, and cycling communities in the St. Louis area.

The new “pedestrian-friendly” streetscape project stops short of Vandeventer Ave, extending not far beyond Sarah.

ABOVE: Looking west along Manchester as seen from the Chouteau Building.

I’m bothered by the idea that we can hope to have a “vibrant” district surrounded by horrible space. I don’t fault the Grove but who is working on the Vandeventer & Chouteau corridors and the intersection where they meet Manchester? Last year it was announced that Bellon’s Wrecking & Salvage has sold the NE corner to Quik Trip which will further degrade the intersection.

The Grove is great but the approach from the east sucks and is getting worse, not better.

- Steve Patterson

Positive Signs Along St. Louis’ Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, Room For More

This is my eighth annual look at St. Louis’ Dr. Martin Luther King Drive on the holiday that celebrates the civil rights leader. Let’s begin at Tucker and head west.

ABOVE: Looking east toward Tucker Blvd that's closed for rebuilding

ABOVE: Just west of 14th a warehouse is getting a large expansion. Hopefully some jobs will be added.

ABOVE: At the end of 2011 a new downtown community garden was built. Click image for more info.

ABOVE: 3047 Dr. ML King was condemned in May 2011. The building was built in 1880. Click for Google Maps

ABOVE: The gas station & convenience store at 1300-1310 N Grand @ Page & @ Dr. ML King built a new building but didn't address pedestrian access

ABOVE: Same property as seen from Page.

ABOVE: Wheelchair user heading eastbound on Dr. ML King sidewalk just east of N Sarah. Click image to view area in Google Maps and see lots of empty land.

ABOVE: This beautiful building at 4635-37 Dr ML King was close to being razed a few years ago and was under rehab last year. It has 3,375sf and was built in 1899.

ABOVE: And just a few doors to the west at Dr. King & Marcus Ave this 1894 building was in sad shape. Both are part of the Dick Gregory Place Apartments project (click for info)

ABOVE: New construction as part of the Arlington Grove project at Dr. ML King Dr & Burd Ave. Click image for project info

ABOVE: More of Arlington Grove at Dr. ML King Dr & Clara Ave. Click image to see Google Maps

ABOVE: The historic Arlington school was the only structure retained on the block. Click for history.

ABOVE: I used this photo of 5955 Dr ML King a year ago, this building was razed in September & October 2011. Click to read last year's post.

ABOVE: In the Wellston Loop area a building is getting some needed maintenance and new streetlights can be seen.

So some progress is being made but so much work remains to be done. The potential exists but I don’t know that we have the ability to realize it.

- Steve Patterson

A Different View of the City

Earlier in the week I attended a meeting in the former board room of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, now part of the common areas at the Park Pacific Apartments.

Left to right: Municipal Courts, Peabody Opera, Solider's Memorial (lower right)

The view from the 22nd floor is stunning. It’s nice at times to view St. Louis from a different vantage point than I do day to day.

- Steve Patterson

Cass @ Tucker Won’t Be Good For Pedestrians

Construction isn’t complete where the realigned  Tucker Blvd intersects with Cass Ave and I already see the sidewalks are not going to be great for pedestrians. Tucker is being realigned with the new Mississippi River Bridge that will open in 2014.

ABOVE: Looking west from 10th St toward construction at the new alignment of Tucker & Cass

Pedestrians walking east & west along Cass Ave get no trees or pedestrian scaled lighting. Nothing to separate them from passing traffic.

ABOVE: Facing south toward downtown on the new Tucker Blvd

The situation along Tucker will be very different, with nice lighting and future street trees. Why so different? The lighting and street trees along Tucker are there for motorists to see and get warm feelings, the benefit to the pedestrian is a secondary concern.

On Cass they don’t care if motorists feel good about the area. The only motorists that count are those coming off the new bridge. It’s a shame too because it wouldn’t have taken much effort to make Cass equally attractive for motorists  & pedestrians.

- Steve Patterson

Last Downtown St. Louis Auto Dealership Closed in 1995

Two days ago I posted about the false story that an urban Fiat dealership was going to open in an existing downtown building. That prompted me to finally get around to doing a post on the last auto dealership in downtown St. Louis.

ABOVE: FBI St. Louis where Boulevard Mercedes once existed

The FBI’s St. Louis office now occupies the 6.7 acre site of the former Boulevard Mercedes-Benz at 2222 Market St. The Mercedes-Benz dealership is visible in a 1971 image on HistoricAerials.com, but I’m unsure when it originally opened, my guess would be late 1960s. The dealership closed in 1995 with the franchise license moving to suburban Ellisville MO and becoming Tri-Star Mercedes-Benz.

On December 1, 1997 an application to raze the former dealership was made and the demolition was completed the following month per city records at Geo St. Louis. The old dealership was suburban and the FBI is not much of an improvement.

- Steve Patterson

Readers Think Rams Will Exit Dome Lease

Most of those that participated in the poll last week think the St. Louis Rams NFL team will exit their lease, going to an annual renewal after the 2014 season:

ABOVE: Edward Jones Dome as seen from The Laurel Apartments

Q: The EJ Dome won’t be in the top 25% as required by the lease, will the St. Louis Rams take their out?

