Anarchy in Affton, and Other Reflections on St. Louis's Placeblogosphere 4:23 PM

Does anyone know the whereabouts of one J. Patrick O'Brien, the "city" of Affton's onetime mayor? Has there been a coup?

On December 23, 2007, after a somewhat regular posting schedule, the esteemed pseudo-mayor of a pseudo-city (Affton is not incorporated) simply stopped posting. See for yourself here at his now-defunct blog: Mayor of Affton.

The Mayor offered St. Louis placeblog readers something we're all too light on: laughter. O'Brien would refer to his wife as the "First Lady" and his home, more than likely, being in Affton, a Tudor-style gingerbread or a Post-War saltbox, the "Mayoral Mansion".

Whether he reviewed the Affton restaurant scene...:

Last night the First Lady and I tried out the new Trattoria Toscana restaurant on Gravois next to the Ten Mile House. Let me first say that earlier I told a friend that I was going out to Affton's newest Italian eatery and he said "Fazoli's?" Chris, you are a jerk and so are you Fazoli's. I hate Fazoli's food and apparently they hate Affton since they don't have a location here.

...or faux-bombastically trumpeted his mayoral background in real estate development...

The Mayor attended a conference on Sustainable Development this morning hosted by the Urban Land Institute.  Most of the discussion was old hat for the Mayor as I am well aware of the concepts that create such developments.  What was enlightening was to see actual reports and data that proved the return on investment to developers that choose to “go green”.

...the Mayor of Affton was a delight to read.

If this were the end of the story, I'd be kind of depressed. With the passing of the Mayor of Affton blog, there was definitely a visible void, and not just in everyone's favorite South County hamlet. Our region needed more people writing about their neighborhoods, their municipalities, to get us excited and interested. Affton is one of the most stereotyped places in the region--it's all retirees, it's boring, it's not urban, etc.--yet I believe O'Brien opened our eyes to a colorful place. That's St. Louis--an impossibly varied kaleidoscope of villages.

So, it's important to note now, three years after Affton's Mayor disappeared from the blogosphere, that we have plenty of other Mayors running around town (keep in mind--some of these mayors predated the ascendancy of Foursquare!).

One of my favorites is Nicki's Central West End Guide. Neighborhood resident Nicki Dwyer snaps photos of businesses new and old, street life, flora and fauna, and more--all in the Central West End or nearby. By focusing on the life of the neighborhood, as opposed to blogs like mine that settle for our great, if inanimate, built environment, Nicki truly enlivens the neighborhood. I know she doesn't go by "mayor", but I'd vote for her!

We now even have a Near South Side-centric neighborhood newspaper online, called Your Local Messenger, and an online-only (and VERY well done) North County magazine at NoCoSTL.

56 Houses Left dutifully and beautifully cataloged the long destruction of a North County neighborhood near the airport--the Carrollton Subdivision. In happier news, a swanky mid-century modern neighborhood of Crestwood (the Ridgewood subdivision) gets much love on this web site.

Old North St. Louis has a whole band of blogger-rehabbers. Check out 1318 Hebert and the 3 Walls Project (covering the process of a stunning renovation at 3240 N. 19th). Our Little Easy hasn't been updated in a while, but is worth a look.

So, neighborhood mayors out there reading this--urban, suburban, rural, it matters not, of course--please send us your placecentric blogs so that we can all rest assured that the faux-Mayoral blogging doesn't have a term limit.

Eco-Friendly Infill Coming to Old North St. Louis 3:58 PM

Matt Fernandez, author of the blog St. Louis Evolution and future Old North resident rehabber, was kind enough to post on Urban St. Louis a rendering of possible infill for Old North to be developed in tandem by Habitat for Humanity St. Louis and EcoUrban. In all, 17 homes are expected to be built. Better still, both Habitat and, as their name might suggest, EcoUrban are planning to build the homes to be energy efficient and eco-friendly.

Note that this rendering is preliminary and set to be revised. See the Urban St. Louis forum topic here (yes, it's back up...and better than ever, FYI!).

And a very preliminary site plan to show the lots to be built upon here:

Personally, I love the idea of building new, eco-friendly flounder houses. They're basically unique to St. Louis. Those shown above have one other great feature--no brick! Look...I love brick as much as the next St. Louisan, but our old masonry work is expensive and difficult to replicate. Why not use contemporary materials?

