Midtown’s Sun Theater is So Appealing

Few vacant buildings in St. Louis are as captivating to me as midtown’s Sun Theater. Why is that? The massing & detailing is pleasant but not extraordinary. The materials used compliment each other nicely. But what if the neon sign were gone? See a nighttime photo of the sign at Cinema Treasures.

Michael Allen successfully argues the appeal is not the sign, but the facade:

The Sun’s main attraction is its gorgeous neoclassical front elevation, articulated by glazed cream terra cotta, a projecting cornice and striking framed brick panels. The terra cotta includes theatrical grotesques over the arched windows at center and in the cornice’s upper garland course. These grotesques and other pieces are accented with a brilliant blue glaze. Two fluted pilasters with ionic capitals at the center bay over the entrance project a sense of gravitas contrasting with the more Baroque sensibilities of the rest of ornament.

Landmark’s Association placed the Sun on their Most Endangered List in 2007:

Putting the *Sun Theater at 3627-31 Grandel Square on our endangered list is merely an early warning. The pedestrian-friendly Renaissance Revival theater, built by the German Theater Society in 1913 from plans by Widmann & Walsh, is graced by an elaborately decorated front elevation complete with grotesque theatrical masks and heavy garlands. Inside, the $120,000 playhouse originally featured an 1800-seat, first-floor theater for German-speaking stock companies; a lecture hall was located on the second floor. The 1915 City Directory documents the two original names in use at the same time: The Victoria Theatre and The German Theatre.

With World War I came a national backlash against Germans and the theatre closed. Reopened after the war under new management as The Liberty, the building (with seating reduced to 1000) has since housed movies, vaudeville, burlesque, a night club and an evangelical church. (Later name changes included the World, the Sun and the Lyn.) LANDMARKS’ Midtown National Register nomination from 1978 described the remains of the interior as follows: “Bits of maroon, red and gold are faintly visible through the gloom of an interior picked by scavengers.” Vacant since 1981 and now owned by the city’s Land Reutilization Authority (LRA), the exterior (sporting volunteer trees and a cheerful “Sun” sign installed and maintained by Grand Center) is starting to show alarming signs of deferred maintenance. Recent hopeful rumors suggest that a media-related reuse is under consideration.

Apparently the Grand Center Arts Academy plans to renovate the building as an expansion of their newly renovated space next door, to the east. Let’s hope they, or anyone, renovates and occupies the structure soon.

– Steve Patterson

Brick Relief Sculpture Nearly Removed from Council Towers

A brick sculpture once covered the east facade of the 27-story Council Tower Senior building. Here is the description when the 5-building Council Plaza complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007:

A 250 foot relief sculpture was designed and created in brick by artists Saunders Schultz and William Severson, nationally known sculptors and is visible on the St. Louis skyline on the east elevation. The bas relief carving took 15 months to complete and used about 100,000 brick. The sculpture utilizes a series of abstract arch geometric designs representing, “man’s continual striving toward God.” The artists also designed a small fountain within the complex and a sculpture within the fountain, Catfish and Crystal.

For a picture with the relief sculpture intact see this post at Saint Louis Patina or earlier discussion at NextSTL. I’m saddened by the removal of this sculpture.

– Steve Patterson

Delayed Reduction of Lanes on Manchester Delayed Safety Benefits of Road Diet

The official ribbon cutting for the new Manchester Rd. streetscape in The Grove Commercial District was held back on May 19th, 2011. I was there for the event, arriving via the MetroBus shown below.

After reading of the status of the streetscape on April 27th I thought it would be very complete:

From the new pedestrian street lights to the widened sidewalks, the Manchester streetscape is shaping up nicely and quickly becoming a modern, attractive pedestrian-oriented street. The older style “Cobra” street lights will be removed soon, and the trash cans, bike racks, modern planters, and other street furniture will be all that is left to install. (source)

Upon arrival, I was disappointed the crosswalks and new lane configuration had not yet been repainted. I talked to several people that morning about the danger this posed. Later that day I got an email from Neighborhood Development Specialist, Chris Colizza, of Park Central Development (The Development Corporation for the 17th ward).  He wrote:

We met this morning at the Manchester streetscape ribbon-cutting. I confirmed with the Board of Public Service that restriping is scheduled for the week of May 30th, and the restriping will place crosswalks in line with the curb ramps, moving traffic farther from the center of intersections. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I was waiting to blog about my impressions of the changes until after the pavement markings had been completed. June began without any changes.  Waiting.  Then June was gone and July was here, still waiting.  And then tragedy on the 4th:

Police say John Foster Courtney was standing outside the St. Louis bar [Novak’s] when Justin Kramarczyk, 24, hit him in a Hyundai Sante Fe. Kramarczyk then allegedly sped away from the scene.

