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At work we have a rooftop patio. It's a small, comfortable space that is the perfect lunch spot or retreat when you need to get away from stress of work. Elevated above the street and feeling as if you're floating in the thick of the downtown skyline you hear the sounds of a city...car horns honking, sirens from emergency vehicles, helicopters, the wind.
At just the right angle, and through squinted eyes, a canyon of skyscrapers appears to go on for miles. Being up on that patio makes me feel like I'm in a City that I truly want to be in.
At just the right angle, and through squinted eyes, a canyon of skyscrapers appears to go on for miles. Being up on that patio makes me feel like I'm in a City that I truly want to be in.
GRRRRRRR!
Oh, so that makes the neglect of your client's properties OK. No harm no foul!
Does anybody really believe this? Does anybody actually believe that you or I would be treated with the same kid gloves for not maintaining our property? Who knows, with all the lots and buildings that are neglected in this city, maybe we would! Mayor Slay can do a photo op at a downtown apartment building feigning concern for city residents and making it appear as if his administration is tough on property owners and all that, yet this kind of stuff is going on.
McKee defends his actions, saying that his own workers also take care of the land and that he has a policy of paying the city promptly for its services.
"The city's crews have for decades cut grass and weeds to the city's standards on vacant lots belonging to the city and scores of property owners," McKee's lawyer, Steven Stone, said in a statement.
Oh, so that makes the neglect of your client's properties OK. No harm no foul!
"Anybody can come into our city and buy property," Slay said recently. "We treat him, and we've been treating him, like we treat everybody else."
Does anybody really believe this? Does anybody actually believe that you or I would be treated with the same kid gloves for not maintaining our property? Who knows, with all the lots and buildings that are neglected in this city, maybe we would! Mayor Slay can do a photo op at a downtown apartment building feigning concern for city residents and making it appear as if his administration is tough on property owners and all that, yet this kind of stuff is going on.
Yesterday's post and comment by Steve Patterson had me asking myself "What would St. Louis have been like if the Arch hadn't been constructed?" Is this blasphemous thinking, or the beginnings of a dialog about how we can better utilize or riverfront? Not sure yet, but great ideas can't happen without off the wall questions.
I love the Arch. I honestly think it is one of the most beautiful examples of architectural sculpture this side of sliced bread. That said, how good is if for the City. It brings in tourists who stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants, but let's say instead of acres of parkland downtown, we had warehouses full of residents and stores full of goods for those people to buy...which scenario is better?
Granted, who knows what would have happened to the blocks of industrial space along the riverfront, it could have further deteriorated and created a huge problem for St. Louis' CBD. But, for arguments sake, lets say that it is a healthy portion of downtown. What a change to the face of downtown that would be. Downtown St. Louis would be denser and kiss the river. Maybe a healthy riverfront district would have prevented one of St. Louis' worst mistakes ever, the placement of Highway 70.
A riverfront district with residents bustling from store to store is a reality in 2007 St. Louis. Can you imagine instead of a fucking riverfront casino we had balconies full of diners enjoying a view of the river? How amazing would it be to be taking a stroll down your street and seeing the Eads Bridge spanning over your neighborhood? Instead of having the fake nostalgia that passes for entertainment on the riverfront, what if we had the real thing?
The Arch has done nothing to prevent St. Louis' suburban westward expansion, it didn't prevent a mass exodus of people from our city limits that we are only now overcoming, it doesn't lower crime and it doesn't keep jobs downtown and its not what is bringing downtown back today, what is the Arch's value? It has been mutilated and whored into every freaking business logo from the city to St. Charles county...so is the Arch more than a brand, more than a gimmick to get people to come St. Louis, or does it really mean something to the residents of St. Louis?
The Arch put St. Louis on the map, so to speak, but was its construction really good for us? So far it seems like a mixed bag. At any rate, it's interesting to think about what could have been.
I love the Arch. I honestly think it is one of the most beautiful examples of architectural sculpture this side of sliced bread. That said, how good is if for the City. It brings in tourists who stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants, but let's say instead of acres of parkland downtown, we had warehouses full of residents and stores full of goods for those people to buy...which scenario is better?
