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  • NPS clears way for 2010 Arch design competition

    NPS Press Release regarding selection of Preferred Alternative - Program Expansion for JNEM General Management Plan (click to read the document):



    In this article in the Post Dispatch last Friday, NPS official Frank Mares describes the timeline for the design competition.

    [...]
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    Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:13pm EST

  • Meet the author: Nini Harris at Urban Eats

    Nini Harris, author of the new book Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch, will give a presentation and sign books at the popular south side gathering spot Urban Eats.

    Details below:

    Who & What: Local author NiNi Harris to sign copies of her new book Historic [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 8:12am EST

  • Holiday Special

    Downtown Macy's is offering a holiday parking special. Park in their adjacent garage for $1 if you spend $25 in Macy's. Shop downtown. Prices are good! Park downtown. Parking is cheap!' [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:14am EST

  • Solving that vacant building problem

    There's a saying in some old neighborhoods "a vacant building never hurt anyone, it's the occupied ones that you have to watch out for!" It's true that a building can't do much by itself. Unfortunately, vacant buildings do cause problems, and the longer they remain vacant, the more expensive it [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 8:04am EST

  • You gotta be there

    After regular business hours, there's a worker with a high pressure spray gun washing down the sidewalks around Met Square.' [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 8:03pm EST

  • Draw your own conclusions...

    Hawaii, Seattle, and San Francisco are last in tipping percentages in restaurants

    St. Louis is tied for first. [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 8:12pm EST

  • Frozen pee

    The massive influx of residents in downtown has brought with it something else: a lot of pets. Every day, around 7 am in the morning and shortly after 5 pm, there are lots of dog walkers. And those dogs leave their mark.

    This morning, there was a fresh wash [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 8:03am EST

  • History repeating itself - 133 years later

    Today voters in St. Louis County will decide whether St. Louis City goes smoke free. Thinking about the situation, I've been trying to think of any possible scenario where the tables would be reversed? When would St. Louis City voters decide the fate of an issue in St. Louis County?' [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 7:18am EST

  • Everybody's doing it

    Young son and teen rocker, Matt, and his bandmates in Headfirst, have been working on their first CD, or EP (not sure what the difference is?). The first track is complete, and has been loaded on Youtube. Check it out here:

    [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 8:33am EDT

  • China Gold

    Having grown up within walking distance of San Francisco's Chinatown, enjoying great Chinese food is a good memory from my childhood, and a continuing quest today.

    We've found a place in St. Louis that compares to the best family run San Francisco Chinese restaurants. It's on Olive in the' [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 8:14am EDT

  • NPS releases GMP for Arch grounds

    Online version

    The plan presents multiple alternatives, including a "Preferred Alternative - Program Expansion". Interesting language is contained in the other alternatives: "Portals" and "Park in the city".

    A design competition, possible reworking of the south end of the Memorial (current site of the maintenance facility), lids, [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 7:51am EDT

  • With thanks to "Anonymous"

    Anonymous from Nashville (maybe?) was reading the archives of STL Rising and posted an update to a post about dispersing traffic through local street networks. It is an important policy read:

    "But where will the traffic go?" [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 8:08am EDT

  • Arch Design Competition

    The National Park Service is close to releasing the final General Management Plan for the future of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The plan will govern the management of the site for the next 15-25 years. The plan is the result of year long public process. A design competition has [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 9:40am EDT

  • Local artist creates music site

    Space Junk blog [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 5:48pm EDT

  • Would a new Memorial Drive stop you from coming downtown?

    One of the concerns raised about replacing the I-70 depressed lanes with an at grade boulevard in front of the Arch is that it reduces access to downtown. It's an interesting question.

    Currently, drivers headed to downtown St. Louis destinations must exit the interstate at either Memorial Drive' [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 8:22am EDT

  • 11/14 Trivia Night to benefit CCBF

    Where: Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish
    Address: 4092 Blow Street
    When: Saturday, November 14th

    Doors open at 6:30 PM
    Trivia begins at 7:00 PM

    Tables of 8, $20 per person.

    Includes beer, soda and snacks.

    Proceeds benefit community development programs of the Carondelet Community [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 2:35pm EDT

  • Early birds?

    There's a new CVS Pharmacy opening at the corner of Gravois and Germania. It's across the street from a Schnuck's store with a pharmacy and a Walgreen's pharmacy. When opened, there will be three major pharmacies in head to head competition at the same intersection.

