A concerned reader who lives in St. Louis Place created a Google Earth map of Paul J. McKee Jr.’s holdings in north St. Louis, and sent it in for publication on Ecology of Absence. The map, showing 500 parcels, seems to be short a few parcels (a closer number may be 540). However, seeing the satellite image of the landscape is much more vivid than any of our prior attempts to document the extent of the holdings. It’s linked here.
by Michael R. Allen
Every morning comes one of the many internal negotiations of the day: Do I pass by the Brecht Butcher Supply Company buildings on my way to work?
I have a few choices for routes to work, so passing by the buildings is not necessary. However, as wrecking work progresses, I have to deal with the innate curiosity. How much further have the wreckers progressed? What does the column on that floor of that section look like now that it’s exposed? And so forth. These are questions that I consider not only for my own curiosity but because I’m bound to get a few (and I mean very few in this case, given what side of Delmar these buildings are on) questions.
Most days, I take the hard route and pass by. Sometimes, I linger for awhile. The smiling workers are busy putting bricks up on pallets, knocking wall sections down. I watch, but only once have I photographed the scene. Usually, I am compelled to take a few photographs of demolitions, because the recorded details are useful for later research. This time, I have been slow to record what has to be one of the greatest buildings to be demolished in St. Louis since the Century Building.
Perhaps my lack of urgency comes from my deep personal disgust at this senseless loss — one I haven’t felt much before. Perhaps it comes from the fact that these buildings never received the preservation battle that they deserved. (Has any building in recent years?) Most likely, both. In the face of business as usual, investment in observing great loss alone can seem pointless. I suppose that I will take the camera with me tomorrow, though.
Categories
The Empty Space
by Michael R. Allen
The built environment tends to absorb trauma. Buildings, after all, endure countless abuses and serve as the settings for every possible pain a human being can endure. They keep standing through small fires and murders, gaining some new store of anguish with each event. When they are torn apart, their stored energies do not rapidly dissipate but become a part of whatever replaces them. This energy is no supernatural force, but rather is the inscribed force of historical and semiotic memory. People keep this energy alive through their responses to changes in the built environment. People remember changes in facades, storefronts, and so forth. People also strongly remember things that eventually disappear. Nothing so powerfully invokes the iconic recollection of a building than a visit to its site when it is gone. The mind projects the building as more than just a structure then; the building’s placement in the web of the individual memory is evident and gives the site continued power to terrify, astound or sadden. Yet the empty space itself cannot be said to embody any of the memories or to signify any of the history.
– Excerpt from my essay “From 0 to 1,776” (Omnitectural Forum, October 9, 2004)
by Michael R. Allen
The Project for Public Spaces has unveiled its “Worst Waterfront Cities.” New York, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Boston, Tokyo, Seattle and Paris are the finalists. One wonders why St. Louis, one of the world’s most famous river cities with one of the world’s least-accessible riverfronts, is not on the list. Perhaps St. Louis is not large enough to catch the attention of PPS, or perhaps our abundance of amazing riverfront industrial architecture partly redeems our failures of public space planning.
Of course, in the eyes of the local establishment, the great waterfront plan created by Diana Balmori and Associates is tantamount to actually improving the riverfront, despite the fact that its price tag renders it “dead in the water” (yeah, I know) and its scope is limited only to the downtown riverfront that already is cut off from where people actually live.
More thoughts on the matter are online in Rob Powers’ photo-essay “What’s Wrong With This Riverfront?” (about our downtown riverfront) and my own “How Do You Get to the River?” (about one of my favorite river access points, soon to be rendered inaccessible).
(Thanks to Alan Brunettin for pointing out the PPS list.)
Categories
Almost All Parishes Closed in 2005 Sold
Old parish properties have new owners, uses – Barbara Watkins (St. Louis Review, February 23)
Out of the 20 parishes closed by the archdiocese in 2005, only two remain for sale.
From a St. Louis University release:
The Saint Louis University Museum of Art is pleased to present “Elusive Light: Michael Eastman Retrospective” which will be displayed in the Judith and Adam Aronson Gallery of the Saint Louis University Museum of Art. The exhibition opens with a 5:30 p.m. reception Friday, Feb. 23, and continues until July 15.
More of Eastman’s amazing work — much of which concerns elements of time, light and the built envirornment — can be found on his website.
by Michael R. Allen
Last week, the Board of Aldermen passed the city’s first “green building” law.
Sponsored by Alderman Fred Wessels (D-13th) and President Jim Shrewsbury, Board Bill 323 mandates that all city-owned new construction and major renovation must be certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver or higher. (Read all about LEED here.)
The new law will be in effect for the next three city building projects, the two recreation centers being built with money raised by Proposition P as well as the Animal House.
Shrewsbury’s office is also working on legislation to encourage green building in private construction and rehabilitation projects.
by Michael R. Allen
The house at 2605 Hadley Street (Michael R. Allen, October 31, 2006).
