Castle Ballroom: “Exclusively for the Best Colored People of St. Louis”

Segregation meant blacks had to duplicate all the establishments that were not open to them, including dance halls. One such place was the Castle Ballroom on Olive & 29th (now T.E. Huntley).

Across the street to the south is the Mill Creek Valley Urban Renewal area. This 454-acre tract was the result of a clearance project which razed one of the city’s densest African American neighborhoods beginning in 1959. The low-rise community called Laclede Town was built south of the ballroom in the early 1960s; after subsequent expansions, it was closed in the 1980s and later razed. The property now belongs to the Sigma Chemical Company; most of it is open space. In this context, the Castle can be understood as one of a few remaining buildings with significant associations with the population of Mill Creek Valley.

The nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, quoted above, was written by Lynn Josse.

I’d passed by this building thousands of times over the last 20 years but I had no clue to it’s history.  Again from the nomination:

For the purposes of the National Register, the most significant space in the building is the ballroom, which retains integrity. The dance floor, balcony, stage, even much of the plaster and woodwork are largely intact. Although some of the elements may not reflect the 1908 appearance, nearly all are original to the pre-1954 period of significance.

Thankfully the “pent roof” that was added to modernized the building has now been removed.  I can picture new storefront’s and the building occupied again.

Our buildings have so much history, it just takes someone to bring it to our attention.  In my case it was my friend Leigh Maibes, who has the property listed for sale. I’ve seen dark pictures of the ballroom space but without power I wasn’t able to see inside in person (walking is difficult enough for me in well lit spaces).

The renovation of midtown is moving east and downtown is moving west, in a few years they will meet along Washington, Locust or Olive.  Hopefully all three within a decade.

– Steve Patterson

Guest Opinion: Champaign-Urbana Transit Employing Useful Technology

Contributed by Matt Heil

When it comes to planning and this blog, in particular, public transit is a hot topic. In case you were unaware, transit funding is extremely different between the two states of Illinois and Missouri. I’m originally from the St. Louis area but spent the past few years living in Champaign, IL, going to school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Even though the Champaign-Urbana region (pop.120,000) is significantly smaller than St. Louis, their public transit agency, Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD), is much more organized, runs more frequently and has embraced many new technologies in public transit.

Some of their technologies include: GPS tracking, hybrid buses, a multi-modal transportation hub and elongated buses.

Their GPS tracking was extremely useful and, during my stint in Champaign, I used this feature almost daily but at least two-three times a week. Every bus is equipped with GPS receivers that forward real-time arrival and departure information to MTD’s website, which is accessible via-smartphone; their texting service, which every bus stop has a specific code you can text to MTD; and also high volume bus stops, which are all equipped with LED signs that post the arrival times of the next buses.

Hybrid buses were added within the last two years and incorporating hybrid technology into urban buses make quite a bit of sense. Buses mostly operate at lower speeds and make frequent stops, which are both, important for the regeneration of battery power.

Another great part of Champaign’s transit system was that the system integrated multiple hubs within the network. Most of these hubs were in and around the University of Illinois’ campus but two other important ones included Downtown Urbana and the largest one in Downtown Champaign. Illinois Terminal, located at the southeast portion of Champaign’s downtown, was built in 1999. At the time, it was a state of the art facility and continues that legacy today. Like the new Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center (Amtrak and Greyhound Station), finished in 2008; Illinois Terminal integrates intercity bus service (Greyhound and MegaBus), intracity bus (MTD=Metro) and Amtrak, all into one location and was designed as a multi-modal (intermodal) transportation hub.

As mentioned earlier, Champaign is significantly smaller than St. Louis yet their public transit works extremely better than St. Louis’. This is because Champaign’s main employer (13,000employees) and destination is the University. Additionally, the population living within a 2-mile radius of campus is quite dense. Both density and a central employment/destination hub are very crucial for maximizing public transit’s efficiency. MTD has much higher ridership on some of their routes, compared to St. Louis. To cope with higher ridership, some of the busiest routes use elongated or extended buses, which aren’t even seen on St. Louis’ busiest line: the #70 Grand Bus.

Champaign might be a sleepy college town and surrounded by cornfields but, when it comes to their public transit, Champaign can compete with some of the largest cities in the country. Some have even referred to the Champaign-Urbana area as a micro-urban area. Compared to St. Louis, Champaign built their multi-modal transportation hub almost an entire decade before St. Louis. So, we should probably expect Metro to incorporate other technologies like, extended buses and GPS tracking within the next decade too, but still lagging behind areas with less than 10% of our regional population.

- Matt Heil

Matt Heil is a native of Edwardsville, IL and current resident of St. Louis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann Vetoed Smoke-Free Bill

Yesterday St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann vetoed a bill that would have given voters the opportunity to decide if they wanted their county to go smoke-free. In the poll last week the single answer with the most was the one where he would sign the bill and voters would approve:

Q: When Will St. Charles County Go Smoke-Free?