    The CVS is nearly [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 7:54am EDT

  • "Hope springs eternal...

    ...pitchers and catchers report to spring training on February 15th" *

    * As seen on a sign Sunday night outside a church along Big Bend in Webster Groves." [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 8:57am EDT

  • Old house window options


    Our house was built in 1932 with large, wooden windows. Over the years, the windows have been well maintained, but they are now 77 years old. They are "six over six" windows, measuring approximately 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall.

    The house is a [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 8:30am EDT

  • South Grand, Delor traffic improvements looking good

    South Grand traffic calming experiment from Arsenal to Utah:

    Drove it, liked it, hope they extend it. I especially like the way they used massive concrete barriers and sections of concrete pipe to erect temporary barriers. The concrete barriers and restriping create an immediate, noticeable change.

    [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 10:38am EDT

  • A million small things

    Working to make things happen usually isn't rocket science. It's often the opposite. Very simple little things done over and over and over again. Maybe a thousand little things. The challenge is getting away from pointing out errors or weaknesses and moving to action and results.

    There are lots [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 7:35am EDT

  • "Urbanexus Next American City" finds St. Louis

    Urbanexus - Next American City came to town this week and is finding a place where creative people are working together to remake St. Louis.

    A meeting of Urbanexus representatives, local creatives, and out of town experts convened at the downtown Left Bank Books. The event started [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 6:49am EDT

  • Urbanists: are you "hitting the hustings"?

    I had to look that term up on Google to learn what it meant. "Hitting the hustings" is an old English expression that means campaigning and debating for an issue.

    We read a lot of ideas about ways to improve St. Louis. There is lots of debate online and [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 7:26am EDT

  • Mapping St. Louis urbanism

    There is much talk on the blogosphere about revitalizing neighborhoods and improving our city's urban assets. Most of the talk centers around built environment issues. Concerns over building scale, setbacks, demolition of historic buildings and neighborhood walkability are frequently mentioned.

    There is such intense debate about the built environment,' [...]
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    Posted: September 14, 2009, 8:01am EDT

  • City wants to super-size your block party

    An article in the Beacon describes a plan to close long stretches of city boulevards for several hours at a time to create miles long play areas connecting multiple neighhborhoods. With our abundant street system, this idea sounds fun and feasible.

    Closing long stretches of city streets has [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 8:03am EDT

  • Morning bits

    Smells are powerful mental cues. They can remind you of things from decades ago. I had one of those scent triggered memories today.

    Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I spent about half my childhood in downtown San Francisco visiting my mom at her "Upper Tenderloin" or [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 6:39am EDT

  • The Gateway Connector project

    The Illinois Departmnent of Transportation has plans to build a north-south running highway known as the "Gateway Connector" through the metro east intended to connect communities from Troy through O'Fallon to Columbia.

    The project has a price tag of $500,000,000. Its price is very comparable to the' [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 7:22am EDT

  • Carondelet to bookend its southern flank

    Redevelopment takes time. Sometimes a long time. Today, St. Louis celebrates a milestone in one of its longest term redevelopment efforts.

    Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and other community leaders will take part in the groundbreaking of a new business park to rise on the [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 7:05am EDT

  • 1988 - 2013

    In 1988, the Dow Jones Industrials were under 2,000, Ronald Reagan was president, the Iran Contra affair was in the news, and a 25 year time capsule was set at the northeast corner of the Metropolitan Square building in downtown St. Louis.

    In our household, we were in the [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2009, 7:55am EDT

  • St. Louis International

    They were walking through Tower Grove Park carrying carved sticks adorned with shrunken heads. They were dancing to the rhythm of drums and recorded music. They were walking dogs and visiting with friends new and old. They were wearing costumes from around the world. They were dining on cuisine from [...]
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    Posted: August 30, 2009, 7:36am EDT

  • Upgrade Opportunity?

    With the abundance of park land in the city of St. Louis, it's hard to believe there would be shortages of playing fields. But in the area of quality baseball fields for adult/varsity games, it's true.

    High school teams have few options. Across Cass Avenue from the new [...]
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    Posted: August 28, 2009, 7:29am EDT

  • St. Louis: Good For Your Career

    According to the "Sales HQ" website, St. Louis is ranked # 20 in the US for career opportunities and in the top 100 worldwide for quality of life. [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 11:16am EDT

  • Low voter turnout, election fraud, led to Great Divorce?

