The Triangle, Benton Park West 9:14 AM

When my parents' neighbors in Bevo announced they were moving and put up a "For Sale" sign, I couldn't help but think perhaps urban life had gotten the best of them. Perhaps I was stereotyping just a bit--she's pregnant, and so I assumed that she was preempting the tough decision ahead when her child reached school age by moving to a better school district now.

To my surprise, she told me she was moving to the "Triangle". I was intrigued that she assumed I would know where this mysterious neighborhood was. At first, I was thinking of the Ivory Triangle in Carondelet/the Patch. Then I figured it out: that wedge of Benton Park West bounded by Arsenal on the south, Jefferson on the east, and Gravois to the northwest, forming a pretty neat triangle. She confirmed this nebulous Near South Side neighborhood to be the same Triangle in which she and her husband were undertaking a four-family rehab!

The Triangle has no shortage of Essential Red Brick St. Louis, but this Second Empire-styled commercial building and its neighbors form one of my favorite street scenes in the area, at Texas and Lynch:

Whether you call it Benton Park West, the Triangle, or something else entirely, this is a neighborhood that St. Louis should be showing off! May many more intrepid pregnant women decide to rehab forlorn homes here!

A Lafayette Square Transformation 11:17 PM

St. Louis's Lafayette Square--and specifically the portion fronting the park itself--is one of the city's most immaculate, attractive, and quaint strolls. In 1896, a cyclone destroyed the neighborhood and its namesake park. This photograph shows the damage to the Lafayette Park Presbyterian Church on Missouri (west side of Lafayette Park).

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The level of devastation makes it very surprising indeed that so much of the neighborhood was ultimately salvaged and/or rebuilt. Over 100 years later, Park, Mississippi, Lafayette, and Missouri Avenues are collectively one of the city's finest showcases. What gaps remain are now lushly landscaped side yards or future development sites, as much infill activity has occurred on the Square already.

There was one odd sight on the Square, though: a heavily altered church that had a bit of a sore thumb appearance in its particular spot of Park Avenue just east of Benton Place. 2035 Park Avenue, shown below, was originally a two-story historic home hacked away at over time. Perhaps the 1896 Cyclone played a part?

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Walking past the site yesterday, there was little indication it had any relation to the building shown above. From the city's Geo St. Louis website, the "after" shot:

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While some might argue that this neighborhood's strict historic code has stifled creative urban design, I find historic recreations like that above appropriate for such a self-consciously historic neighborhood. After all, the neighborhood had a choice to rebuild itself in a different fashion after 1896, but it chose to emulate the old then, too. Why should we let a little mid-20th century urban decline have its way with the Square's protected identity? I think 2035 Park looks great!

Will a Gate District Landmark Soon be Reborn? 7:25 PM

The Garavaglia Grocery complex at Lafayette and Nebraska in the Gate District is something of a faded landmark. It is shown below, courtesy of Google Streetview:

Why do I ask if it's soon to be rescued from its vacancy?

Well, on March 31, 2010, the Garavaglia buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination contains some excellent photography of the interior of the building, so I would recommend checking that out!

Why would the owner, listed by the city as Garavaglia Quality Foods, have sought historic status? Could it be to renovate the building and take advantage of the state historic rehabilitation tax credits? Possibly.

Could work begin soon on this Gate District landmark? Anyone have the scoop?

Update: More Information on Hyde Park Rehabs 6:31 PM

This blog recently reported on 15 building permits for renovations in Hyde Park, all received in March 2010. All parcels in question are owned by the Eliot School, LP. The Eliot School, LP shares the same registered address as the Irving School, LP, owners of the now renovated Irving School. To view photos of that renovation, I point you to Michael Allen's Flickr page.

Here is a picture of the historic school prior to renovation, also courtesy of Michael Allen via Ecology of Absence:

Eliot School, LP will be rehabbing the Eliot School as well, located at 4218 Grove Street in the Fairground neighborhood, just outside of Hyde Park. The Board of Education is still the owner, but the city's development website says the former school will be converted into low-income housing. The city lists the developer as Better Living Communities--a project of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which completed a development of several new townhomes on Salisbury called Salisbury Park I in the early 2000s, among other projects.

