St. Louis

[rxlexi]

not sure if this is the place for it, but man it has been a rough new year for StL.  I sympathize with the urban nerds over there.  

Consider -

StL named "Most Dangerous City", rightly or wrongly, again
StL loses out to Charlotte for 2012 DNC, for which they made a big push
StL census numbers way below estimates with a loss of ~29K for the city and even a loss of 2K for the county
StL Cards fails to resign Pujols by self-imposed deadline, may lose hometown hero next year
StL Cards lose ace Adam Wainright for the year due to a needed Tommy John surgery

I don't bring this up to patronize, I just spend time over on the StL forums and I spend a lot of time in and enjoy the city, and man it has been a rough start to the year.  There has still been plenty of positive momentum of late, especially in some of the south city neighborhoods...here's hoping things look up.  Well, not for the Cards, but for that grand, gritty old city anyway

[Roanoker]

I used to visit St. Louis frequently because my parents met each other there and that's where all my relatives lived. I glanced through the June issue of Woman's Day recently and found a nice article about St. Louis. It's worth reading. You can see it here:

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Life/ ... Louis.html

[rxlexi]

I had a great time in StL (as usual), over Memorial Day weekend, post-float.  After a long and incredible hike I drove straight up I-55 into south city, took the Arsenal exit right through the AB brewery facility and wound me way over to Cherokee Street for an espresso at Mud House.  

That street (and whole neighborhood) is fascinating to me.  Equal parts hip and booming and scruffy and sketchy, little-Mexico and baby Xroads with more than a pinch of Troost, it feels like it could be (is?) the epicenter of south city's regeneration, though surrounded by many very shady blocks.  It is a highly recommended stop for any urban nerd heading over to the east side of the state.  WHY can't KC continue to generate some vibrant urban commercial nodes (a la Westside, probably our best recent example)?

I am also excited to see this resurgence in craft brewing in StL.  Something like 4 or 5 new breweries/brew pubs are opening or have opened very recently.  Consensus seems to be that Urban Chestnut, near SLU, is one of the best; I'll have to try it when I return in a couple of weeks.

Every time I play around in StL city the same feelings return - falling for the incredible brick bones, the old parks, the rusting 80 year old fire hydrants.  Fantastic neighborhoods hidden from the average visitor.  And then a series of more recent missteps, a core so large and split up that it will be difficult to rehab outside of these somewhat isolated villages, a city that just keeps on rolling with the heavy inertia of its past...but a place I love.

And finally, when spending $500mil on a rebuilt I64, WHY not go all out and bury that thing along the southern edge of Forest Park (even partially)?  Once in a lifetime opportunity missed, IMO, though I'm sure wickedly expensive.

[brewcrew1000]

I had a great time in StL (as usual), over Memorial Day weekend, post-float.  After a long and incredible hike I drove straight up I-55 into south city, took the Arsenal exit right through the AB brewery facility and wound me way over to Cherokee Street for an espresso at Mud House.  

That street (and whole neighborhood) is fascinating to me.  Equal parts hip and booming and scruffy and sketchy, little-Mexico and baby Xroads with more than a pinch of Troost, it feels like it could be (is?) the epicenter of south city's regeneration, though surrounded by many very shady blocks.  It is a highly recommended stop for any urban nerd heading over to the east side of the state.  WHY can't KC continue to generate some vibrant urban commercial nodes (a la Westside, probably our best recent example)?

I am also excited to see this resurgence in craft brewing in StL.  Something like 4 or 5 new breweries/brew pubs are opening or have opened very recently.  Consensus seems to be that Urban Chestnut, near SLU, is one of the best; I'll have to try it when I return in a couple of weeks.

Every time I play around in StL city the same feelings return - falling for the incredible brick bones, the old parks, the rusting 80 year old fire hydrants.  Fantastic neighborhoods hidden from the average visitor.  And then a series of more recent missteps, a core so large and split up that it will be difficult to rehab outside of these somewhat isolated villages, a city that just keeps on rolling with the heavy inertia of its past...but a place I love.

I love that area you are talking about.  I always stop at Gus's Pretzels on Arsenal if i'm going to go to a Cardinals game, great soft pretzels for dirt cheap.

If things never got run down and sketchy, the creative class might not have the opportunities because they wouldn't be able to afford rents.

[DaveKCMO]

anyone been to firebird for a show? going this friday. walkable from downtown at night (1.6mi from my hotel)? cabs hanging around?