    Sunday's Post ran a fascinating article by Tim O'Neill about the history surrounding the election and subsequent lawsuit leading up to the "Great Divorce", where the city of St. Louis separated itself from St. Louis County. At the time, voters in the city wanted out of St. Louis County, [...]
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    Posted: August 23, 2009, 8:48pm EDT

  • Lambert Rising with "Windows on St. Louis"

    This being vacation season, I made a trip to Lambert St. Louis International Airport this week and was amazed at the airport's new tourist friendly exhibit "Windows on St. Louis" located in the luggage area of the main terminal. The display is worth a visit to the airport.

    [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2009, 7:54am EDT

  • Fountain Park Back to School Celebration

    This Saturday, August 22nd, from 11:00 AM till 3:00 PM, neighbors will meet again in Fountain Park for a Back to School Celebration.

    Centennial Christian Church with other community partners are sponsoring a fun day at Fountain Park open to all school-aged city kids to help them get [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 9:22am EDT

  • Book Review: Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch


    A new book completed through a collaboration between the National Park Service and local author and historian Nini Harris documents the construction of the Gateway Arch and the history of the site through photographs, drawings, and detailed captions. "Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch" is a [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 3:31pm EDT

  • 1st, 2nd or 3rd?

    Late in the summer of another year in St. Louis we just completed a week-long tour of two midwestern destination cities - Cleveland and Pittsburgh. St. Louis has made a local out of me, but with nearly twenty years of time here, it was time to clear my head and [...]
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    Posted: August 10, 2009, 7:42am EDT

  • Fountain Park Partnership

    Those interested in historic city neighborhoods have treasures awaiting them in Lewis Place, Fountain Park, and Academy/Sherman Park on the city's north side. The three neighborhoods are a short distance from the Central West End and Forest Park, straddling Kingshighway between Delmar and Dr. Martin Luther King and Union and' [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 8:13am EDT

  • South Kingshighway Community Development Ideas

    With yesterday's news that the Avalon Theater is being offered for sale, the Southampton listserve has been abuzz with ideas about how to redevelop the vacant theater property.

    Today, there is discussion on the list of forming a nonprofit organization to further target the revitalization of the Kingshighway corridor. [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 9:12am EDT

  • Avalon Theater For Sale: Asking Price $1,000,000

    News of the long-vacant Avalon Theater on South Kingshighway being offered for sale is appearing in people's electronic in-boxes today. However, at an asking price of $1,000,000, some are wondering if the property will draw much interest, especially during this economic slowdown.

    The effort to market the building does [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 2:38pm EDT

  • "Sustainable Cities Collective" features St. Louis blogger

    The author of the St. Louis Urban Workshop site, Alex Ihnen, is highlighted in a nice "blogger of the week" national community development website feature. [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2009, 4:48pm EDT

  • South of Gravois, between Jefferson and Grand

    Those boundaries describe a huge geography in the City of St. Louis. Included in the area down to Meramec is the largest national register historic district in the state of Missouri, the "Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District", containing over 5,000 historic buildings.

    Beyond historic rehab, neighbors are [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2009, 9:27am EDT

  • St. Louis Arts and Crafts Society Open House


    (Click on the image for a full size view of the invitation)

    When: July 26, from 2:00 - 5:00 pm
    Where: 700 Bellerive, St. Louis, Missouri, 63111. (located in beautiful Carondelet, off of South Grand, near Carondelet Park).

    For more information, please [...]
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    Posted: July 15, 2009, 1:59pm EDT

  • Block party season

    Summer and fall are the peak times for block parties. If you've never organized a block party, here are some helpful hints to get started.

    You'll need barricades to close the streets, but don't plan to rent out a "porta-potty". With all the neighbors participating, they have bathrooms in' [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 8:33am EDT

  • If you can green a highway embankment, why not the banks of the River Des Peres?

    Drivers heading north and south on Interestate 55 through Soulard and Benton Park see grass covered embankments. Every spring the embankments bloom with thousands of bright yellow daffodils. Volunteers plant the flowers. City crews (or are they from MoDOT?) mow the embankments.

    The steepness of the slopes on [...]
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    Posted: July 13, 2009, 10:42am EDT

  • City of Webster Groves, Historical Society Sponsor Excellence Awards

    In a celebration of one of our region's most beautiful areas, the City of Webster Groves and the Webster Groves Historical Society are sponsoring their 5th annual "Awards of Excellence".

