Former City Hospital Power Plant to Include Rock Climbing Gym, Banquet Hall, Rooftop Dining

An interesting new concept will open for business next month:

Is St. Louis ready for one of the tallest bouldering walls in the nation? Or a banquet facility where attendees can watch rock climbers scale a 55-foot wall? Or a corporate party that includes rock climbing? Ready or not, Climb So iLL will be opening in the historic City Hospital Power Plant in mid-March. (St. Louis Business Journal)

You’ll be able to grab lunch at a restaurant while viewing the climbing space.

ABOVE: Former City Hospital power house, September 2011

This is a creative  use of a difficult building:

Listed on the city’s historical registry, the Power Plant supplied power to the St. Louis City Hospital for nearly 50 years. The City Hospital complex is made up of several buildings including the Laundry Building, the Administrative Complex, the City Hospital itself, and the Power Plant.

 The once abandoned City Hospital has been renovated into the Georgian Condominiums, and the Laundry Building is now home to the Palladium Banquet Center. Several other construction projects are underway on the site. Phase two of construction hopes to bring with it a bakery, a micro-brewery, a locally-grown food processing distribution center, and a hotel. (climbsoill.com)

It has been nice seeing the City Hospital site develop over time. The streets and sidewalks have been in place and one by one the development is filling in between.

ABOVE: The interior didn't look like anything last September during a pre-construction tour

This is an example of what I was talking about the other day regarding The Bottle District – the planning was done and the infrastructure (streets & sidewalks) to connect development parcels within the site and to the adjacent neighborhoods. As demand and financing becomes available vacant buildings are renovated and occupied and new construction is built to fill in other areas.

We need more of this — plan the site, put the infrastructure in place and build/renovate over time. The developer of the site isn’t responsible for financing all the future renovations and new construction at the beginning. For more info and artist renderings of the rock climbing gym see climbsoill.com.

- Steve Patterson

‘Schoemehl Pots’ Need To Be Maintained Or Removed

When I voted last week I walked by this pot in the center of a walkway near 10th Street, next to Henry School. The walkway was once a public street.

Attractive huh? I’m sure these have a proper name but I’ve always liked the term “Schoemehl Pot,” a name based on their use starting during the administration of former mayor Vincent Schoemehl.

ABOVE: "Schoemehl Pots" used at N 22nd & Newhouse Ave, click image to view aerial in Google Maps

Most often they are used to destroy our street grid. Sometimes they are planted nicely but most often I see them full of trash, weeds, or both. In these cases they are not a positive part of the community but just another symbol of failed urban policies.

I’d like to see a study done of how many of these are scattered around the city and in what condition they are in. Just like broken windows or boarded up buildings, these foster negative behavior. I’d like to many, if not most, removed.

 - Steve Patterson

The Bottle Undistrict

The soft drink 7-Up was once marketed as the uncola. For years now people have been trying to market the vacant land and a vacant warehouse north of the Edwards Jones Dome as The Bottle District. The first post where I mentioned The Bottle District was in August 2005 (Thoughts on St. Louis’ Proposed Riverfront Makeover, Lid Over I-70 and Mississippi River Bridge).

The Bottle District is a six-block area north of Downtown St. Louis, Missouri that is being redeveloped as a mixed-use entertainment and residential district. The area is located north of the city’s convention center and west of Laclede’s Landing.

The district is located in what was once known as the Kerry Patch neighborhood of the city, which was home to thousands of Irish immigrants in the 19th Century. The neighborhood gradually became more industrial in nature. In the 1920s this area was famous for animal stockyards and bottling companies.

McGuire Moving and Storage Company, a longtime business located in the area, announced plans for redeveloping the district as an entertainment destination in 2004. Noted architect Daniel Libeskind was hired to design the district. The Ghazi Company of Charlotte, North Carolina is the co-developer of the Bottle District.

The first phase of the redevelopment is scheduled to open in 2007. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 27, 2005. The first phase will include a Rawlings Sports museum, a Grand Prix Speedways kart-racing center, a boutique bowling alley, 250 residential units, and several restaurants. The first phase of the development is anticipated to cost $290 million and is being funded in part by $51.3 million in tax increment financing.

