A Bottle Restored

Just north of downtown, a couple of vacant lots beyond the football-dome-without-a-team, lies a rehaber's fantasy called The Bottle District. It proved to be another St. Louis restoration project that fizzled.

The name comes from a local icon, a huge model of a bottle of Vess Lemon Lime soda. Vess is a soft drink brand that has been made and sold in St. Louis for a century. The bottle has been there for as long as I can remember and had become rather decrepit. With no fanfare, someone brought it back to mint condition earlier this summer. Don't know who or why. Maybe it's a good sign.