Preservation Research OfficePhotographs by Michael R. Allen
By the middle of December, only rubble from the above-ground structure of the stadium was left. Wreckers were busy removing this rubble and excavating foundations so that the new stadium could be completed in time for the opening of the baseball season in April 2006.
by Michael R. Allen
Bricks continue to fall from the mural on the east side of one of the two towers at Council Plaza in Midtown. (See this December 7 report from TV station KSDK.) While it’s sad to see the mural deteriorate, good news came at the most recent meeting of the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: approval of a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for all of Council Plaza, which was developed starting in 1967 by local Teamsters as a “Model City” demonstration project.
For an odd reason, the St. Louis Preservation Board had recommended that the nomination be tabled until the mural could be repaired, even though the current ownership group stated that it needs tax credits to be able to restore the mural. Well, a motion to recommend approval of the nomination almost sailed through until member Richard Callow moved to table the nomination and reconsider it after the mural issues could be resolved. Never mind that the nomination of Council Plaza was only invoking “urban planning” and not “architecture” or “public art” as a criteria for significance. The Preservation Board unanimously voted for Callow’s motion.
Wisely, the state council went ahead with the listing so that the mural can be restored — provided that the owners intend to honor the promises they have made publicly at the Preservation Board and Missouri Advisory Council meetings. Even though the towers are rather clunky concrete boxes, the murals and brickwork on the windowless side elevations add depth and human scale that redeems the heavy-handed site plan.
At least the old spaceship-style gas station building, now Del Taco, stands intact. That may be the most attractive building on the site. (See a photo by Toby Weiss here.)
by Michael R. Allen
The Merchandise Mart, Isaac Taylor’s 1888 Romanesque masterpiece at 1000 Washington, looked very stately in last week’s snow. Then again, what in St. Louis did not look good?
<strong>by Michael R. Allen</strong>
The lot at 2805 Hadley Street in Old North St. Louis may be fenced but sports an incredible amount of debris. One can find broken PVC pipes, old furniture, solid fill and scraps of wood lying around its confines. That is, during the winter. In the warm months, the grass grows so tall on this lot that passers-by would not be startled if someone told them that a house was on the lot.
Next door, a lovely late 1870’s townhouse is undergoing and ambitious rehab from an owner who is rehabbing other buildings in the neighborhood. Across Hadley Street is Ames School, one of the city’s finest elementary schools.
The owner of the lot?
Blairmont Associates LC, one of the near north side’s most active collectors of vacant lots and buildings. Where the owner of the house next door sees a need to restore his building, Blairmont sees nothing but the future value of the land and is willing to hurt its neighbors today so that its owners can profit tomorrow.
by Michael R. Allen
Word on the snow-covered street is that Blairmont Associates LC was not pleased with the attention it received from a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article on its abusive ownership of the Clemens House and the resulting speculation on the identity of the deep pockets behind Blairmont. Sources say that Blairmont had no idea that the property at 1849 Clemens was a historic mansion; they were only interested in the large lot the home and chapel sit on. Thus, to avoid more publicity they will sell the house by January 6 (not sure why this date is being floated).
Of course, if they want to avoid attention they will need to do more than sell the Clemens House. We will continue to monitor their abuse of other historic buildings (such as the Brecht Butcher Supply Company buildings at 1201 Cass, if Blairmont is reading) and many northsiders are actively working to uncover the identity of Blairmont. People who are investing their time, labor and money in rehabbing homes on the near north side have a right to know who is behind Blairmont Associates LC and VHS Partners LLC. Some people think that they know, as the comments section on this blog shows.
For the record, we have no evidence that isn’t already public record. Our guess is as good as yours — probably worse, since we have neighbors who know a lot more than we do about them.
by Michael R. Allen
Since our stove won’t work until Saturday (needs a new ignition, a part that was hard to locate for a 1950’s Roper), we are still eating out most every night. Last night, with the slushy roads populated by speeding drivers, we did not want to take our chances with driving anywhere. We walked the block between our Sullivan Street home and Crown Candy Kitchen on St. Louis Avenue, taking in the beautiful sight of our neighborhood covered in a blanket of snow.
Crown’s was deserted, save for Mike Karandzieff and three staffers holding down the place. Mike himself waited on us, and we chatted with him before ordering our usual order. It’s great that this place is so dependable and near. Earlier in the day, Claire had walked down to Marx Hardware on 14th Street to take back some wrong-sized cornerbead and to buy a miter box; the Marx brothers took back the cornerbead even though they operate on a cash-only basis and don’t have a refund system. However, we have been regular customers of theirs since before we even moved into our place, and they reward our return trips with generosity.
After we ate — and after we decided to splurge for delicious sundaes as cold as the air outside — we walked back home. Light streamed out of a small storefront on 14th Street behind Crown’s. Inside, a crew of twentysomethings was scraping paint off of a wall while listening to music. This is the future home of The Urban Studio, a community space that our neighbor and fellow twentysomething Old North St. Louisan Phil Valko has created.