Several explanations for the origin of the name of the Bottle District have been given. It has been suggested that the name honors the longstanding connection between St. Louis and the brewing and bottling industries. Others have suggested that the name comes from bottles found buried on the property, or the many broken bottles found in the neighborhood. Finally, the site is noted for a decades old, 34-foot-tall (10 m) advertisement for Vess Soda, shaped like a bottle, which the developers intend to restore during the redevelopment. (Wikipedia)

Here we are years later and this district remains anything but a district. To me it’s The Bottle Undistrict.

ABOVE: The neon-covered Vess bottle for which the area is named, Vessville didn't have a good ring

ABOVE: The bottle itself isn't looking so refreshing

ABOVE: The bottle with the Arch in the background, both familiar shapes

The problem here is this has been developer-driven planning. Big picture urban planning would have looked at how to develop this land and connect it to the west, the former Cochran public housing project, now the nice mixed-income Cambridge Heights neighborhood and renovated Neighborhood Gardens apartment development from 1935. Developers rarely think beyond the borders of their property, that takes municipal planning to knit together private parcels into a cohesive city.

We should be planning now for when the new I-70 bridge opens to the north, allowing the replacement of the highway lanes with a high volume boulevard instead. This district could then front onto the boulevard and more easily connect to the east. But our leadership doesn’t get it, to them the 1970 way is just fine.

- Steve Patterson

New Mission & Neighborhood for Ittner’s Henry School

Last year’s redistricting meant I was now in the 5th ward, rather than the 6th. As such my polling place for voting changed from the senior apartment building on Olive west of Jefferson to Patrick Henry Elementary on North 10th St.

ABOVE: Henry Elementary at 1220 N. 10th, click image to view in Google Maps

It’s official name is now Patrick Henry Downtown Academy:

Nestled in the heart of downtown St. Louis, Patrick Henry Downtown Academy, located at 1220 N. 10th Street, offers a tuition-free world-class urban educational experience for children grades Pre-K-6th. We are beginning the first phase in the implementation of a GREEN School Model. We will emphasize ecological sustainability, environmental health, nutrition, personal responsibility, leadership and a comprehensive, high-quality academic program.

Patrick Henry Downtown Academy will serve as a unique springboard for students who will be at the forefront of the industries and disciplines of the 21st Century. There will be an emphasis on the environmental sciences, energy alternatives and conservation, recycling, organic gardening and the food sciences, and the emerging “green” economy, students will focus on developing the math, science, writing and “hands-on” skills that will make them successful leaders to make a difference in improving the environment for humanity. Our goal is to be the first urban GREEN Model Pilot School in the country! (Saint Louis Public Schools).

The Henry school is one of many designed by architect William B. Ittner (Landmarks Association, Wikipedia). Voters entered through a basement entry to get to the small gym so the areas I saw weren’t grand spaces designed by Ittner. They were nice and clean and students going from class to class were well behaved. School staff were clearly in charge of the students. Those working the polls were helpful.

Last November I voted absentee but I’m glad I went in person on Tuesday, even though I had to walk down numerous steps. The area to the east was the Cochran Gardens high-rise public housing projects. Cochran has been replaced by Cambridge Heights, a mixed income neighborhood. Now that construction is nearly complete I’ll be visiting and posting about the changes, including pictures of the high-rise buildings before they were razed.

- Steve Patterson

One Block of Cherokee Street Took 17 Years to Build

My friend suggested we meet for lunch at Tower Tacos on Cherokee. I knew that meant I’d have to drive there and he could walk, but I rarely pass up lunch on Cherokee.

ABOVE: Tower Tacos at 3147 Cherokee is in the middle of a block, click to view in Google Maps

This side of Cherokee between Compton Ave on the west and Michigan Ave on the east contains seven buildings. At a casual glance I didn’t give much thought to them, they all looked like they were from the same period. Out of curiosity I decided to find out using Geo St. Louis, “a guide to geospatial data about the City of St. Louis.” What I found out was these seven buildings were built over a 17-year period (1896-1913):

1. The first, 3137 Cherokee, was built in 1896 , a two-flat originally. This was the second lot from the east, not the corner.
2. In 1905 a brick one story house was built to the lot to the west, at 3139 Cherokee. For nine years the other house stood alone, unless previous structures existed on this block.
3. In 1909 a corner storefront was built next door to the east at 3133 Cherokee. This is the corner at Michigan Ave. Now we’ve got three buildings in a row.
4. Also in 1909 a 2-story with first floor storefront space was built at 3147 Cherokee. This skipped a lot. This is now Tower Tacos
5. A year later, 1910,brick 4-family was built at 3143-45 Cherokee filling in the gap left the previous year. Five buildings now in a row.
6. In 1911 2-story with two storefronts and two flats was built on the next lot at 3151 Cherokee.
7. Finally in 1913 a large 2-story  building with storefronts & flats was built at 3155-59 Cherokee, finishing the block at Compton Ave.

