Monday, February 2, 2015

A Walk Down Cherokee Street

Jefferson and Cherokee

The corner of Jefferson and Cherokee in south St. Louis. To the west lies the funkiest commercial strip in the city. It was once a busy neighborhood shopping street. Then our vast suburban sprawl drained the city proper. Cherokee Street went vacant and desolate. STL's modest Hispanic population is centered around the area and eventually a couple of Latino groceries and taquerias opened. Rent was cheap; artists' workspaces and galleries followed. Then some odd-ball retail, more Mexican and Central American eateries, and one new bar and eclectic restaurant after another. There is even a small batch whiskey distillery.

The strip starts with a joint serving every beverage you need. The crude statue on the corner is supposed to be a Native American of the Cherokee tribe. There is no explanation of the tablet he holds but I zoomed in on it and did a little research. It is written in the Cherokee language, whose syllabary was devised by the tribe member Sequoyah in the early 19th Century. I wish there was a translation.

                              

8 comments:

  1. Every neighborhood changes over time-

    I read an interesting article about how many young people are now moving TO Detroit.

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  2. A strange combination of signs here. Trams and cherokee shopping on the pedestal of the statue with a traditional statue above.

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  3. Good catch with the woman posed in a similar way to the statue. At first I thought he was holding a tablet...the electronic kind.

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  4. That's a brilliant outcome Bob.. what goes around comes around as they say :)

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  5. I think it says he is looking help with a Social Security disability claim.

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