Those 'Gabion' walls look horrendous. The idea of blocking streets with gates is stupid. I don't think expanding an industrial business in a mainly residential area is a good thing, especially a business that looks that bad. Considering the the Praxair fiasco, I hope this is denied. I bet you the owners don't live in Hyde Park.



As for the second one, thankfully they are recommending denial of the request to tear down those old buildings.

Egads!



I thought the "Gabion Wall" sounded bad, until I started reading the second one.



What is so upsetting is that if Hyde Park were located in South STL it would have been rehabbed years ago with tons of developers clammoring over it. But it's in NSTL, where white people are scared to go, so it gets neglected. Then you get Gabion Walls and Gas Station expansion in a historic district! Ugh.

Thank goodness for the Preservation Board or most of Hyde Park would have been torn down - it seems like every month there are several proposals to tear down houses, storefronts, etc.

Gee, from the looks of the mayors blog, looks like hizzona likes it Guess he doesn't live there either.





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Friday, July 29, 2005

An Interesting Idea for Hyde Park

gambion wall in Europe





A memo left on my desk while I was away mentions that a St. Louis architect named Tom Schwetye has proposed the construction of an 8-foot tall gambion wall around an industrial site in north St. Louis. The wall would join two clusters of the site into a single compound of mostly historic industrial buildings, screening the site from the residential properties that surround it.



I looked it up. A gambion wall is built by filling large baskets ? usually of galvanized steel mesh ? with cut or broken stones. The resulting wall is self-draining, eco-friendly, and virtually graffiti proof.



Such walls were well known in ancient cultures, widely used in Civil War trenches, mostly seen in Missouri nowadays as retaining walls along highways ? and (I loved this part) are really hot architectural elements in Europe. Architectural Review raves over one in Montpellier, France (see above). Emily Pulitzer has a gambion wall installed at the Pulitzer Foundation in Grand Center.



Built carefully with uniformly sized and pigmented rocks, such a wall could actually enhance the appearance of the Hyde Park Historic District. Mr. Schwetye and his client, Shreves Engine Company, already have the support of 4th Ward Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr.



They may get mine.

If the residents of the area want the wall and want the facility, then there is little that should be done. Sure we can say don't tear down the houses and whatever else, but if it is better for the area (i would guess the wall will be more atractive than seeing the industrial site) then let it pass.

Absolutely no to the gas station!

You're a little late on the gas station's plan. It was approved, and demolition of the Cordes Hardware Store building and its row was complete by the end of February 2006.

How would the mayor feel about a wall like that in a prominent location within the 23rd ward?



Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure aesthetics won't be the primary concern when this wall is built.