Readers want the SS Admiral riverboat to remain on the St. Louis riverfront

By a huge margin the readers who voted in the poll last week want to see the SS Admiral remain on the St. Louis Riverfront:

Q: The SS Admiral’s days on the river may be numbered with the closing of the casino next month. Which best describes your view?

1. The Admiral is a key part of the riverfront, I’d like to see it retained somehow. 79 [62.2%]
2. The Admirals’ day is past, it should be removed from the riverfront. 36 [28.35%]
3. Unsure/no opinion. 6 [4.72%]
4. Other answer… 6 [4.72%]

Clearly though a large group is ready to let it go.  The following were the six “other” answers:

1. I’d like to see it retained as, say, a museum for St. Louis’ riverboat
2. It’s not “key” to the riverfront – but it seems like an opportuni
3. glad to see a casino go but would like the iconic boat to stay
4. It’s structure is in poor condition and should be removed for safety reason
5. Dry-dock it somewhere in the city as a restaurant/entertainment complex
6. Turn it into a floating hotel, restaurant or possibly a floating movie theater.

I personally would like to see the boat remain.  I’ve never stepped foot onto the boat so I have no sentimental attachment to the former riverboat turned fixed casino.  It has always brought a smile to my face.  Now hidden behind casino entrance, the design brings a smile to my face.  But how do we save it?

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Now what is downtown’s biggest eyesore?

When St. Louis Centre opened in 1985 it was a success, albeit briefly.  But even then the 4-level pedestrian bridge over Washington St between 6th and 7th was been considered an eyesore – downtown’s biggest in fact.  But the pedestrian bridge is nearly gone and soon it’s twin over Locust St will also be gone.  So that begs the question, what takes on the role of downtown’s biggest eyesore?

I’ve listed some you might consider to be eyesores in the poll on the right. These include a few of my top eyesores such as the I-70 depressed lanes by the Arch, the elevated lanes that will soon be more visible, US Bank’s 1975 parking garage and so on.  This week I’ve given you the option to select one or two answers.

– Steve Patterson

Extending “hallway” element must be a top priority for the Gateway Mall

The hallway — that wide sidewalk along the north side of Market St — is what will eventually tie the blocks of the Gateway Mall together.

Unfortunately as well designed as Citygarden is, when built they didn’t plan to connect the hallway element to the blocks to the east and west. The crossing at 9th Street meets the design criteria of the master plan but at 8th and a 10th it was somehow forgotten. Hopefully we will get all the blocks from Broadway (5th)  and 20th.  Right now we have only the two between 8th and 10th.  Going forward we will need to make sure as each block is done that we plan ahead for the next adjacent block.

– Steve Patterson

Public needed to replace 1+ mile of highway with boulevard

Based on past posts I know that many readers here support the efforts of City to River to replace I-70 from the PSB (Poplar Street Bridge) to Cass Ave with a pedestrian-friendly boulevard.  It can’t be done until the new Mississippi River bridge opens in 2014.  In terms of infrastructure planning that is just around the corner.

Last week City to River posted What City to River is Doing and What YOU Can Do to Help on their blog. The post outlines the steps the public can do to push this idea forward.

• Contact Mayor Francis Slay, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Superintendent Tom Bradley, and our downtown Aldermen to express your support for the removal of I-70 (contact info below).
• Spread the word to family, friends, colleagues. Ask them to follow @CitytoRiver on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CityToRiver. Send an e-mail to your contact list with a link to www.citytoriver.org, ask them to send the link to others.
• If you have contact with downtown developers, businesses, or property owners, tell them about City to River and the boulevard idea. If they would like to learn more, connect us with them and we will provide them with information about the effort and how they can help.

The post includes the contact info for various persons you can contact.  I can’t think of anything more positive that St. Louis could do than to replace the highway barrier with a boulevard. Please tell everyone you know.  Post it on Facebook, Tweet about it, talk to anyone that will listen.

– Steve Patterson

The architecture of Memorial Day in downtown St. Louis

To the men & women who have served, or are serving, in our armed forces -  thank you!

Our Soldiers Memorial building and area was conceived to honor those who served in WWI (1914-1918):

“The initiative to construct a memorial plaza and memorial building to honor the gallant sons and daughters of Missouri, and of our city, who “made the supreme sacrifice in the World War”, began in 1923. Over the course of several years, the City of St. Louis and its citizens raised money for the project. Under the leadership of Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann, and with some funds coming from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (Project No. 5098), the construction of the building, development of the memorial plaza, and improvements to the parks began on October 21, 1935 and the memorial and museum officially opened on Memorial Day, May 30, 1938.”  (Source)

So the memorial was completed 20 years after the war was over, five times as long as the war itself.  St. Louis’ mayor offered these words 72 years ago:

“This magnificent edifice, erected as a perpetual reminder of the valor and sacrifice that has enabled America to live, will spur us on as a people to make America greater. We, who live, because others have died, should make of this shrine a place of love and a monument of peace.”

– Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann, May 30, 1938

Chestnut was once the street used for parades with the steps of the memorial providing a good viewing platform but at some point we moved parades to Market Street.

– Steve Patterson