It’s possible earlier frame or soft brick buildings existed on this block but I have no knowledge of such. The point? Development, residential & commercial, used to be done a building at a time based on demand. The financing package was limited to buying the lot and building a single structure.

Today all 42 buildings on city block 1502 would have been built at once — or at least in the same development package. After the first developer goes under someone else would come in to finish building on the remaining vacant lots. All the buildings would have the same basic look, the exact same brick color and the same setback from the sidewalk. Boring.

The days of people buying lots and building their own home are long gone but in parts of the country it’s not uncommon for a developer to create building lots and then have many builders buy those lots. Some would get built on a speculative basis and some would be custom for a specific buyer. For filling in vacant parts of the city I’d like to see us try the idea of separating the development of build-able lots and the construction of new buildings.

- Steve Patterson

Where Josephine Baker Grew Up

I love the Post-Dispatch’s “A Look Back” series of photographs and articles. I eagerly read the recent story on St. Louis native Josephine Baker (1906-1975) and one sentence stood out:

“She told the Post-Dispatch in 1950 that she began dancing for friends in her home at 2632 Bernard Street, in an area obliterated for Highway 40.” (STLtoday.com)

Anytime I see an address my instinct is to look it up on Google Maps, but it was “obliterated for Highway 40.”  So I went to the University of Missouri’s Digital Library to look it up on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Co maps in their collection.

ABOVE: I've highlighted Josephine Baker's childhood flat in blue in the upper left, Sanborn map from University of Missouri Digital Library, click image for access

Jefferson Ave & Scott Ave both still exist (map) but Randolph & Bernard are no longer part of the street grid. But looking at the map it wasn’t clear her house and neighborhood were razed for the highway, it looked just south of the highway.

Next I went to HistoricAerials.com to try to find an aerial photograph prior to demolition. The oldest photo they have for St. Louis is 1958 so I wasn’t certain. But prior to 1967 the expressways from the west merged onto eastbound Market Street near Compton Ave. Sure enough her flat was just south of the highway right-of-way. Like streets next to I-44, Bernard would have only had houses remaining on the south with the north part of the highway. But Baker’s childhood flat was on the south, not the north.  Thus, her flat wasn’t “obliterated for Highway 40″ as the Post-Dispatch wrote.

In the 1971 image for the same location looks like

ABOVE: The St. Louis Business Center stands on what was part of Baker's childhood neighborhood

City records show the four buildings of the St. Louis Business Center were built in 1986 — at least 15 years after the area was razed.

ABOVE: View of highway and downtown from what used to be Baker's street

Baker’s flat was probably about on the dividing line between the 80s business center and what’s now a Marriott hotel, built in 2004.

ABOVE: The automobile entrance to the Marriott is off Scott Ave, no pedestrian access is provided, a clear violation of the ADA

Before the Marriott, a Napa auto parts warehouse was located on this site.

So now I’m curious to find out just when the houses on these blocks were razed. Baker was already world famous when the wrecking ball destroyed where she lived.  Did anyone suggest saving her flat as a historic site?  Were St. Louisans upset Baker refused to perform in St. Louis prior to 1952 because she wouldn’t perform for segregated  audiences?

- Steve Patterson

Missouri GOP Primary Today, Caucus Next Month

Missouri’s GOP primary is today so where are the millions of dollars in ads? the national media? the candidates? They know that no delegates will be awarded based on today’s vote:

Because of a mix of party decree and legislative inaction, taxpayers will foot the bill for a statewide election that will be officially meaningless for Republicans and virtually irrelevant for Democrats. 

Many Republicans were in favor of scrapping the election altogether, which comes with an estimated price tag of nearly $7 million. (STLtoday.com)

Party decree?