[KCMax]

4.2 mag earthquake 50 miles SW of St. Louis last night caused some minor shaking in STL.

[rxlexi]

dave, have not been to Firebird but have heard good things about it as a venue.  It is located in Midtown Alley, with which I am not all that familiar, but is near SLU and largely made up of former auto and light industrial buildings similar to Xroads.  Walkable from downtown definitely but not recommended....that area between is one of the more desolate stretches in StL (empty, not necessarily "bad" at all).  You could pretty much walk straight down Locust or Wash Ave (run parallel a block or so apart) from DT to Midtwon Alley.  However, a cheap cab ride is probably preferable.

Midtown Alley, for what it's worth, is really starting to come alive from what I hear.  Check out one of the brewpubs there and report back...

[rxlexi]

dave, I partially take back what I said after looking at where Firebird actually is (quite a bit further east than I thought).  I think you would be fine walking it from downtown, going straight down Locust past Schlafly tap room and Pepper Lounge might be your best bet.  It will be a quiet walk with a number of empty spaces but definitely walkable if that's your thing.

[chrizow]

yeah that area does strongly resemble the crossroads, and like the crossroads there is a significant presence of architecture/design/web firms there.  pretty cool area, but yeah, quiet/desolate (which is fine).  i'd say it's walkable from downtown, but i am not sure i would want to do it at 2am unless in a pretty sizeable group.

[warwickland]

I'd definitely get a cab...Olive in the area of the Firebird area is pretty much Jane Jacobs worst nightmare. Olive was the dividing line between what they blew up and what they didnt when they demolished the tenement area of mill creek valley. It's gonna be uber creepy late at night (it's creepy by day) - it's sort of indicative of the problem St. Louis has with "interstellar" urban space between downtown and the rest of the city...nodes seperated by stuff like that. I've walked the central corridor from city limits to the river several times, and that's by far the worst part of the walk. People drive 50 miles an hour on Olive. Use Locust if you are transecting the area by day. On the flip side of the coin, I never would have thought this area would improve as much as it has towards SLU.

[warwickland]

I had a great time in StL (as usual), over Memorial Day weekend, post-float.  After a long and incredible hike I drove straight up I-55 into south city, took the Arsenal exit right through the AB brewery facility and wound me way over to Cherokee Street for an espresso at Mud House.  

Glad you had a great time in St. Lou. Cherokee is a gem, and at it's best feels properly "little neighborhood big city." What stream did you float per chance? There are a number of semi-secret(ish) shut-ins (non Johnson shutins) that are right at 100 miles south of around Tower Grove if you are ever in town but want to mix it up during the brutal St. Louis summer, like the Castor River Shutins down I-55->67. It's a little bit of a hike, but hey we are midwesterners, I do it all the time, it's fun to sit in the waterfalls and drink PBR. In any case, I particularly find the southern approach to the urban core of St. Louis via I-55 interesting.

[rxlexi]

^^^ sittin' in waterfalls drinkin' PBR (or, perhaps Schlafy Summer Helles cans?)...an ideal weekend of late.  We floated the Black River, putting in at Lesterville (I-55>I-67>Hwy 21, I think), nothing crazy or even remotely hidden, unfortunately.  See Chrizow's thread in Gen KC.

I am, however, fascinated by these lightly hidden floats and shut-ins you speak of.  Again, just an ideal way to enjoy a summer weekend, out of the (beloved) city and enjoying the streams, trees, and buzz off a yeasty witbier (yeah, hate on Zon all you want, I drink the stuff like gatorade) or cheap, icy Busch.

The southern approach to StL was indeed interesting.  It had been sometime since I'd done it, often coming into Ballwin initially form the west (gf's family).  A lot of heavy industry along the Mississippi and Des Peres, some interesting neighborhoods down near Holly Hills and Carondalet.  Blue collar feeling on the way up.  Great view of the arch, as a silver sliver against the horizon.  I remember biking from DT StL all the way down S. Broadway to Carondalet Park, and just thinking, woah, this is weird. 

I'll be in town (StL) again in about a week for the Royals/Cards series and my birthday.  Looking forward to it as always, will be proudly wearing the KC hat in some great seats at Busch III, while enjoying a fine draft of the namesake beer and then checking out a bit more City (I LOVE those stickers with the little arch; StL CITY), perhaps brunch at Local Harvest.