Metropolis’ Walk Heading To The Ville

I can’t remember the last time I participated in a “The Walk” organized by Metropolis St. Louis. However, I do recall one Walk along the Manchester St. gay bars that I was inspired by two friends with shaved heads — I went home that night and shaved mine. That was probably a good 4 years ago and as I shave my head I still think of that night. Good times…

Next week former Metropolis President, Brian Marston, is leading The Walk in an area I’ve personally spent too little time, The Ville. The date is Thursday February 9, 2006. From Brian’s email:

The Ville is St. Louis’ Harlem, a close-knit black community that has made prodigious cultural contributions to the life of our city. The small, nine-by-five-block neighborhood is home to the former Homer G. Phillips Hospital and Sumner High School, the first school west of the Mississippi to provide secondary education for black students. Annie Malone, one of the country’s first African-American millionaires, made her fortune while living in The Ville. Among Sumner’s famous alumni are rock-and-roll legend Chuck Berry, singer Tina Turner, tennis great Arthur Ashe, comedian and activist Dick Gregory, actor Robert Guillaume, opera diva Grace Bumbry, opera’s first black male soloist (and Bobby McFerrin’s dad) Robert McFerrin, former local newscaster Julius Hunter and the American League’s first black MVP Elston Howard.

Here’s The Walk lineup:

6:30 – 8 p.m.
J’s Hideout Cocktail Lounge
4257 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.

This cozy, laid-back establishment features two big-screen TVs, a fish tank full of oversized goldfish, and plastic Clydesdales in a Plexiglas case over the bar. The dapper gentleman wearing a suit behind the bar is the proprietor, J.D. Bratcher. A big glass of Crown on the rocks is $5.

8 – 9:30 p.m.
Harlem Tap Room
4161 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.

Established in 1946, this club sees the most traffic of the three stops on our itinerary. It features an enticingly backlit liquor display that is well-stocked with premium brands. A waitress delivers drinks to the tables. The canned beer is ice cold (literally).

9:30 – 11 p.m.
Zack’s Lounge
1904 Whittier St.

Ah, Zack’s — my home away from home. A tiny shotgun bar that’s a bit off the beaten path (and, amusingly, right next-door to a church), the home of the curiously punctuated “Zackaroo’s and Zackaretts” has the most straight-up neighborhood flavor of any Ville bar I know of. Some of the regulars have been going to Zack’s for 20 years. Family photos and Christmas decorations line the wall behind the bar. Gracie, Zack’s wife, works Thursday nights. In her words, “We all family here.”

I recommend parking on the street, near the corner of MLK and Whittier. If you want to travel en masse, meet up at that corner at 6:20. Bring cash; your plastic is no good here. All three bars have jukeboxes and dart machines. You must be at least 21 to Walk this way. Please drink responsibly, and tip your bartenders and barmaids. They take care of you, you take care of them — it’s the circle that makes life go ’round.

The area is served by Metro Bus. The most direct routes are the #32 Wellston/MLK bus which comes out of downtown (and points further west) and the #42 Sarah (from the CWE and parts North). Click here for a list of routes.

My recent post on Martin Luther King Drive sparked some interesting discussion about this area and how to revitalize it. Patronizing local businesses is certainly a good way to start.

– Steve

Rita Is Personal

I have an Aunt & Uncle that live in League City Texas, about halfway between Galveston and Houston. So Rita is personal to me.They wisely left on Tuesday and are safe in Dallas with my cousin.

Their home and possessions may not be so lucky. Their neighborhood has had flooding in the streets just from heavy rains. Hopefully damage will be minimal but at least we know they are safe.

A funny aside. This Aunt and one of her three sisters are married to two brothers. One Aunt married one of the brothers I think in the early 60s and the other Aunt married the other brother about 10 years ago.

DO YOU THINK YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS SAFE?

Michael Allen & Claire Nowak-Boyd of the Ecology of Absence website are doing a piece on neighborhood safety and they need your feedback:

Please let them know what you think of your neighborhood and what you consider “safe.”

– Steve

And on that Note…

Today I was compiling my list of favorite songs of 2004 and even though it has nothing to do with urbanity or St. Louis I thought I’d share the list. Being the Apple geek that I am I’ve created an iMix with the full list on the iTunes Music Store
… Continue Reading

East St. Louis Rated ‘Number One City In America’ By Poverty Magazine

EAST ST. LOUIS, IL—The December issue of Poverty magazine, featuring its annual “Top American Cities” poll, hit newsstands Monday, and for the second year in a row, East St. Louis topped the list. “East St. Louis dominated our poll yet again in 2004, topping such categories as unemployment, hubcap availability, and liquor-stores-per-capita,” Poverty editor Felicia Banks said. “The city’s educational system also rated high, boasting a student-gun ratio of 1:1.” Rounding out the top five, in descending order, were Flint, MI; Newark, NJ; Compton, CA; and Gary, IN.

The above ‘humor’ is courtesy of the twisted writers at The Onion. I must admit, I got a good laugh at their jab at East St. Louis.

The only time I go to East St. Louis is for late night (well, technically early morning) visits the infamous bar Faces. Otherwise, why would I go there? What I’ve seen of East St. Louis during the daylight hours certainly tells me it was a great city at one time – good scale and great buildings.

An aunt of time, now in her early 80s, lived there just after WWII – certainly a big and exciting place for a young woman from rural western Oklahoma and raised during the depression. In the last 60 years or so since then East St. Louis has certainly hit rock bottom.

Built St. Louis has a great look at East St. Louis as well as other hard hit areas of the east site – click here to view.

What to do to reverse for fortunes of East St. Louis and surrounding areas is a major challenge. So far the best hope is the Casino Queen. But, the casino can only offer cash to keep city hall in the black (so to speak). Like North St. Louis, the best bet is MetroLink.

Some other urban humor from The Onion includes: “HUD Allocates $260 Million For Low-Outcome Housing” (Issue 3302, 21 January 1998) and “Urban Planner Stuck In Traffic Of Own Design” (Issue 4010, 10 March 2004).

– Steve