So, the Post has done a story about Lucas Park, now they need to do a little investigating on Grand Center Inc. Look into the relationship of Biondi and Schoemel. I'm surprised that they haven't already. I believe it's mostly senior citizens who belong to "Grand Center Inc" who all live in West County who have NO idea of what is actually going on in the area, and don't truly understand how this organization has PREVENTED Grand Center from truly thriving. Haven't they been around for 25+ years? Wt.F have they been doing?? Why was Opus pushed out of doing the development on the corner of Grand and Lindell? hmmm.
JCity wrote:So, the Post has done a story about Lucas Park, now they need to do a little investigating on Grand Center Inc. Look into the relationship of Biondi and Schoemel. I'm surprised that they haven't already. I believe it's mostly senior citizens who belong to "Grand Center Inc" who all live in West County who have NO idea of what is actually going on in the area, and don't truly understand how this organization has PREVENTED Grand Center from truly thriving. Haven't they been around for 25+ years? Wt.F have they been doing?? Why was Opus pushed out of doing the development on the corner of Grand and Lindell? hmmm.
I'd read that. I'm not necessarily assuming a conspiracy, but I'm quite curious as to GCI's goals and their assessment of the results, why Grand Center isn't what some believe it could be, and what is/could be possible in the near and long-term future.
-RBB
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re: the ruined church in Grand Center area
I like the fact that we have "ruins."
I think I'll have a picnic there.
I like the fact that we have "ruins."
I think I'll have a picnic there.
Arch City wrote:I wonder what happened to Gary's. It's closed. It was on the first floor of the University Club Tower Apartments. Gary's had been around since the chickens.
There's a jazz club there now.
The old Gary's space is still vacant, with a "For Lease" sign in the window.
Work has begun to stabilize the "ruined church" on Spring. Once the Contemporary Art Museum figures out exactly how they're gonna use it (and pay for it), then work will begin on the sculpture garden within the walls. Should be pretty cool.
Work has begun to stabilize the "ruined church" on Spring. Once the Contemporary Art Museum figures out exactly how they're gonna use it (and pay for it), then work will begin on the sculpture garden within the walls. Should be pretty cool.
- 10K
There's going to be a re-dedication ceremony for the newly renovated Strauss Park on Friday, September 28, at 11 AM.
Food, live music, performance art, and a sneak-peek at those crazy guys who dance on the sides of buildings.
Food, live music, performance art, and a sneak-peek at those crazy guys who dance on the sides of buildings.
- 10K
Framer wrote:There's going to be a re-dedication ceremony for the newly renovated Strauss Park on Friday, September 28, at 11 AM.
Food, live music, performance art, and a sneak-peek at those crazy guys who dance on the sides of buildings.
I love Strauss Park. I think it may be the best urban/pocket park anywhere in the city.
Framer wrote:They're having a ceremony this coming Monday at 10AM to officially dedicate the new Powell Hall sign. Of course, it looks best at night when the lights are working.
Also, the newly refurbished Strauss Park is now open, and it looks great! New landscaping, lighting, fountain, etc. And both Jazz at the Bistro and Reggie's Backstage have new patio seating areas within the park.
i don't know where else to post this, but for some reason i ended driving east on lindell then north on grand then east again on washington on my way home from my evening classes at slu and noticed two large, very brightly lit neon signs that slu erected in their parkings lots on both sides of washington.... i never even knew they had a parking lot in this area. the signs just looked so out of place and so unnecessary it was almost comical until i thought about what my tuition is being spent on. are these signs new?
It's Arena parking. Like th area needs more parking. They actually torn down a great historic building for one of them.
While it is great to see all the retail going into an otherwise desolate area along Olive in midtown, it seems like a huge missed opportunity and is really sad that Grand Center couldn't get their act together to get retail space renovated along Grand to accomodate some of these new places.
The retail going in now, 4 restaurants/bars, a tan place, and more I'm sure, could have completely transformed the Grand corridor, making it an inviting, lively pedestrian corridor, and it would have been much more walkable for SLU students and visitors. The question is, is Grand Center actively discouraging this type of retail, or are they just unable to redevelop the space?
