I love seeing new mixed-use buildings going up in the Central West End neighborhood, along Euclid Ave. Unfortunately, I’m not excited about the aesthetic of the nearly finished 7-story CityWalk. When construction began in late 2013 it was expected to be completed by last Summer:
Bruce Mills, whose Mills Properties is developing City Walk, said construction will begin in early November. He said construction will take 22 months, meaning that City Walk, with 177 apartments, will be completed in late summer 2015. (Post-Dispatch)
Let’s take a look…
Looking North on Euclid toward the nearly-complete CityWalk development at PineA new Whole Foods will soon open on the West end of the ground floor. I like the look of the black windows used in the project — but the white doors on the corner are very wrong — especially with black railings.The balance of the ground floor facing Pine StLooking South along EuclidThe West facade along Euclid
The facades are a hodgepodge of elements, the window are proportionally too small & horizontal. However, the building is large and the mass has been well-maslked. The parking garage is hidden.
I look forward to taking the #10 MetroBus from downtown to shop occasionally at the Whole Foods after it opens.
It was five years ago today when St. Louis closed the 1960s Grand Ave bridge over the railroad tracks so it could be replaced:
The Grand Bridge is scheduled to close from Chouteau Avenue to the I-64 off-ramp on Monday, March 14, 2011. The bridge will close before the morning rush around 5:00 am. The bridge will be closed to traffic for about 14 months; the entire project is expected to be completed in 18-24 months. During that time, the current bridge will be completely removed and replaced. When finished, the project will provide a dramatic facelift to Midtown. (St. Louis)
The old bridge had 3 vehicles lanes in each direction and vary narrow sidewalks.
Looking north from the old transit stop, June 2010
The Grand bridge over I-44 will soon be replaced, though traffic won’t be completely cut off:
The driving surface of the bridge will be completely replaced and the bridge will be raised to meet interstate standards. Although the project will be completed in stages, drivers can expect fewer lanes across the bridge and will not be able to make left turns during construction, MoDOT said.
At least one lane will be open in each direction on Grand during each stage of construction.
Construction is expected to start in June, with all driving lanes expected to be open by the end of the year. (Post-Dispatch)
Work continues on a new kingshighway bridge over the railroad tracks South of I-44, the old bridge closed last July.
Last month, on the 28th, Soldiers’ Memorial closed for a 2-year renovation. Soldier’s Memorial is St. Louis’ tribute to those who died in World War 1.
The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum closed Sunday for a $30 million renovation, with promises of reopening in two years as a functional and inspirational “transformation.”
It is the first lengthy closure of the 80-year-old downtown landmark.
The Missouri Historical Society and local public officials held a flag lowering ceremony Sunday afternoon to mark the occasion. (Post-Dispatch)
The 80th anniversary of the cornerstone isn’t until this fall. It opened to the public on Memorial Day. May 30, 1938.
Mayor Dickman laid the cornerstone on November 11, 1936 — nearly two decades after the end of World War One — less than 3 years before the start of WWII
The project began in the 1920s:
The City of St. Louis created a Memorial Plaza Commission in 1925 to oversee the creation of the Memorial Plaza and Soldiers Memorial. Designed as a memorial to the St. Louis citizens who gave their lives in World War I, the Memorial became Project No. 5098 of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. The St. Louis architectural firm Mauran, Russell & Crowell designed the classical Memorial with an art deco flair and St. Louis-born sculptor Walker Hancock created four monumental sculpture groupings entitled Loyalty, Vision, Courage and Sacrifice to flank the entrances. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the site on October 14, 1936 and two years later Soldiers Memorial Military Museum opened to the public on Memorial Day, May 30, 1938. (Missouri History Museum — Soldiers’ Memorial)
In 1925 St. Louis hadn’t begun razing the blocks between Market & Chestnut, 11th and 20th. The Civil Courts building began in 1928, Aloe Plaza in 1931. Demolition of the original city on the bank of the Mississippi River didn’t commence until 1939. A war memorial was what St. Louis’ planner, Harland Bartholomew, needed to justify taking & razing private property just West of the Central Business District.