Pictured below, courtesy of the City of St. Louis, is the old Eliot School:

Better Living Communities has put a lot of effort into stabilizing and bettering its surrounding neighborhoods. Bravo to them. It's a thrill to see so much of Hyde Park's heritage rescued all at once.

I wonder if they had anything to do with Salisbury Street's new sidewalks and nifty acorn street lamps?

Above, a nicely redone streetscape along Salisbury. The Salisbury Park development is located on the south (right) side of the street staring down some historic beauties on the north (left) side.

This is all such great news! I cannot wait to check out Hyde Park the next time I'm in town.

Hyde Park's "Number Streets" See a Flurry of Renovations in March 6:47 PM

 In the month of March, the Hyde Park neighborhood saw over $4.8 million in building permit activity. Almost all of the permits are in Hyde Park's western half, in the "number streets" from 19th up to 25th.

Included in the mix of units with permits for substantial rehabilitation are:

--two single-family homes
--ten two-family homes
--three four-family homes.

The owner of the parcels in question is Eliot School, LP.

Below is a list of the addresses, with whatever pictures I could scrounge up from the city's website. UPDATE (4/26/10): Chris Naffziger of St. Louis Patina was kind enough to get some photographs of addresses I couldn't get pictures for online! Thanks, Chris!

4034 N. 23rd Street (courtesy of Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina)

4008 25th Street

3606-08 19th Street (at center)

3613 19th Street

3915-17 19th Street

3942-44 N. 20th Street (courtesy of Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina)

3918 N. 21st Street (courtesy of Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina)

3931 N. 21st Street (courtesy of Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina)

4031 N. 22nd Street

3906 N. 23rd Street

4013 N. 23rd Street (courtesy of Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina)

3610-12 25th Street (at left)

3933 25th Street (what a gem!?)

4009 25th Street

1918 Angelica (courtesy of Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina)

I am absolutely overjoyed to see so many venerable Hyde Park structures getting rehabilitated! Hyde Park is my favorite North Side neighborhood and among my favorites in the city. Concentrated rehabilitation is a great strategy for stabilizing this portion of the neighborhood. Way to go! Anyone care to fill in the photographic gaps for me? I'd credit your work and possibly buy you lunch at Cornerstone Cafe in Hyde Park the next time I'm in town!

A Second Stunning North Side Transformation is Now Underway 9:01 AM

If you're like me and have to pinch yourself every time you see the glistening, newly renovated 14th Street Mall in Old North St. Louis, prepare yourself for a similar reaction.

Just as the old 14th Street Mall, once in ruins, is being miraculously and meticulously resurrected, so too is Dick Gregory Place in the Greater Ville. Work has begun on several of the 15 historic buildings on a street that Paul Hohmann of Vanishing St. Louis once declared to be "on the brink of devastation". That link contains several photographs of a gorgeous but suffering group of homes that seemed as if its ultimate fate could be nothing other than widespread collapse or demolition. Thanks to the work of the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance and others, Dick Gregory will now shine as brightly as 14th Street. Two new homes will be added to the mix, as will the renovation of a mixed use building at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Aldine. In total, 40 units will be put (back) on the market.

Matt Fernandez, now Old North St. Louis Restoration Group's Community Development Specialist, provided Urban St. Louis forumers with the following two photos of the commencement of the work. Fernandez assures us the work will be high quality--they're the same contractors that worked to bring back North 14th Street in Old North. Check them out:

Seeing these wonderful North Side preservation successes gives me hope that other forlorn, forgotten neighborhoods and commercial districts of a completely under-appreciated part of our city can return to greatness as well.

UPDATE (3/5/10 @ 10:00am): Rick Bonasch, of RHCDA, dropped a comment on this post with a few corrections and clarifications. Thanks Rick! Check out his blog, St. Louis Rising.

Just for clarification, RHCDA is the development consultant. EM Harris Construction is the General Contractor.

Dick Gregory Associates, LP is the owner. General partners are affilates of Northside Community Housing, Inc and Greater Ville Neighborhood Preservation Commission, both based in the Ville.

The project includes historic rehab of 15 buildings listed on the National Register and 2 new two-unit buildings to be built on Aldine in the District. The new buildings will be at a scale to mesh with the historic buildings.