    Awards will recognize outstanding work in the areas of architecture, historic preservation, craftsmanship, and landscape design.

    Applications [...]
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    Posted: July 13, 2009, 8:26am EDT

  • Rock Show Tonight!


    Adding to the atmosphere in downtown St. Louis, tonight is the July Rockfest at the Fubar club, 3108 Locust.

    Doors open at 5:00 PM, there is an $8 cover charge, and STL Rising has a rooting interest in one of the bands [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 1:34pm EDT

  • Greening the River Des Peres?

    The River Des Peres is an unattractive drainage ditch forming the southern edge and entrance to our city.

    It's upland areas are being improved with nice bike trails, bridges, and landscaping. But the banks down the side are bare dirt with no visual interest.

    Long stretches of [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 8:37am EDT

  • MLB descends on downtown STL

    This morning there was a man pulling a suitcase down Olive, wearing an "MLB" logo emblazoned golf shirt. Yesterday, tiny front loaders were removing the hunks of broken sidewalk away from the edges of Ballpark Village.

    The temporary Cordish signage surrounding the Ballpark Village site has been removed and [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 8:27am EDT

  • New link added to blog roll

    For in depth articles with an arts focus, please visit 2 Buildings 1 Blog, now linked on the right side of the page. The site is a project of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.

    Follow the site for future discussions about the role of community [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 4:34pm EDT

  • Impressive West County Stats

    STL Rising doesn't write alot about the St. Louis suburbs, but something arrived in my in-box today that is pretty impressive.

    A postcard advertising a shopping center for sale along Manchester Road included demographic information. People love comparing St. Louis to other regions, and these numbers make St. Louis' [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 1:30pm EDT

  • A book sale worth exploring

    A Book Sale worth exploring at the Missouri History Museum Shop.

    July 11, 2009 11am - 5pm

    You’ll discover 43 titles about St Louis history, 1904 World’s Fair, ghosts, sports, architecture and more. Originally $14.95 to $35.00, they will be offered at $5.00 for hard bound copies and [...]
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    Posted: July 03, 2009, 10:15am EDT

  • Building on Citygarden's success

    So far, Citygarden has been a huge success. I make a point to go by the garden as much as possible. Today around noon it was more packed than ever.

    Today's Post Dispatch had a photo of two smiling children playing in one of the fountains. It was' [...]
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    Posted: July 02, 2009, 2:51pm EDT

  • Clemens House new city headquarters for McEagle?

    It's a possibility. The Clemens House needs a use and at some point, McEagle might want a local office for the NorthSide project.

    The Clemens House would be a great location, in the heart of the area in a rehabbed historic building. Or maybe something smaller, but local [...]
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    Posted: July 01, 2009, 10:30am EDT

  • "Pulitzer's Ghost"

    An interesting comment was made in the "Ever saw a brick street" thread by a new commenter for the STL Rising blog, "Pulitzer's Ghost".

    "Re: "How is it possible for someone to live in the same community for forty-something years, and never traveled around enough to see some of' [...]
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    Posted: June 30, 2009, 1:07pm EDT

  • Citygarden debut

    Tuesday, June 30, Citygarden makes its debut as the newest amenity in downtown St. Louis. The project, funded by the Gateway Foundation, has enjoyed stellar early reviews.

    Coupled with the newly opened Old Post Office Plaza, downtown St. Louis is providing more reasons to linger after 5 PM.

    [...]
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    Posted: June 29, 2009, 10:35pm EDT

  • Ever saw a brick street?

    I was at a party over the weekend with lots of lifelong St. Louisans. We got on the topic of neighborhoods and I mentioned how I loved the brick streets in some parts of the city.

    A person in our group thought I was talking about cobblestones. "No", I [...]
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    Posted: June 29, 2009, 7:56am EDT

  • Street wise


    Last night the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis held a planning open house at the Old Post Office. The Partnership organization is updating the plan for downtown to position the area for continued growth and improvement.

    Scanning the various display boards, I saw that the [...]
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    Posted: June 26, 2009, 7:52am EDT

  • City proposing a vacant building registry

    A four-hour long committee meeting of the Board of Aldermen ended yesterday tabling action on a proposed vacant building registry.

