Fires in TGS

While working in Marti's Garden in early June I noticed a column of smoke rising from the train tracks. That was the first of a series of small fires on the tracks and large piles of ties were being burned. It just wasn't one pile of ties but many spread out over an eighth of a mile. I noticed ties burning three separate times over the last two months.

Recent reports from neighbors include a car and a van being set on fire in alleys. There's also been other alley fires.
A mattress was placed against this fence and ignited.

And on another block:

A lucky day

I dropped my car at Carl's today and strolled along Roger Place.
Horse shoe laid in the pavement in front of a garage.

The stone wall isn't original to the building but it matches the foundation stones.

How to prevent perching on the wall:

Morgan Ford is the New South Grand

Seriously.
Morgan Ford (MGF) is the new S. Grand. Both TFA and the Vintage Haberdashery have moved west.

The first new businesses started a few years ago: Grove Furnishings and the Tin Can. Three Monkeys followed along with Local Harvest Market and Local Harvest Cafe. The New Amsterdam Bar opened last year. A great blend of retail and restaurants and a 7-11. Coming soon, a bakery, and a new restaurant on MGF and Connecticut.

Local Harvest Cafe has an appetizer that's divine. It's a sampler cheese plate. Get it to go, let it sit covered for a day, and allow the cheese to reach room temperature. It's the best way to experience the favors.

These metal sculpture appeared on MGF yesterday.
Rocket in front of TFA:

Best of Show! Bubbles in front of the car wash:

The Tower Pub has an almost empty beer mug:

The Tin Can Bar and Grille with a pull top:

Stella Blues (currently closed):

Not on MGF but in North City. I've coveted that red Sputnik light for decades.

3800 Humphrey in Tower Grove South

These speckled bricks have such a low sheen if I hadn't noticed a dull glare as I passed I wouldn't have known they were glazed.
Tragic that the dyed pink mortar is popping out.



This block has some great stone faced buildings:

White dogwood blossoms in front of white stones.



Perma-stone. It's fake and a bad fix.

Third floor windows vary from house to house and one still has leaded panes..



Ouch. Painted limestone.

One of the unique, cohesive (and now lost) architectural features in our cities were the gold and black numbers above the doors and many still remain. What interesting industry.

When I was a child we visited the family doctor in the Arcade Building downtown. All of the office doors had the same gold lettering and numbers. When office tenants changed, we'd see workers removing the lettering with a blade.

The gold numerals start to disappear west of Kingshighway in the South part of the city.

A means first floor:



Oops: home depot doors with tiny windows and no transoms.

3964 McDonald Ave

This is a reprint of my first blog post.
Shortly after taking this photo the house sold to a hooiser (or red neck if you're not native to St. Louis) contractor who removed the beveled glass because it 'looks old'.
It was a very bad day for me.
I took a brief tour of the house when he was remodeling. He removed the original quarter saw oak door and replace it with a door from home depot. Can you freaking believe that? He also ripped out the entire basement saying it was outdated. My dad and mom had built three rooms in the basement (loads of kids in that one bedroom bungalow) with plenty of storage space: built in closets, a book case and two drop down desk tops. Two toy chest were built into one wall with cushions on the top. The other side of the basement was the laundry, the scary furnace and a wall of closets with my parents clothing. It was there I found the suit my mother wore when she married in 1948 and my first introduction to vintage clothing.

Monday, July 10, 2006
3964 McDonald Ave
This is where it all began, 3964 McDonald Ave in the Tower Grove South area of St. Louis. My childhood home! I now live less than a mile from the one bedroom Craftsman bungalow.

I love the brass mailbox and beveled glass address plate. I used to polish it when I was a kid. It expands into a box inside the wall with an interior flap door. I would run my fingers over the surrounding brick, fascinated with the crevices and various values of color. Original black mortar.
I loves me some brick.

Mann School Closing-Open Meeting 2/23/08

Mann School is one of the St. Louis public schools projected to be closed. It's the largest school, over half of a city block. Click on the subject line to read the AIA St. Louis Response to the Comprehensive Facilities Review.

It's not my intention to discuss the politics of STPS.
The complex physics of the lives affected is more important to me as a resident of Tower Grove South than the math of STPS bottom line. I also concerned about a mammoth building being shuttered in TGS but that's at the bottom of my list.

There's 250 students at Mann which is operating at capacity.
I asked Mann principal, Brian Zimmerman about the number of children living in TGS: 200 and for 52% of them English is a second language.

These children are from refugee families where the parents speak less English than their children. Who will advocate for these families? Who will explain to them the complex politics involved in their neighborhood school closing? And, what will the impact of the shuttered building have on Tower Grove South?

Concerned with these issues, The TGS Block Captain Steering Committee (a group of five volunteers here in TGS) are holding an open meeting at Mann School on Monday, Feb. 23 at 7 PM.

Speakers:
Brian Zimmerman, principal of Mann
Andrew Gondzur, President, PTO Mullanphy School and TGS block Captain Coordinator
Chad Beffa
Holly Knights of Urban Future, a program housed within Mann School.
Ariel Burgess. Director of Resettlement, International Institute.
15th Ward Alderwoman Jennifer Florida.
Michael Allen of the Ecology of Absence blog: http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/ (the only blog I make the time to read)

Unconfirmed Speakers:
Mayor Slay
Cara Jensen of OPEN SLPS

Please join us at this meeting,:
Feb. 23 at 7 PM at Mann school gym (on the east end of the building).

On a recent visit to Mann I found a copy of the original plans by Ittner. What I like best about Mann School is the two copper vents on the roof. They serve to cool the building in the summer and vent the boiler in the winter. One hundred years after being built they are sill functional.

Garabungalow

Click on the title to read the Garabungalow info I found on the web.
This building is located across the alley from my garage and its puzzled me over a decade. There's no garage door facing the alley just bricked in windows.

I stalked it until last year when new neighbors arrived and I wrangled an invitation into the back yard and confirmed my suspicion that this building housed the original owner while the Big House was being built in front of the Lot.

The garage door that exists in the front of the building was added during the early 60's. This info comes from another neighbor who has lived on my block for 50 years. It's also the only home on the block that has a drive way from the front to the back.

Beau likes to get in my photos. See that white blur? That's why his native name is Running Cloud.

I think these are the original entry doors. Door on the left has a mail slot.

Brick flu for the stove:

Oak floor boards:

Alley view with bricked in windows.