1. Yes, they are outta here 49 [40.16%]
2. Yes, even if just as a bargaining chip to get a new stadium in St. Louis 38 [31.15%]
3. No, they will sign and play in the EJ Dome through 2024 22 [18.03%]
4. Unsure/No Opinion 8 [6.56%]
5. Other: 5 [4.1%]

Eighteen percent think the Rams will finish the lease of the dome through 2014. Can I interest any of you in buying the Eads Bridge? The five other answers were:

1. Let’s hope so! No need for football in this town.
2. Who cares
3. los angeles
4. At the end of the day, does it even matter? If they leave, I’ll be fine.
5. I hope so

In response to #2 above — taxpayers should care! City, county & Missouri tax funds helped fund the dome originally and if we aren’t watching the same thing will happen again. On a related note:

On Wednesday [1/4/12], the governor appointed [Jim] Shrewsbury, a fellow Democrat, to the board that oversees the operation of the Edward Jones Dome. (STLtoday.com)

Shrewsbury was President of the Board of Aldermen.

In other Rams news from last week:

St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke has made the franchise’s first resolutions of 2012 by firing head coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney after a disappointing 2-14 season that finally came to a conclusion on New Years Day. Monday morning, the Rams made an official release that Spagnuolo and Devaney will not be back with the Rams next season. (KMOX)

I don’t care if the Rams stay or go, but if they go I don’t want to experience what I did when I moved here in 1990 — the attitude that we need an NFL team to be a complete city. We’ve got the Cardinals & Blues — we have enough major sports teams.

- Steve Patterson

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True…

Twitter & Facebook were buzzing last Friday over a couple of blog posts that an urban Fiat dealership was to open in downtown St. Louis at 1015 Locust — less than six blocks from my loft. Just before I hit share my internal skeptic kicked and said: “Really?”

“Count On Downtown has confirmed with the broker of the 1015 Locust building that Fiat is planning a dealership, a Fiat Studio in Fiat lingo, on this corner of 11th & Locust. Note: Nothing is final yet. If everything works out, including permits from the city, Fiat Studio is expected to open in March 2012.” (Count on Downtown: Fiat Coming to Downtown St. Louis)

“Fiat will soon announce a move into 1015 Locust Street in downtown St. Louis. As the car dealer as reentered the American market in partnership with Chrysler, Fiat is looking to place Fiat dealerships in about 165 locations, concentrating on urban areas that have a high number of registered small cars. 1015 carries a modernist skin on a 1921 building and while the original was surely beautiful, Fiat seems to think its modern look is a good fit for the brand.” (nextSTL: Fiat “Studio” to Open in Downtown St. Louis)

ABOVE: Post on nextSTL.com with photoshop image of Fiat name on the building and an update that says "We apologize for what looks to be incorrect information."

As you can see the post was very popular on both Facebook & Twitter.

The street level retail space at 1015 Locust was created a few years ago by sectioning off part of the lobby. It’s a tiny retail storefront. Urban dealerships still need offices, parts departments, service bays and inventory storage. In places like Manhattan these are done vertically because the cost of land makes it cost prohibitive to do a typical suburban dealership. The idea of an auto dealership in 1015 Locust is laughable. But it got traction because  we want to believe such positive stories.

ABOVE: The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis tweeted the story

ABOVE: David Nicklaus of the Post-Dispatch set the record straight

ABOVE: nextSTL admitted their post was false via Twitter

The real story is the potential creative use to fill a vacant storefront space:

Bryan Hughes, sales manager for Fiat of Creve Coeur, said today the dealership is considering use of the corner street-level space at 1015 Locust Street downtown. Hughes said the spot would not be a dealership but would serve as a Fiat “display case” like those dealers sometimes set up inside shopping malls. (STLtoday.com)

Now that’s a good story! But, it’s kind of a let down compared to a full dealership. It’s the story these blogs should have run rather than suggest we are getting an urban dealership like in Manhattan.

My love affair with the Fiat 500 began after I realized the shortcomings of the smart fortwo.

ABOVE: A salesman at Fiat of Creve Coeur pulls a Fiat 500 out for my test ride, June 2011

I attended the 2011 St. Louis Auto Show a year ago so I could see one in person but none were there. Finally in June I drove out to the Fiat of Creve Coeur on Lindbergh to see them up close. Ignoring the fact I drive 3,000 miles locally per year and have no money for a different vehicle, the Fiat 500 is perfect for me.  I’ve even picked out the color I’d like: Grigio (gray). I need to buy a lottery ticket every so often because that’s the only way I’ll be able to have one.  Sales so far haven’t been that hot so buying a used one wouldn’t be easy.

J-Lo may have shamelessly plugged the 500 on awards show, but all the glitz and glamour couldn’t obscure the painful truth. Fiat sales of just under 20,000 in 2011 were not even half the annual goal of 50,000. It’ll improve in 2012, but Fiat has a long ways to go in re-establishing itself in the U.S. (CNBC)

Thursday I will post about the last auto dealership that existed in downtown St. Louis.

- Steve Patterson