In February 1909 the block was full of 2-3 story brick buildings. Click image to see Sanborn Map page with this & adjacent blocks
Granted, none of these buildings were notable, no special businesses were displaced. It was rather ordinary, in fact. But this one block contained nearly 50 structures, with entrances on all four streets — it helped generate urban activity. To many born in the late 19th century such blocks were viewed as chaos.
Taking out one active block does little to change the vibrancy of a city, but when it’s repeated over and over it has a hugely negative impact. The 1940 census showed a drop in population — at least partially as a result of massive demolition in the 1930s. At the time they thought the population would continue growing — exceed a million by 1960. They couldn’t see their actions contributing to massive population declines in the coming decades.
The Soldiers’ Memorial building is very formal — especially compared to the nearly 50 buildings that previously occupied the block. Let’s take a look.
The St. Louis flag being lowered on Sunday February 28, 2016The raised platform that surrounds the building is in poor conditionThe raised platform helped elevated the building above the then-bust city sidewalks. The ramp wasn’t installed until this century.At the same time another ramp was built to go from the raised platform into the open center of the buildingThe mosaic tile ceiling in the center is impressiveThis is the East display room on the last day, the casework and detailing are beautifulInterior of the elevator is magnificent — one of my favorites in the cityThe West end of the upstairs is a wonderful meeting room. It hasn’t been used too often because of a lack pf air conditioningGetting to the rest of the 2nd floor requires steps or a non-compliant ramp. Presumably this will be addressed. The terrazzo floors throughout are spectacular
Yes, St. Louis built a war memorial that many disabled veterans couldn’t visit! Not uncommon for the era — the disabled were routinely institutionalized then. Apparently the building had an outdoor mechanical lift that failed in 2004, leaving a disabled vet stranded. It was that event that prompted the effort to build ramps outside.
I love many of the interior details (floors, ceilings, rails, lights, elevator. etc) but they missed the big picture. The outdoor WWII memorial, the Court of Honor, in the block directly south also wasn’t accessible when it opened a decade later on Memorial Day 1948.
In a couple of weeks Metro’s new North County Transit Center will open, so many MetroBus routes will see major changes:
Metro’s quarterly service change on March 14 will impact the operations of 48 MetroBus routes in the St. Louis metropolitan region, including the introduction of nine new MetroBus routes and discontinuation of service on eight routes. This service change will also introduce a new and completely redesigned MetroBus service plan for North St. Louis County, made possible with the opening of the new North County Transit Center in Ferguson, Missouri on March 14. (Metro)
On that same day, changes will take place in downtown (technically Downtown West):
The Civic Center Transit Center is scheduled to be closed down for construction activity shortly, at a date to be decided. In advance of the closure, Metro has prepared bus stops at 18th Street & Clark Street, adjacent to the Union Station MetroLink, to provide the same system connectivity.
The routing and schedules of the routes serving the Civic Center Transit Center have been modified to serve 18th Street & Clark Street to ensure the same connections with the other MetroBus routes and MetroLink at Union Station instead.
Please note that till the closure of the Civic Center Transit Center, these routes will continue to serve the Civic Center Transit Center. Public Announcement of the closure of the Civic Center Transit Center will be made in advance of the event. (Metro)
The following MetroBus routes will change to include 18th & Clark.
10 Chippewa
32 ML King-Chouteau
41 Lee
73 Carondelet
80 Park-Shaw
94 Page
97 Delmar
99 Downtown Trolley
40X I-55 Express
58X Twin Oaks Express
410X Eureka Express
When I need to catch the #10 Westbound I do so at 16th & Olive, but starting March 14th it’ll use 18th rather than 14th Street. Same goes for the #97 — I usually catch it at 16th & Washington but it’ll turn on 18th. Those who ride the #94 & #97 to Washington & 14th, then catch the #99 Downtown Trolley to take them the rest of the way into the Central Business District (CBD), will need to figure out an alternates. Perhaps catching the Trolley bus at Civic Center/18th & Clark? That’ll require more time though — years ago more bus routes entered the CBD.
