Categories
Historic Preservation Housing North St. Louis The Ville

Buildings on Dick Gregory Place, Martin Luther King Drive Slated for Rehabe

by Michael R. Allen

MayorSlay.com reports good news from the Ville that has been rumored for awhile: rehabilitation of several buildings on Dick Gregory Place and Martin Luther King Drive by the Ville Neighborhood Housing Corporation, Northside Community Housing and the power-house Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance. The project will create 40 affordable rental residential units. Since Missouri Housing Development Commission application is pending, the good news won’t be great news for awhile. However, the prospect alone is welcome in the Ville, where preservation is a thorny question. Kudos to the parties named here and Alderman Sam Moore (D-4th), who had to suffer a You Paid For It slam for his willingness to help this project move forward.

Categories
Historic Preservation Illinois Mid-Century Modern Monroe County Southern Illinois

Losing the Bee Hive Bowl

by Michael R. Allen

The Bee Hive Bowl in Waterloo, Illinois is about to end its long battle with redevelopment. after being listed on the market for over three years, the shuttered bowling alley, located on Illinois Route 3 just north of HH Road, will be demolished for yet another over-sized convenience store and gas station. The old Mobil station next door, a family-run affair housed in a building older than the Bee Hive, was wrecked last year for the same project.

Why does the demolition of a 1950s-era bowling alley in a small town outside of St. Louis merit my attention? For one thing, the transition tells an interesting story. For another, when I write about happenings in still-rural Monroe County, southeast of St. Louis, I am writing about the land that fostered my childhood. My attachment to the land and places of Monroe County runs deep, and its evolution since I left as a teenager disturbs, delights and intrigues me.

To the point, the Bee Hive Bowl was a county institution. The Bee Hive was Waterloo’s only bowling alley, and one of less than five in the county. Monroe County has always been Friday-night territory. Week nights are work nights for the farmers, especially in good weather. The bars attract small crowds, and the restaurants are closed by 9:00 p.m. But come Friday, people pack the taverns and restaurants to dispel some of the pent-up energy. When I was a kid, getting a lane at the Bee Hive was not easy on a weekend night. That did not matter too much to the adults, who could hang out in the restaurant eating fried chicken and drinking beer.

The sort of company and good cheer found at the Bee Hive was one of those things that connected small-town and country folks in Monroe County with everyone everywhere, at least in the United States. Every town, city and military base had a bar. Most had bowling alleys. Much is made of the correlation between bowling and urban working-class populations, but southern Illinois’ rural working-class (farm laborers and factory workers) loved their bowling, too.

All that has changed, of course. The Bee Hive closed up shop early in the 21st century, joining legions of bowling alleys in small towns and big cities everywhere. (In fact, the Bee Hive outlasted most of the bowling alleys in the city of St. Louis.) Obviously, in cities with diminishing density, the loss of bowling alleys makes sense. But in Monroe County, the towns continue to grow and increase population density. Of course, just like St. Louis, Waterloo has lost many of its manufacturing and well-paid blue-collar jobs. And young people there are as disinterested in a communal pastime like bowling as are youth in the urban neighbor to the west.

Hence, the Bee Hive’s impending demolition is not really the story of the loss of a retro modern building — it’s the story of the decline of a particular part of social life. Without bowlers, bowling alleys are hard to maintain. The new gas station and convenience store also tells us something about Waterloo. I’m not quite sure what that is — such operations are found alongside highways everywhere, and have little that is particularly local about them.

A side note that in intriguing is that the Bee Hive’s lanes now compose table tops at Gallagher’s, a popular restaurant and bar located in a historic building in downtown Waterloo. The owner had a use for the lanes that fit the new social life of the county seat. All is not lost, I guess, and Friday nights in Waterloo must be as fun as ever.

Categories
Events Historic Preservation Illinois Southern Illinois

Fort de Chartres Hosting Winter Rendevous November 1 and 2; Closure Extended to November 30

by Michael R. Allen

This past weekend, on October 4th and 5th, the annual French and Indian War Assemblage took place at Fort de Chartres near Prairie du Rocher, Illinois. Crowds of people, a few shown here in photos taken at the end of the weekend, watched reenactors depict fort life at the time of the war that led to the French retreat from North America. Visitors to the Assemblage were among the thousands of people who enjoy visits to Fort de Chartes each year. Last year, 38,100 people visited a site where some of Illinois’ earliest history unfolded.

