A high number of sex <i>offenses</i> at the Mark Twain would be cause for concern. That's not the case, though.
Must have been a slow news day for the <i>Post</i>.
Must have been a slow news day for the <i>Post</i>.
So it's ok if a high number of sex offenders in one building causes a diffuse number of sex crimes within a vicinity of the building as opposed to inside it? Just as it is unhealthy to have such a concentrated amount of poverty in one area, it is probably also not wise to have a high concentration of sex offenders in one building. It's also statistically likely that such a high concentration of sex offenders in one building increases the chances for sexual crimes within a reasonable radius. I think that it may be smart to look into some kind of cap for the number of sex offenders that can live in one building.ecoabsence wrote:A high number of sex <i>offenses</i> at the Mark Twain would be cause for concern. That's not the case, though.
Must have been a slow news day for the <i>Post</i>.
Some observations from a Mark Twain neighbor for the past three years.
Haven't seen a fight or even the police at the building but have seen the almost weekly arrival of a city ambulance at the building at any time of day or night. Word on the street is that these frequent visits are usually drug related.
The hotel residents are usually reserved and quiet during the day and only talk to fellow residents. But the summer is totally different. They hang out on the city streets all hours of the night because most have no air conditioning in the building. They frequently congregate on the corners on benches or public areas. They often get very loud on hot summer nights as we in the neighborhood know so well.
The neighborhood does have a growing number of young women and children living close to the hotel. And yes, most of these young ladies have a dog. Webster University at the Old Post Office is less than 750 feet from the hotel and also supports a growing number of young coeds who mainly attend evening classes. Many park in the new garage that is one half block from the Mark Twain!
The building is owned and operated by an LLC, not a professional organization with a community mission to serve these residents. Doubtful that the owners and building managers have any formal special skills or training in housing this social element. Do the math and check the potential return on the rent revenues, which someone already pointed out are largely subsidized by state and local agencies.
It's a problem building for the city and everyone looks the other way. Will they when that first bad event happens in the neighborhood???
Having that many registered sex offenders in the downtown area will eventually prove to be a very big issue. Right now, it is very disturbing that the issue is not taken seriously.
Haven't seen a fight or even the police at the building but have seen the almost weekly arrival of a city ambulance at the building at any time of day or night. Word on the street is that these frequent visits are usually drug related.
The hotel residents are usually reserved and quiet during the day and only talk to fellow residents. But the summer is totally different. They hang out on the city streets all hours of the night because most have no air conditioning in the building. They frequently congregate on the corners on benches or public areas. They often get very loud on hot summer nights as we in the neighborhood know so well.
The neighborhood does have a growing number of young women and children living close to the hotel. And yes, most of these young ladies have a dog. Webster University at the Old Post Office is less than 750 feet from the hotel and also supports a growing number of young coeds who mainly attend evening classes. Many park in the new garage that is one half block from the Mark Twain!
The building is owned and operated by an LLC, not a professional organization with a community mission to serve these residents. Doubtful that the owners and building managers have any formal special skills or training in housing this social element. Do the math and check the potential return on the rent revenues, which someone already pointed out are largely subsidized by state and local agencies.
It's a problem building for the city and everyone looks the other way. Will they when that first bad event happens in the neighborhood???
Having that many registered sex offenders in the downtown area will eventually prove to be a very big issue. Right now, it is very disturbing that the issue is not taken seriously.
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^ well said, I was actually leaning the other way on the issue, as I used to work across the street from Mark Twain and never saw anything of concern.
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ecoabsence wrote:A high number of sex <i>offenses</i> at the Mark Twain would be cause for concern. That's not the case, though.
Must have been a slow news day for the <i>Post</i>.
Well they're not going to all molest each other - not when there's nubile college students, day care centers, and catholic churches nearby
I'm confused about what to do with sex offenders. Should we kill them? I mean, do released murderers and arsonists have to register? Not to my knowledge. So the crime these people have committed - while heinous - basically puts a scarlet A on their chest for the next 100 years. That's a bit harsh no?
It's always a NIMBY issue here - yes they have to live somewhere, but they'd better damn well not live near me. So what's the solution? Put them in some townhomes in ladue? They don't need services, they're not mentally retarded (arguably), blind, invalid, or anything else that requires proximity to downtown. They're just perverts. Maybe we should stick em in Washington Park then?
It's an interesting problem. If it were disbanded, by what amount might it increase the homeless population? Independent of the summer nuisance issue, the concentration of sexual offenders in that building is disturbing. Who is the alderman and what is their opinion? I'm surprised the P-D didn't interview the alderman.gsp9993 wrote:It's a problem building for the city and everyone looks the other way. Will they when that first bad event happens in the neighborhood???
Having that many registered sex offenders in the downtown area will eventually prove to be a very big issue. Right now, it is very disturbing that the issue is not taken seriously.
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migueltejada wrote:ecoabsence wrote:A high number of sex <i>offenses</i> at the Mark Twain would be cause for concern. That's not the case, though.
Must have been a slow news day for the <i>Post</i>.
Well they're not going to all molest each other - not when there's nubile college students, day care centers, and catholic churches nearby
Speaking of sex offenders.....The people in the Mark Twain should be afraid of the priests! Although, since they are all over 10, maybe not so much.
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We talk about the positive impact of residential density, income diversity, and the desirability of mixes of types of housing downtown. Then we pile on the Mark Twain, even suggesting closing it down. Huh? The Mark Twain is an SRO, an important part of a functioning urban downtown. The Mark Twain provides decent housing to the poor, migrant workers, the disabled and others who may otherwise end up living homeless or far from employment, transit or services. The Mark Twain is an integral part to a diverse downtown. Amos Harris has done a good job rehabbing it and keeping it orderly. He's a smart developer to take a risk on an SRO against the grain of infinite condominium conversion. Not only does the Twain help keep downtown diverse, it is an investment that is unaffected by the housing market downturn.
