Stop By The Court of Honor Saturday During Iraq War Parade

Come downtown tomorrow morning for a parade to honor Iraq War veterans:

ABOVE: A family walks through St. Louis' Court of Honor, June 2010

The parade will step off at noon Saturday from Kiener Plaza and travel west on Market Street to Union Station. Inside Union Station, organizers plan to offer a “resource village” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. where veterans can connect with service providers such as the Red Cross or Department of Veterans Affairs. Entertainment is planned from 3 to 8:30 p.m. (STLtoday.com)

While you are downtown along Market Street be sure to visit the Court of Honor (between 13th & 14th streets).   The Court of Honor was the subject of my posts on Monday & Tuesday. Officials at the Soldiers’ Memorial say the space sees few visitors. The design of the space is remarkable from all sides, it opened Memorial Day 1948.

-Steve Patterson

St. Louis’ Court of Honor, Part 2 — Proposed New Memorial

Yesterday’s post gave you the background on the Court of Honor, opened in 1948 to honor those who died in WWII (read post), later updated to honor those who died in Korea & Vietnam.  Today’s post is about a proposed memorial for all those from the entire state killed in our last three wars: Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Operation Iraqi Freedom, & Operation Enduring Freedom (still ongoing). To date that count is 149 (see list) with roughly 20-30 from the St. Louis area. I posted about this memorial effort from the Missouri Military Memorial Foundation last May.

ABOVE: Rendering of proposal from November 2011, click image to view PDF with more views.

When I first saw the PDF with images in November it looked like the design was created for a generic site, not the Court of Honor block. Last week they presented the design to us along with updated images in the context. From the presentation to the Gateway Mall Advisory Board on January 18, 2012:

“The overall design will feature eight to ten granite star monuments strategically placed around a centerpiece. The Centerpiece will be measure approximately 20 feet in diameter and will house a digital display and speakers that will show videos of the personal stories of the heroes memorialized here, as well as informative videos about the military conflicts these servicemen and women served during. The Centerpiece has an outline of the State of Missouri on the surface and the conflicts represented by the Memorial.

The Star Monuments are solid concrete cores with 2″ granite veneers and will feature plaques of the fallen heroes which will include a black and white photograph of the serviceman or woman, along with information of what city they were from, their branch of service they were in at the time of their sacrifice as well as other information on them. The tops of the Star Monuments  are outlined in gold, again referencing back to the symbolism of the Gold Star family.

Each Star Monument will be able to display up to 28 plaques in total. They will be 6’0″ in height in the front and 9’6″ on the back. All plaques will be placed at or below average eye level so children and those in wheelchairs can easily read them. The paths between the monuments are also in adherence to ADA requirements for wheel chairs [sic] to negotiate around.”

You can read the full presentation handout here (3-page PDF). Initially we focused on the fact the roughly 30′ x 100′ plaza would abut the sidewalk and adjacent parked cars on Chestnut and suggested a landscape buffer. But as we continued discussing the proposal some commented on the darkness of the black granite, the towering size of the star monuments and the formal design in contrast to the adjacent Court of Honor.

ABOVE: Lawn area where proposed memorial would be built

I can’t speak for my fellow members of the Gateway Mall Advisory Board but I stated during our meeting that I didn’t think this proposal was in keeping with the Gateway Mall Master Plan. Interestingly the plan mentions the blocks to the north, east & west of Soldiers’ Memorial but not the block to the south containing the Court of Honor. Unfortunately Parks Director Gary Bess approved the location in 2010.

What changes are compatible with the master plan then if nothing is mentioned? In my view adding memorials within the court of honor for additional wars, as was done for the Korean & Vietnam Wars, is very appropriate. The Court of Honor lists 2,753 soldiers from WWII, 214 from the Korean War and 161 from the Vietnam War — 3,128 in total. These are from St. Louis City & County.