Before I get into the recent changes along Clark I want to show you the before conditions, in October 2011 & August 2012.
Looking west toward the Union Station MetroLink Station from 16th & Clark, October 2011.At 18th pedestrians had worn a more direct path since MetroLink opened in 1993, October 2011The crosswalk to Union Station led directly to a curb, those of us in wheelchairs had to go outside the crosswalk and use the auto exit, at right — a clear ADA violation for years, August 2012
Ok, so now you’ve seen the before. In December last year I began seeing work going on so I braved the cold one day to get some pics:
The asphalt in the parking lane was removed, sidewalk & curb ramp at 16th also removed, December 2015The old bricks were visible, street trees gone, December 2015The corner was completely opened up, forms were placed for new concrete, December 2015Looking West across 18th you can see the curb & sidewalk have been removed, December 2015From the West side of 18th looking back, December 2015
I was encouraged seeing the West end of the crosswalk completely removed — a fresh start so it’ll be done correctly! I returned a month later, in late January:
Now we can see the sidewalk has been widened, replacing half the parking lane, January 2016About halfway between 16th -18th the extra sidewalk narrows to the original width, January 2016Looking across 18th we see at the end of the crosswalk — A NEW CURB! WTF!?! January 2016Pedestrians taking the direct route from MetroLkink East across 18th, with the ramp on the left, January 2016
I returned again, a month later, on February 26th:
The widest park, near 16th, February 2016Temporary bus shelters added in the narrow section makes it tight, February 2016There are new benches in places , February 2016Crosswalk not yet changed to include the new curb ramp, February 2016
The ramp location behind the crosswalk is a head scratcher, for sure. I resisted the urge to post it to social media — opting to wait until the project is closer to completion. I even went back yesterday to see if the crosswalk had been changed. It hasn’t. I also discovered another problem: pedestrian signal location.
I arrived on the West side just as people pushing a stroller used the ramp to cross 18thThat’s when I noticed the pedestrian signs, far right, wasn’t visible. The ramps also aren’t aligned, but we already knew they wouldn’t.The pedestrian signal is visible only when way South pf the ramp & crosswalkFrom the same spot you can see the ramp. My chair is very fast so I was able to wait for the walk signal then move to the ramp & cross — but not everyone can move so quicklyFrom the East side you can see the back of the pedestrian signal and how it doesn’t relate to the other side
The best words that come to mind are gross incompetence. Both sides were completely opened up — all new concrete. That was the time to move pedestrian signals so they align with the crosswalk, to build the new ramps so they also align. I’m not sure if St. Louis’ new bike-pedestrian coordinator reviewed this, but other civil engineers did see it on paper. This is yet another thing making me realize I need to live in another city.
News broke Wednesday of a developer having the Jefferson Arms, originally known as The Hotel Jefferson, under contract:
Mike Sarimsakci, founder and president of real estate developer Alterra International, has the building under contract for an undisclosed price.
His plans for the Jefferson Arms were unclear but could be similar to Alterra’s hotel-and-apartment redevelopment of an old Butler Brothers warehouse in Dallas, officials said.
While this is exciting news, it isn’t the first time in the last decade the building was to be renovated.
East facade facing Tucker (12th), June 2013
Pyramid Construction, before going under in 2008, had bought the building — in 2007 Pyramid kicked out the existing residents (seniors) to prepare for renovation. This quote picks up the story:
After it was foreclosed on in 2009, the Jefferson Arms has been at the center of a four-year-long legal dispute involving [Barry] Cohen and the Federal National Mortgage Association.
In March 2011, a partnership led by Cohen filed a federal lawsuit in St. Louis against EF&A Funding, alleging an agent at EF&A gave Cohen misleading information when he refinanced a loan on the Jefferson Arms.
