urbanSTL

I've been thinking off and on for a while now about what Jefferson County could do to be a better part of the region. In light of what I wrote above about expansion of the ZMD requiring a non-compete agreement, I wrote wrote up a proposal for how Jeffco could put money into the region's flagship institutions without dividing their resources.

Specifically, in the event that Jeffco joined the ZMD, I think the Botanical Gardens and the Zoo should build paleontology and paleobotany centers in Mastodon State Park and make a museum for Pleistocene Megafauna and the flora they ate.

Obviously this would be done with whatever revenue could be collected in Jefferson County from the expanded district. It would not drain the Forest Park effort, but hopefully contribute to it.

Thoughts?

The National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC has expanded their influence to the median of the boulevard that goes in front of their building.
My blog on that here.

Related to the pylon moving mentioned above and the often mentioned idea of putting gateway arches or something over the entrances to Forest Park, why not start an effort with Forest Park Forever to project the location of each institution in the park into the city.

The History Museum has an old streetcar parked outside it. That's good, but maybe Lindell along the park and going north as far as the metrolink station could be made more retro with random artifacts from the region's history. Put in historic sewer lids and advertise for events that happened 50 years ago. Maybe the Build Art Foundation and the History Museum together could come up with some weather resistent exhibits. The residents of the houses along the street would need to all agree though.

The Art Museum should really take over Fine Arts Drive and Lagoon as far as Skinker and then all of Skinker. Mosaic the road, put up bizarre sculptures, have rotating 6 month installations, set up podiums for human statues all along the way, etc.

The Zoo should take a dozen or so of Bob Cassilly's oversized concrete animals and dominate the Hampton Concourse. When people drive along 40, they should see a new zoo pylon that's a replica of the old one, but 10 times bigger with concrete apes hanging off it. Make that stretch of the highway completely wild.

The Science Center has already done an excellent job of bridging the city and the park. They could make a new DNA bridge maybe like the double-helix bridge in Singapore. Replicate some famous experiments in a bigger scale so drivers along the highway can understand them after driving by five or six times.

The new Shriner's Hosipital hopes to put art on the side of their interstate-facing parking garage. We should go with it. Let the Wash U Medical Complex claim Kingshighway and part of the eastern edge of the park. Not claim with buildings and expansion, but with artwork following a medical theme. Make cars on Kingshighway feel like blood vessals. One side red, one side blue, with weird floaty things all around. Imagine people saying, "Meet me by the lamp post half eaten by a white blood cell." Meet me by the statue of the doctor examining colestoral build up on the side of the Chase... hahaha

If all this was done in just a small token way the boundaries of the park could be completely changed. Art to the west, history to the north, doctors to the east, animals, beakers, and test tubes to the south. At the corners, interesting things can happen. The I-64/Kingshighway Cloverleaf could be dedicated to medical research. Kingshighway and Lindell would be about St. Louis Doctors of the past. The Wash U Circle could be full of art history and local stuff like regionalism. Lower Skinker could feature more animals gradually until the transition at I-64.

This can be done slowly over time, but Forest Park forever ought to consider it. The Animals Always sculpture by the zoo is a good start.

Mayor Slay tweeted something about a pedestrian bridge at the zoo. Does anyone have details or pictures about that?

The Science Center has turned 25 and stresses not its new $9.5 million dollar wing, but it's growing educational outreach programs and it's ability to bring in big events.