ABOVE: Memorial for the 161 killed in the Vietnam War

The master plan assumes the wide “hallway” will be built along the south edge of the block to tie all the blocks of the Gateway Mall together. A 30′ x 100′ plaza with a video screen a large circle and 8-10 stars taller than me on the green space on the north side of the Court of Honor?  I do feel for the loss they’ve experienced but what goes into this block must be signed to compliment, not compete with, the Court of Honor.

The estimated cost is $1.3 million.  I like to see private funds raised and invested in St. Louis’ public parks but not at the expense of the integrity of the space. I don’t think we should build horizontal plaza spaces in the lawn areas on any of the four sides of the Court of Honor. Doing so will detract from the Court of Honor in the center of the block.

I do think we must add something within the Court of Honor to acknowledge the sacrifice made by the men & women who fought in these three wars. If the names are listed as in previous wars there is room for all 149 from the entire state. One thing that caught my imagination is the video screen and the ability of that to communicate so much more information. My thought is this: add the names inside the Court of Honor, build the hallway on this that will connect to the hallway on other blocks eventually tying the entire Gateway Mall together.

ABOVE: The Gateway Mall master plan calls for this "hallway" to run from Broadway to 20th

Right now we have only two blocks of the hallway, along the south edge of Citygarden. This element will make the primary access point to the Court of Honor block on the south side, not the north.

ABOVE: The Court of Honor as seen from the future hallway with Soldiers' Memorial in the background.

I can imagine an element in the center of the sidewalk, or to one side, that would identify this as the Court of Honor and include an interactive video screen. On screen touch controls would allow someone to find the information on their loved one or watch videos about those honored.  The software could include features for WWII, Korea & Vietnam — such as some of the videos created by Nine Network (KETC).

That’s my thoughts on how to both honor those who gave their lives while also honoring the space and the thousands already honored here. My heart goes out to those trying to memorialize those 149 servicemen & women but I must also think about the 3,128 already memorialized here. The Gateway Mall Advisory Board will meet again via conference call to finalize our recommendations.

- Steve Patterson

St. Louis’ Court of Honor, Part 1 — Background

St. Louis’ “Court of Honor” is an outdoor war memorial in the block bounded by Market, 13th, Chestnut and 14th, this is the block directly south of the WWI Soldiers’ Memorial.

The Court of Honor was designed by architect Eugene Mackey, Jr. and sculptor Hillis Arnold in the Italian Monumental Architecture style and was first created to honor those who were killed during World War II. The center piece of the court is the forty-foot limestone pillar decorated with bas-relief images of soldiers in battle. The pillar itself is designed to resemble a bayonet that has been broken, symbolizing the end of hostilities. Facing the Court of Honor, are the beautiful sculptures by Walker Hancock at the Soldier’s Memorial Military Museum and depict the four virtues of a World War I soldier: Courage, Vision, Loyalty and Sacrifice. Upon completion, the Court of Honor was dedicated and opened to the public on Memorial Day of 1948 with the commemoration of “To our sons and daughters who gave their lives for God and Country.” In the following years, memorials to those St. Louisans who were killed in the Korean and Vietnam Wars were added as bookends the far end of the court. (Source)

The design is respectful of the purpose but is still modern looking after more than six decades. I’m bringing up this block now because a group wants to add memorials to honor those killed in our last three wars: Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Operation Iraqi Freedom, & Operation Enduring Freedom (still ongoing). I posted about their effort last May.

ABOVE: A family walks through St. Louis' Court of Honor, June 2010

Last week they presented their concept to the Gateway Mall Advisory Board, of which I’m a member. Their proposal will be part 2, tomorrow. In short, I was very disappointed by their concept. I’ll get into that in part 2.  Today’s post is the background needed for tomorrow.

ABOVE: Aerial image of the Court of Honor block, click to view in Google Maps

The design is centered in the block but it isn’t symmetrical. It’s a sophisticated design and a nice contrast to the formal symmetry of the Soldiers’ Memorial to the north.

ABOVE: The tall south wall contains names of our WWII fallen

Decades before the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., the names of those killed in WWII are presented on a wall.

ABOVE: Names of those killed in Korea & Vietnam were added to each end of the central lawn

ABOVE: Close up of the Korean War addition

The Korean & Vietnam war additions weren’t added until 1979 — not long after the latter but decades after the former.