    The registry will require owners of vacant buildings to register their properties with the city of St. Louis. A fee schedule for owning vacant buildings is [...]
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    Posted: June 25, 2009, 9:06am EDT

  • Vacant building watch: NE Corner of Arkansas and Wyoming

    Last night we ate out at one of the fine dining establishments on South Grand near Tower Grove Park.

    After dinner, we took a circuitous route home through side streets and alleys. Along the way, we passed an impressive building, vacant, located at the NE corner of Wyoming and [...]
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    Posted: June 25, 2009, 9:00am EDT

  • What good is vacant and deteriorating?

    The fate of the San Luis boiled down to two choices: preserve a vacant, deterioriating building or demolish it for a new parking lot.

    From a city wide standpoint, our approach to dealing with empty deteriorating buildings is an ongoing challenge. Neighbors do not like deteriorating buildings in their [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 10:55am EDT

  • Add some shrubbery?

    Nearly every work day my entrance into downtown St. Louis is on Memorial Drive above the depressed lanes, in front of the Arch grounds.

    It's a very routine trip. Almost all the cars do the same thing, day in and day out. They merge to the left, then' [...]
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    Posted: June 22, 2009, 8:08am EDT

  • Enterprise Leasing's "We Car" program

    My office is on the 16th floor of a downtown office building, close to two different Metro stations. Down on the street, there's a Toyota Prius parked in a specially reserved space. Both the car and the parking space are marked with the decal "We Car". Around the corner, there's' [...]
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    Posted: June 19, 2009, 8:05am EDT

  • St. Louis area leads way in "Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25" program

    (From Tom Everson, Founder of "Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25")

    Dear Friend in Safety,

    This note is about being “Motivated in Missouri.” The story of the growth of KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25 in Missouri is a result of many motivated residents, law enforcement agencies, public works [...]
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    Posted: June 17, 2009, 3:46pm EDT

  • St. Louis and urbanism

    Is St. Louis ready for urbanism? Does the answer vary by neighborhood? Do people even agree on what "urbanism" means?

    We are an old, brick city, with high density in lots of old city neighborhoods. Yet we are also fiercely independent and generally not comfortable with a centralized [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 10:00pm EDT

  • St. Louis Post Dispatch: start the Arch design competition

    Post Dispatch to St. Louis urbanist and design community: Let's get going on the design competition!

    (...while we're young already!)

    Is it fair to describe the Arch design competition as an urbanism project? Or is it much bigger than that? What are the competing interests? [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 9:45pm EDT

  • Maryland Plaza revisited

    The Central West End is a beautiful place, and I think Maryland Plaza is one of the nicest spots in the entire region, if not country.

    Months ago, we did a post that touched on the use of cobblestones in city neighborhoods. There was a suggestion to remove [...]
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    Posted: June 15, 2009, 9:32am EDT

  • S. Kingshighway Planning Lab

    The downturn in the US auto industry has created an opportunity for new development along S. Kingshighway, putting closed auto dealerships up for sale. What would you like to see happen?

    Let's use this post as a virtual auction and planning exercise. Name your price and then describe [...]
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    Posted: June 15, 2009, 8:35am EDT

  • Tornadic dreams

    Living in a place prone to wild weather can yield some wild dreams. Yesterday's storms wreaked havoc on my dreams last night.

    Driving to a mid day meeting, I was caught in the powerful storms that blew through town. From the conference room, we could see the darkening sky,' [...]
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    Posted: June 03, 2009, 8:37am EDT

  • Why blog?

    It forces you to wrk on your edting. [...]
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    Posted: June 01, 2009, 9:29am EDT

  • Cobblestones Rising

    One of the cool things about living in an old city like St. Louis is digging stuff up. There are lots of interesting things below the surface, and you never know what you might find.

    This month the city is doing lots of street work in downtown. They are [...]
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    Posted: May 29, 2009, 7:35am EDT

  • Information is power

    Usually, I wouldn't post scanned images of our household mail to the STL Rising site, but the mail we received yesterday from AmerenUE is worth more attention.

    Ameren is sending a report to all its ratepayers breaking down energy usage and charges by month for the past three years.' [...]
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    Posted: May 28, 2009, 7:38am EDT

  • Downtown scenes

    With warmer weather, there are usually interesting sights to see downtown. Today, in no particular order, a few come to mind.

    The windows are being installed in the Roberts Tower. They are in about a third of the way up the building. Looks good.