1. Ehlmann will sign bill and voters will approve it in Nov 2012 16 [32%]
2. Only after a statewide ban 13 [26%]
3. Never 8 [16%]
4. Other answer… 4 [8%]
5. Eventually, Ehlmann will sign bill but voters won’t approve it in Nov 2012 3 [6%]
6. Eventually, Ehlmann will veto this bill but this change will come later 3 [6%]
7. Ehlmann will veto this bill but the County Council will override, voters approve in Nov 2012 2 [4%]
8. Ehlmann will veto this bill but the County Council will override, voters reject in Nov 2012 1 [2%]

The issue was the casino exemption:

“If the purpose of the smoking ban is to protect the health of employees, there is no rational reason to exclude casino floor workers,” the Republican executive said in his veto message.

“If tobacco smoke is harmful, there is no reason to exempt cigar bars, while regulating bars that allow cigarette smoking.” (source)

The other answers were:

1. How should I know?
2. Who cares, St Charles county is a worthless pile of crap
3. Why ban a legal product? Heavy perfume makes me ill…ban overly scented people
4. I feel that speculating over what will happen is kind of pointless.

My reason for the poll was to show regional interest in going smoke-free.  Maybe there isn’t such interest? Expect additional bills to bring this to voters, most likely without an exemption for casinos.

– Steve Patterson

Restaurant, Lounge or Late Night Club?

The business Rich Girl Lifestyle, LLC is seeking a liquor license at the address 1627 Washington Ave, in the space previously occupied by Cummel’s.  The building is known as the University Lofts.  Few things are as controversial as the issuance of a liquor license and the application for the place to be called Couture is no exception.

In April liquor license compliance specialist Joe Kelly sent a letter to property owners, businesses & registered voters within a 350 feet radius of that address seeking their approval for a liquor license at a new “restaurant and lounge” to be called Couture. My building is within the radius but only those on the first three floors get any say about such matters. The city must think sound can’t reach me or my neighbors on the 4th floor or higher.

Teri Little indicated to KMOV’s Maggie Crane that Couture would close most nights by 11pm:

The proposed hours of operation are 11a-11pm M-Th, 11am-130am Fri-Sat.

In a nutshell, it’s a boutique styled cafe/lounge(speakeasy style venue) geared towards the fashion friendly. We will serve food and exotic handmade cocktails as well as some light retail. (source)

However, a resident of University Lofts told me they are now saying they will be open until 1am 7pm every night.  Late nights on Friday and Saturday nights are expected, especially on Washington Ave.  But the rest of the week the area is a mostly quiet residential neighborhood.

Neither LeTeri Little, or her business partner Angelique Hover, live in the City of St. Louis. Residency isn’t a requirement to obtain a liquor license, of course, but I don’t know that residents of nearby suburbs can appreciate the concern of those who live in close proximity to others.

The resident I talked to indicated the lobby doorway would not be the main entrance.

He said the side door would be the doorway used instead.  I haven’t verified his claims but I doubt the doorway would be used as is, it’s just too steep.  It is possible to build a platform and easier steps to use this door, perhaps even a deck for outdoor seating.

Using the side door makes since to bring some life to this short block of 16th Street.  The problem is the width of the public right-of-way is only 50 feet.

Given how sound can bounce from wall to wall it is absurd residents on the 4th floor or higher don’t get a say in liquor license applications.  My windows face the building next door, about 75 feet away, and I hear everything that goes on in the parking lot below. This limitation needs to be reviewed and revised.

LeTeri Little’s husband, Chris Little, ran the Label in Chouteau’s Landing, which has been in the news since April:

St. Louis Police are mourning the loss of one of its veteran officers, following a downtown altercation in a nightclub parking lot. (source)

Very different area, there might be a few residences in the upper floors of these buildings but parking lots and other businesses is the norm.  Is there guilt by association? Yes, prior and affiliated businesses are a basis I would use to approve a new license — if I got a say in the matter.

Personally I like the idea of a new establishment near me and I like a drink now and then so I wouldn’t flat out reject it.  But most restaurants are not open until 1am seven nights per week.

– Steve Patterson

Pedestrian Access Route Completed at Schlafly Bottleworks

Last October I posted about the lack of a pedestrian route to reach the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood.  Pedestrians were forced to walk in spaces designed for cars, not people.  Pedestrians deserve their own route separate from crossing through automobile parking lots.  Furthermore, American’s with Disabilities Act guidelines requires such:

4.3.2 Location.

(1) At least one accessible route within the boundary of the site shall be provided from public transportation stops, accessible parking, and accessible passenger loading zones, and public streets or sidewalks to the accessible building entrance they serve. The accessible route shall, to the maximum extent feasible, coincide with the route for the general public.

Failure to provide this route is a civil rights violation, as well as being very anti-pedestrian.

I’m happy to report Schlafly has just completed constructing an access route!

Schalfly knows good  food & beer, not pedestrian access.  Responsibility to plan for pedestrian access falls to the architects & engineers hired by business owners. Unfortunately too many of these professionals fail their clients and the public by not considering how the pedestrian on the sidewalk will reach the front door.

I’m convinced that if design professionals actually informed their clients of the need to provide a route for pedestrians we’d see buildings get placed closer to the public sidewalk to reduce the expense of the concrete.  My preference, of course, would be for the buildings to abut the sidewalk — with no parking in between. Building codes must get caught up so this becomes something plan reviewers and building inspectors will check for.

In the meantime I’ve got thousands of business & property owners to persuade to do as Schlafly has done. I’ll probably start with Schlafly’s original location, The Tap Room, located in west downtown.

– Steve Patterson