I’ve been wanting to see Missouri History Museum’s ‘A Walk In 1875 St. Louis’ exhibit since it opened in May. On Tuesday, my husband and I finally got there to see it.
One of the most amazing maps of a city ever created was Compton & Dry’s “Pictorial St. Louis,” drawn in 1875 and published in 1876. Using this incredibly detailed cartographic masterpiece as its backdrop, the Missouri History Museum developed A Walk in 1875 St. Louis, a 6,000 square-foot exhibition that explores the collective life of 1875 St. Louis through photographs, artifacts, news, writings and first hand accounts of the day.
The Museum’s exhibit staff wanted to create an exhibition that looks so closely at one single year in St. Louis’ history that people could imagine they were actually there. Compton & Dry’s ‘Pictorial St. Louis’ provides the perfect visual stage to create this immersive experience for visitors.
My expectations were high, and the exhibit greatly exceeded them. I hope too see the free exhibit a few more times before it closes in February 2016.
I took a lot of photos, here’s four:
Several large spaces feature two different areas on opposite wall, this example is Fairgrounds & Soulard. In front of you is information to highlight areas on the huge panelsSince our loft is in the former mansion row of Lucas Place we liked seeing this panel. Lucas St is now Locust St.Besides the maps, the exhibit explains what life was like in 1875 Sr. LouisThe great divorce, finalized the following year, is addressed. As you can see, the new city limits were placed far out from the developed city.
One wall had every page from Compton & Dry’s ‘A Pictorial St. Louis’ book assembled, reprints are sold in the gift shop. Please take time to see exhibit before it closes on February 14, 2016.
I often post about accessibility problems, but today’s post is about a problem that’s finally getting addressed. The reconstruction of the DeBaliviere viaduct/bridge over MetroLink tracks is making great improvements to crossing Forest Park Parkway (map). Tuesday I saw the improvement on the newly-opened West side.
Before: The ramps on each side heading South weren’t the best, the crosswalk was pushed out right next to traffic. September 2010Before: we had to use a narrow ramp reach the crosswalks. If you’re waiting to cross a street someone crossing the other would be blocked. These were also trip hazards to others. September 2010After: Now the ramp is wide and directional. The crosswalk won’t be up against Southbound traffic anymore.After: Looking back North you can see the West side isn’t totally finished.
After the East side and the crosswalks are complete I’ll do another post. I’m just so thrilled at the ramp improvement!
Hopefully the pedestrian signal buttons, once activated, will be solely for the visually impaired to get audio signals about when to cross. Other pedestrians shouldn’t need to press a button to get a walk signal.
The masterplan for St. Louis’ technology district, called CORTEX, included a significant green space. Originally formed in 2002, the green space is just now being completed. Here is how they describe the CORTEX campus:
The intent of the CORTEX Master Plan is to create well-designed public open spaces that will contribute significantly to the quality of life within the district, community and city. The Master Plan calls for the creation of the CORTEX Commons, a public park that will be accessible to all who work and live in the district and surrounding neighborhoods.
The Commons: right in front of the @4240 entrance you’ll find a beautiful green space with areas for relaxing, meeting, or just enjoying the fresh air.
Restaurants/Cafes: surrounding the @4240 building will be cafes, restaurants and other places to grab lunch, dinner, or have cocktails after work.
Living Space: within walking distance of @4240 are lofts, apartments and other living spaces that allow for a commute that is literally minutes away.
Shops: retail space will be part of the new Phase II expansion, providing convenient shopping and unique boutiques all within a short stroll of the office and laboratory space.
Transportation: getting to and from work will be simplified for those driving as well as those wishing to use public transportation. A new highway interchange at the major east-west Interstate 64 provides convenient access for drivers, plus a new MetroLink light rail station will be within a block of the @4240 building.
The visitor sees lush landscaping, at right is the new BJC @ The Commons buildingTurning to the left we see the sidewalk follows the curve of Boyle. The orange circle is the logo for the CORTEX Commons. In a couple of places the sidewalk make a sharp shift.An open area hardscape area to the West of the buildingLooking back toward Clayton we can see the sign marking the rain garden and the patio beyond. I couldn’t get close enough to the sigh to read the body text. Numerous such signs throughout are also too far away to be read.Looking North from the patio, the movable tables & chairs are better than fixed furnishings — allows people to rearrange.Back out by the hardscape circle, looking NorthHeading North on the Boyle sidewalk these plants in the rain garden are already reducing the sidewalk width. This is the only plant choice I didn’t like.We can now see the light rail line, known as MetroLink, divides the space. Will discuss the renovated building in the background later in this post.The sidewalk narrows at the track crossing, this is the low point in the experience.With the train gone we can cross.Looking back South after having crossed the two MetroLink tracks and a third extra track (nearest)Looking back North we are again faced with the sidewalk making a hard shift to the right. The parked cars on Boyle don’t have a bulb out to enclose the parking lane.Turning toward the Southeast we can see an unfinished spot, this is likely to connect to the new light rail station to be built. Hopefully the track crossing will be improved at that time.Approaching the @4240 buildingLooking North. DuPont, formerly Solae, is across Boyle on the left.Turning Eastward we see the centerpiece shade canopy.Looking North at the canopy, the same movable tables & chairs are used.Back at the sidewalk parallel with Boyle we see the first of numerous connections to draw you into the space from the edge.The Northernmost of the connections leads right to the @4240 building entrance, more on that in a bit.Looking back South along the Boyle sidewalkLooking diagonally into the CORTEX CommonsLooking East along Duncan Ave, the main East-West spine in the district.Looking South from a position closer to the @4240 building we see another patio with the same movable furnishings. Most of this area is a metal grate over a rain garden.Looking back West toward Boyle, with DuPont/Solae in the backgroundBack in the Commons we can approach the @4240 building after crossing the rain garden on the metal grate pedestrian bridge — love this!Another pf the informational signs that can’t be read from the paved areasLooking out to Boyle & Duncan we can see the South facade of the first CORTEX building. It was built without an ADA-complianfr accessible route and hasn’t yet been correctedThe paving clearly directs the user to the entry but the the curb on this side of the drive prevents me from continuingThe view out from the entry shows the accessible entry on the near side and the non-accessible curb on the far side. D’oh!The next area, connecting to accessible parking, has the same problemAnd the next one, a good place for a raised crosswalkAnd again. Clearly, someone goofed! The disabled shouldn’t have to go all the way to the Duncan public sidewalkTo finish on a positive, here’s a detail I liked. Next to fixed benches are power outlets.Just lift the cover and plug in your phone, tablet, laptop, or wheelchair.
