Reurbanizing Jefferson & Lafayette Pt 1

The Union Club once stood on the SE corner of Jefferson & Lafayette:

The Union Club was a social club which built its Romanesque Revival home on the current Union Club site in 1890. The Great Cyclone of 1896 completely destroyed the first Union Club building which was rebuilt on the site in 1900. The building remained until the 1950’s when it was demolished and an Aldi Grocery store was erected on the site.

The history above is far too brief, for example, Aldi didn’t begin US operations until 1976. The building that had the Aldi store is visible in a 1971 satellite image. In 1958 the site had a large oval object. You can view images at HistoricAerials.com, just search for 1700 S. Jefferson 63104.

I-44 wasn’t around in 1958 but was in place by 1971. The former gas station on the NE corner of the intersection was built in 1960, per city records. That property is now owned by the Church of Scientology, again per city records. The gas station still in operation on the NW corner was built in 1950.

I’ll be looking closer at the NW corner on Monday, today I want to focus on the SE corner. For decades this intersection, with the exception of the Barr Library on the SW corner, went from urban walkable to auto-centric drivable. All over the city the same thing happened, one by one corners were chipped away and then the spots between the corners until nothing urban remained. It took decades to destroy this intersection and it will take decades more to reurbanize it.

Thankfully in 2007 a big step forward was made with the construction of the Union Club condos.  It’s not perfect but it gives the SE corner much needed massing.

Just because an area was turned over to the auto decades ago doesn’t mean it must remain the way forever in the future.

If we build the right forms in the right places we can reorganize the city one intersection at a time. Monday I will look at the NW corner mostly occupied by the long vacant National/Foodland.

– Steve Patterson

Walk The Path The Homeless Do, Saturday 11/19

For those of you that think the homeless have it easy, with meals and other services handed to them, have I got the event for you!

To conclude National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week The Bridge takes you on a walk for a couple of hours:

The Bridge invites you to the 4th Annual Walking Home event on Saturday, November 19

Doors open at 9:00 a.m, Event starts at 10:00

Lunch following The Walk

Music by The St. Louis Big Band

Experience a small part of the journey traveled every day by hundreds of residents of downtown St. Louis who are currently without a home.

Walk in their shoes. Hear their stories.

Learn how you can make a difference.

The Walk is a no-fee event. Free-will donations are welcome.

Lunch is provided after the walking tour, donations are accepted but not required. This event will take place rain or shine! Parking is available but the #10 Gravois/Lindell MetroBus has a stop at 16th & Olive. Numerous other bus lines are nearby as is MetroLink light rail (equal distance from Union Station & Civic Center stations).

– Steve Patterson

Outdated Info At MetroBus Shelter

One thing my friends and I want to accomplish with the Transit Riders Union of St. Louis is to get Metro to keep information provided to bus riders updated at least as well as info for MetroLink light rail riders, we’ve all noticed a separate and unequal treatment.

Another friend, a regular MetroBus user, posted the above pic on Facebook Tuesday and I asked if I could use it. He called Metro to report the information was way out of date.

Really? Information from five years ago still up at a bus shelter!

The current fare is $2.00 so there has only been one fare increase since August 2006. It’s possible my friend just happened upon the only shelter that didn’t get updated but it’s also possible others are also outdated. I know I’m going to pay more attention to the information at shelters. Hat tip to S.A. for noticing!

– Steve Patterson

Readers: Saint Louis University Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Raze The Historic Pevely Dairy Complex

College campuses often reflect their location: rural, suburban or urban. Although Saint Louis University is in an urban location, it is doing a great job of destroying all aspects of urban life.

Last week the majority of readers that voted in the poll do not want this to continue:

Q: Should the St. Louis Preservation Board allow SLU to raze the former Pevely Dairy building at Grand & Chouteau?

1. No 134 [66.34%]
2. Yes 43 [21.29%]
3. Maybe 14 [6.93%]
4. Other: 9 [4.46%]
5. Unsure/No Opinion 2 [0.99%]

The 43 “Yes” answers must be from those who think they have a rational look at life.

The reality is each and every time an urban building is replaced with an anti-urban building set behind a green lawn the environment is denigrated, making revitalization that much harder. Wealthy institutions know this will help them but more land, something they couldn’t do if areas thrived with private investment.