Granted, who knows what would have happened to the blocks of industrial space along the riverfront, it could have further deteriorated and created a huge problem for St. Louis' CBD. But, for arguments sake, lets say that it is a healthy portion of downtown. What a change to the face of downtown that would be. Downtown St. Louis would be denser and kiss the river. Maybe a healthy riverfront district would have prevented one of St. Louis' worst mistakes ever, the placement of Highway 70.
A riverfront district with residents bustling from store to store is a reality in 2007 St. Louis. Can you imagine instead of a fucking riverfront casino we had balconies full of diners enjoying a view of the river? How amazing would it be to be taking a stroll down your street and seeing the Eads Bridge spanning over your neighborhood? Instead of having the fake nostalgia that passes for entertainment on the riverfront, what if we had the real thing?
The Arch has done nothing to prevent St. Louis' suburban westward expansion, it didn't prevent a mass exodus of people from our city limits that we are only now overcoming, it doesn't lower crime and it doesn't keep jobs downtown and its not what is bringing downtown back today, what is the Arch's value? It has been mutilated and whored into every freaking business logo from the city to St. Charles county...so is the Arch more than a brand, more than a gimmick to get people to come St. Louis, or does it really mean something to the residents of St. Louis?
The Arch put St. Louis on the map, so to speak, but was its construction really good for us? So far it seems like a mixed bag. At any rate, it's interesting to think about what could have been.
What makes our burg special now?
A note to the Downtown St. Louis Partnership, your banners promoting "Live, Work, Play downtown" along Memorial drive are worn, windblown and faded. Is that the message you're trying to send about downtown? Gather your thoughts and the replace your worn banners you've put up around downtown...and then actually have your marketing staff check them from time to time.
While I'm on the subject of street pole banners, new "The Hill" banners have sprouted up all over the Hill neighborhood over the past few months. They could have been replaced 3 years ago & I know banners are expensive, but it's nice to see someone noticed a small aesthetic problem in the neighborhood and went ahead and took care of it. The new banners send a message that the neighborhood is alive and well.
While I'm on the subject of street pole banners, new "The Hill" banners have sprouted up all over the Hill neighborhood over the past few months. They could have been replaced 3 years ago & I know banners are expensive, but it's nice to see someone noticed a small aesthetic problem in the neighborhood and went ahead and took care of it. The new banners send a message that the neighborhood is alive and well.
I wish I could get as worked up about the Arch losing power as the local media. Cripes. It seems that the post, ksdk, etc, etc had to go out of their way to find someone who could rag on the Arch & St. Louis or find someone who was super scared. Life happens, apparently that's "breaking news"...after the media spices it up a bit.
The vault.
The lobby.
The lobby.
Roof ornament, with Tower Grove South, the Hill and other neighborhoods in the background.
Artsy Fartsy.
Looking downtown. Towers for money, justice and power all represented.
The Central West End.
Dutchtown?
Looking into Southampton. It's not a tall neighborhood.
Looking south towards the JB Bridge.
Looking up Grand.
Downtown St. Louis, looking up Gravois.
Here are some projects I don't see happening anytime soon. I have no inside information on these projects other than a gut feeling.
On a positive note, I drove by the Compton Gate Condo development this afternoon and I must say I really like the way it relates to the street and the buildings around it. I almost didn't notice the Jack 'n the Box on Grand thanks to the much more interesting streetscape beyond.
The reconfiguration of St. Louis Centre. I honestly believe this project is dead in the water, and it's a shame. I walk by this hulking mass of crap almost daily and it is a huge detriment to downtown. Weeds choke the trees that are in the concrete plaza across from Macy's and if it wasn't for the smokers from the attached office building a huge block would be deserted.
The new tower across from the Old Post Office. The building size banner proclaiming a 2009 arrival seems a bit ambitious. I heard someone say that even the City doesn't think this is going to be built. Guess we'll see.
Chouteau's Landing.This one hurts because I've seen some fantastic renderings of this project and am really rooting for it. Unfortunately, I just don't feel there is much momentum behind this project...that's just my gut feeling.
The Bottle District. From super grand plans & a hyped ground-breaking to no news at all, this project seems to be pretty much a mess. I'm not holding out any hope for it.
The downtown Macy's actually having a good men's department. Yes, not a construction project, but, seriously, Macy's is so stupid.