The added density on Dodier, Sullivan, and Hebert only solidifies Old North's most solid and intact streets. With luck, we'll see other builders tackle some of the more challenging areas of Old North (such as its southern and northern extremes).

What do you think?

UPDATE: See Old North's own blog post on this topic here.

Second Update (2/3/2010): Per a commenter on this post, you can count on the rendering that there are actually 17 Habitat homes specifically, with a possible six additional (judging by that drawing) to come from EcoUrban. The two are not "collaborating" per se but are co-locating their developments.

Preservation Board Agenda Now Contains Only One Demolition 3:27 PM

As reported on both Vanishing St. Louis and Ecology of Absence, three Old North St. Louis demolitions pursued by the LRA have been removed from the Preservation Board agenda, with one of them having been taken down a few hours ago. The active Old North St. Louis Restoration Group only supports demolitions when the front facade of the structure in question has been heavily damaged and is no longer recognizable as a historic building. The buildings on the agenda previously failed miserably to meet this demolition test. The neighborhood is lucky that they're off the agenda--and that they have such a great and progressive neighborhood organization.

That leaves only a Hyde Park demolition proposal, at 3959 North 11th Street. Luckily, the Cultural Resources Offices has recommended that the Preservation Board uphold staff denial of demolition of this fire-damaged building. The owners stated that they live in Texas and cannot afford to maintain the building at all much less repair it from its fire damage. Rightly, the Cultural Resources Office stated that the owners provided no proof of economic hardship and, furthermore, that Alderman Bosley (D-3rd Ward) is opposed to any demolitions within this sensitive district. Let us hope that the Preservation Boards heeds the decision of the CRO. Click here for the agenda item; the building is pictured below courtesy of Cultural Resources staff:

UPDATE (11/24/09): An UrbanSTL forumer has stated that this demolition has once again been denied. Good news!

The proposed demolitions on Southwest Avenue have also been shelved for now. As I mentioned in a previous post, the owner has told me that 5209 Southwest (the building closest to Favazza's restaurant itself) may still be subject to demolition at a later date. Its roof and rear portions are severely damaged from a storm a few years back. Favazza consulted with SPACE Architects, who reportedly recommended demolition of 5209 Southwest. The other structure, at 5211-13 Southwest, will be saved, Favazza informed me, and will be used once more. For what, I am unsure, but was told the plans were now in the works. If I get any more information, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

Final September Preservation Board Agenda Now Online 1:29 PM

Access it here.

Strangely, none of the demolitions referenced in my previous post that were listed on the Temporary Agenda are listed on the final.

Those included demolitions in Kosciusko, Old North St. Louis, Shaw, and Soulard.

I called the Cultural Resources Office to confirm this was not a mistake and was told that, indeed, the items had been pulled from the agenda. It appears that 10th Street in Soulard is to be deferred until October, which means it is still threatened. Montgomery Street in Old North was approved, likely via emergency demolition permit. And the person with whom I spoke was unsure of the status of the other two proposed demolitions.

I will post any further information as it becomes available.

(EDIT: I just received word from Michael Allen that the Cultural Resources Office approved the demolition of 1103 Montgomery in Old North St. Louis due to extreme structural failure. The building was on the verge of collapse.)

September Preservation Board Agenda Includes Some Ridiculous Demolitions in Very Historic Neighborhoods 8:42 PM

Access it here.

The proposed demolitions include:

1925 S. 10th St. in Soulard

View Larger Map

107 Victor in Kosciusko
(which, by the way, appears to be one of the very last buildings remaining from St. Louis's early urban renewal project)

View Larger Map

1103 Montgomery in Old North St. Louis
(Bing Maps Aerial View)

4250 Shaw in Shaw
(Bing Maps Aerial View)

These are horribly egregious examples of sacking incredibly important historic contexts in each neighborhood. More details as they come.

Yet Another Neighborhood Celebration - Vegtabalooza at the North City Farmers' Market in Old North 4:19 PM

Source: Old North St. Louis Blog

May Preservation Board Meeting Update 2:49 PM

You can breathe a sigh of temporary relief: two proposed demolitions of North Side commercial buildings (one on North Grand across from Lindell Park and one on North Broadway in the Baden Business District) were not considered at the May 27, 2009 Preservation Board meeting since the applicants did not show.

