Steve Patterson
Recent Posts
As St. Louis Builds a Small Park Over a Highway, a Look at Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park
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As work continues on the “lid” over the highway, now called I-44, that divides downtown St. Louis from the Arch grounds I thought we should take a look at another recent park-over-highway project — Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park: Klyde Warren Park creates an urban green space constructed over a section ...
Two Sites Seeking Zoning Changes In Frontenac, Pushback From Residents
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Currently there are a couple of interesting zoning issues in the affluent St. Louis suburb of Frontenac. First, some background: Frontenac is a wealthy inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The signature landmark is Plaza Frontenac, a high-end mall featuring many prominent retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany ...
Rethinking Chariton Square
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In May of last year I posted about a drive-in theater that replaced a quarry, itself soon replaced by I-55 (see May 26, 1954: South Broadway Drive-In Theater Opened). In that post I indicated I would do a followup on ideas for the tired auto-centric Chariton Square strip shopping center: ...
City Cars For Elected Officials — Part 1
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A recent item in the Post-Dispatch las caused a lot of online debate: Carpenter’s budgetary concern comes as she seeks a new city vehicle or a $700 monthly vehicle allowance. In her previous term as collector, she had a city car. She turned it in after leaving office. In March, ...
The Public Sidewalk Is Not Your Private Driveway
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Over the years St. Louis has vacated both streets & alleys, this means land previously part of the public right-of-way (PROW) is now private. Usually the phrase “vacate public surface rights for vehicle, equestrian and pedestrian travel” is used in the ordinance (from a block west), typically splitting the surface ...
‘Bridge Bash’ to Start Removal of St. Louis Centre Bridge Was 5 Years Ago Today
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Five years ago today work began on reversing a mistake that had been in place for 25 years. The “Bridge Bash” event started with comments from numerous white men, followed by Mayor Slay operation the wrecking ball, pyrotechnics made breaking glass a little more exciting. Here’s the video I uploaded ...
Doering Mansion Sacrificed for Disappointing Mississippi Bluffs Developments
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South Broadway once had some stately homes, with great views overlooking the Mississippi River. In early 2006 one was gone — razed for a multi-building condo project known as Mississippi Bluffs. Most of the site for Mississippi Bluffs was to come from the former Good Samaritan Home, the Doering Mansion ...
Shriner’s Hospital Returns To St. Louis City After 52 Years In Suburban Frontenac
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Sunday afternoon the new Shriner’s Hospital for Children will be dedicated. The new facility will open for patients on June 1st, a return to the City of St. Louis after 52 years in the affluent suburb of Frontenac. Changes in care meant the 1960s facility was too large: The hospital is ...
What To Do With 1.2 Million Square Feet In The Railway Exchange Building
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Downtown’s Railway Exchange Building, completed in 1913, occupies an entire city block. From the 2009 National Register nomination: The Railway Exchange Building was recognized as an architectural and engineering wonder even before it was constructed. But the building’s rich history was built more on the shoulders of the companies it was ...
Northside-Southside Light Rail Wouldn’t Be Good For St. Louis Neighborhoods
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Lately I’ve been hearing people wanting the build the long-planned Northside-Southside MetroLink lines. While I’m a huge advocate of public transit, rail transit in particular, this would ultimately be a costly disaster for St. Louis’ neighborhoods. For the Northside corridor, the preferred transit alternative was a MetroLink line running from ...
30 Hours on Megabus: St. Louis to Memphis to Little Rock to Dallas and Back
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Two week ago I arrived in Dallas for a workshop & conference. I left St. Louis at 3:40pm Monday, arriving at 7:35am Tuesday morning. Amtrak? Drive? Greyhound? No, Megabus. I last wrote about Megabus in August, see My First Trip Via Megabus. At that time the official stop was just ...
Second Downtown Dog Park: Wedge Between Busch Stadium & MetroLink Line
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In March I posted how some want to turn a large developable site into a 2nd downtown dog park, see Temporary Dog Park On Former Cupples 7 Site Would Be Too Costly. Then last month I offered an alternative location in existing park space, see Second Downtown Dog Park: Serra’s ‘Twain’. Today ...