Celebrating Blog’s 19th Anniversary

 

  Nineteen year ago I started this blog as a distraction from my father’s heart attack and slow recovery. It was late 2004 and social media & video streaming apps didn’t exist yet — or at least not widely available to the general public. Blogs were the newest means of …

Thoughts on NGA West’s Upcoming $10 Million Dollar Landscaping Project

 

  The new NGA West campus , Jefferson & Cass, has been under construction for a few years now. Next NGA West is a large-scale construction project that will build a new facility for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in St. Louis, Missouri.This $1.7B project is managed by the U.S. Army …

Four Recent Books From Island Press

 

  Book publisher Island Press always impresses me with thoughtful new books written by people working to solve current problems — the subjects are important ones for urbanists and policy makers to be familiar and actively discussing. These four books are presented in the order I received them. ‘Justice and …

New Siteman Cancer Center, Update on my Cancer

 

  This post is about two indirectly related topics: the new Siteman Cancer Center building under construction on the Washington University School of Medicine/BJC campus and an update on my stage 4 kidney cancer. Let’s deal with the latter first. You may have noticed I’ve not posted in three months, …

Recent Articles:

Tree of Books At St. Louis Central Library

December 23, 2014 Books, Featured, Popular Culture Comments Off on Tree of Books At St. Louis Central Library
 

The St. Louis Central Library has the best “tree” on display right now.

Tree of books at the Central Library
Tree of books at the Central Library

Beautiful, plus no watering necessary or pine needles to clean up!

— Steve Patterson

Parking Garage Undergoing Time-Consuming Multi-Million Dollar Restoration; Businesses Closed, Jobs Lost

December 22, 2014 Downtown, Featured, Parking 55 Comments
 

Old buildings require renovation/restoration to extend their useful life. Usually downtown buildings getting a complete makeover date from the 19th or early 20th century but for the last six months one built in 1967 has been closed during the restoration process.

Scaffolding to protect the public sidewalk
Scaffolding to protect the public sidewalk has been up for months around the parking garage at Tucker & Locust, attached to the Old Post-Dispatch Building, at right. Click for map.

On July 1, 2014 I posted this image to Twitter & Facebook saying "Workers are prepping the parking garage at Tucker & Locust for rehab (refresh concrete)"
On July 1, 2014 I posted this image to Twitter & Facebook saying “Workers are prepping the parking garage at Tucker & Locust for rehab (refresh concrete)”

I took this picture of the stone-clad columns getting wrapped in plywood before the previous pic
I took this picture of the stone-clad columns getting wrapped in plywood before the previous pic

The July 9th sign in the window of the Chinese Wok restaurant at 1122 Locust, lower level of the east end of the garage.
In July this sign went up in the window of the Chinese Wok restaurant at 1122 Locust, lower level of the east end of the garage. Regulars in the area will recalling seeing a scooter just inside the window.

More than two months later, on September 15, 2014, the interior of the restaurant was completely gutted.
More than two months later, on September 15, 2014, the interior of the restaurant was completely gutted.

In October the sign saying they'd be closed for a month remained in place.
In October the sign saying they’d be closed for a month remained in place.

The owners of this business expected to only be closed for a month, but it has been nearly six months now. The Papa John’s at Tucker is no longer listed on papajohns.com website, the nearest location is now listed at 3822 Laclede. After this long I decided it was time to start asking questions about the project. On December 17th I emailed the media contact for the general contractor, Tarlton:

Laura,
I’ve been watching the project at the parking garage on the SE corner of Tucker & Locust for months.

I have some questions:
1) what’s the scope of the project?
2) is it taking longer than originally expected? I ask because they Chinese restaurant only expected to be closed for a month or two.
3) when do you anticipate being finished?
4) cost of the project?

Thanks,

Steve

The next day I received the following response:

Hi Steve.
My apologies for the delay in getting back to you — I was traveling.
These are questions for the property owner.
Thanks, Laura

LAURA LUSSON, Communications Manager, Tarlton Corporation

Ah yes, the owner. That would be Tucker Parking Equities LLC & Tucker Parking Holdings LLC located at 24 Church St in Montclair NJ, both were formed in Delaware in 2007.  Getting nowhere with the contractor, I emailed building commissioner Frank Oswald asking what he could tell me about permit #516639, applied for on September 8th, I quickly heard back saying he wasn’t familiar, he copied a district supervisor but I’ve not heard from him. Also Friday morning I emailed Central Parking to ask when the garage would reopen, I’ve not heard back from them.

