Municipal Auditorium to Kiel Auditorium to Peabody Opera House

In my post yesterday I mentioned seeing the interior of the Peabody Opera House earlier in the week, my first time ever in the building.

It closed less then a year after I moved to St. Louis in August 1990 and I never got to see it before the recent $79 million dollar renovation. Apparently they did a great job keeping water out during two decades of being closed.

What amazes me is this building was built during the Great Depression, the cornerstone was set on November 2, 1932. At the opening performance on April 21, 1934 it was known as the Municipal Auditorium.  Nine years later on March 26, 1943 the Municipal Auditorium became the Kiel Auditorium, after former 3-term mayor Henry Kiel (February 21, 1871 – November 26, 1942). But the last show was in 1991.

Very impressive for 1934 and 2011.

– Steve Patterson

Taste of St. Louis Today Through Sunday, Tours of Peabody Opera

The annual Taste of St. Louis kicks off today and runs through Sunday, from their press release:

The Taste of St. Louis is a celebration of food, art, music, and the culture of the great city of St. Louis. The 2011 Taste will feature celebrity chefs, 45 of St. Louis’ best restaurants along Sauce Magazine’s Restaurant Row, the Chef Battle Royale on the Lumiere Place and River City Casino Culinary stage, The Kids’ Kitchen, free music concerts on the Main Stage, and the Art & Wine Walk.

This year is a bit different because the main stage will be west of 14th — in front of the new Peabody Opera House. I attended the Taste of St. Louis press conference a few days ago at the Peabody. Wow, unbelievably impressive. Hats off to the generations before us that built such a magnificent structure during the Great Depression. It’s amazing what $79 million can do for a building that has been vacant for more than 20 years.

The official opening performance at the new Peabody isn’t until October 1st but this weekend you can see inside for free as part of the Taste of St. Louis weekend.

Last year Taste introduced EGS – Event Greening Services:

With a current attendance of more than 300,000, the Taste was the first event in the region to pioneer aggressive, eco-friendly practices in multiple areas of our operations. We’ve received a lot of media attention for our greening efforts, and, with the help of our community, plan to continue to build on these efforts each year.

I thought it worked well last year, even more waste should be recycled this year.

The event is held in the Gateway Mall’s “Civic Room” (aka Soldiers Memorial) at Chestnut & 13th. Thankfully their site doesn’t give driving directions but suggests using Metro. Unfortunately, they only mention MetroLink, not MetroBus.  Everyday in St. Louis more people are transported via MetroBus than MetroLink but everyone acts like it doesn’t matter.  If you live in the region you have public transit options to get downtown for this great event. They might include MetroBus, MetroLink or both. North, south, east or west of downtown there is public transit that will get you to the event.

Some MetroBus options:

• From North city: 4, 30, 32, 41, 70, 74, 94, 97
• From North county to downtown: 74; to Hanley MetroLink : 35, 44, 47, 61, 75
• From West city: 10, 32
• From West county to MetroLink: 56, 57, 58, 91
• From South city: 8, 10, 11, 40, 70, 73, 80
• From South county to downtown: 73 to MetroLink: 17, 21, 46

Many options! For everyone, except those in Madison County, can use Google Maps or Metro’s Trip Planner to determine your route options. Those in Madison county see Madison County Transit for various bus routes to 5th & Missouri MetroLink. Note that some bus lines use Market and/or 14th, they will be rerouted slightly due to Taste, but you will still get closer than if you drove.

Got bike? Bike parking will be at Tucker & Chestnut.

Have a great weekend — see you at the Taste of St. Louis!

– Steve Patterson

PR: City to Restrict Area around 11th and Spruce

The following is a press release from the mayor’s office:

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Contact: Kara Bowlin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 20, 2011

Starting Tuesday, access to the area around 11th and Spruce Downtown will be limited because portions of the historic Cupples 7 building have become structurally unsound. The City will restrict access to the building to make sure no one gets hurt.

City engineers have determined that the building is unstable enough that the City will close 11th Street from Spruce to Poplar and half a block of Spruce east of 11th Street on Tuesday after the morning rush.

Cupples 7 was built in 1907. The City routinely inspects it and has repeatedly cited the owner because of its deteriorating condition. Severe damage to the building’s roof has exposed the interior of the building to the elements. But, representatives from Ballpark Lofts III LLC, the building’s owner, say it does not have enough money to make the needed repairs to shore up the building. So far, no one has stepped forward with enough money and a plan to protect the structure.

“Building inspectors regularly inspect the building,” said Building Commissioner Frank Oswald. “It’s our job to protect our City’s residents and visitors from unsafe buildings. Unfortunately, we no longer feel confident in this building’s structural integrity. To the untrained eye, the building seems stable at the street level – but years of a severely damaged roof have taken a toll on its stability.”

Cupples 7 is one of nine Cupples buildings. It is one of only two Cupples buildings that has not yet been renovated – and is the only Cupples building without a renovation plan in place.

Any proposed repair or demolition of this building, a designated City Landmark and in a National Register Historic District, will be subject to review by the Cultural Resources Office.

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We Should Restore “Twain’s” Original Lighting Scheme (1982 Video)

After my recent post on the ‘Twain’ sculpture by Richard Serra, friend and reader Matt Bauer said he was there the day of the dedication on May 1, 1982. He was just a kid then but his dad, Merrill Bauer, had a video camera. As luck would have it, Merrill Bauer already had those home movies digitized. Using Dropbox Matt was able to give me access to the 16 minute 450mb file to edit and post.  I got it down to 4:08.

Then U.S. Senator Thomas F. Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was on hand that day. In the video you will see the original lighting that flooded the exterior of the piece as well as each opening on the interior.

I’d long wondered about lighting the piece, but wasn’t sure if the artist would approve. Thanks to this footage, that question is now answered. You will also notice the absence of current buildings to the north of the site and the presence of buildings to the east — all since razed.

Here are some still images taken from the video:

My guess is the lighting became difficult to maintain and was removed. I think by the time I arrived 8 years later the lighting was gone. Imagine Citygarden without lighting.

Thirty years later, modern lighting technology would allow us to wash ‘Twain’ with light. Thanks to Matt & Merrill Bauer for getting me their video to post!

– Steve Patterson

The Appeal of Water

There is something about water that is naturally appealing to people of all ages. Of course, we all need water to survive.

But water can bring life to urban areas.

The benefits of water far outweigh the costs.

Even the Mississippi River attracts people to watch the muddy water flow by. The water looks better at night, you can’t see how muddy it is.

– Steve Patterson