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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
When heading away from downtown (Southwest) on Gravois you go under the train tracks just after Meramec St. When you come back up to grade there is a traffic signal at Taft Ave:
As you can see from the pavement markings the lane heading away gives you the option to go straight or turn left, a pretty common situation in the city. But this intersection isn’t so common.
If you look at the signs posted on the signal arm you will see they indicate no turns are allowed, neither left or right. Clearly the pavement markings conflict with the posted signs. I will be sending a link to the post to city officials and folks with MoDOT.
The new bridge over the Mississippi River has been named the Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Bridge. Reagan was born in Tampico, IL (4+ hours away) in 1911 but moved to California in the 1930s.
In August 2004 William Perkins and Russ Reike, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, gave Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL) petitions with over 4,000 signatures supporting the naming of the new bridge “Veteran’s Memorial Bridge”. This effort is supported by Rep. John Shimpkus (R-IL) and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. The Missouri State Legislature voted on August 28, 2005 to name the bridge after Ronald Reagan (Source: Wikipedia)
There are many others from the St. Louis area (Illinois & Missouri) that would be better to name the bridge after. The Agnes Moorehead Memorial Bridge has some campy appeal, traffic reporters could say things like, “There is an accident on the Endora so expect delays.” Seriously, someone from the metro east would be a much better fit than Reagan who grew up more than four hours north of the metro area.
Although she was born in DuPage County near Chicago, the late Katherine Dunham often called East St. Louis her home. The poll this week asks who you’d name the bridge after. I’ve included a long list but you have the option to name your own answer.
From 1920-1953, Sportsman’s Park was the home field of both the St. Louis Browns of the American League, and the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, after which the Browns departed to become the modern-day Baltimore Orioles. The physical street address was 2911 North Grand Boulevard. St. Louis is the smallest market ever to support two major-league teams in the same sport at the same time and the second smallest city next to Boston to do so.
This ballpark (by then known as Busch Stadium, but still commonly called Sportsman’s Park) was also the home of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League from 1960 until 1965, after the team’s relocation from Chicago and before Busch Memorial Stadium opened its doors. In 1923, the stadium hosted St. Louis’s first NFL team, the St. Louis All Stars.
In 1966 Busch Stadium II opened downtown in what had been our China Town area. That stadium was replaced with Busch Stadium III in 2006. Sportsman’s Park, opened in 1902, is now the site of the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club. I can’t help what wonder what the neighborhood at Grand & Dodier would look like today had the Cardinals remained at that corner. Similarly, I wonder what that portion of downtown would be like had many blocks not been razed the vast urban renewal scheme.
A new street tree was recently planted near the entrance to my building.
ABOVE: base of newly planted tree outside my building
This replaced the new tree planted in 2008 that died in 2009. Hopefully this tree will survive although with the level of the dirt well above the sidewalk level I’m not optimistic.
ABOVE: KSDK reporter Casey Nolan emceed St. Louis' first PKN on January 28, 2010
I attended the first two Pecha Kucha in St. Louis earlier this year (1/28 & 2/20) and I was blown away be the ideas expressed by the varied presenters. Tonight Michael Allen of The Ecology of Absence will be the emcee for the evening as the following make presentations:
1. Steven Brien and Elysia Mann / All Along Press
2. Jay Fram / Photographer
3. Kevin Crouse / SMS system to access the MetroBus and MetroLink system
4. Tim Gaidis / Architect, Biomimetifragilisticexpialidocious
5. John Beck / Sculptor
6. Gina Alvarez / Artist
7. Eric Hall / Musician/Installation Artist
8. Andrew Raimist / Architect, Designer
9. Steven Pigeon / Alice in Wonderland
10. Steve Patterson / Urban Review
11. Sarah Truckey / Local Harvest
12. David Isaac / Rock Wall – Climb So Ill
13. Jay Swoboda & Nate Forst / Sprout/EcoUrban
Yes, I’m the tenth presenter tonight, after the two beer breaks. My presentation is on…well you will just have to show up to find out.
PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.
It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation (“chit chat”), it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds.
It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.
PKN St. Louis #3 will be held at Mad Art Gallery, 2727 South 12th Street. in the Soulard neighborhood. Doors open at 7pm and the first presentation begins around 7:30pm. The event is free and seating is limited.
AARP Livibility Index
The Livability Index scores neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. for the services and amenities that impact your life the most
Built St. Louis
historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri – mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors.
Geo St. Louis
a guide to geospatial data about the City of St. Louis
As you can see from the pavement markings the lane heading away gives you the option to go straight or turn left, a pretty common situation in the city. But this intersection isn’t so common.