In addition, two North Side alley structures--one in Hyde Park and one in North St. Louis, the latter a free-standing flounder--were denied their demolition permits yet again.

This is great news overall, though I expect another appeal down the road for the two contested commercial buildings. Let us hope the Board continues to deny these permits as these historic commercial buildings are truly neighborhood anchors and future investment opportunities.

Pictures of all of the reprieved buildings are below, courtesy of the Cultural Resources Office staff report:

3501 North Grand

From Preservation Board

7944 North Broadway

From Preservation Board

3424 (rear) North 14th Street

From Preservation Board

3015 (rear) North 19th Street

From Preservation Board

Commercial buildings and alley houses are increasingly threatened property types, especially in north St. Louis. We need to keep a special eye on these types and develop two separate Multiple Property Submissions to the National Register for both St. Louis classic commercial buildings and the much rarer and even more vernacular alley house.

Old and New in Old North 4:01 PM

Following the amazing progress of Old North St. Louis has been inspiring. One of St. Louis's most historic neighborhoods, Old North seemed consigned to a fate of perpetual, yet slow decay (see today's Hyde Park). Yet the neighborhood's historic housing stock is rising along with the population; both are outmatched by the growing enthusiasm and excitement, however.

From Old North St. Louis

Caption: This shot of the now renovated N. 14th Street "Mall" would have been unthinkable ten years ago, when this lovely row of commercial buildings was rotting into a faded memory. Photo Credit: ONSL.org

As the reviving neighborhood continues to come into its own, it will certainly face issues with how to construct new buildings to fit in to the historic context. We have already seen some new historicist construction along North Market (below).

From Old North St. Louis

Photo Credit: ONSL.org

It's wonderful to see North Market's unfortunate gaps filled with new buildings that respect the scale and context of the neighborhood's history. I, however, am most interested in new takes on history--new construction that challenges the historic mold without necessarily breaking it. There are some exciting rehabilitation projects that incorporate creative new uses for a building (1303 N. Market), or add a contrasting addition (1318 Hebert). But what about cutting edge new construction that references the ONSL Federal/Greek Revival/Italianate red brick heritage?


Enter the container house. Yes, people are now shipping in containers (as in the ones that you see on the back of trucks on every interstate) and are stacking them into highly unconventional living spaces. These pre-fab units are cheap, but when done well they don't look cheap.


Check out this house just outside of San Francisco.

Under Construction:

From Old North St. Louis

And Completed:

From Old North St. Louis

Source: Inhabitat


You can easily see how these stackable, incredibly affordable housing units could be done up to fit the form of a classic ONSL home with its wraparound lintels (example). Instead of limestone, they could be metallic.


If you stacked up three tall by three wide, you could recreate this lost beauty, formerly located at 1404-14 Monroe. It would have the added benefit of bringing a higher level of density to ONSL.

From Old North St. Louis

While I'm not sure what the life span of the container house is, they're brilliant nods to industrial heritage and offer a lot of breathing room for design elements. What do you think?

Sorry, St. Louis. You're not great this year. 7:50 PM

Last year, St. Louis, and in particular, the Delmar Loop, was honored with the American Planning Association's first annual "Great Streets" designation. It was one of a dozen or so streets across the country selected for being special urban places--with exceptional architecture, public spaces, walkability, transit-friendliness, local retail and restaurants, and general character.

There were two other "Greats" that St. Louis did not appear on--Great Neighborhoods and Great Public Spaces.

Well, the latest Great Streets/Neighborhoods/Public Spaces lists honor cities like Baltimore and Boise, but no St. Louis.

Don't hang your head just yet.

You, yes you, can nominate a neighborhood or street or public space as one of America's great places. Read the FAQ for more details.

One thing, though, is that the APA doesn't seem all that friendly to "most improved" districts. They want areas with "strong identities" and unique local flavor. Do they know the A-bomb that hit St. Louis called deindustrialization/flight of wealth?

