Nothing New 12.10.2007 | 0 Comment(s)

The other day I received one of those cheap-o calendars where each month features a small picture of a St. Louis institution with a pornographic display of advertising surrounding it. The cover shot was a recent photo of downtown. The first thing that popped into my head when I saw it was, "Wow, there is a lot of empty space down there."

The gaping hole that is to become Ballpark Village sat front and center, brown and dirty, empty and lifeless. The tragic Gateway Mall, just a block from Ballhole Village added to the emptiness of the photograph. This is what people see when they look at downtown from the Arch? Maybe I'm a bit jaded, but it's hardly something to be impressed by.

Being downtown everyday, it's hard not to notice the lack of activity on her streets. Lunchtime is good, but other than that you literally can be the only soul on any particular block. I'm fully aware that good things are happening downtown, and for the most part I'm please with the progress. However, we need to start filling empty space, building buildings and getting people in them (hopefully without resorting to ridiculous tax breaks and giving away the bank) before downtown can really be considered a success. Cities are about buildings and people, downtown needs both.