Not entirely sure if this is the right topic for this, but I figured since Grand Center is kind of like St. Louis' fine arts district, it made the most sense to go here.
Anyway, I was reading Oshi no Ko recently and through it learned about the existence of StageAround, basically a 4D Theatrical experience that combines 4D effects (such as wind, smells, etc.) with a circular theatre with permanent sets and large screens around the perimeter. Instead of there only being one stage with sets changing behind the curtain between scenes, the entire seating area is built as an enormous turntable and the audience (~1300 people) itself is rotated to face each new set/scene, keeping the audience engaged throughout the performance and breaking the illusion as little as possible.
Currently there's one (possibly two?) in the Netherlands, where the system originates, and one in Tokyo, with a couple more in planning around the world. While it's probably something of a pipedream to imagine one being built in St. Louis, it'd be very cool if some local investors with a love of theatre could come together to have one built here. I'd certainly love to experience it.
^Oh, that's nice! "Emerging" annoys me a little bit, as it's a pretty darn mature arts district. It's still growing, but it was a thing when I was a child. All that said . . . nice!
Personally, Grand Center has a long way to go and it’s surprising how dormant it is in spite of everything. I spent a lot of time there…my kids went to Grand Center Arts Academy, I’d pick them up everyday. On many occasions I’d have twenty minutes to kill between a meeting downtown and picking them up. Spent a lot of time at Pulitzer, but there’s nothing there (a Starbucks would kill there) to make you want to hang out and linger beyond a performance. Place needs a coffee shop or two, some private galleries, a book store, vintage clothing store, curio shops, antique shops. You know, all that stuff.
And too many surface/vacant lots. Residential infill would help greatly.
I owned a business in Grand Center for about ten years. Really good memories of busy nights when all the galleries were open, and there were events at the theaters, etc. Even the restaurants would be full. But most of the time it was pretty quiet. Never quite achieved that elusive "critical mass" you always hear about. But now with new residential moving closer, perhaps its time has come. The symphony's new building should add some pizazz too.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to say the place doesn't have challenges. It's not perfect. I worked there for a couple of seasons in the late 90s and patronized a particular musical institution fairly religiously for a while. There's some voids to be filled, and the surface lots annoy the piss out of me. (The loss of the Palladium especially hurts.) But there's been a lot of growth over the years too, and there's quite a bit in the area that has really deep roots, especially in terms of arts organizations. I admit, I'm biased towards music and the performing arts, which is where its greatest strength lies. It's had the largest concentration of venues in the area since the 20s, I'd guess, and it's hard to think of an area with well north of ten thousand seats, which has probably had that number more or less continuously for a hundred years as emerging. It's not Broadway, but . . . emerging? Nah. Growing and diversifying, sure. Changing. Maturing, even, maybe. But not emerging. All of this will depend on what you mean by "arts" of course. But at least in terms of performing arts it's long been one of the premier destinations in the Midwest.
In 1990 I had just moved to Cincinnati and worked at an ad agency that ran their CVB account. A coworker, knowing I had Clem from St. Louis, said ‘hey, do you know about Grand Center?’ He had read basically the exact same article in the NYT. And he, and the Cincy CVB, were panicked thinking STL was to become a cultural juggernaut. Didn’t happen. Still hasn’t after 33 years. Not for the Kranzbergs not trying. They are to be commended. And everyone else involved. But the lack of ‘critical mass,’ as Framer mentioned, has more to do with developers, businesses, etc. that don’t support the arts or draft off them because I guess they think that’s some non-profits job. I don’t know.
Grand Center had deep root with organizations, true. It needs ancillary and support businesses be it coffee shops to art supply stores.
I’ve always felt that STL has incredibly strong arts support from a small yet passionate percentage but the average population as a whole doesn’t support, think about or really care about the arts.
^^ I would agree and posit the right adjective, if any, is re-emerging and even then that is specifically as a cohesive 'district' as many of the venues have been in active use for decades.
That said good press is good press and national press at that. If it spurs more momentum toward ultimate redevelopment then why not? Golly, gee and shucks, thanky Mr. Forbes.
Grand Center has the bones of a fantastic neighborhood, but most of it has been destroyed. Imagine the synergy between Gaslight Square if it still existed and Grand Center.
It could still be great but just desperately needs thoughtful infill with granular retail. The Symphony expansion is cool, but it won't do a thing for street life. Imagine if that space was instead developed with a narrow five story apartment building and a couple retail spots?
Unfortunately, the west side of Grand continues to squander its potential with the construction of that Fox parking garage and that weird SFH development on Olive.
The East Side has really solid momentum right now, hopefully that translates to new construction sooner than later. I will continue to advocate that a KC style free streetcar running on Wash Ave from the Arch to Spring Ave would turbo charge the entire corridor including Grand Center.
I’ve always felt that STL has incredibly strong arts support from a small yet passionate percentage but the average population as a whole doesn’t support, think about or really care about the arts.
Yes, it’s called our Jewish community. Without which, the arts as we know them in St. Louis would not exist.
^So excited to see their plans. Every project moves Grand Center into a premier district in the country
Powell Hall will be awesome and is moving along
I wish Powell was adding or Kranzberg would add the St. Louis theatre sign somewhere in the district. Would be timeless and something that seems like we should still have. I’m sure everyone has seen this photo…
^I feel like they're giving it a pretty good college try with their current sign. It says Powell, mind you, and not St. Louis, but you do that when you get big enough donations.
Now if you can convince Angad Arts to put a bigger sign on the side of their building. (Maybe if they built a four to six screen movie house in the back . . . )
That first pic is one of my favorites. I've got a copy of it framed and hanging just to the right of my computer station at home (although I wish there was a film noir featured on the marquee, rather than Roy Rogers).
How does our Grand Center theater district stack up against theater districts among peer cities? I count 7 performing arts centers within 2-3 blocks: Powell, Fox, Grendel, Sheldon, Jazz at the Bistro, Sun Theater, and Central Stage. Is this really high density, typical, or lackluster?
How does our Grand Center theater district stack up against theater districts among peer cities? I count 7 performing arts centers within 2-3 blocks: Powell, Fox, Grendel, Sheldon, Jazz at the Bistro, Sun Theater, and Central Stage. Is this really high density, typical, or lackluster?
Theatre and show wise, it has definitely entered one of the top tiers. Powell Hall will further elevate it.
Where Grand Center is lackluster, it is the other activity - residential, dining, bars, retail. Outside of shows, concerts, there isn’t much going on. That’s where we need to improve. Things also get sparse real quick north of Powell and west of the district.
There are too many surface lots. Need some large scale residential buildings to add to street life. The existing ones are some of my favorite in the city - Masonic Temple and Intercontinental Life. This is an area where you can add high rise without hurting neighborhood fabric, and I think it would be desirable.