I would really like to nominate Cherokee Street to see how they would react. It doesn't fit what appears to be the APA mold--an established street that has enjoyed unequivocal success and has all the elements to remain successful. But what street is more fascinating than Cherokee Street?

Cinco De Mayo 2008 on Cherokee Street. Photograph from cherokeestreetphotos.org.

It was once one of the ubiquitous and bustling urban business districts that used to be much more common before commerce moved off of small urban streets and onto highway exits and strip centers. It remained notable in St. Louis even after the auto age only for its length and its onetime success as district. Now it's a schizophrenic, gritty delight of a street, changing with each passing day. It's an arts district in the west, a Hispanic business district in the middle, an antique district on the east.


It's got:
> an anarchist collective bakery;
> one of St. Louis's only local record stores;
> one of its only Art Supply stores;
> an "Arts Compound";
> a magnificent but defunct Brewery awaiting redevelopment;
> the Casa Loma Ballroom;
> restaurants of various Hispanic ethnicities found in very few other spots in the St. Louis metro;
> a saxophone museum;
> a vegan diner (the city's only);
> one of the most haunted places in America;
> one of the last of the old St. Louis Greek Revival mansions (a New Orleans escapee?)

...and so much more.

I think, in addition to Cherokee, that Old North St. Louis could be a great nominee for Great Neighborhoods. Their resolve and determination to improve the neighborhood stands up to any neighborhood in the nation's definition of success.


Anyone want to help me nominate? Let me know. 2009 is not that far away!

Redemption vs. Green Space: Churches doubly strike at the built environment this month. 4:56 PM

Click here for the latest Preservation Board agenda.

On it are not one, but two attempts by churches to demolish our history.

Why? Inevitably it's for green space. Or a "community center". Or, even if they don't indicate it to the Preservation Board, it's for parking.

One house is at 1244 Temple in the city's once opulent West End neighborhood (not to be confused with the more vague reference to anything west of the Central West End as the "West End").



Luckily, Bob Bettis of the Cultural Resources Office recommended denial of the permit for demolition.

It is just such a home--yes, it's vacant now--that, when demolished, can forever alter a block for the worse. Pretty soon, the creeping notion of an urban prairie descends upon the neighborhood aesthetic, and then you've got the recipe for several more demolition applications.

In the second case, this time in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood (and the Murphy-Blair Historic District), the Cultural Resources Office gave the thumbs up to a faith-based organization (highly respectable as it may be) to proceed with demolition of an 1880s-era Italianate building that was in bad shape.

If there's any neighborhood poised for revitalization, it's ONSL. If there's any neighborhood that needs to preserve absolutely every remaining building to truly revitalize, it's ONSL.

You simply can't convince me that this organization could not find a nearby LRA lot for super cheap on which it could have built its proposed new construction.

The building approved for demolition is located at 2605 Hadley. The one denied, now twice, is on the same block at 2619-21 Hadley.

When the Board reviews demolition, it should consider not only the condition of the building, the likelihood for redevelopment, historical significance, and historic context. It should also consider the viability of proceeding with the proposed development on a different site.

It doesn't make sense to have historic context as criteria for demolition approval/denial when the Board, in piecemeal fashion, allows enough scattered site demolitions across the city to guarantee future approved demolitions on the basis of diminished context!

And churches! I am getting so tired of their "green space" pleas. This city has a wonderful park system, and nearby vacant lots can be handily turned to such green space if need be.

I think that the Board of Alderman should pass a "green space ordinance" that forces any entity that wants to develop green space as part of a development conduct a study for the need for such green space, that they demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that this green space will provide more economic, social, and cultural development than would the existing structure(s), AND that they develop a long-term plan for maintenance and landscaping of the site, including signage, fences, and other equipment.

The same stringent review process should be put into place for proposed parking lots as well.

It seems the Board just isn't looking at the big picture ever. All of these individual permit reviews have caused near-sightedness.

Churches--which already receive tax benefits--should have to have a development plan approved by citizens of the Ward when they acquire a certain number of parcels. Their wanton demolitions seem, well, selfish and quite against the future of their home neighborhoods.

Preservation Directory has published my post on Paul McKee and the Blairmont scheme! 11:37 PM

Hopefully this will give the story a bit more national exposure! Check it out at Preservation Directory's preservation blog, listed under "Endangered History".