The retail going in now, 4 restaurants/bars, a tan place, and more I'm sure, could have completely transformed the Grand corridor, making it an inviting, lively pedestrian corridor, and it would have been much more walkable for SLU students and visitors. The question is, is Grand Center actively discouraging this type of retail, or are they just unable to redevelop the space?
- 1,044
The coffee shop next to the Fox quickly went out of business. Other than the Best Steak House and Vitos most places have proven to not be economically viable in the long term. If I were an entrepreneur this recent history would give me pause about investing my money. Perhaps Grand Center would be willing to use their windfal tax credits to set up retail incubator space.
Reggie's Backstage Restuarant across from the Fox is doing pretty well from what I have heard.
You didn't hear it from me, but the old Gary's space is thisclose to signing a new restaurant.
matguy70 wrote:Reggie's Backstage Restuarant across from the Fox is doing pretty well from what I have heard.
I'm pretty sure its not doing very well at all actually... they are no longer open for lunch everyday like at first and have cut back a lot of other hours, especially later nights. Its pretty empty regularly, except on Fox nights. Trust me, the area is VERY difficult for restaurants, especially fine dining. The chef does a great job there and they try to have live entertainment regularly, but really they rely on a very off-and-on theater business. Until people start coming to the area for other reasons besides the theater, places like Reggies and others will just barely get by.
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Maya Lin considers Grand Center commission
By Charlene Prost, Special to the Beacon
Internationally acclaimed artist Maya Lin is mulling over ideas for making what remains of a 124-year-old, burned-out stone church in Grand Center one of her next art projects. Should she take it on, it would be her first permanent art installation in Missouri.
Officials at the Grand Center arts and entertainment district confirmed this week that they've been talking with Lin, that she's visited the site and already has come up with some conceptual ideas.
http://www.stlbeacon.org/issues_politic ... and_center
By Charlene Prost, Special to the Beacon
Internationally acclaimed artist Maya Lin is mulling over ideas for making what remains of a 124-year-old, burned-out stone church in Grand Center one of her next art projects. Should she take it on, it would be her first permanent art installation in Missouri.
Officials at the Grand Center arts and entertainment district confirmed this week that they've been talking with Lin, that she's visited the site and already has come up with some conceptual ideas.
http://www.stlbeacon.org/issues_politic ... and_center
kustramo wrote:matguy70 wrote: Until people start coming to the area for other reasons besides the theater, places like Reggies and others will just barely get by.
Well, if Grand Center didn't seem to determined to welcome and encourage only restaurants and venues that appeal only to theater goers, that might happen.
Grand Center also plans to turn the vacant lot immediately North of the "ruins" into some sort of permanent performance/art park. For example, Circus Flora would move their performances there from the Symphony's parking lot.
A one-block section of Channing Street between Washington and Locust has been torn up. I could be wrong, but it looks as if the street is being permanently closed. I can't imagine why anyone would think that's a good idea.
Why does the City continue to allow such permanent street closures?
Why does the City continue to allow such permanent street closures?
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I was at the Grandel Theater on Friday evening to see St. Louis Shakespeare’s superb production of <I>The Odyssey</I>, and spent some time before and afterwards inspecting the immediate vicinity. It seems appropriate to post my miscellanous observations here rather than scatter them about multiple threads:
1) Grand Center as a whole was almost totally deserted before and after the play. Both the Fox and the Symphony are currently between seasons, and this just seems to confirm how dependent the area is on those two institutions at present. Frankly, I’m surprised that the few remaining restaurants there are able to survive through the summer months.
2) The street-level space in the University Club Apartments (formerly occupied by a restaurant) is still undergoing renovation, but the windows are covered with plastic sheeting, so I couldn’t see what’s being done inside. There’s a work permit dated 6/25/08 posted near the door, but it gives no indication of the type of business for which the premises are being remodeled: I assume it’s another attempt at a restaurant.
3) Work is proceeding apace on the new Craft Alliance space in the Woolworth building, and it’s starting to look very nice. Neither this nor the Big Brothers/Big Sisters offices seem likely to attract many people in the evenings, but the imminent opening of the Kranzberg Arts Center in the same building should provide more of a boost.