On a positive note, I drove by the Compton Gate Condo development this afternoon and I must say I really like the way it relates to the street and the buildings around it. I almost didn't notice the Jack 'n the Box on Grand thanks to the much more interesting streetscape beyond.
If any bikers are reading this, can you suggest a nice bike trail in the South City area? I saw the River Des Peres Path and am wondering if it's a good ride, etc.
In my mind's eye, I see Lucas Park transformed into a space similar to NYC's Bryant Park. It could happen if the City and downtown residents made this park a priority. Maybe there are plans in place, I don't know, but this pocket of green that sits so perfectly next to the Shell Building and Main Library is just wasted and trashed. It appears as if everyone has given up and conceded that the homeless are going to continue to use and abuse the park.
Perhaps if the park was made more attractive to users, enough of them would patronize the park that you'd soon find more readers, chess players and lunch takers in the park than homeless? That's the way it was at Bryant Park. I saw my share of down and out, but there were also tons of everyday people enjoying the sunshine or a quick game of chess.
I realize it's not an apples to apples comparison, but Bryant Park seems to be a space that works, and Lucas Park seems to fit BP's model rather nicely. I guess the main problem is the homeless. Since they are most likely not going anywhere given the fact Larry Rice's slum house, that for some reason is still open and operational given its exterior conditions, is across the street, the problem becomes how to get the homeless to participate in the park's revival. Will they? I doubt it, but some of them might. So it's up to us and the City, do we have yet another space full of wasted potential within our limits, or do we do something with that potential?
Perhaps if the park was made more attractive to users, enough of them would patronize the park that you'd soon find more readers, chess players and lunch takers in the park than homeless? That's the way it was at Bryant Park. I saw my share of down and out, but there were also tons of everyday people enjoying the sunshine or a quick game of chess.
I realize it's not an apples to apples comparison, but Bryant Park seems to be a space that works, and Lucas Park seems to fit BP's model rather nicely. I guess the main problem is the homeless. Since they are most likely not going anywhere given the fact Larry Rice's slum house, that for some reason is still open and operational given its exterior conditions, is across the street, the problem becomes how to get the homeless to participate in the park's revival. Will they? I doubt it, but some of them might. So it's up to us and the City, do we have yet another space full of wasted potential within our limits, or do we do something with that potential?
While art is subjective, and what is and isn't art will be debated until the end of time, graffiti is vandalism. Why? Because defacing private property is a crime. It's really that black and white. Graffiti is menacing and can create an environment of fear. Graffiti also isn't a necessary component of the "urban experience" and the criminals who tag homes, billboards and commercial buildings should be held accountable for their actions.
People who feel the need to use spray paint to create cryptic symbols and write out childish and nonsensical phrases should practice their craft on their bedroom walls.
People who feel the need to use spray paint to create cryptic symbols and write out childish and nonsensical phrases should practice their craft on their bedroom walls.
I saw Michael Moore's Sicko last night, and while I realize a Moore movie has an obvious slant, I left the movie wanting to move to another country. To see how insurance companies work, who they listen to and how they are responsible for denying benefits to people who are paying the companies premiums who disheartening.
Insurance companies who pay for your health care services call that process a "medical loss". Can you believe that? You're affecting their bottom line. One ex health director for Humana had a quota of denials and if she exceeded that, she got a bonus.
It was interesting to see how people in other countries with universal health care reacted to Moore's question about who paid for their medical care. Most of them laughed at him, they couldn't grasp the concept of paying for their health care since they paid for it through their taxes. No one was receiving sub-standard care either. There was no socialist movement spreading through the country because people chose to pool their resources and help each other out.
In England, doctors are government workers who get paid a bonus to make people healthy! Can you imagine that actually working here? I can't either. In France, people get a minimum of 5 weeks vacation, work a 35 hour week and have doctors who make 24 hour house calls.
An American transplant living in France said, "In France, the government is afraid of the people, in the United States, the people fear the government." How true is that?
An old English politician, can't remember the name, said something, and I'm paraphrasing, so profound, "A healthy and happy people challenge the government, a sick and demoralized people are apathetic,. They stay in line and do as they're told."
Why isn't a revolution taking place in this country? What are we scared of? Things can't get much worse.
Insurance companies who pay for your health care services call that process a "medical loss". Can you believe that? You're affecting their bottom line. One ex health director for Humana had a quota of denials and if she exceeded that, she got a bonus.