Cohen’s partnership, Affordable Communities of Missouri, also sued Federal National Mortgage Association, better known as mortgage giant Fannie Mae, seeking to recoup a $500,000 loan penalty paid after Cohen sold the Jefferson Arms building to Steffen’s company. EF&A later settled with the partnership, but Fannie Mae remained as a defendant. February 2015: Jefferson Arms shows complexities of downtown dealmaking — Post-Dispatch
In 2012/13 it looked again like something might happen:
Not so fast on writing off the plan by McGowan Brothers Development to rehab the empty Jefferson Arms in downtown St. Louis.
Owner David Jump has the building up for sale, but developer Tim McGowan said Friday that his company was still seeking federal New Markets Tax Credits to help finance the apartment redevelopment of the huge building at 415 North Tucker Boulevard.
Hopefully this time the building will be renovated and reoccupied — I’m cautiously optimistic.
Like other large downtown buildings, such as the Arcade/Wright, the Jefferson Arms was built in phases — adding to the complexity of renovating for use in the 21st century. To understand the building one of the best sources is the 2003 nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The following are selected quotes:
Page 29:
The Hotel Jefferson, located at 415 North Tucker Boulevard in downtown St. Louis, is a thirteen-story steel frame hotel building and six-story reinforced concrete parking garage, all clad in Revival style veneers of brick and terra cotta. The east half of the hotel was built in 1904 and fronts 220 feet along the west side of Tucker Boulevard (once Twelfth Street) and 100 feet along St. Charles Street to the north, and Locust Street to the south. In 1928, the building expanded to the west another 100 feet. Also erected in 1928, the Jefferson Plaza Garage (measuring 145 feet by 110 feet) at the southeast corner of St. Charles and North Thirteenth Streets, joins the west elevation of the 1928 addition. The storefront level of both the original hotel building and the addition was altered circa 1953 when portions of the terra cotta veneer were replaced with grey and black granite. Metal panels were also installed to wrap around the columns and border the new entrance, which was moved back to its 1904 location at the center of the east (primary) elevation. The south elevation entrance was re-faced with black granite. Overall, the exterior facades of the hotel and garage buildings retain a strong sense of their historic identity as excellent examples of a large, early 20* century hotel in an urban environment. This is conveyed through the integrity ofmaterials and design, and the hotel’s setting and relationship to Tucker Boulevard, St. Louis’ widest street. Typical of numerous buildings in the central business district, exterior alterations to the hotel are confined to the lower two stories and the attic story in relationship to cornice modifications. Easily offsetting these modifications, the bulk of the Hotel Jefferson’s massive and imposing facades remain virtually unaltered and intact. Although the original layout ofthe guest rooms on the upper floors was changed when the rooms were remodeled into apartment units in 1976-77, the plan ofthe characteristic public spaces on the lower floors continues to reflect historic hotel functions. On the ground floor, these include the lobby, dining room, coffee shop, and storefronts. On the mezzanine level, two large banquet rooms retain significant Revival style detailing as well as plan.
In this view of the South facade along Locust St we can see the 1925 Shell Building (left), the annex (center), and original Hotel Jefferson (right)From the Feb 1909 Sanborn map we see the 1904 original on the right, the remaining brick structures on the block (pink) would all be razed within a decade. Click image to view source map.
Page 35
Ground was broken in mid-March, 1903, by Westlake Construction Co. and by May two shifts of crews working sixteen hours a day had pushed construction forward sufficiently to create a “steel forest” on Twelfth Street. The city’s broadest street, spanning a width of 150 feet, Twelfth (Tucker) had long been envisioned as a grand boulevard of monumental buildings likened to “what Unden der Linden is to Berlin, the show street of the city, because of its amplitude.”However, there was little evidence of the street’s potential before the tum-of-the-century. The completion of the new thirteen-story hotel commanding a full blockface on Twelfth thus promised at last to make the thoroughfare, “an ideal urban picture, the centerpiece of St.Louis as a metropolis…especially at night with electric lights reflected from damp pavements.”