New Construction (and Renovation) in Gravois Park 9:03 PM

2732 Miami (at Iowa). Yours for $240,000. Click here for the listing. It has a twin to the east.

There's no side view, but I'm willing to bet this sucker does indeed present a vinyl face to the street.

What do you think: sufficiently deferential to historic Gravois Park architecture or too stuck in the past?

Also in Gravois Park, how's this for a proposed renovation?

3523 California Before


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3523 California After

Click here for the listing. It will be excellent to see this beauty rehabbed!

New Life on Dolman Street 1:32 AM

Back in August, the Zumwalt Corportation, located in Lafayette Square, sought the demolition of one heavily damaged unit in a trio of row houses on the 1600 block of Dolman Street near Lafayette. The company wished to renovate the remaining two houses while converting the site of the fallen row house to extra parking for their business. You can read the Cultural Resources Office (CRO) report here.

The Lafayette Square Restoration Committee, as well as the local historic district ordinance, does not take demolitions lightly. The apparent collapse on Preston Place just blocks away that I reported on earlier today was just that--a collapse, not a demolition--according to commenter Chris Yunker.

And so, the heavily damaged row house at 1624 Dolman Street did not receive approval for demolition by the Preservation Board during that meeting.

So many times on this blog I cover Preservation Board hearings and lament their outcomes. In this case, I was delighted to walk by the site this November and see it under renovation. The CRO staff report had said the owners found it financially infeasible to repair the structure; I'm glad to see they shored up the money!

To their credit, it was in a pretty pitiful state when the CRO photographed it this past August:

Here's my photograph, from late November:

Dolman Street was originally excluded from Lafayette Square's historic district boundaries. The detrimental effects of this arbitrary exclusion are clear today. Just a block over, on 18th Street, for the extent of the neighborhood, homes that are meticulously restored and maintained are the norm. Yet on Dolman Street, there are still many vacant properties and far too many vacant lots.

I lived in the 1000 block of Dolman Street in 2006. During my stay there, a derelict house across the street succumbed to a powerful storm and collapsed into the street. We had few neighbors as all adjacent homes had been long demolished. And our house even backed to the beautiful Harris Row. The alley between us might as well have been an interstate highway.

Luckily, the intervening years have brought stabilization of some of the properties and even plans for new construction. Case in point: tonight, the Preservation Board will review a proposal to construct a new home atop three vacant lots on the 1200 block of Dolman at the monthly meeting. The CRO staff recommended approval of the designs with some minor modifications. While it would be nice to see a higher density proposal, being able to witness Dolman Street fill up and rejuvenate is a personal pleasure for me.

Happy holidays!

April Preservation Board Also Contains Two National Register Nominations 2:15 PM

In furtherance to the previous post, this month's Preservation Board Agenda features two important possible additions to the National Register of Historic Places.

The first is one of the remnants of old St. Louis, with its narrow commercial lots--the William A. Stickney Cigar Company Building at 209 N. 4th Street. Click here to see a Google Street View of the building.

The second is very exciting: the hulking National Candy Company industrial building at 4230 Gravois, which is technically in Dutchtown but, since I grew up in Bevo, I always claimed it as my neighborhood's heritage.

Imagine Schools is the applicant. Through a website search, it appears they're planning on opening an "Imagine International Academy of Arts" in this spot. They're likely going to use the Missouri state historic tax credits to renovate this large building into a workable condition. What a great building and wonderful re-use of the site!



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Dick Gregory Place in the Ville to Receive Emergency Surgery 11:41 AM

According to this month's Preservation Board Agenda (which is having a special meeting tonight), the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance (RHCDA) is tackling a redevelopment of Dick Gregory Place in the Ville.

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.

From Dick Gregory Pl

From Dick Gregory Pl

From Dick Gregory Pl

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.

From Dick Gregory Pl

Please explore the Cultural Resources Agenda item for more information.

Amazing renovation on California at Cherokee 1:00 AM

I am officially jealous of the mofo who gets to live in this stunningly rehabbed unit, right off of St. Louis's most urban and diverse and interesting commercial spine.

It's 3409 California. Here's the Craigslist posting.




Pre-Renovation Google Streetview Capture.

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