Dick Gregory Place, a National Register District ("Wagoner Place Historic District"), is in an extremely delicate situation, with several buildings at the point of ruins. Nevertheless, RHCDA has assigned itself the daunting task of rescuing 15 of the grand street's suffering structures! They're also constructing two new homes on vacant lots. One building, a small commercial addition to a beautiful Romanesque commercial building at Martin Luther King and Marcus, is slated to be demolished.
All pictures below are screen captures from the linked PDF document.
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| From Dick Gregory Pl |
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| From Dick Gregory Pl |
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| From Dick Gregory Pl |
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| From Dick Gregory Pl |
It seems ironic to me that, in a neighborhood plagued with vacancies, this wonderful project that will rescue an extremely fragile historic district must include a demolition--for a parking lot, of all things. And it's difficult to accept the whole "well, it's a great bargain" argument. But, even accepting this as a negative to the project, the whole undertaking is quite impressive and is exciting for a neighborhood inured to demolition and neglect.
With the Ville being one of St. Louis's most culturally significant neighborhoods, and with Dick Gregory Place a highly significant symbol of housing integration within it, the RHCDA must be commended for this project. I especially love how the commercial building on MLK and Marcus is to be restored. Setting this precedent could help to inspire imitators all along the neglected, once busy commercial row.
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| From Dick Gregory Pl |
Please explore the Cultural Resources Agenda item for more information.
1 comments:
This is great!
Except for the proposed demolition which will yield a whopping FIVE parking spaces.
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