St. Louis’ Beer Garden History Goes Back 189 Years, Continues Today

It’s still warm out but nothing like the heat we had in the last week. In the hot summer weather the last thing I want to think about doing is leaving my air conditioned loft and drink beer outside. But in the early 19th century modern air conditioning didn’t exist. In 1823 shade, a breeze, and a cold brew were the best ways to beat the heat:

June 10, 1823: St. Louisans avoided the heat by visiting the city’s first beer garden, the Vauxhall Garden on Fourth between Plum and Poplar. St. Louis is credited with being the first city in America to develop outdoor restaurants and theaters. But it wasn’t until 1854 that the beer garden came into it’s own, when Franz Joseph Uhrig built a garden restaurant and theater in a wooded tract containing a cave for the natural cooling of beer. 

The garden, known as Uhrig’s Cave, was at Washington and Jefferson avenues, a site later occupied by the Coliseum and still later by Jefferson Bank. First-run entertainment for all ages was provided, with some of the earliest American performances of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and more serious dramatic pieces. Schnaider’s Garden was another  popular spot, providing opera and the music of a grand promenade orchestra. Kuhn’s Brewery, the Lemp Brewery, Cherokee Cave, and Winkelmeyer’s were similar, and all gave the city a pleasant air during the hot summer months.  (From the book St. Louis Day by Day by Francis Hurd Stadler)

See my posts on the Coliseum here and Jefferson Bank here.  For more info on Vauxhall Garden click here. These old beer gardens may be gone but the tradition continues today.

What was once a parking lot is now a beer garden. Urban Chestnut leased the parking lot next door to their brewery at 3229 Washington Ave. Rather than use the parking lot to provide places for free customer parking the asphalt was ripped up and the beer garden was created. The owner of the former parking lot and building to the east, a high tech firm, will create parking for their employees on the vacant lot across the alley to the north.

I’d like to see more parking lots ripped up and put to better use than in storing cars. Our streets are wide, use the space for on-street parking rather than the land between our buildings. More spaces like Urban Chestnut and we can connect downtown to midtown without interruption.

— Steve Patterson

Free Water, Not Free Gas

For the last month or so KMOV Channel 4 has been running a free gas promotion to get viewers to watch their Awake show at 6:20am. Watch the show, figure out the clue where the gas will be given away, and then try to be one of the lucky ones that gets a full take of gas for freeI. Those of us without a car must not be in their target demographic.   The giveaway has been promoted endlessly.

Every time I see a promo I think about the cost of car ownership and how disappointed KMOV must be since gas prices have dropped. If gas prices were still near $4/gallon the promotion would have greater value. Why not transit passes to those of us helping reduce air pollution by taking public transit? Then on June 28th local radio station came to the rescue of many in the intense heat.

Nobody got interviewed, no microphone stuck in their face to use to promote the good deed. They were just helping out.  Thank you Hot 104.1.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Support the Planned $14 Million Renovation of Soulard Market?

Over the years there has been talk of giving Soulard Market a top to bottom facelift but it hasn’t happened. Such talk is happening again:

The master plan for Soulard Market proposes spending as much as $14 million on improvements over the next several years. The report suggests that funding could come from grants and donations, a parks bond issue or a future parks tax. (see stltoday for plan details)

Some are excited by the idea and others say the charm will be designed out in the process. You can view the full plan here.

Share your comments below and vote in the poll in the right sidebar. Poll closes a week from today and results will be published on Friday July 20th.

— Steve Patterson

New Coffeehouse Opening Soon on Page Blvd Just East of Grand Ave

The other day I was delighted to see “coming soon” signs in the first floor retail space at in the St. Louis Housing Authority’s headquarters built in 2009. PNC Bank is in the west end of the building.

Chronicle Coffee bills itself on Twitter (@ChronicleCoffee ) as “A St. Louis-based coffee company dedicated to helping the community control their narrative one cup at a time…”

Believe it or not, people that live and work in north St. Louis also drink coffee. I know this may come as a shock to some of you but it’s true. I’ll certainly patronize them once they open.

— Steve Patterson

Downtown Trolley Debuted Two Years Ago Today, Sunday Service Added Last Month

The #99 MetroBus is also known as the “Downtown Trolley.” It’s not an actual trolley, just a standard short-length bus wrapped to vaguely resemble a trolley. From Metro’s website:

The #99 Downtown Trolley provides regular, all-day service throughout Downtown Saint Louis moving workers to jobs, visitors to cultural and sports venues, and everyone to the restaurants, retail, and service providers. The #99 Downtown Trolley route also recently expanded to serve downtown’s thriving residential developments, retail outlets, and cultural attractions along Washington Avenue. A reliable schedule, frequent trips, and quick connections to MetroLink and numerous MetroBus routes at the Civic Center Station make this route a practical option for traveling around Downtown Saint Louis.

The Downtown Trolley was introduced two years ago today and I’ve used it often in that time. Tourists use it as well to get from their hotel to different spots like City Museum and America’s Center. Conventional buses are intimidating to many but the cartoonish wrap, colorful signs for stops and simple route map put people at ease. The #99 Downtown Circulator bus that did a similar loop before the Downtown Trolley debuted didn’t have the same level of ridership.

Since many bus lines don’t go east of 14th Street many local transit riders have to take the #99 to reach their final destination. But when it began service it didn’t operate on Sundays, which presented challenges to locals and tourists in town on Sunday. Last month Sunday service was added.

— Steve Patterson