ABOVE: The southeast view of the Court of Honor, Soldiers' Memorial in the background.

The Court of Honor is entered from the south or north. The only wheelchair ramp is at the south entrance, a modification to the original design. Thus for me I consider the south entrance the main entry. This entry also directs you to the beautiful limestone pillar first.

Ninenet (KETC) did a great piece on the Court of Honor:

Tomorrow I’ll show you the proposed addition to the block and outline my thoughts.

- Steve Patterson

Readers Supportive of Park Bond Debt

ABOVE: The Fox Park pavilion faces Shenandoah Ave

Last week more than half the readers that voted in the poll support the city taking on debt to fix our many parks:

Q: Do you support St. Louis selling bonds to fund park improvements?

1. Yes, investing in our park infrastructure will help the city prosper! 52 [54.17%]
2. No, the debt will be a burden on city revenues 21 [21.88%]
3. Possibly 12 [12.5%]
4. unsure/no opinion 6 [6.25%]
5. Other: 5 [5.21%]

The other answers were:

1. If we need bonds, then do a bond issue. Tax revenues are for ongoing revenue.
2. like better parks. don’t like debt. hm?
3. why not sell bonds to improve failed school district?
4. No. there are at least a half dozen more pressing needs than park maintenance
5. I support the bonds but agree with JZ71 – funding needs to be more distributed.

Time will tell if this was a good decision. Improved parks may make city neighborhoods more appealing, attracting residents, businesses and jobs. Increased revenues cover the debt. On the other hand service cuts might be needed in the future to deal with the debt payments. The original post had some spirited comments.

- Steve Patterson

Poll: Do You Support St. Louis Selling Bonds To Fund Park Improvements?

St. Louis will be selling bonds to fund improvements to the city’s park system. From STLtoday.com on Friday:

St. Louis aldermen today overwhelmingly approved a plan to issue $64 million in bonds for city parks, with about $30 million to be spent on improvements at Forest Park.

What’s not to like about better parks?

ABOVE: Forest Park

Comptroller Darlene Green isn’t happy about the city taking on more debt:

On Thursday, Green was outvoted when two related bills authorizing the funding plan passed the city’s three-person Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which also includes Mayor Francis Slay and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed. Aldermen today approved the bills by wide margins. (article)

So St. Louis will take on more debt. In a November 30th letter to the Board of Aldermen, Comptroller Green explained her concerns about paying off the debt.

ABOVE: Gravois Park is one of 100+ parks in St. Louis

This seems like a perfect subject for a weekly poll question: Do you support St. Louis selling bonds to fund park improvements? The poll is in the right sidebar, results will be posted Wednesday December 14th.

- Steve Patterson

Reurbanizing Jefferson & Lafayette Pt 2: Foodland

ABOVE: Vacant Foodland store was built in 1984. Click to view map.

The long-vacant Foodland grocery store (1601-45 S. Jefferson) was in the news recently:

Developer Green Street Properties has filed plans with the City of St. Louis to rehab the empty 47,000 supermarket, and hopes to fill it with a smaller grocery store and other retailers. It has a contract to buy the building and hopes to start a $6.6 million first phase in the spring, with a second phase potentially to come later.

The store – just across Jefferson Ave. from Lafayette Square – has sat empty since 2004, when Foodland closed after failing to get neighborhood support for a liquor license. It had previously been a National store. Much of the surrounding neighborhood is now considered a “food desert” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for lack of grocery options. (STLtoday)

On Saturday I posted about the SE corner of Jefferson & Lafayette, how a 2007 residential & retail building is a starting point for reurbanizing this intersection. This grocery store was occupied for only 20 years (1984-2004) before being vacated 7 years ago. That’s a rather sad statement but not really surprising given how out of context it is.

This post will critique of 70s & 80s planning theory that created the existing problems. Part 3 tomorrow will look at possible solutions.

Street Grid:

The short-block walkable street grid was always decimated by development. Street closures are still common practice in St. Louis.