This December 17, 2014 image shows the wood & steel added inside the structure.
This December 17, 2014 image shows the wood & steel added inside the structure.

I’d hoped to have something more ‘concrete’ to report.

— Steve Patterson

 

TUCKER PARKING EQUITIES LLC FL0811142 Limited Liability Company (Foreign) Active 4/19/2007 Saur Esq., Stephanie
Tucker Parking Holdings LLC LC0811141 Limited Liability Company (Domestic) Active 4/19/2007 CSC-LAWYERS INCORPORATING SERVICE COMPANY

Sunday Poll: Should The U.S. Switch To The Metric System?

December 21, 2014 Featured, Sunday Poll 2 Comments
 

Please vote in the poll, located in the right sidebar
Please vote in the poll, located in the right sidebar

Some of you are too young to remember our brief flirtation with the metric system, 1975-1982:

The Metric Conversion Act is an Act of Congress that U.S. President Gerald Ford signed into law on December 23, 1975. It declared the Metric system “the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce”, but permitted the use of United States customary units in non-business activities. The Act also established the United States Metric Board with representatives from scientific, technical, and educational institutions, as well as state and local governments to plan, coordinate, and educate the American people for the Metrication of the United States.

Executive Order 12770, which cites the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, directed departments and agencies within the executive branch of the United States Government to “take all appropriate measures within their authority” to use the metric system “as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce.” (Wikipedia)

In 1982 President Reagan disbanded the 17-member Metric Board (source). I’ve driven in Canada, where the metric system is used. US highways aren’t in metric — except I-19 in Arizona:

The roughly 60-mile stretch (or about 100 kilometers) is the only continuous highway in the U.S. with metric signs, and it’s the subject of a long-simmering spat over whether they should be changed back to the standard system. (Arizona highway signs in metric units may change)

There were, and are, valid arguments for keeping measurement system as is, and for changing to match 3/4 of the world. Which brings me to the poll question for today: Should the U.S. switch to the metric system?

The poll is open for 12 hours, 8am-8pm central. Results will be posted Wednesday.

— Steve Patterson

Another Book Gift Idea: Under One Flag: A Journey from 9/11 to the Heartland

December 19, 2014 Books, Featured 1 Comment
 

underoneflagOn Tuesday I told you about Convention Center Follies: Politics, Power, and Public Investment in American Cities by Heywood T. Sanders and a week ago about about five St. Louis books. Today’s book, a beautifully photographed hardcover coffee table book, deserved its own post:

To mark the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a group of volunteers acknowledged the fallen by posting 2,996 American flags at a city park in St. Louis, Missouri. One of the flags honored New York City firefighter Michael Weinberg, a first responder who died Ground Zero. In a twist of fate, Michael’s flag went unnoticed at auction after the event but, as a result, would make a remarkable journey through the Midwest. Under One Flag chronicles this journey with poignant, richly illustrated stories of American heroism and the conviction of those intent on paying tribute. Key among the latter are grassroots organizer Rick Randall and also Larry Eckhardt, known as “The Flag Man” for placing flags along the routes of soldiers’ funerals. Through Larry’s efforts, Michael’s flag would fly in Preston, Iowa, to honor Marine Corporal Zach Reiff, who died serving his country in Afghanistan. Under One Flag shows how lives interweave when compassion serves as the common tie. It is the collective story of people who want nothing but give everything.

Under One Flag: A Journey from 9/11 to the Heartland is published locally by Reedy Press.

— Steve Patterson

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Restrooms Are For Customers Only

December 18, 2014 Featured, Retail 3 Comments
 

We’ve all encountered businesses that keep their public restroom(s) under lock & key, requiring you to ask for a key at the counter. The other day I had lunch with a couple of friends but the restroom access was simple while keeping out non-customers.

Restroom sign & lock at the Chipotle at the "Flying Saucer" on Grand.
Restroom sign & lock at the Chipotle at the “Flying Saucer” on Grand.

Each receipt has a restroom code, the deadbolt you lock on the inside shows to others if the restroom is occupied or vacant. Great solution! I’m not sure how often they change the code, still probably easier than messing with a key on a stick or letting non-customers use the restrooms.

— Steve Patterson

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