The event may be the last at the site, depending on how the state historic site fares in the state budget negotiations expected to start up again in January. For now, Fort de Chartres remains open until November 30, and is anticipating the usual great attendance at its annual Winter Rendezvous, held November 1st and 2nd. The potentially chilly weekend will feature period costume and camping as well as games, music and demonstrations. St. Louisans should consider the relatively short trip to the forth then to have fun, learn and demonstrate our support for a part of our region’s French colonial heritage. More information is online here. Directions to Fort de Chartres are located here.

Categories
Architecture Art Downtown Events

Architecture St. Louis’ First Exhibit Opens on Friday

Following the launch of educational programs at its new downtown home, Architecture St. Louis, Landmarks Association of St. Louis hosts its first public exhibit opening at the new space this Friday, October 10.

In conjunction with the American Institute of Architects – St. Louis Chapter and the chapter’s Young Architects Forum, Landmarks presents After Hours, a juried student drawing competition shown alongside assorted work (furniture, photography, collage, painting) produced by young architects either unlicensed or within ten years of licensure. Subjects range from St. Louis architecture to nature to modern furniture.

Opening: Friday, October 10 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. (Work will be on display 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday for the subsequent two weeks.)

Where: Architecture St. Louis, 911 Washington Avenue #170 (located in the arcade of the Lammert Building)

Categories
Historic Preservation North St. Louis St. Louis Place

1913 St. Louis Avenue: A Preservation Challenge

by Michael R. Allen

Here’s the lovely Romanesque Revival building at 1913 St. Louis Avenue in St. Louis Place. Built in 1892 and reasonably well-kept over the years, the building took a turn for the worse this year: foreclosure. The private owner could not keep up with payments on a Department of Housing and Urban Development-backed loan, so HUD foreclosed. The tenants moved out. The front doors were busted in. Aluminum storm windows walked off. The front gutter disappeared, pulling slate tiles with it. Interior items disappeared.

Every step of the way was painful to observe. The stately old six-flat
had all of its original parts — slate mansard roof, wooden doors and windows and tin gutters. I’m sure that the now-pillaged systems needed upgrading, but the building was almost exemplary in the level of care bestowed on it.

Now, what would have been a straightforward rehab for an investor or owner-occupant has become a complicated mess. The building is huge, damaged and located on a stretch of St. Louis Avenue that needs considerable redevelopment. Unfortunately, the house lies just north of the present Clemens House-Columbia Brewery Historic District, meaning the extensive work needed to repair the house is not automatically eligible for state and federal historic rehab tax credits. The bright side is that extending the district boundary would not be impossible, but such work easily adds $5,000 in professional fees to the cost of rehabilitation.

At this point, given the condition of the building and the credit crunch, 1913 St. Louis Avenue is a project beyond the means of small developers. HUD had it listed for sale, but the listing is now gone. I doubt that many people would have even considered it right now.

How do we safeguard this building for better economic times? There is no other building like this one in St. Louis Place, and its condition hardly merits even contemplation of demolition. Rehabilitation is the right thing to do. Who will do it?

(For more information about this block, see “Passage of a Block Face: 1900 St. Louis Avenue, North Face,” May 5, 2008.)

Categories
Historic Preservation Mullanphy Emigrant Home North St. Louis Old North

Mullanphy Emigrant Home Stabilized for Winter

by Michael R. Allen

The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group recent appropriated funds to complete the enclosure of the Mullanphy Emigrant Home at 1609 N. 14th Street. Although the work did not include further masonry work, the scope resulted in a total air- and weather-tight condition for the building. The Emigrant Home has not been sealed up since the first damaging storm struck it in April 2006.

Workers from E.M. Harris Construction Company boarded all of the building’s window openings, covered the gap between the new south wall and the existing roof, sealed the opening at the top corner of the south wall and sealed the giant hole on the north wall. Since funds for masonry work on the north wall don’t exist yet, a more modest plan was needed. E.M. Harris essentially boarded up the whole opening with framing, plywood and Tyvek wrap. This work included construction of watersheds over existing sections of the north wall, keeping them dry.

Now the Mullanphy Emigrant Home is fully sealed before winter — what a relief! In the current state, the building is stable as it awaits further repairs. Old North has demonstrated that a big building can be sealed up long before funds for major masonry repair are available. Obviously, the materials used are not as sturdy as actual brick and block, but they will ensure the building’s survival. Such stabilization could be implemented on other endangered buildings, including the James Clemens, Jr. House, Carr School and the Fourth Baptist Church.

