st. charles | As convention center expansion plans in St. Louis flounder and potential business goes elsewhere, the deep-pocketed casino industry has called an audible in St. Charles with plans for a multimillion-dollar renovation of the space at the Ameristar Hotel and Casino. Check that. Officially, it’s Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles, and if all goes according to plan, its convention space will have tripled by the fall of 2025. Ameristar officials say 3 million visitors annually enjoy its ‘resort spa,’ which will be expanded by 43,000 square feet. But the potential for all this extra business poses a challenge: Where are you going to lodge these extra guests? With a shortage of hotel rooms in St. Charles and environs already, overnight visitors may have to travel back over the bridge and stay nearer the airport or head west—where? To Warrenton, which is more than a half-hour drive away? Well, the casino’s 397 existing hotel rooms are being ‘refreshed,’ but plans for more were not discussed. A company official didn’t try to tackle that issue, of chief concern to Dan Borgmeyer, mayor of St. Charles. Boyd Gaming of Nevada, which has owned the complex since 2018, has rolled out its $100-million capital-improvement plans for the renovations and expansion in St. Charles—in Las Vegas, the company plans to build yet another mind-boggling property. We hear that the Sands isn’t out there anymore, and besides, the Rat Pack are all dearly departed. But somebody says there’s a replica of the Eiffel Tower at one place, and color-changing, ‘dancing’ fountains at another. I mean, what will the filthy-rich casino operators think of next, a pyramid? Wait … maybe a colosseum.
manchester
Imagine hearing chamber music in a chamber as big as the outdoors! Well, that’s what’s in store as our Chamber Project St. Louis rolls out its 17th season with the “Summer Sounds” program at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 in Manchester’s Schroeder Park Amphitheater. The free concert will have open seating for 80 people and will be available under the amphitheater pavilion with the ensemble. Picnic tables and lawn seating are available to the sides. Restrooms are available. The performance will be held indoors in the Park Event Room if weather prohibits the musicians from playing outdoors. The program is as follows:
- ☛ Jessie Montgomery: “Voodoo Dolls”
- ☛ Mourton Gould: “Benny’s Gig”
- ☛ W.A. Mozart: “Clarinet Quintet”
- ☛ Leonard Bernstein: “One Hand, One Heart”
- ☛ Scott Joplin: “Bethena”
- ☛ Antonín Dvořák: “String Quintet No. 2”
I don’t know whether they’re taking requests, but I’d sure love to hear this ensemble’s rendition of “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts. That song makes me feel fine.
downtown west
With all the laments about prime office space stacking up empty downtown, it’s encouraging that significant business moves are being made elsewhere in the city. Downtown West has made a name for itself not only because of the new stadium for our hometown football team (that’s what they call soccer most everywhere else in the world, of course), but small and medium moves are being made all the time in the nearby Locust Business District, whether with lofts or galleries and what-have-you. Well, hold on to your hairpieces: $150 million in new investment by TierPoint, a leading provider of secure connected IT platform solutions, will transform the former NSI Building, 130,000 square feet and six stories built in 1914 at 2300 Locust, into a new St. Louis data center. The street level of the building, which occupies a city block, was a showroom for new automobiles back in the day, as were many other vintage buildings along Locust and the surrounding blocks. Also an auto warehouse, and now on the National Register of Historic Places, it underwent renovations in 2018. Still under development, the data center will be integral to one of the largest and most geographically diversified footprints in the nation, improving proximity and access for client companies and their users, TierPoint officials say. A major thrust of TierPoint’s business is helping clients navigate the complexities inherent in the cloud. The company’s HQ is in Des Peres. After completing its first data center in Dallas in 2010, TierPoint now has 40 of them in 20 markets nationwide. The new acquisition will add to the company’s presence throughout the metro, with one data center already downtown on Olive Street and another in Maryland Heights.
notable neighbors
sunset hills
The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar presence in St. Louis, which is why Mark Braun of Sunset Hills isn’t close to retiring—again, that is. Co-chairman of the IPHF board with Bob Bishop and a fine photographer in his own right (the photo accompanying Braun’s portrait is his monochrome of Convict Lake in California), Braun already retired from a 30-year career with a company that’s always had its ups and downs, literally: Otis Elevator. And just to get this question off the tip of your tongue, Braun is a Cleveland high school graduate; that is, the rust-belt metropolis on Lake Erie, not the high school in the Lou. And he’s one of the busier retirees you’d ever hope to meet. “Nowadays, I spend three to five hours daily working on the business of the hall,” he says. “My hope is to make it truly international.” Central to this goal are the regular international photo competitions sponsored by IPHF. The entry period for the latest juried competition, “Earth Stories, Landscape and Human Activities,” closes Oct. 3. The broad theme: Human beings as an integral part of the biosphere and the consequences of our actions. Think globally, act locally through your own photos—share the stories that surround you and interpret humanity’s impact, positive or negative, on the landscape, cityscape and our neighborhoods. Select works will be included in an online exhibition at iphf.org. As with any artistic enterprise, from writing to music and the visual arts, the IPHF is concerned about the increasing influence of A.I. So was the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple. Passionate about photography both personally and professionally, Jobs is in the hall for the iPhone, his most profound contribution to the artistic community and the world. In less than a decade, the device has changed both the art of photography and the industry at large. The hall celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2025, but it had only been in town since 2013, above the Moto Museum on Olive Street in the Grand Center Arts District. In 2022, the board decided not to renew the lease, and the vast collection of photographs, cameras and other photographic equipment has been warehoused in Fenton, at the ready for traveling exhibitions or anywhere a unique historical retrospective is desired: Exhibits have been specially designed for easy installation in museums, galleries, and elsewhere. “A permanent location is always in the future,” he emphasizes. “That’s why I’m putting all my time into it!” Chief among his efforts is continuing to build the online community. There’ll be a pop-up in late October, exact date TBD, at High Low in Grand Center to spotlight the work of recent honorees. And on Nov. 1 at 6 p.m., this new group will be feted at a gathering that’s not simply another annual gala; it’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in the artistry that defines the essence of photography. .Zack is the hosting venue. Meanwhile, see the work of all HOF luminaries—from Ansel Adams, Pete Souza and Richard Avedon to Diane Arbus, Annie Leibovitz and Margaret Bourke-White, plus info and images from this year’s inductees—at iphf.org. Please view more gems from Braun’s body of work at braunsoriginals.com.