Courtney died that evening. The very next afternoon the following was posted on the 17th Ward blog:

Attention Manchester Residents and Business Owners,

Restriping of Manchester will occur on Wednesday July 6 and Thursday July 7, weather permitting. Cars parked on the street between 6 a.m. 6 p.m. will be towed.

Restriping Manchester is a critical component of making the street more attractive to businesses and residents. Traffic lanes will be reduced, leading to slower traffic and more pedestrian activity, as well as becoming safer for all users. Some parking will be lost to accommodate such changes, but following the restriping, the City will be eliminating some of the “No Parking” signs to help alleviate some unnecessary “No Parking” areas. (link)

It’s impossible to say if Foster Courtney would be alive today if the “critical component” had been completed after all the construction cones & signs had been removed?  It certainly looks to me like the city had an “oh shit” moment and quickly got on to the work that should have been done by the end of May. But any liability will be up to a jury as was the case with Elizabeth Bansen and Susie Stephens.

I never met Foster Courtney, or the suspect in the hit-and-run, Justin Kramarczyk. I have eight and seven mutual friends, respectively, with each on Facebook. Some are very close to one or the other.

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis LGBT community is reeling following a tragic accident in the early morning hours of July 4th which has left one community member dead and another’s life in ruin.

John Foster Courtney, 29, of St. Louis was struck at about 12:30 a.m. Monday as he crossed Manchester Avenue outside of Novak’s in the heart of The Grove. He succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital at about 11:30 p.m. that night.

Charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident is Justin Kramarczyk, 24, also of the city. Kramarczyk was observed drinking prior to the incident, according to a probable cause statement from police investigators. Additional charges are expected in the case. (The Vital Voice)

Alcohol can impair the judgement and reaction time of drivers, as well as pedestrians. I was not there and have no knowledge of alcohol consumption by either. My thing is planning & design and the more I thought about it the more angry I got.

The new lane configuration from four to two lanes shouldn’t have been done the week of May 30th, the reduction in speed and the number of lanes should have been done before the start of the construction on the $2.8 million road diet project. Waiting until after a fatality was negligence on the part of the city.

It also doesn’t take a genius to know that when you have more than one gay bar in an area that patrons will hop from one to the other. Not placing a direct crosswalk means people will jaywalk late at night after they, and others, have been drinking.  Motorists are naturally more likely to see pedestrians when they are in places where we expect them to be, crosswalks.

Two days after Courtney was struck, another accident happened:

A second wreck happened near the site of a deadly hit and run in the Grove neighborhood on July 4.

The latest crash happened around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday [July 6]. A vehicle was heading eastbound on Manchester when it clipped the back of a cab. The vehicle then hit a parked car and went up onto the sidewalk. (source)

Courtney’s rugby teammates, the St. Louis Crusaders, are selling $20 memorial t-shirts “with all proceeds going to the Courtney Scholarship at Culver-Stockton College.”

Foster gave us many gifts when he was here, including his humor, warmth, kindness, and athletic ability. His final gift was as an organ donor.

Contributions can also be made to Mid-America Transplant Services.  My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the loss of Foster Courtney.

– Steve Patterson

Was 3901 Forest Park Too Old To Fight For?

Many are upset about plans to raze the “flying saucer” at Forest Park & Grand as well as the former headquarters of the American Automobile Association of Missouri at Lindell and Vandeventer. But near both buildings, at Vandeventer & Forest Park, a building dating to 1901 is nearly gone.

It wasn’t mid-centry modern, it was 1901 industrial.

The building held the corner nicely, standing watch over the intersection as it had done for more than a century. Neither of the modern buildings nearby hold their corners at all.

Sure it’s ugly but with new windows, the old storefronts opened up and a recreated cornice it could have been spectacular. The demolition permit was applied for on March 17, 2011.  I did not see it on any agenda of the Preservation Board.  The property is in a Preservation Review District.  It’s also in the Cortex Life Sciences District, which meant it’s fate had already been determined.

We will get this district about 20% built when cities move onto the next big thing after life sciences research.

– Steve Patterson

When Paved Sidewalks Were a Big Deal

A few weeks ago I noticed the above marker on an old sidewalk on the north side of  Olive at Ewing.  This old sidewalk is a “Granitoid” sidewalk, once a commonplace replacement for brick pavers. The blog Exploring St. Louis noted this same marker in January 2010 with a post called St. Louis Sidewalk Company (recommended reading).

– Steve Patterson