We returned home full of hope and good cheer. I was so inspired by the spirit of the neighborhood that I finally found the strength to remove the broken old faucet from our sink so that we could replace it.
Anyone wanting to partake of the Old North community spirit is welcome to join residents for the neighborhood New Village Brewing Company’s holiday beer-tasting tonight at 7:30 p.m.
by Michael R. Allen
Today’s Post-Dispatch carries a headline: Bowling alley is razed for shopping center [DEAD LINK]
This time, the bowling alley is the Montclaire in Edwardsville, Illinois. I have never been there, and can’t say anything about its architecture or history. I can say that many bowling alleys of all ages are closing or being torn down in the St. Louis area, and only a few new “boutique” style alleys are opening. The new alleys usually don’t have more than 8 or 12 lanes and are often more geared toward alcohol sales than bowling.
Proprietors of bowling alleys that have closed recently have blamed the closures on the decline of league bowling, which guaranteed steady revenue for older alleys with high maintenance costs. I wonder if our atomized society will ever support good, affordable bowling alleys again. St. Louis once had enough bowling alleys to rival the most blue-collar of the other Rust Belt cities. Now, there are only a handful left, with only three lanes left in the city (two of which are small, new and not affordable to working-class people).
by Michael R. Allen
What happened yesterday at the Blairmont hearing?
Nothing.
Blairmont’s attorney, Steven Goldenberg, successfully obtained a continuance from Judge James Dowd of the Circuit Court, claiming that it will conduct an engineering study on the Clemens House and submit that the court. This indicates two things:
a.) Blairmont’s owners are still hiding from the public and preparing some revelation to head off any moment at which their watchdogs might have a clue on their identity;
b.) Blairmont likely is getting ready to justify demolition of the Clemens House with the study.
Rumors have flown here and there about Blairmont’s identity. One source has Blairmont being a northside business family investing the last dollars of a failed empire; another more likely scenario has Blairmont being a front for a well-known suburban developer plotting a large scattered-site housing development.
But I think that I have solved the case: I think that the land is being bought up by relatives of our new police chief S. Jammu. Sound kooky? You say there isn’t a chief named Jammu? I swear that the pieces all fit together to make a convincing story! Either that or Jonathan Franzen is on the joyride of his life.
All kidding aside, Blairmont Associated Limited Company is an irresponsible property owner whose failure to maintain its property warrants the lawsuit filed by the Building Division. If I were an eminent domain sort of guy, I would say here’s a case where it might be wise to use it. Blairmont controls 89 properties and its affiliated enterprise VHS Partners LLC controls an additional 101 properties. Of course, if the plan is to build new houses the powers that be would more likely endorse the effort than try to stop it.
by Michael R. Allen
Friday marks the final First Friday opening at downtown’s Gallery Urbis Orbis. While the art scene is constantly changing in every city and there are little certainties in terms of gallery spaces, Urbis Orbis could not be confused with your ordinary art gallery. Yes, Gallery Urbis Orbis sold art. Yes, it had exhibits and openings with wine and such. But its more significant function was civic in nature.
During its run of over two years, Gallery Urbis Orbis has provided a foundation for progressive cultural life. The gallery has cleverly used the traditional opening to create a monthly night in which some of the city’s smartest people get together and chat. Ideas have been shared and big plans have been made on even the least-attended First Friday opening here. The gallery has mixed these dependable, almost salon-like evenings with other programming that falls outside of the realm of the “art gallery”: a meetup of political activists and artists; a meet-and-greet with aldermanic candidate and urbanist Steve Patterson; a memorial service for a well-loved city booster; countless planning meetings for cultural efforts large and small; and many other things. Much like the late, lamented Commonspace, Gallery Urbis Orbis served as a civic space with a citywide audience. Creating another space like it — and I do hope that someone does — will be a challenge.
Gallery co-owner and painter Alan Brunettin, whose work will be featured at this final opening, has often graced the gallery window on Tenth Street as he works on a painting. As far as I know, Alan has been the only artist to consistently work in a street-level, visible space. His presence has been encouraging to pedestrians, suggesting a liveliness that complements the solid old buildings around the space well (and draws one’s eye away from the hideous hulk of the Renaissance Grand parking garage across the street).
Alas, the gallery closes. Alan and Margie Newman, his partner and gallery co-owner, will depart for Chicago in January. Things change, of course, but this one is truly bittersweet.
We will be serving the complimentary wine, one last time, this Friday at Gallery Urbis Orbis (419 N. 10th Street) from 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. I hope the turnout is large and spirits high despite the loss, because this fine space and its creators deserve no less.
by Michael R. Allen
Our latest site update covers a recent theft of cast iron from the James Clemens, Jr. House (also known as the Clemens Mansion).
UPDATE: The hearing of the City of St. Louis vs. Blairmont Associates Limited Company will he heard tomorrow, Thursday December 1 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Circuit Court’s Division 5 in the Civil Courts Building at Tucker and Market. Judge David Dowd will preside. The case number is #054-2163 and the court phone number is 314-622-4342.