4) There’s a commemorative plaque in the lobby of the Grandel Theater acknowledging the various corporate entities that made major contributions to the building’s conversion c. 1992. Sadly, most of the companies listed (May Department Stores, Boatmen’s Bancshares, General Dynamics, etc.) have since been taken over and absorbed or are no longer headquartered in St. Louis. It’s a depressing reminder of the kind of local corporate donors the city could once draw upon for this kind of project as recently as the early ‘90s. Ironically, the plaque extols the renovation as just the first step in the imminent renaissance of Grand Center – if only they knew! Meanwhile, on the north side of Grandel Square, the transplanted Sun Theater sign continues to radiate mockingly….
5) Powell Hall appears to be undergoing some repairs. Earlier in the day there was a workman doing some sealing (or tuckpointing?) on the ornate façade over the main entrance, and there’s a large dumpster parked by the north wall with a hoist to the roof, suggesting that some of the roofing material is being replaced. There have been a few signs of water damage visible on the ceiling at Powell for some time, so I expect they are fixing the leaks before the new season starts.
6) The Carter Carburetor / Beaux Arts building across the street from Powell still sits empty and forlorn. I noticed a sticker in the window advertising a “new owner”, but this is probably left over from a previous acquisition before Pyramid got their hands on it. Needless to say, there’s no sign of activity at the other former Pyramid project, the Metropolitan Building, which seems likely to remain boarded up for the foreseeable future.
Overall, then, not particularly encouraging, but perhaps things will pick up after the summer...
1) Grand Center as a whole was almost totally deserted before and after the play. Both the Fox and the Symphony are currently between seasons, and this just seems to confirm how dependent the area is on those two institutions at present. Frankly, I’m surprised that the few remaining restaurants there are able to survive through the summer months.
2) The street-level space in the University Club Apartments (formerly occupied by a restaurant) is still undergoing renovation, but the windows are covered with plastic sheeting, so I couldn’t see what’s being done inside. There’s a work permit dated 6/25/08 posted near the door, but it gives no indication of the type of business for which the premises are being remodeled: I assume it’s another attempt at a restaurant.
3) Work is proceeding apace on the new Craft Alliance space in the Woolworth building, and it’s starting to look very nice. Neither this nor the Big Brothers/Big Sisters offices seem likely to attract many people in the evenings, but the imminent opening of the Kranzberg Arts Center in the same building should provide more of a boost.
4) There’s a commemorative plaque in the lobby of the Grandel Theater acknowledging the various corporate entities that made major contributions to the building’s conversion c. 1992. Sadly, most of the companies listed (May Department Stores, Boatmen’s Bancshares, General Dynamics, etc.) have since been taken over and absorbed or are no longer headquartered in St. Louis. It’s a depressing reminder of the kind of local corporate donors the city could once draw upon for this kind of project as recently as the early ‘90s. Ironically, the plaque extols the renovation as just the first step in the imminent renaissance of Grand Center – if only they knew! Meanwhile, on the north side of Grandel Square, the transplanted Sun Theater sign continues to radiate mockingly….
5) Powell Hall appears to be undergoing some repairs. Earlier in the day there was a workman doing some sealing (or tuckpointing?) on the ornate façade over the main entrance, and there’s a large dumpster parked by the north wall with a hoist to the roof, suggesting that some of the roofing material is being replaced. There have been a few signs of water damage visible on the ceiling at Powell for some time, so I expect they are fixing the leaks before the new season starts.
6) The Carter Carburetor / Beaux Arts building across the street from Powell still sits empty and forlorn. I noticed a sticker in the window advertising a “new owner”, but this is probably left over from a previous acquisition before Pyramid got their hands on it. Needless to say, there’s no sign of activity at the other former Pyramid project, the Metropolitan Building, which seems likely to remain boarded up for the foreseeable future.
Overall, then, not particularly encouraging, but perhaps things will pick up after the summer...
Re: 2), that's W. Shakespeare's, the newest effort from Eddie Neill of The Dubliner and Café Provençal. I think he's shooting for fall.
Don't know where else to put this, but has anyone noticed the "light show"... maybe movie is a better description that is played on the south wall of the contemporary art museum at night? not sure if it is new, but i've been driving around the area for years after class and just noticed it. i haven't stopped long enough to watch the whole thing. it's kind of interesting, but who really walks by the back of the museum at night?