The National Republican Party had threatened to cut the state’s delegates in half if Missouri did not move its primary to March. Legislative attempts to move the primary to March failed, so Missouri Republican Party officials decided to elect convention delegates in March at caucuses. (Examiner.com)

Thus, nobody is expecting a big turnout:

Officials forecast a turnout of fewer than one in four voters. But this could have been our time to shine and show off the best presidential bellwether in the country. What other state in the Union best represents the United States — North, South, East or West? Answer: Nobody (Kansas City Star)

The Democratic ballot includes three challengers to president Barack Obama but the GOP ballot has 10 candidates (see list). I may go vote just for the fun of it; maybe for Cain, Huntsman, Bachmann, or Perry? Gingrich didn’t file the form and pay the $1,000 fee to be on the ballot.

- Steve Patterson

CVC Plan To Improve Dome Improves Broadway

Last Wednesday the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission announced the plan it submitted to the Rams to remake the Edward Jones Dome into a “top tier” facility.  Rather than rush to post about the plan I decided to take my time to revisit Baer Plaza (between the Edward Jones Dome and I-70), read & reread the plan, and offer more than a knee-jerk reaction. I’m not going to rehash the big picture you’ve read elsewhere but I’ll focus on a couple of areas: the point where the Dome and convention center meet and Baer Plaza. Click here to download the 22-page PDF plan.

ABOVE: Existing courtyard space between the convention center (left) and Dome (right), January 2011.

On page 14 of the CVC’s plan they talk about the boring space shown above:

We are proposing the conversion of the courtyard between the convention center and the Dome into a flexible pre-game fan destination for pre-game concerts, food and beverage sales and exciting fan entertainment offerings. This can facilitate earlier ingress into the Dome and reduce congestion created by new NFL Security requirements for wandings or patdowns. It will also generate additional food and beverage sales and create a ‘friends’ gathering place for pre-game activity. 

The courtyard is certainly not an asset in it’s existing condition. The CVC plan includes an image of how they think this courtyard could be revised.

ABOVE: The CVC caption reads: "Create an exciting and highly flexible pregame fan destination in the courtyard between the Convention Center and Edward Jones Dome . Pregame concerts, food and beverage sales, and exciting fan entertainment offerings define the new environment."

Presumably this updated courtyard space could be useful throughout the year as other events are hosted in the convention center and Dome. If so, this could be a good investment in updating a drab area. But it’s outside around Broadway and in Baer Plaza that big changes will take place so lets go there.

ABOVE: Baer Plaza with the Lumiere Link entrance in the foreground, August 2010

From up high this looks nice but both sides of Broadway are dreadful.

ABOVE: Looking south at the sidewalk on the east side of Broadway with Baer Plaza on the left, February 2012

ABOVE: Looking south from Cole you can see the post-9/11 security barricades, February 2012

ABOVE: View of Baer Plaza and the elevated I-70 from the west side of Broadway

The exciting part for me is a new 50,000 square foot multilevel building to be built here as part of an expanded club experience for the well-off football fan:

The new club seats will become part of an exciting contemporary club experience, with the addition of a new 50,000 square foot building referred to herein as the Baer Plaza addition. The suite corridors on the club level will be remodeled with lighting upgrades and finishes to flow nicely into newly remodeled club lounges. The club level renovations will add an ADA platform and expand the club floor plate by filling in the open sections to the floor below. All club level guests will be able to enter the facility through a new club entrance in Baer Plaza. This new building will improve the club experience and enhance the facility as a whole. It will provide a premium entrance for the Rams’ highest dollar customers and will be outfitted with club lounge space, a technology area currently dubbed the ‘Geek Suite’ and an open air deck for a rooftop beer garden. The Geek Suite will be outfitted with Wi-Fi connections and an abundance of HD flat screen monitors and is intended to be a location for the club/suite customers who want to stay connected to Fantasy Football with their handheld Smart devices. This space would be similar to a high-end technology store like an Apple store in fit and finish. The development of Baer Plaza will function as a gateway to the stadium, offering the Rams premium seat fans a new front door experience. The bridge connects to the stadium at the suite and club level(s).