ABOVE: Google Maps aerial of the Foodland and Eads Park (click image for larger version)

Eads Ave east of California Ave was removed, Ohio Ave was removed from St. Vincent Ave to Henrietta Pl and Texas Ave became lost in a sea of parking. Cul-de-sacs were created for new housing built in 1979, the same year the television series Knots Landing premiered (set on a California cul-de-sac). Yes, Eads Park was created from the replatting of the land but that doesn’t justify the disruption in the grid — the connectedness of the area.

Isolation:

ABOVE: Since opening the message has been this is a place to be driven to, remaining disconnected from the less functional sidewalk grid

The nearby houses were only 5 years old when this grocery store opened as a National in 1984. Still, it wasn’t designed to be walked to from houses that could see the store from their windows. The single access point from Jefferson Ave is an auto drive where Eads Ave used to be located. St. Louis’ population in 1980 was 452,801 and in 1990 it was 396,685 — both significantly greater than our 2010 count of 319,294.

Today those remaining still walk to the store, but now their choices are limited to gas station convenience stores.

ABOVE: A man walks northbound in front of the closed Foodland carrying groceries from the corner convenience store

ABOVE: Two men walking under the front overhang of the store after shopping at the same convenience store.

These last two guys cut by the side of the store to go through an opening in the fence to reach the park and residences beyond.

ABOVE: The last guy walking northwest toward the neighborhood

ABOVE: Opening in fence gives pedestrians the access they need but it's hardly friendly

Lack of Connection within the development

In addition to deliberately not connecting to the city beyond the boundaries of the property even new construction isn’t connected to each other, everyone is expected to drive from place to place.

ABOVE: Looking east from the walk at the front of the store out the driveway, formerly Eads Ave

In 1991 a small retail building was built on a separate parcel to the north of the grocery (far left above). The auto access drive, once a public street, is part of the grocery property. The parcel with the retail building was likely  granted an easement to use the drive for auto access. Developed after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it has no concern for pedestrians entering from Jefferson or even the adjacent grocery store. Plenty of auto parking though.

ABOVE: Pedestrians using wheelchairs can't access the side, the only ramp provided is in the middle of the facade reached via the parking lot

ABOVE: The grocery building is very close to the retail building but in pedestrian terms it is miles away

Reaching the site

The problems aren’t limited to the site.

ABOVE: Crosswalks with pedestrian signals aren't accessible, are unfriendly even to the able-bodied

Perhaps the attitude was “why bother?” since no pedestrian route exits to the front of the buildings. It’s no surprise to me this has failed as a retail draw, urban customers must be able to reach the stores by foot as well as car.

Corner Gas Station:

The NW corner of Jefferson & Lafayette has had a gas station since  1950. The building has changed but the issues have been the same for more than six decades.

ABOVE: This is currently the neighborhood's grocery store, but it's no more walkable

ABOVE: Sidewalk and auto drives merge into one, with autos winning the territory

The pedestrian space is lost, overtaken by autos. A public library branch is across Lafayette Ave.,  in the background. Let’s get around to Lafayette Ave, the south edge of the area.

ABOVE: The former Texas Ave (left) is now a driveway into the Foodland site but it lacks sidewalks for pedestrian use

In 1998 a Holiday Inn Express was built on a separate parcel south of the still-open grocery store.

ABOVE: Pedestrian access to Lafayette Ave is provided but it's too narrow

I was barely able to get past the brick columns and I had to move a bench on the sidewalk under the canopy to be able to head toward the grocery store.

ABOVE: A connection to allow guests to walk to the grocery wasn't provided.

ABOVE: The hotel as seen from the grocery

I reviewed Historic Aerials from 1958, 1971, 1998 and later for this post.  Search for 1601 S. Jefferson 63104 to view for yourself. Tomorrow I will offer my thoughts on how Green Street Properties together with adjacent property owners and the city can connect the retail to the surroundings.