I hope get CORTEX to correct the accessibility issues to the @4240 building. Read more about the building and how it is being used here.
Now that I’ve lived in St. Louis for more than a quarter century, I’m realizing history is starting to repeat itself. When I moved to St. Louis, we had no NFL team, a couple of years earlier the Football Cardinals moved from St. Louis to Phoenix. I didn’t care. My 5 years of undergraduate studies at the football-obsessed University of Oklahoma didn’t convert me into a fan of the game. Upon moving here I saw locals depressed about the loss of the Football Cardinals — a team that originated in Chicago.
I watched as we built an expensive new stadium in the hopes of getting an expansion team:
Charlotte was awarded the first franchise – the Carolina Panthers – in October 1993. Surprisingly, the naming of the second expansion city was delayed a month. Most pundits speculated that the delay was made to allow St. Louis to shore up its bid. At the time, St. Louis was considered the favorite for the second franchise, with Baltimore’s three bids also considered strong. However, in a surprising move, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville. (Wikipedia)
The collective civic spirit sank. And what to do with a brand new dome?
The current home of the St. Louis Rams was built in a failed big to get an NFL expansion team,
During the 1994 season Georgia Frontiere, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, was having trouble finding a new stadium for her team as the city of Los Angeles and the surrounding area was not willing to have taxpayer money pay for it. At the time, the Rams were playing in Anaheim Stadium, to which the team had moved in 1980 from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and which had required a massive reconstruction in order for the Rams to be able to play in what was originally only intended to be a home for the California Angels. Frontiere, who inherited control of the team following the death of her husband Carroll Rosenbloom in 1979, decided that relocation was the only option and initially considered Baltimore, the city where her husband originally owned the Colts before he traded ownership of the team with Robert Irsay, before deciding on St. Louis as the domed stadium that was originally intended for the stillborn Stallions franchise was nearing completion. The NFL initially was unwilling to allow the move out of Los Angeles, and in fact had voted to reject it, but acquiesced after Frontiere threatened to sue the league. The Rams played their first few home games in Busch Stadium until their new home, which became known as the Trans World Dome, opened on November 12 with a game against the expansion Panthers. (Wikipedia)
To save the political embarrassment of having a costly new facility sitting idle our leaders gave Frontiere a sweet deal to get her to move the team — we guaranteed the new dome would remain in the top 25% of all NFL stadiums at 10 & 20 year marks, on a 30 year agreement. The Rams let us pass at 10 years but at the 20 year point new owner Stan Kroenke opted to go year to year, allowed per the original agreement.
No politician wants to lose, on their watch, a major corporation, sports franchise, etc. Nor do they want a facility costing hundreds of millions sitting empty. Just imagine if we hadn’t lured the Rams here two decades ago — the political fallout would’ve been huge.
Now politicians and our civic leaders are scrambling to cover their asses, allowing them to say they did everything they could to keep the Rams here. I know people get attached to sports teams, but any benefits we receive don’t remotely offset the costs. Not even close.
Giving professional sports owners many, many millions in taxpayer money to build new stadiums has never made sense, but it keeps happening.
Most of us understand this is a scam. Studies have argued repeatedly that there’s no real economic impact from a new stadium. There’s no real economic impact on a city, county or state, that is. The economic impact for a pro sports owner is very real. (Yahoo! Sports)
John Oliver explained it well recently, this is almost 20 minutes but worth it:
Owners of professional sport teams have successfully manipulated region after region to get taxpayers to fund new facilities.
Taxpayers have spent nearly $3 billion on the 16 stadiums that will host NFL games during the season’s opening weekend, according to figures in a new analysis from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, a Washington, D.C-based conservative nonprofit group.
All told, 29 of the NFL’s 31 stadiums have received public funds for construction or renovation. In the last two decades, the analysis found, taxpayers across the country have spent nearly $7 billion on stadiums for a league that surpassed $10 billion in revenue last season. (Huffington Post: Taxpayers Have Spent A ‘Staggering’ Amount Of Money On NFL Stadiums)
I’m in favor of using tax revenue to boost our region & economy — a stadium isn’t the best use of a billion dollars.
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” — Edmund Burke
It’s depressing that St. Louis is falling for this again…but I’ve lived here long enough I shouldn’t be surprised.
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