DEVELOPMENT COMING SOON

 

A beautiful but derelict building in midtown St. Louis. As with many buildings its age, it has lovely architectural ornaments in danger of ruin. This one, though, is going to make it back. The banner says that redevelopment is sponsored by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation. It is a wonderful organization that has restored a swath of our midtown area for the visual and performing arts, including the St. Louis Fringe Festival, with which I am very involved.                     

AT THE LIBRARY

You probably didn't know that there is an International Photography Hall of Fame. It's even more unlikely that you know it's located here. From time to time IPHF and excellent local photographer Richard Sprengler put on workshops in architectural photography, concentrating on our local building heritage. 

One such program was held yesterday at the St. Louis Public Library's Central Branch. It opened in 1912 and became worn over the decades. A massive restoration and addition of a new wing led to its reopening in 2012. It's gorgeous inside and we will head there next.            

BAD MOOD

Redevelopment in downtown St. Louis is very hit and miss. Lots of old commercial buildings have been rehabbed into apartments, even a couple into new hotels. There are plenty of restaurants and much new construction around the baseball stadium aimed at people with money to burn. On the other hand, there are lots of vacant storefronts. This is the facade of a theater that has been out of business a long time. There are lots of other venues along the central corridor of the city so no reason or money to do something with this one.

And so it sits there and erodes. No wonder the faces in this frieze are unhappy.         

Restoration

I have a bad shoulder. The physical therapy place I'm going to is downtown, a couple of blocks from my office. We are trying to restore more function. The PT office faces the street and has floor to ceiling windows. While lying on my side on the table early this morning, I watched the workers start their day on restoration of an old office building, the one on the right. 

It has been empty for several years, bringing more downtown decay. I'm told it is being remodeled into a boutique hotel. That's great, but I hope it has enough business. I've read that the downtown hotel occupancy rate isn't that great. And there is a very similar project two blocks away.

Love the geometry of the parking garage in the mid-ground.         

A Small Renaissance

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The Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library was built a century ago. It was designed in the Beaux Arts style by the prominent architect Cass Gilbert, whose other work includes the St. Louis Art Museum, the U. S. Supreme Court, the Woolworth Building in New York and the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and West Virginia. The library is one of our city's most magnificent buildings.

Like any structure of that age, it had grown a bit musty. Library technology had surpassed its resources. Through a mix of public and private funds, it has gone through a loving two year restoration. The grand reopening is tomorrow and I plan to be there. I've heard it's a knockout.

I stopped by on my way home from work yesterday to get some night shots. Images of the public debut should start going up here on Monday.

Restoration: Behind the Scenes

Over the last few weeks, I've had a couple of posts about the Chase Park Plaza, St. Louis' grandest old hotel, and the restoration work that is restoring its glory and bringing it into the 21st Century. The lower of the two conjoined buildings, the Chase, has undergone complete renovation of all the hotel rooms. The upper two-thirds of the tower, the Park Plaza, is being converted to luxury condominiums, The Residences at the Chase Park Plaza. One of the parters in the project saw my first post on the topic and invited me over to photograph the work.

We start in one of the construction elevators. I think the blue paper covering the floor buttons is crazy design. The fluorescent light inside the rough elevator and the tungsten light in the hallway make a color riot. It reminded me of a Robert Rauschenberg construction. More over the next few days.