    Shade trees along Washington [...]
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    Posted: May 27, 2009, 1:23pm EDT

  • Doubling Downtown

    What would it mean to St. Louis in the developable sites in the core of downtown doubled, if downtown formed a frame around the Arch grounds, and if connections throughout downtown and with the riverfront were substantially improved? What would change like that look like? [...]
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    Posted: May 26, 2009, 9:32pm EDT

  • STL Rising launches new "NorthSide" blog

    The "NorthSide Blog" will be dedicated to discussions about the proposed "NorthSide" project, planned for the near northside of St. Louis, adjacent to downtown.

    The first topic for discussion is: What do you think of the proposed name of the development, "NorthSide"?

    Follow the project and join the [...]
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    Posted: May 22, 2009, 8:40am EDT

  • Targeting the hole in the donut

    One of the negative descriptors for St. Louis over the years has been that it's like a donut: hollowed out in the middle. That description hurts, but there is some truth to it. Ground zero for the hole in the donut is where Paul McKee has set his sights for' [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2009, 8:07am EDT

  • The Tin House

    One of the best things about blogging is the comment section. You never know where someone might be reading and commenting.

    This weekend, STL Rising received a comment from Australia on an old post we did about trivia nights. The reader was googling about organizing trivia nights, and [...]
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    Posted: May 18, 2009, 8:34am EDT

  • Macklind Days

    With a few hours of yard work done, and in between our next scheduled plans, we remembered that yesterday was "Macklind Days". We were thinking of going to get something to eat, so why not check out the options at the neighborhood event?

    Organized by the Macklind Avenue [...]
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    Posted: May 17, 2009, 6:42am EDT

  • Business Unusual

    So far, the general public has not seen a rendering of Paul McKee's plan for the north side. However, from word that is coming out, the project sounds like it is a monumental undertaking.

    During a time of a national economic slowdown, with very challending financing markets, Paul McKee' [...]
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    Posted: May 14, 2009, 9:00am EDT

  • What if everyone got on board?

    UPDATE: Post Dispatch calls McKee's plan "transformative"

    Despite a media blackout, word is trickling out about last might's community meeting regarding Paul McKee's plans for the near north side.

    From the few details available, the plan describes 22,000 permanent new jobs, 44,000 construction jobs, three or' [...]
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    Posted: May 12, 2009, 8:34am EDT

  • If Blogs United

    What would the top issues be? Here's a list of possible items...

    The schism over the San Luis

    Reconnecting the Arch/downtown - A lid or?

    Form-based zoning

    Empowering city planning efforts

    Historic preservation, tax credits

    Downtown development, public financing incentives

    Public school reform[...]
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    Posted: May 11, 2009, 9:55am EDT

  • Arch camp?


    One way to enliven the Arch grounds would be to allow camping. In Europe, camping is a popular way to travel. It's fun and relaxing. Would you be interested in being able to camp at the Arch?

    How much would you pay for an' [...]
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    Posted: May 08, 2009, 10:20am EDT

  • Overgrown, dead vegetation a major eyesore

    At STL Rising, we like to highlight the positives. Seldom do we focus on negative aspects of neighborhood life. However, as we are in the height of spring, with the summer growing season right around the corner, the subject of neighborhood greenery comes to life.

    Street trees are [...]
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    Posted: May 07, 2009, 9:50am EDT

  • New cases in urbanity

    Even in this slow economy, development projects are still happening in the urban core of St. Louis City. I saw three under construction just yesterday.

    The first one was the new shopping center being built across the street from the City Hospital condo development. Foundations are being framed, a [...]
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    Posted: May 07, 2009, 8:32am EDT

  • Good dog!

    Yesterday's wonderful news that the three year old lost boy had been found safe was great relief. As details of the story started coming out, apparently two dogs played a big part in the boy's rescue.

    On what was probably the last day of hope for finding the boy [...]
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    Posted: May 07, 2009, 8:20am EDT

  • Best Spring in 20 years?

    St. Louis is known for having some rough transitions from winter to summer. Sometmes it seems Spring only lasts around a week. We can go from the 50s to the 80s with nothing in between. Not this year.