Page 36
The hotel proper opened for guests on April 29 [1904], the eve of opening day of the fair. Registered dignitaries included the official delegation ofmembers ofthe U. S. Senate which, along with delegates from the House, represented the federal government at the opening ceremonies in the absence of President Theodore Roosevelt who telegraphically signaled the opening from his office in the White House. Suites ofrooms were also reserved for large state delegations from Ohio and Pennsylvania, and for numerous foreign noblemen. During fair year, the hotel served as headquarters for the Democratic National Convention as well as various other conventions, associations, and clubs.9
In 1916, the Hotel Jefferson again hosted the Democratic National Convention, this time leading to the second term of President Woodrow Wilson. The hotel’s sumptuous lobby,dining and cafe rooms also became favorite nightspots for local citizens. The opening in 1910 of the neighboring Shubert Theatre (later called the Jefferson Shubert) located across Locust Street in the Union Electric Building (demolished) attracted the after-theater crowd. A visiting traveler’s description in 1916 evokes something of the character of the hotel then: “we went over to the Jefferson to see society there … at midnight things begin to wake up at the Jefferson. Dozensoflimousinesunloadgladragsfullofhumanitywhowanttoeatand drink after the theaters. They used to employ artists to sing and dance for the guests but now, a space in the dining room is reserved and a part of the lobby is railed off so the guests themselves can dance between courses…They seem to have a lovely time and I wished I could be in ‘that element’.”
Page 38
The Jefferson Plaza Garage (Photos # 5, 6; Figs.16, 17, 18), erected in 1928 at the same time as the hotel annex, featured a facade of unusual architectural interest for garages of the period. Most garage facades of the 1920s (and later) in St. Louis displayed either structural concrete or standard red brick facing with little attempt at art. The materials ofthe primary (west) facade (along with the brick side elevations) ofthe Jefferson Plaza Garage matched the hotel annex’s buffbrick and cream terra cotta materials while respectfully addressing significant neighboring buildings on North Thirteenth Street such as the Shell Building (1925), Leopold Eidlitz’s Christ Church Cathedral (1859-67, NHL), and Cass Gilbert’s St. Louis Public Library (1910). The architects of record for the garage, Gill & Jackson (St. Louis), were assisted by W.J.Knight&Co.(St.Louis), consulting engineers specializing in reinforced concrete construction.
The garage’s utilitarian interior of exposed reinforced concrete construction exhibits a plan based on Fernand d’Humy’s 1919 patent for short,easy-graderampsandstaggered,split-levelfloors(Fig.16).The d’Humy patent, transferred to the Ramp Buildings Corporation (New York) which licensed use ofthe ramp system, became the standard design feature ofthe modern multi-level car park; the new building type offered quick and easy car access, an improvement over elevator garages ofthe 1920s. The six-story Jefferson Plaza Garage, originally accommodating 600 cars, was financed and built by St. Louisan William King who purchased the building lot from Hotel Jefferson interests in 1927 with the intent of collaborating with the hotel plans for expansion and upgraded service. While construction was in progress it was announced that the hotel and garage would be connected at the second story “so that tourists can drive directly to the garage and have no inconvenience from their luggage.” In 1924, William King, the former general manager of the Automobile Club of Missouri, had begun construction of the first of a series of four downtown commercial garages (all razed except the Jefferson Plaza) “in the hope ofrelieving parking and traffic congestion.”
The garage faces 13th Street, across the street is Lucas Park. Barely visible is the Shell Building (right)
The nomination is great reading and it has great photos. You can see see recent images of the abandoned ballroom here.
I like that Alterra International is actually international — based in Turkey — with projects worldwide. The founding partner seems well-educated:
Mr. Sarimsakci holds a Masters’ degree from Stanford University’s Structural Engineering Department, and received his bachelor of science degree in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University. He is fluent in English, Russian, and Turkish.
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