- Steve Patterson

Saturday in Fox Park

A week ago I took the bus to Fox Park — the neighborhood and city park — to check out a community project in the park. Mark Groth (St. Louis City Talk) told me he and others on the Fox Park park committee would be planting 40 trees so I had to stop by.

The city website for the park says: “Fox Park and Playground began to be used for recreational purposes in 1917 under a permit from the Fox Brothers and was purchased in 1931.” In 1909 the land that is now the park was the lumberyard for the Fox Brother’s millwork and wagon businesses.

ABOVE: The Fox Park pavilion faces Shenandoah Ave (click image to view in Google Maps)

ABOVE: An auger made digging relatively easy

ABOVE: Placing the trees in the holes created by the auger

ABOVE: New playground equipment was recently added when the park was in the 7th ward

ABOVE: Next on the wish list is a new basketball court to replace the tired existing court

ABOVE: Only one of two rims remains but it's in sad condition

ABOVE: The west end of the park had buildings facing California Ave until recent years

ABOVE: Much work remains to address years of neglect

ABOVE: The east end of the park is leased to the Police Athletic League for a ball diamond

I really like this little neighborhood park, such a great asset  for the residents. I applaud them for putting sweat equity into the park.

- Steve Patterson

We Should Restore “Twain’s” Original Lighting Scheme (1982 Video)

After my recent post on the ‘Twain’ sculpture by Richard Serra, friend and reader Matt Bauer said he was there the day of the dedication on May 1, 1982. He was just a kid then but his dad, Merrill Bauer, had a video camera. As luck would have it, Merrill Bauer already had those home movies digitized. Using Dropbox Matt was able to give me access to the 16 minute 450mb file to edit and post.  I got it down to 4:08.

Then U.S. Senator Thomas F. Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was on hand that day. In the video you will see the original lighting that flooded the exterior of the piece as well as each opening on the interior.

I’d long wondered about lighting the piece, but wasn’t sure if the artist would approve. Thanks to this footage, that question is now answered. You will also notice the absence of current buildings to the north of the site and the presence of buildings to the east — all since razed.

Here are some still images taken from the video:

ABOVE: Original light fixtures had shields to direct light onto the art

ABOVE: Interior lighting was limited to each opening

ABOVE: Exterior lighting was extensive

My guess is the lighting became difficult to maintain and was removed. I think by the time I arrived 8 years later the lighting was gone. Imagine Citygarden without lighting.

ABOVE: lighting is part of what makes Citygarden so special

Thirty years later, modern lighting technology would allow us to wash ‘Twain’ with light. Thanks to Matt & Merrill Bauer for getting me their video to post!

- Steve Patterson

Kiener Plaza Helped by Gateway Greening

ABOVE: Big bold plantings at Kiener Plaza look great

The other day I strolled through Kiener Plaza and I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful plantings.

ABOVE: One of many planted containers

Gateway Greening really provides a great service to the city, the parks department could never do such plantings.

- Steve Patterson

May 1, 2012 Will Mark the 30th Anniversary of Richard Serra’s ‘Twain’

ABOVE: People checking out Richard Serra's "Twain" in April 2010

Richard Serra’s controversial metal sculpture “Twain” was installed on March 15-17, 1982 and dedicated on Saturday May 1, 1982.

According to a August 25, 1985 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, by the late George McCue, “the formal name arrived late; at the 1982 dedication it was simply “Quadrilateral.”" I know many of you don’t like Twain, see Readers split on Richard Serra’s “Twain” from April 2010.

The following is what I’d like to see accomplished by the 30th anniversary of “Twain’s” dedication:

1) Extend the wide “hallway” that runs next to Market St in Citygarden. Narrow 10th & 11th streets where the hallway crosses both as was done at 9th.

ABOVE: The Gateway Mall master plan calls for this "hallway" to run from Broadway to 20th

2) Replace the narrow broken sidewalks on the other three sides of the block with new wider sidewalks.

ABOVE: broken sidewalks detract from the block containing Twain

3) Place landscaping grids around the sculpture so grass can grow without having foot traffic create holes that get muddy and collect water.

ABOVE: water collects at the east point of the sculpture