Here is my earlier post with an excerpt.

Awesome! I wish they had accepted my later edited version though. Oh well.

[Oops, by the way. I fudged on the beginning of McKee's buying spree--saying 2006 rather than 2003. And McKee owned more than 500 parcels even on April 25, 2008, at the time of my writing. Ah well, hopefully it stirs someone up nonetheless!)

What a trip! 12:23 PM

I am back in the City of New Orleans.

My more than a week in St. Louis brought me to a couple new restaurants and such: you already heard about Onesto. In addition to that South Side pizza parlor, I went to Pi in the East Loop and tried Bridge and Tunnel downtown.

I visited old favorites like Hodak's and Crown Candy.

Besides eating (of which there was a lot), I just drove around, taking in the change and the unchanged.

The Tudor Building on Washington looked amazing. It's a very tangible sign of downtown's push westward. Some day Downtown West and Midtown will enjoy a seamless blend.

The 14th Street Mall project appears to chug along. But something is missing. What was demolished? I can't remember.

The general life and lushness of the city brought me to a positive realm not typically spoken of on this blog. Each time I visit St. Louis I am reminded of why it is I am so in love with it. It truly is a dusty attic with treasures being rediscovered by the day.

Even when I learned that the Preservation Board had approved the demolitions of the historic home on Lindell (on SLU's campus) and a series of irreplaceable warehouses on the riverfront--I couldn't let it sour my mood as KMOX launched a series of Blairmont stories.

There's an exciting, scary flux going on in this city. We are reaching a point that we must finally come up with a new identity for the city. Not as a fallen World's Fair era beauty, not as a wannabe Chicago, not as an even slower to change KC, and not as the city with the wholehearted embrace of urban renewal. We need to be something much more forward looking.

[Linkage and general post beautification to come; computer is acting up]

My cry for attention to the National Trust re: Blairmont 5:37 PM

I wrote the following to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's online blog, where anyone can submit an (approved) article for publication on the site. I posted a long entry regarding the Blairmont situation in north St. Louis.

I think it is important to attract more attention to Blairmont's activities than we've currently seen. One St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Riverfront Times article each just isn't enough. There needs to be constant coverage--the kind you'll find in painful overbundance in Built St. Louis's ongoing "Daily Dose of Blairmont" posts.

Here is a snippet of the article I posted. I correct a typo or two along the way (Oops! Must have been a bit too fired up! Hopefully they'll contact me to publish it and will let me do a couple edits).

The St. Louis Place, JeffVanderLou, Hyde Park, and Old North St. Louis neighborhoods lose historic structures by the day at this point. These neighborhoods' recovery is contingent upon retaining such inimitable architecture. Old North St. Louis, for one, is something of a preservation showcase. Severely abandoned and dilapidated, the neighborhood suffered the worst of suburbanization and deindustrialization. The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, however, has fueled a remarkable turnaround. Now, circa 1870s German vernacular rowhouses are being renovated. On one block, a commercial row is being converted back to a through street after an ill-conceived 1970s-era scheme that turned the street into a pedestrian mall.

Blairmont has bought into this tight-knit neighborhood with disastrous results. Mysteriously accelerated decay, removed boards, damaged rear corners, windows left open to the elements or removed altogether are the identifying features of a Blairmont property. Surely, McKee's demolition by neglect (and by BobCat) are threatening the future of a neighborhood with an admirable grassroots effort to revive itself.

The other neighborhoods involved are much worse off. St. Louis Place is home to a large swath of land that has already witnessed wholesale clearance. Likewise, JeffVanderLou contains many vacant buildings and those who remain in the occupied units are often extremely impoverished.

Nevertheless, it is vital that these neighborhoods' built environments be rescued from the clutches of a secretive and destructive developer. McKee's wealth and development experience should be working to benefit the neighborhoods involved, bringing in much needed investment, new residents, and jobs. Instead, historic buildings are being lost and, along with them, the heritage of once dense and vibrant urban neighborhoods. Whether a limestone faced three-story row house or a modest turn-of-the-century red brick shotgun, north St. Louis has a more than worthy architectural heritage. It should be spared such an ignoble demise, especially considering that the decline of the Rustbelt has taken its toll on these neighborhoods for nearly a half-century already.

