I started this month talking about how Lisi Bansen was struck by a car as she traveled on Delmar using her manual wheelchair (post). There she had no sidewalk available. The city finally came through with sidewalks connecting accessible apartments and a store two blocks away - [...]
Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day is the holiday season in North America. For most this time includes Christmas. For the rest of us we often celebrate another holiday, such as Kwanzaa or Hanukkah. We have a diverse population in St. Louis so I’m curious to see how diverse my readers [...]
No matter how much you ate Thursday, you probably had uneaten food remaining. Some of you will save and eventually eat what was left. Much of the food will be tossed into the trash. Tucked into the trash bag it is out of sight out of mind. Your trash will [...]
A decade ago Apple depended on a few retailers to display and sell their computers. These retailers did a poor job, relegating the Macs to the back corner of the store. Apple decided they needed to open their own retail stores to get their products in front of consumers. May [...]
For nearly two years now I’ve been thankful every day that I am a stroke survivor. That moment when you are certain your life will soon be over is surreal. When I awoke from sedation in ICU almost a month later just the idea of still being alive was more [...]
In early November 2005 Elizabeth “Lisi” Bansen died a few days after being struck by an SUV as she was traveling the two blocks from the nearest store to her apartment. Lisi Bansen was disabled and using a manual wheelchair. She was in the roadway because what sidewalks existed were [...]
I’m going to make a broad generalization: readers of this and other local blogs care about their neighborhood, their municipality and their metropolitan region as a whole. I know I do and I sense that many of you do to. The poll last week confirmed my theory.
Q: How often do [...]
Friday I asked for help with information on 60 former pedestrian malls (see post). Readers responded with helpful information. Today I’m sharing my complete list of cities that have or had a pedestrian mall built during the period 1959-1984.  A few cities are listed twice because they [...]
It is not often an editor for our hometown paper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, makes stories from coast to coast.
A school employee lost his job after he posted a one-word vulgarity in the comments section of an online article at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
According [...]
The topic of my capstone (thesis) for my Masters in Urban Planning is the pedestrian mall. I’ve taken on the ambitious task of documenting every pedestrian mall built in North America between 1959-1984. So far I have documentation on 135 pedestrian malls created during this 25-year period. Of those I [...]
Nothing defines “big box” more than Wal-Mart, take this recent bit from Iowa: “the Wal-Mart Supercenter will cover 150,000 square feet of land — around 40,000 feet fewer than the company originally planned.” (source) 40,000 feet fewer?
In the earlier days of our city we had the small [...]
The Coronado is known to many of you. The building sat vacant for many years until it was renovated into residences, offices and restaurants. Located across from Saint Louis University at Lindell and Spring (map) it is in the center of the action.
[...] Nearly 2/3 of the readers that voted in the poll last week have “smart” phones — small web-enabled computers that also send/received phone calls:
Q: What operating system does your mobile phone use?
Basic mobile/no idea of the OS 48 (36%) iPhone OS (Apple) 35 (26%) Blackberry (Research in Motion) 17 (13%) Android (Google) 12 [...]I often get emails from people wanting me to bring attention a problem/dispute they are having.   Such was the case on November 7th:
I live in the Jack Thompson Lofts on the top floor above Club Lure. I live with my girlfriend and her [9 year-old] daughter and the smoke from [...]
No matter where you live you are probably part of a neighborhood and that neighborhood very likely has regular meetings. They may be quarterly or they may be monthly. Some are casual while others can be more formal. Some can be very productive while others never seem to move forward. [...]
45 years years ago, November 1964, Patula Clark released Downtown:
In January 1965 the song made it to #1 in the United States. This was a time that downtown needed a positive image.
Linger on the sidewalks where the neon signs are pretty
Except [...]
Knowing what our elected officials are working on used to require attending monthly neighborhood meetings. Not bad if you are free when the meetings are held and patient enough to sit through the entire meeting to hopefully get a clue what they are up to. Not good if you care [...]
Last Sunday I was walking from my place to the London Tea Room. I went the long way to look at old cars lined up on 17th for the Veteran’s Parade. So I crossed through CPI’s parking lot which is just North of my building.
I noticed [...]
Cities are very good about finding money for capital projects. Money for operations and ongoing maintenance, however, is often scarce.
Citygarden splash fountain, August 2009
But when a leak was discovered under a portion of the splash fountain at the new Citygarden downtown there was [...]
My poll last week was not about a serious issue facing St. Louis. Instead the question asked readers to vote for their favorite St. Louis beer. The winner by a huge margin was Schlafly. For readers from out of town, co-founder Tom Schlafly is a nephew of Eagle Forum founder [...]
Very early this morning I found a blog that impressed me based on the comment system employed. In the footer I could tell the blog was based on WordPress just like this one. I had to have this system.
So tonight I made the change on how comments on this blog [...]
The City of St. Louis has hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful urban buildings I’d like to see renovated. Significant buildings like the Arcade/Wright downtown, among them. But the one building I think I’d put at or near the top of my list is a 2-story building at the [...]
Remember the corner phone booth?
Source: Payphone-project.com
I can’t remember the last time I saw one much less the last time I used one.  As mobile phones have become commonplace, the once ubiquitous pay phone has disappeared.
Teenagers have previously lagged behind adults in their ownership of cell phones, [...]
Crepes in the City, a popular downtown eatery, closed last month month after only a year in business. New owners are taking over the space and plan to reopen with the same menu and name. Changes will be minor. For example, more comfortable seating, I’m told.
Each weekend the line was [...]
From my desk at home I can see Locust Street in my peripheral vision through the glass door to my balcony. As I see movement on the street I’ll glance over that direction. More often than not when someone parks at the on-street metered space they fail to keep their [...]
November 3rd voters in St. Louis County approved a clean air bill covering their county (65% yes). Prior to their vote the Board of Aldermen in the City of St. Louis passed a bill doing basically the same thing in the city, which is separate from St. County.
Both will go [...]
The poll last week received responses from a little more than 6% of the visitors to the site (174/2,848). Of those that responded the message is very clear: the status quo is not good enough.
Q: St. Louis City has 28 wards. Many think the number should [...]
This post is to welcome Maggie Campbell to St. Louis. Campbell started work yesterday as the new President and CEO of the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis. The following is from a September 30th St. Louis Business Journal article:
Campbell has been president of the Arlington (Texas) Downtown [...]
Four years ago today Elizabeth Bansen was struck and killed by an SUV as she returned home from the market two blocks East of her apartment. Although the accident occurred around 6pm driver didn’t see Bansen in her wheelchair on the street. On December 6th 2007 I posted on the [...]
For generations St. Louisans have been brewing and consuming beer. From the biggest to the smallest, and everything in between, the number of breweries in the St. Louis area is impressive.
The poll this week asks your favorite local brewery. I’m not asking which you consume the most, but which is [...]