It was interesting to see how people in other countries with universal health care reacted to Moore's question about who paid for their medical care. Most of them laughed at him, they couldn't grasp the concept of paying for their health care since they paid for it through their taxes. No one was receiving sub-standard care either. There was no socialist movement spreading through the country because people chose to pool their resources and help each other out.
In England, doctors are government workers who get paid a bonus to make people healthy! Can you imagine that actually working here? I can't either. In France, people get a minimum of 5 weeks vacation, work a 35 hour week and have doctors who make 24 hour house calls.
An American transplant living in France said, "In France, the government is afraid of the people, in the United States, the people fear the government." How true is that?
An old English politician, can't remember the name, said something, and I'm paraphrasing, so profound, "A healthy and happy people challenge the government, a sick and demoralized people are apathetic,. They stay in line and do as they're told."
Why isn't a revolution taking place in this country? What are we scared of? Things can't get much worse.
Last night I had an odd dream...it's amazing how the mind is able to take photographs you've seen and words you've read and create a world you've never experienced.
So anyway, last night I was transported to late nineteenth/early 20 century St. Louis. The picture in my mind's eye was tea-stained, just like an old photo. As I walked dirt covered downtown streets I became aware of the fact that these are the same streets I walk everyday, but they're different. Buildings of all shapes and sizes hug the sidewalk, there are no gaps from demolition in the streetscape...an unbroken line of buildings extends to the horizon forming man-made canyons. The only empty lot I came across was next to the American theater, in front of the Old Post Office. According to my dream, that lot has always been empty and used for parking.
There were lots of people on the streets, but trash was everywhere. The downtown of my dreams wasn't as clean as the real thing. I didn't know if the trash problem, cigarette butts and paper, was worse because there were so many people around or if there was just no one around to clean it.
In my dream it was night, and hundreds of feet above my head a powerful light cut into the clouds which were illuminated by the city lights below. The beam originated from a spotlight that was perched on top of a spire that graced St. Louis's version of the Empire State Building. The design was similar, but with the fog that consciousness brings, I can't remember the differences or details.
I had to get a job, and I started working in a building similar to what's now the Ely Walker building. The job was mundane. A group of us sat at a large table with a pile of 6 inch strings in front of us, each pile of string a different color. Our job was to take the string and twist it together to form yarn. I remember thinking that there has to be an easier, more mechanical way to do this, but was told to get back to work.
The St. Louis I visited last night was a combination of the St. Louis that was I the St. Louis I wish we could be.
So anyway, last night I was transported to late nineteenth/early 20 century St. Louis. The picture in my mind's eye was tea-stained, just like an old photo. As I walked dirt covered downtown streets I became aware of the fact that these are the same streets I walk everyday, but they're different. Buildings of all shapes and sizes hug the sidewalk, there are no gaps from demolition in the streetscape...an unbroken line of buildings extends to the horizon forming man-made canyons. The only empty lot I came across was next to the American theater, in front of the Old Post Office. According to my dream, that lot has always been empty and used for parking.
There were lots of people on the streets, but trash was everywhere. The downtown of my dreams wasn't as clean as the real thing. I didn't know if the trash problem, cigarette butts and paper, was worse because there were so many people around or if there was just no one around to clean it.
In my dream it was night, and hundreds of feet above my head a powerful light cut into the clouds which were illuminated by the city lights below. The beam originated from a spotlight that was perched on top of a spire that graced St. Louis's version of the Empire State Building. The design was similar, but with the fog that consciousness brings, I can't remember the differences or details.
I had to get a job, and I started working in a building similar to what's now the Ely Walker building. The job was mundane. A group of us sat at a large table with a pile of 6 inch strings in front of us, each pile of string a different color. Our job was to take the string and twist it together to form yarn. I remember thinking that there has to be an easier, more mechanical way to do this, but was told to get back to work.
The St. Louis I visited last night was a combination of the St. Louis that was I the St. Louis I wish we could be.
Whoever is responsible for pulling the universal strings has a distinctly warped sense of humor. Who's idea was it to make the final years of our lives the worst we've had? Why does growing old suck so fucking much?