Here are the nine other answers provided by readers:

1. Not the main structure.
2. Hell no! Apparently SLU thinks its interests are parallel to ours. WRONG!
3. only if they replace it with a huge fountain or better yet museum of fountains
4. Yes, SLU doesn’t own enough vacant land for this project.
5. No, there’s a shortage of university housing, build reasonably price apts
6. Need to see post-demo land use plans before final determination
7. SLU has a Center for Sustainability with no real estate–rehab Pevely for that
8. No, they should renovate it and add on another building if needed
9. If it can’t be rehabbed

From the nomination (PDF) to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009:

The Pevely Dairy Company Plant sits on an approximately eight-acre site in the Midtown Neighborhood of St. Louis on the west side of South Grand Boulevard between Chouteau and Hickory Avenues. Constructed between 1915 and 1945, the Pevely Dairy Company Plant was designed as the headquarters for the growing company; it remained in service as a dairy until November 2008. It is comprised of three buildings, a smokestack, and two parking lots. The 1915 four-story, red brick office building is located at 1001 South Grand Boulevard. It features a three-bay façade with large display windows in the first level, and retains the original wood door and pedimented entrance surround. A terra cotta cornice with colored tile designs ornaments the flat roofline. Many of the original wood industrial windows have also been retained on this building, as well as the glazed brick walls and floors and intricate woodwork. The 1916 milk plant sits behind the office building at 3626 Chouteau Avenue. This three-story brick and concrete industrial building had additions in 1943, 1945, 1975 and 1997. Featuring metal hopper windows, three loading docks, two metal coolers and two steam tanks, the milk plant’s architecture is primarily functional rather than artistic. The interior retains its glazed brick walls and floors, as well as large, open storage rooms that include concrete mushroom columns. A 1928 garage is located south of the milk plant at 1101 Motard Avenue. This brick, arch-roofed structure retains original glazed glass metal windows, with sliding metal doors and stepped parapet walls on the east and west elevations. The interior consists of an open parking area with a concrete floor. Originally connected to a boiler and powerhouse, the 1943 smokestack now sits across a parking lot from the office building. The brick structure includes a glazed brick design spelling out the Pevely name. The adjacent parking lot and a lot between the milk plant and garage have historically served as open parking and loading space, and are included in the boundary. Though three of the Pevely structures have burned since the period of significance, the factory as a whole retains the industrial structures primarily associated with the company. These buildings are in good condition and continue to reflect their industrial significance.

The issue is said to be on the November 28th Preservation Board agenda, which isn’t available yet. I’m glad to see Mary “One” Johnson is no longer on the board, she consistently voted in favor of demolitions.

Saint Louis University must show the structure(s) cannot be reused — not necessarily for their intended purpose  but for any reasonable use. We’ll see how they try to spin this at the meeting.

– Steve Patterson

TOD Needed at Civic Center Transit Center

Transit-oriented development is a great concept:

A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership. (Wikipedia)

In St. Louis, TOD is just a dream.

We have a great need for retail around transit hubs but the design of these spaces doesn’t provide space for small businesses serving the public using transit. The number of people that pass through the Civic Center MetroBus Transit Center and MetroLink Station each day is a large number. This is the ideal space for commerce to take place. As I noticed one day, it does.

The number of riders won’t support a Walmart but a small snack shop makes sense. Even just a kiosk or two would work — the rent has to be low. Something that would allow a person to get a quick bite and water between buses/trains. Put the existing space to use.

In addition to kiosks at 14th & Spruce we need to build over the light rail lines on both sides of the 16th Street bridge. From 16th to the curve at approximately 15th and from 16th to 18th (Union Station MetroLink).

Ground floor spaces could be small retail shops and offices while upper floors could be offices and affordable workforce housing. East of 16th you might have a restaurant or two catering to the Scottrade Center/Blues hockey & The Peabody Opera House.  Yes, this creates a long tunnel which requires expensive exhaust equipment but the value of the habitable space created would make it a worthwhile investment. Clark Ave desperately needs something to make the walk from 18th to 14th interesting.

Metro is looking to expand the MetroBus transit center because they feel the existing one isn’t big enough to handle all the buses. Now is the time to think about creating more than just a place to change transit  modes.

– Steve Patterson