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.

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.

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

Readers Support Missouri Requiring Use of Rear Seat Belts

Nearly 60% of readers that voted in the poll last week support Missouri joining more than half the states in requiring rear seat passengers to wear seat belts.

Q: Should Missouri require seatbelt use for back-seat passengers?

1. Yes 43 59.72% [59.72%]
2. No 24 [33.33%]
3. Unsure/no opinion 4 [5.56%]
4. Other: 1 [1.39%] (There should be no seatbelt laws.)

I have no idea if a such a bill has been introduced in the Missouri legislature.

– Steve Patterson

Harris-Stowe State University Campus Disconnected From Adjacent City

In the 21+ years I’ve been in St. Louis I’ve watched Harris-Stowe State Universitygo through name changes and a major expansion of their campus.

This was done under the leadership of university president Dr. Henry Givens Jr., now retired:

Givens managed to grab the LaClede Town housing project land – valued at roughly $17 million – for $10 after the federal government shut it down and turned it over to the city in the 1990s. His hard work and relentless political negotiating got him the old Vashon Community Center and three surrounding acres for another $10. The historically black college for teachers kept adding buildings – along with students and degree programs – and eventually earned full-fledge university status in 2005. (West End Word)

In 2006 Harris Stowe added their first dormitory.

In August of last year they opened a second  residence hall:

Harris-Stowe State University celebrated the opening of its second residence hall and new student dining facility on Friday, August 12. The university named the recently completed 65,000-square-foot, four-story structure in honor of attorney Freeman R. Bosley Jr., the first African-American mayor of the City of St. Louis and long-time advocate of the university and its mission. (St. Louis American)

Combined the two residence halls house 428 students.

With two residence halls and more and more academic buildings just south of the emerging Midtown Alleydistrict:

Boutique hotels and trendy restaurants today are sprinkled among [marketing] agencies with names like “Scorch,” “Four Alarm” and “Spoke.” The development makes it difficult to envision that barely ten years have passed since the Thoelkes brought their shop specializing in cultural events and institutions to Midtown. (STLtoday.com)

What an exciting environment to have adjacent to a college campus! The closest establishment to campus is the hugely popular Pappy’s Smokehouse but also close is The Good Pie, The Fountain on Locust and opening this coming Saturday, Hamburger Mary’s. The students must walk to Midtown Alley all the time. Well, I’m sure they would  if they could.

To be fair to Harris-Stowe, when they acquired the LaClede Town land the area now known as Midtown Alley had yet to begin developing. In planning their campus they used the same failed logic as Saint Louis University — the area outside of the campus border has nothing now nor will it ever so it’s best we just turn out backs and keep the students safe from the big bad world.

TOKY Branding + Design opened on Olive just east of Compton in 2002.  Two years later the Emerson Performance Center (lower left, above) opened permanently blocking access to Cardinal Ave and Olive St.  Just reaching the bus stops at that intersection is a challenge for students.

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Hamburger Mary’s will likely draw huge crowds starting Saturday. I’m afraid students or others will get hurt trying to cross Olive St at Cardinal Ave to reach the new bar & grill. A strong campus connection at Cardinal Ave would have made pedestrian signals at Olive easier to justify. I cross at Compton Ave but I doubt others will go out of their way to do so.

Like Saint Louis University to the east, Harris-Stowe State University has very nice buildings, green grass and an orderly campus. Both fail at connecting to the city. – 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.

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

Poll: Who Should Be Elected Treasurer for the City of St. Louis in 2012

Nationally the battle for the GOP presidential nomination is ongoing but locally we will soon see a fight for the county-level office of treasurer. Monday last week I blogged that Larry Williams Should Not Seek Another Term as Treasurer. Williams has been in office over 30 years and so far he’s said he is going to run again.

This election can potentially have a big impact on the future of St. Louis. The candidates will be debating parking policy, related urban policy, financial management and possibly the idea of changing the city’s charter.

The poll question this week asks who should be elected treasurer in 2012. I’ve listed Williams and the three candidates that have announced so far: Ald Fred Wessels, City Democrat head Brian Wahby and State Rep Tishaura Jones. I’ve also included a choice for an “undeclared candidate.”

– Steve Patterson