    The Groundhog was wrong. Spring came early and has lasted. [...]
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    Posted: May 07, 2009, 8:17am EDT

  • A plug for the neighborhood

    We're trying something new this year...a community yard project. Here's an email that went out over our block email list:

    Dear Neighbors –

    Is the soil under your lawn so hard it feels more like concrete than earth? Does your grass struggle to grow and then go [...]
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    Posted: April 28, 2009, 8:18am EDT

  • Our house is haunted too...

    Guide books say that St. Louis is one of the most haunted places in the country. From "Bloody Island" during the Civil War, to the Lemp Mansion and all around Alton, there are lots of stories about hauntings here. Come Halloween, St. Louis leads the country in commercial haunted houses. [...]
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    Posted: April 27, 2009, 8:09am EDT

  • Time for City-County Reconciliation?



    The Great Divorce happened in 1876. Now, there is talk of the city reentering St. Louis County. I like the idea. I'd like to hear from people in St. Louis County about it, because for a reconciliation to happen, it has to be a marriage' [...]
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    Posted: April 24, 2009, 8:46am EDT

  • Selling fear with that furnace

    The old saying in advertising is, "don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle". People are looking for more than a product when they buy something; they're buying an experience. They want their purchase to make them feel good. So marketers are always looking for that something extra to make a [...]
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    Posted: April 24, 2009, 8:00am EDT

  • Bloggers Unified...About What?

    Following up on yesterday's discussion, if there was an effort to unify blogs, what sorts of things would make sense to address? Progressive efforts range from national issues to very place-based concerns here in St. Louis.

    The range of possible issues is very wide. From updating our region's waste [...]
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    Posted: April 23, 2009, 8:19am EDT

  • Blogger Unification

    I follow a number of blogs, a few regularly. The ones I read are grouped in the link section of popular urbanist blogs like Ecology of Absence. I think a big reason blogs are popular in some circles is because you can find information about things you're interested in written' [...]
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    Posted: April 21, 2009, 7:36am EDT

  • Neighbors Dedicate St. Cecilia Historic District

    Saturday morning, neighbors met with elected officials and representatives from other interested organizations to dedicate the new St. Cecilia Historic District in South City. The new historic district is in the Carondelet area, bounded by Grand on the west, Delor on the north, Virginia on the east, and Bates on [...]
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    Posted: April 20, 2009, 7:14am EDT

  • 50 Downtowns

    The map above is from a 1920s book about public transportation in the St. Louis area. What I like about it is the way it shows all the little downtowns dotted across the bi-state area (click to enlarge the image).

    It would be a fun outing [...]
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    Posted: April 14, 2009, 1:22pm EDT

  • No Free Zoos

    Ray Hartmann has written an interesting article for St. Louis Magazine about why the Zoo Museum District ("ZMD") in St. Louis City and County should be expanded to adjoining counties, and why free admission to tourists ought to be eliminated.

    He is clear in that free admission [...]
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    Posted: April 13, 2009, 8:24am EDT

  • Cardinal Red

    Working downtown, I get to watch the parade of Cardinal fans walking through downtown before and after games. The fans are easy to tell apart - they're mostly wearing Cardinal Red.

    Cardinal fans are for the most part good natured people. They're here for a good time, and they [...]
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    Posted: April 10, 2009, 9:24am EDT

  • Turtles Rising

    Since tomorrow's the official start of the weekend - a holiday weekend for many - that makes today the eve of a long weekend, and for many the getaway day. As Friday's are usually slow days for serious stuff, to get in the holiday spirit, STL Rising will start things [...]
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    Posted: April 09, 2009, 8:12am EDT

  • Maybe she can't read?

    Driving again, I pass a number of bus stops on the way downtown. This morning, at one of the old stops where the sign is covered up with the announcement regarding Metro's disruption in service, a woman was bundled up waiting for something, a bus maybe. Do buses still stop' [...]
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    Posted: April 08, 2009, 7:00am EDT

  • Alley video cameras?

    With the lower cost of video technology, some communities are considering the idea of installing video cameras in alleys and on street corners to keep an electronic eye out for suspicious behaviour. Is this too much of an infringement on personal liberty, or something we should consider? [...]
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    Posted: April 07, 2009, 10:30am EDT

  • No more electronic voting for me

    In the last primary election, I decided to give electronic voting a try. I didn't like it. The machine seemed a little quirky, and I didn't like not having the feel of a depositing a paper ballot in a box. Today, I voted with a paper ballot - much better. [...]
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    Posted: April 07, 2009, 8:32am EDT
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