I urge you to show your support for St. Louis's North Side and contact anyone you believe could care enough to make a difference.

New Mississippi River Bridge Spares Old North; Adds More Lanes Over the Mississippi 1:28 AM

Why is it that our local newspaper never attends to urban affairs in the majority of its stories--including ones that could directly relate to such issues?

My mind is on the New Mississippi Bridge right now. A designer for the bridge has been selected, per the P-D story of today. HNTB Corp. of Kansas City, which designed the "Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge" in Cape Girardeau over the same river in 2003, will do the honors. Here is a picture of their work in Cape.

It will be a four lane bridge and should start construction in 2010.

"I think the important thing is for the residents of Illinois that we are moving forward with a plan that will help reduce travel delays faced by the commuters who cross the Mississippi River on a daily basis," said Brooks Brestal of IDOT, a deputy project manager for the new bridge.

Okay. Concern #1: I cannot help but buy into the whole alarmist notion that automobiles will be extinct sooner than we think. With gas prices rising to nearly $3.50 a gallon (at least here in Louisiana), I do wonder if commuters will be looking for cheaper alternatives in the near future. Might an effort to increase mass transit ridership be time better spent? Do we really need this new bridge? Have we not progressed in planning past the point where throwing new lanes to ravenous drivers is seen as a (temporary) panacea to traffic headaches? That's a lot of questions, but I think they're all valid.

Concern #2: What will happen to Old North St. Louis! The lack of reporting on this seems telling of the Post's style of reporting: bland and disinterested in urban issues. Why do I have to go to the new bridge's website (NOT referenced in the online article) to get these details? Luckily, it appears that a chunk of Old North St. Louis won't be sacrificed for the off-ramp, and instead, a ramp onto Cass Avenue was selected instead. Check it out for yourself.

Finally, Concern #3: Any provisions for pedestrians/cyclists on this new bridge, or, since this will be I-70 officially speaking, will we see no such amenities as usual?

Regarding the Post-Dispatch, maybe I'm just being too critical. Ah well. It's finals week, folks! Expect some extra crankiness!

Preservation Week 2008 6:23 PM

I am really, really, really upset that I will arrive in St. Louis a week after Preservation Week: May 9, 2008 - May 18, 2008.

I do hope that someone in the St. Louis preservation community will attend some of the fine events that the week will have to offer and that they'll let me know how it all went.

Who doesn't want to attend the Old North St. Louis House and Community Tour?

Or a walk through St. Louis Place guided by none other than Michael Allen?

Or the ribbon-cutting/open house of the Ludwig Lofts downtown?

Count me in, hopefully, for the Saturday, May 17th events: the Central West End House Tour and the Cherokee Street History Fair.

The list of the week's events and other details can be found here.

We're not all brick: the Goodfellow-Julian Concrete Block Historic District 5:21 PM

These are Missouri's first concrete block houses, all constructed between 1905 and 1906. All of them are on the 1200 block of Goodfellow or the 5700 block of Julian in the City's West End neighborhood.

I would recommend reading the National Register nomination (from whence these pictures came) for some invaluable history about concrete block construction in Missouri and St. Louis.

The pictures are from the late 1980s; at least one of the homes has suffered damage from a fire since. The second photo of the set (of 1200 Goodfellow looking northeast) has lost one of its buildings to demolition, confirmed via Maps.Live.Com's bird's eye view.







Luckily, the row of Concrete homes on Julian looks mostly intact.

Another great historic resource the city should be guarding with all its political might and yet, look at its condition. Then consider that this is a well maintained district in comparison to demolition-happy Ville, Murphy Blair, and Hyde Park. Of course, it's one block, and it's later construction than the majority of the contributing resources to those districts.

The West End has not been totally isolated from the remarkable turnaround of the East Loop just to the south: near whole blocks of new homes have been erected just north of Delmar in the past couple years. While it's nice that a middle class demographic seems interested in the homes, it'd be even nicer if somehow the spirit of the Concrete Block District (its bold new take on homebuilding at the turn of the century) could have graced the new construction of this century. Instead, vaguely "Colonial Revival" styles dot the cityscape.