Today, at age 99, my grandma was placed into a nursing home. A lifelong Catholic and non-user of birth control, as her 10 children's existence can attest to, my grandmother is the undisputed matriarch of my huge family. 10 years ago, my grandma moved in with my family...my mother being the youngest of the brood. It seemed unfair that the youngest child suddenly had to take care of her mother, but nobody else wanted the job so my mom took it. 10 years ago, when decisions were made, I'm almost positive no one expected my grandmother to last as long as she has.
My grandmother's days at home were filled with hours of the Game Show Network and Gin Rummy. She loves rummy & she loves Wheel of Fortune. She's fortunate to still have her mental faculties, which is why I never handed her a game of rummy, but her body rebels against her. Her legs are wooden, her weight has ballooned because of inactivity, her bowels are no longer as patient as they used to be.
My mother, who would never admit this, began to resent her own mother and the burden that had been placed upon her. I think both of my parent's had a love/hate thing going on with grandma, and I think grandma resented her condition and took it out on my parents. With the kids gone, now was supposed to be the time my mom and dad could live their lives for themselves. Instead they had to baby sit, leave functions early to make sure Grandma had eaten and not fallen down, make sure she hadn't been sitting in her chair for 8 hour stretches for fear the blood in her legs would pool at her ankles...in short they had a 90 something year old baby living in my brother's old bedroom.
4 days ago my grandmother entered the hospital and my mother came to some hard to swallow realizations. She could no longer physically maneuver her mother's 150 lb frame. She had to accept that even though she's learned a lot over the past 10 years, she's no doctor. Tearfully and reluctantly, after a spending the last 4 day's next to my grandmother's hospital bed, my mom and dad had to accept that they could no longer take care of my grandmother in their house.
Currently, my mother is on the verge of tears with every breath and, if I know her, racked with guilt. So, yeah, getting old is fucked up. I could dwell on the fact that my grandmother has had a full and blessed life, but seriously, with the knowledge of age and experience, now should be the best time of her life. And yet her body betrays her. It fights her...our bodies fight us all. My grandmother's age draws lines of worry on my own mother's face...her age steals her mobility and memory, it robs her of vitality and freedom.
It's all so fucking unfair.
Today, at age 99, my grandma was placed into a nursing home. A lifelong Catholic and non-user of birth control, as her 10 children's existence can attest to, my grandmother is the undisputed matriarch of my huge family. 10 years ago, my grandma moved in with my family...my mother being the youngest of the brood. It seemed unfair that the youngest child suddenly had to take care of her mother, but nobody else wanted the job so my mom took it. 10 years ago, when decisions were made, I'm almost positive no one expected my grandmother to last as long as she has.
My grandmother's days at home were filled with hours of the Game Show Network and Gin Rummy. She loves rummy & she loves Wheel of Fortune. She's fortunate to still have her mental faculties, which is why I never handed her a game of rummy, but her body rebels against her. Her legs are wooden, her weight has ballooned because of inactivity, her bowels are no longer as patient as they used to be.
My mother, who would never admit this, began to resent her own mother and the burden that had been placed upon her. I think both of my parent's had a love/hate thing going on with grandma, and I think grandma resented her condition and took it out on my parents. With the kids gone, now was supposed to be the time my mom and dad could live their lives for themselves. Instead they had to baby sit, leave functions early to make sure Grandma had eaten and not fallen down, make sure she hadn't been sitting in her chair for 8 hour stretches for fear the blood in her legs would pool at her ankles...in short they had a 90 something year old baby living in my brother's old bedroom.
4 days ago my grandmother entered the hospital and my mother came to some hard to swallow realizations. She could no longer physically maneuver her mother's 150 lb frame. She had to accept that even though she's learned a lot over the past 10 years, she's no doctor. Tearfully and reluctantly, after a spending the last 4 day's next to my grandmother's hospital bed, my mom and dad had to accept that they could no longer take care of my grandmother in their house.
Currently, my mother is on the verge of tears with every breath and, if I know her, racked with guilt. So, yeah, getting old is fucked up. I could dwell on the fact that my grandmother has had a full and blessed life, but seriously, with the knowledge of age and experience, now should be the best time of her life. And yet her body betrays her. It fights her...our bodies fight us all. My grandmother's age draws lines of worry on my own mother's face...her age steals her mobility and memory, it robs her of vitality and freedom.
It's all so fucking unfair.