Two houses in Old North St. Louis are proposed for demolition by Haven of Grace, an outstanding social service provider. The conflict could not be any more difficult for residents of Old North — past and future are colliding, and a decision must be made.
Background
Sometimes, preservation questions come in the most difficult form possible. While we are often faced with David versus Goliath struggles of both the hopeful and hopeless kind, less often we have thornier affairs by which we test our consistency. Such is the situation in Old North St. Louis, where the Haven of Grace is seeking to expand its facility by demolishing two vacant historic houses in the 2600 block of Hadley Street.
An affiliate of Grace Hill Settlement House, Haven of Grace does amazing work that many others won’t: the organization provides transitional housing for pregnant homeless women. Director Diane Berry has tremendous drive to raise community support for this important work, and has served as an important member of the Board of Directors of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group. The dormitory building that the organization recently built on 13th Street between Warren and Montgomery is a good example of thoughtful infill construction, blending historic massing and forms with modern materials like contemporary brick, metal siding and metal roofing. Some will fault the building’s design for a prominent parking lot, but generally it harmonizes with its setting amid nineteenth century buildings.
In a neighborhood steeped in exquisite, subtle architecture and a high concentration of residents committed to social justice, Haven of Grace is a perfect institution. The match between it and the neighborhood could not be greater.
That is why the issue of the demolition of the houses on Hadley Street to the east of the existing buildings creates a strange conflict. Haven of Grace has been a successful organization in part because of its relationship with its neighborhood. However, that neighborhood’s identity and future hinge on its historic architecture. With over sixty percent of its architectural stock lost in the last twenty-five years, Old North St. Louis must seriously consider the impact of the loss of two houses.
Furthermore, the houses are contributing resources to the Murphy-Blair Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The listing has enabled the use of much-needed Missouri rehab tax credits in the neighborhood. Further damage to the historic integrity of the official historic district seems needless.
The two houses are rather modest and, despite years of vacancy, in fairly good condition for their ages (both probably date to c. 1870-1880). The narrow Greek Revival home at 2605 Hadley is adjacent to a newly-rehabbed building, and sports one of the brick dentillated cornices typical of the oldest buildings in the neighborhood. The wider Italianate-style building, at 2619-21 Hadley, is modest save its unusual wooden cornice, which has exaggerated rounded brackets that are unmatched in the neighborhood — and perhaps on the whole north side. This house sites near the corner and through its presence helps define the character of the intersection of Hadley and Montgomery. Both houses would make excellent historic rehabilitation projects, and the wider house may be suitable for use by Haven of Grace.
The house at 2619-21 Hadley Street (Michael R. Allen, October 31, 2006).
Ultimately, the best resolution seems to be deferring to a precautionary principle against demolition. Old North St. Louis needs both its architectural and social resources in balance, but the architectural balance is difficult to achieve given the intensive demolition that has struck the neighborhood. Even last year, three contributing buildings to the Murphy-Blair Historic District were wrecked (2025 Palm, 1306 Monroe and 1929 Hebert) Preservation of all remaining historic buildings in any condition close to saving seems the only route to truly keeping the growth of the neighborhood in balance with its past. Given community support, Haven of Grace will surely be able to create an alternate expansion plan. After all, there is plenty of available space here in Old North — and an indomitable community spirit that always finds creative solutions to thorny issues like this one.
Preservation Board Meeting Ahead
The matter will be considered by the Preservation Board at its meeting on Monday. Staff of the city’s Cultural Resources Office have denied the demolition permit, and Haven of Grace has appealed. Staff is now recommending demolition of one of the buildings and preservation of the other.
Read the staff recommendation here.
Meeting details:
When: Monday, February 26 at 4:00 p.m.
Where: Conference Room, 1015 Locust Street, 12th Floor
How to Testify: Attend and sign up, or submit written testimony to Preservation Board Secretary Adonna Buford at BufordA(at)stlouiscity.com
by Michael R. Allen
The American Institute of Architects has published America’s Favorite Architecture, a list of 150 buildings around the country chosen through a poll of 1,800 Americans. The results are questionable, although guessing why certain buildings are on the list and making sense of the list order provides endless entertainment.
St. Louis is represented only twice, with our ubiquitous Gateway Arch at #14 and beloved Union Station at #40.
Some of the results — Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, two Apple stores in New York City — will certainly puzzle locals wondering why the Wainwright Building, among other worthy contenders here and elsewhere, is absent.
Chicago critic Lynn Becker has excellent commentary on the list here.
MayorSlay.com’s latest podcast subject is my neighbor, architect John Burse. In his interview, John shares thoughts about the uniqueness of Old North St. Louis, what makes neighborhoods unique (and what makes others contrived), revitalizing the Gateway Mall and other things. Listen here.