Categories
North St. Louis Northside Regeneration

Mayor Slay States Principles for Near North Side Redevelopment

by Michael R. Allen

Per St. Louis Patina, here is part of a letter from St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay to Alderwoman April Ford-Griffin (D-5th) that Ford-Griffin read at a rally held Saturday at Sts. Teresa and Bridget Roman Catholic Church:

I strongly support more private investment in the 5th ward as long as it creates quality jobs and improves the quality of life for the people who live in the 5th ward.

Any development must reflect the ward’s diversity. It would be beneficial if it includes both affordable housing and market rate housing.

Any major redevelopment plan will not go forward until and unless there is public input, which includes open dialogue among the developers, the residents and elected officials.

I will not support eminent domain for owner occupied properties.

I will not support a redevelopment plan that does not have community support expressed through the community’s elected representatives.

I will oppose Old North St. Louis being part of a major redevelopment plan unless the residents want to be included.

My administration will not sell LRA holdings as part of a major redevelopment plan unless the community supports the plan through their elected representatives.

Anyone who owns property in the 5th ward must take care of it by meeting codes to ensure public safety and health.

The mayor’s words echo statements by Develop With Dignity, Neighbors for Social Justice, Alderwoman Ford-Griffin, leaders of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, urbanist bloggers and even Paul McKee. There now seems to be consensus on some basic parts of redevelopment of the near north side neighborhoods that have attracted so much attention in the past three years. I’m amazed at how many different parties are saying similar things. Of course, the next step is figuring out details of redevelopment and moving past sweeping statements. We have come a long way in the process but there is a long way to go. Hopefully, Slay’s letter indicates that city government is ready to show leadership in facilitating the dialogue needed to move things forward.

Categories
Architecture Mid-Century Modern St. Louis County

Valley Park’s Modern Post Office

by Michael R. Allen

Valley Park, Missouri has a little Modern Movement United States Post Office that packs a large architectural wallop. Located at 305 St. Louis Avenue, essentially the building is a one-story brick box. There are no frills. The building’s only attempts at style come through function — namely, windows and doors, which every building must have.

Three tall, Roman-arched entrances on one side, trimmed in thick projecting limestone bands that reach up from the ground to form full surrounds. Two windows on the other side, also trimmed in limestone, create a lop-sided counterbalance. Inside of the mightly, heavy Roman arches are upper blinds filled in with small blue tiles whose delicacy contrast pleasantly with the stone surrounds. Power and grace balance each other as a solid doorway to enter the post office also provides the eye with a small delight on entrance.

Much modernism fails at such small but important gestures. This post office does it well, without pretending to be more than what it is — a small, small-town post office. This is the side of modern architecture that pulled the human scale out of minimal expression. After all, buildings are for people. essentially, those which are most functional should be — but rarely are — the most humane. Count the Valley Park Post Office among those that manage to be both.

Categories
Downtown Green Space I-70 Removal JNEM Planning Streets

The Greening of Memorial Drive

by Michael R. Allen

I count on my readers’ intake of other blogs on the same subjects that I cover, which is why I rarely link directly to the excellent posts made by other local urbanist bloggers.

Still, sometimes a post elsewhere is so intriguing that I just want everyone in the world to read it. Rick Bonasch’s post “Yin, Meet Yang” today on STL Rising is one of those. In June, Rick introduced a plan for reworking Memorial Drive that is daring, bold and intelligent — take out the depressed and raised sections of I-70 and Memorial Drive, and put in an at-grade parkway that is both friendly to pedestrians and inspiring to drivers who get a great view of the Gateway Arch. This idea trumps the “lid” plan that offers little change to the ugly mess of roadways that detract from the Arch grounds’ western edge and prevent real access between downtown and the grounds. The “lid” is showy but also expensive, ineffective and unsustainable. For less money we could have a real urban design solution; for more, we can have a band-aid that covers about ten percent of a big wound.

Today, Rick offers a new reason why the idea of reworking Memorial Drive is a good one — it can be very green.

Categories
Historic Preservation Missouri Public Policy

Donovan Rypkema: Missouri Historic Preservation Activity Growing Faster than State, US Domestic Products

by Michael R. Allen

On September 11, 2008, noted preservation economist Donovan Rypkema delivered a rousing keynote speech on “The Economics of Historic Preservation” at the Missouri Statewide Preservation Conference in St. Charles. Rypkema’s talk focused on Missouri, where he told the room of nearly 200 people that over $2 billion has been invested in historic preservation since the passage of the state historic rehabilitation tax credit in 1998. The news got even better as Rykema showed that Missouri historic preservation activity has grown at a faster rate than the state and national gross domestic products every year since the tax credit was created. The full text of the speech with its useful accompanying graphs and figures is now online, courtesy of Missouri Preservation. Read the speech here in PDF format.