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some background: http://www.rhcda.com/pages/marktwainhotel2.pdf
sounds like Harris was a pioneer in the tax credit system here. linking the united way, hud, & IDA.. too bad we all can't work the system that well.
sounds like Harris was a pioneer in the tax credit system here. linking the united way, hud, & IDA.. too bad we all can't work the system that well.
Every commentary about the Mark Twain ought to reference a time Pre-Amos and Post-Amos.
Before Amos bought it, refurbished it, and began managing it, the Mark Twain was one of the most violent, vilest pits downtown. It sucked up more police resources than any two other buildings. (And it sat right outside One Bell.)
One other bit of trivia: Amos himself lived in the Mark Twain during its rehab.
Before Amos bought it, refurbished it, and began managing it, the Mark Twain was one of the most violent, vilest pits downtown. It sucked up more police resources than any two other buildings. (And it sat right outside One Bell.)
One other bit of trivia: Amos himself lived in the Mark Twain during its rehab.
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ecoabsence wrote:We talk about the positive impact of residential density, income diversity, and the desirability of mixes of types of housing downtown. Then we pile on the Mark Twain, even suggesting closing it down. Huh? The Mark Twain is an SRO, an important part of a functioning urban downtown. The Mark Twain provides decent housing to the poor, migrant workers, the disabled and others who may otherwise end up living homeless or far from employment, transit or services. The Mark Twain is an integral part to a diverse downtown. Amos Harris has done a good job rehabbing it and keeping it orderly. He's a smart developer to take a risk on an SRO against the grain of infinite condominium conversion. Not only does the Twain help keep downtown diverse, it is an investment that is unaffected by the housing market downturn.
Well stated! I still wonder why the Post-Dispatch ran that story, because if memory serves me right, I'm rather certain this isn't the first time someone in the media has pointed out the unusually large number of registered sex offenders living at that address. It seems like Amos Harris has made this a stable environment, so as long as the building is maintained and stable, and the residents within are doing no harm to others, why shouldn't they stay where they are?
You guys are right. I think we should convert more hotels and buildings in the city center into housing for sex offenders! We could be the sex offender capital of the country; it would be our niche. We could change the city slogan to "St. Lou is all within Reacharound" or possibly "Flash Me in St. Louis," or the entirely too obvious "St. Louis: 'What halfway house did you go too?'"
/"Meat me in St. Louis"
//"St. Louis, Let Me Show it To You"
By the way, these are all now copyrighted for STL-Style
/"Meat me in St. Louis"
//"St. Louis, Let Me Show it To You"
By the way, these are all now copyrighted for STL-Style
TGE-ATW wrote:You guys are right. I think we should convert more hotels and buildings in the city center into housing for sex offenders! We could be the sex offender capital of the country; it would be our niche. We could change the city slogan to "St. Lou is all within Reacharound" or possibly "Flash Me in St. Louis," or the entirely too obvious "St. Louis: 'What halfway house did you go too?'"
/"Meat me in St. Louis"
//"St. Louis, Let Me Show it To You"
By the way, these are all now copyrighted for STL-Style
All together now!!
Meet me in the men's room, men's room, meet me in the stall.
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^ Work in a "wide stance" reference in honor of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho, and you've got yourself a catchy little ditty.
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You really want to be impressed with that building?
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
I found this from a writing messageboard that I frequent. Thread name: It's like Google Earth, but for rape!
Put in the address for the Mark Twain: 205 North Ninth Street. Note that multiple hits may arise per location, especially at the Mark Twain. The name of each offender registered to the location pops up, as well as their pictures, their convictions, and any aliases they may have used beforehand.
It's such a big number, I'm past any sense of shock and am actually impressed and in awe at the sheer numbers of pederasts and rapists in that building. It really is amazing.
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
I found this from a writing messageboard that I frequent. Thread name: It's like Google Earth, but for rape!
Put in the address for the Mark Twain: 205 North Ninth Street. Note that multiple hits may arise per location, especially at the Mark Twain. The name of each offender registered to the location pops up, as well as their pictures, their convictions, and any aliases they may have used beforehand.
It's such a big number, I'm past any sense of shock and am actually impressed and in awe at the sheer numbers of pederasts and rapists in that building. It really is amazing.
TGE-ATW wrote:You guys are right. I think we should convert more hotels and buildings in the city center into housing for sex offenders! We could be the sex offender capital of the country; it would be our niche. We could change the city slogan to "St. Lou is all within Reacharound" or possibly "Flash Me in St. Louis," or the entirely too obvious "St. Louis: 'What halfway house did you go too?'"
/"Meat me in St. Louis"
//"St. Louis, Let Me Show it To You"
By the way, these are all now copyrighted for STL-Style
You missed the all too obvious slogan......."Show Me"
https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... -sale.html
Mark Twin Hotel up for sale after planned redevelopment apparently has fallen through. Building is being listed for $7 million.
Mark Twin Hotel up for sale after planned redevelopment apparently has fallen through. Building is being listed for $7 million.
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Mark Twin Hotel up for sale after planned redevelopment apparently has fallen through.
Not surprised as the Le Méridien down the street and around the corner sits unoccupied
Not surprised as the Le Méridien down the street and around the corner sits unoccupied
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Conversion to Hilton is back on.chris fuller wrote: ↑Jun 28, 2025Mark Twin Hotel up for sale after planned redevelopment apparently has fallen through.
Not surprised as the Le Méridien down the street and around the corner sits unoccupied