I’m not a fan of bridges over roads but the massing of this new structure is worth a pedestrian bridge over Broadway. This new building, with a “street level restaurant”, will enclose Broadway and give it a needed urban feel that’s been missing since buildings on that side were razed for the open Baer Plaza. The building would also include a team store and rooftop space. Building massing is absolutely needed on the east side of Broadway so this has great potential. Ideally the restaurant and team store would be open all year. Hopefully the rooftop space could be used for other events when the Rams are playing.

Retractable bollards would allow Broadway, a major road into downtown, to be closed on game days. The bollards would be attractive whereas the current concrete barriers are not. It would also close off the disabled drop off area on Broadway. I’ll need to ask how the CVC plans to address that.  This new building would serve as a connector between the CBD to the south and the future “Bottle District” to the north of Cole.

Financing is another issue.

ABOVE: Breakdown of revenues and expenses to reach the $124 million dollar total, click to download PDF

Congrats to Kitty Ratcliffe and her team at the CVC, I’m not easily impressed but I think these improvements (plus interior changes) will greatly improve the game day experience for those attending the games, increase revenues for the Rams,  and improve the area the rest of the year. Remember if the Rams accept this solution, and stay in the Dome until 2025, we must think about what happens after then. The new natural lighting, massive video scoreboard and this building could serve other uses in the Dome after a new facility is built for the Rams for after 2025.

- Steve Patterson

St. Louis More An Island Than I Thought

I often find myself arguing that St. Louis isn’t so different from the rest of the country, other regions encounter the same problems we face. But then I see data that shows we are different in one respect.

ABOVE: Click image to view website documenting the research that led to the map

Here in the St. Louis region and surrounding area we call soft drinks “soda” while those to the north say “pop” and to the south “coke”. The data from this map is from 2003 so it’s possible our region’s term for a soft drink it part of a larger area, but my guess is we are still a “soda” island.

 - Steve Patterson

Winners of the Laurel Apartment’s Lovin the Lou Contest

Last night winners were finally announced in the Lovin the Lou contest:

The Laurel Apartments is asking St. Louisans to show them why they love St. Louis in a ‘Lovin the Lou Video Contest’ beginning July 8th. The prize for the most love (and a little creativity and video savvy) is Free Rent For A Year at the Laurel Apartments in Downtown’s Mercantile Exchange District!

Contest Details

The Laurel Apartments will run a city-wide ‘Lovin the Lou’ video contest for an incredible opportunity to live rent-free for one year at The Laurel Apartments in Downtown St. Louis. The winner will also be the featured blogger on the’ Lovin the Lou Blog’ which will chronicle their crazy cool adventures and experiences around their new neighborhood in Downtown St. Louis.

This contest is an effort to identify what makes St. Louis unique and remarkable and to find the next ambassador for St. Louis. The Laurel Apartments is asking St. Louisans to submit a 2-minute video that captures how they are Lovin the Lou!

“We want to showcase the people and character that make St. Louis, especially downtown, a great place to live and work,” said Melissa DeCicco, Marketing Director for Mills Properties, “We know it’s fabulous, but it is time for us to show and tell!”

I served as one of the judges in the contest, along with Jeff Vines (STL_Style), Bill Streeter (Brick by Chance and Fortune) and developer Amos Harris.  I can tell you it was not easy to pick the final winners, but we did come to agreement:

Grand Prize Winner –  Finding You in the Lou, Ria & husband

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSki_EZgzmY

Second Place Winner –  Love in the Lou, Mike & Tabitha

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iYowBe_Hnk

Best Use of Music – A Day in the Lou, Dana Kay Goddard

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khtPX8ZYODI

Best Guest Appearance –  Becky Shows us St. Louis, Becky

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwE47VCAUhU

Best Use of Food – Get a Taste of Lee’s Cookies, Lee

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSpS5c3DlZ8

Best STL Style –  St. Louis Social Scene, Jessie & Red October in the Lou, The Ropers

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KobwYGOx0jQ

Fan Favorite – Our Kinda Town, Jenna & Todd

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8U7F1VXbrM

Honarable mentions: The Real Lou, Shaun

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgP-daCfIdo

& Andy Rocks St. Louis, Andy

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w8mdquAKLY

The above awards were presented at a bonfire in the center courtyard of the Laurel Apartments last night.

ABOVE: The Laurel Apartments garden courtyard

Congrats to all the winners.

- Steve Patterson