st. louis
The St. Louis Public Library’s Central Library branch (pictured at top) is an architectural marvel both inside and out. But, psst—you don’t always have to whisper in there. Regular free concerts, in fact, are part of its ‘Not So Quiet’ series. On May 16, enjoy the unique tone and high-energy delivery of Drea Vocalz, a St. Louis native who draws from her authentic experiences of city life. May is abundant with an array of lectures, presentations … and a children’s play. On May 18, Bright Star Touring Theatre presents The Velveteen Rabbit, based on Margery Williams Blanco’s beloved tale of childhood and imagination. If you’ve never visited the Central Library, what the heck have you been doing for the last 107 years? (Designed by Cass Gilbert, the building at 13th and Olive was completed in 1912.)
webster groves
The colorful image of a long-haired dude in the poster for this year’s Cigar Box Guitar Festival, May 31 and June 1 at Hwy 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen, looks like 1970s axe shredder and prouder-than-hell NRA member Ted Nugent. Is that a coincidence? No matter. The Nuge likes to kill animals with bow and arrow, too. Anyhow, cigar box guitars seem like they’d sound kind of bluesy, Bo Diddly-ish, but Nugent plays heavy guitar. With an album titled Stranglehold, he didn’t play lullabies for napping. I can’t imagine Nugent playing acoustic anything. But back to cigar box guitars: Using an empty cigar box as a resonator, modern models typically have three or more strings. Generally, the strings are connected to the end of a broomstick. How quaint. But put pickups on one and plug it in. Then, you can turn it up to 11. Well, why not make your own at the Roadhouse in Webster Groves? For real. And there will be vendors and a craft show. If you’re not into arts and crafts, stick around to hear everything from surf guitar to rockabilly. If your playing is awful, you can always blame it on the inferior cigar box. (You know, it should’ve contained Cubans.)
the metro
Scandal, anyone? Once the lurid flap over Eric Greitens and his alleged sleazy behavior faded into the background, we heard nary a peep from the disgraced former Missouri governor. We never heard anything from him anyhow. Notoriously media-wary, Greitens wasn’t one to give interviews about anything (even policy), and least of all a peep regarding the alleged tawdry affair with his hairstylist/paramour. And there’s no regional ‘apologist’ counterpart to the FOX cable news network in NYC to allow politicians free rein to whine about how unfairly they’ve been treated at the hands of the Deep State, the media, or whatever. (May we hear a ‘boo’ and a ‘hoo’? Anybody?) Mike Parson has been governor since June, I’m pretty sure. Yeah, that’s his name. No news about Parson is good news, I guess.
But it’s boring. Well, stop the presses: Now we have plenty of Rod Blagojevich-style shenanigans right here at home, most of it rated PG so far (except for bleep-ridden recordings), what with the federal indictment and swift resignation of Steve Stenger, accused of a pay-to-play scheme as St. Louis County exec. In a one-two punch April 29, Stenger was indicted and resigned. The same day, a chief adviser resigned; for weeks, staffers were dropping like peel off a banana. Now what? Before Stenger resigned, a group had been collecting donations on behalf of Mark Mantovani, the opponent Stenger edged out by a hair in the last election. Maybe he’ll try again in 2020. Until federal subpoenas popped up last month, which Stenger said had nothing to do with him, he was poised to rocket into the future as the ‘metro mayor’ under the Better Together plan to merge the city and county. Meanwhile, he hired noted criminal attorney Scott Rosenblum. Hmmm. Well, it all happened so fast. Mantovani won’t be tapped for the metro mayor gig, if anybody ever gets to do such a thing. Dr. Sam Page, council chair, was chosen 5-1 in an emergency meeting to replace Stenger as county executive. Page is an anesthesiologist who served as a state rep in the early aughts, was elected to the council in 2014 and has been chair since 2017. He’ll serve at least until the winner of the 2020 general election is sworn in. Page was having none of Stenger’s alleged foolishness during his tenure, constantly sparring with Stenger’s administration for its cozy dealings with campaign donors. The indictment, following a year-long investigation, is damning. This gun is smoking: voicemails rich with expletives—plus names, names and more names. Stenger, 47, has pleaded guilty.
richmond heights
Why is the dateline for this item Richmond Heights? Because there used to be a Glik’s store there at the Galleria. Used to be another at West County Center. But when it comes to our next ‘for whom the bell tolls’ bricks-and-mortar retail ring-a-ding-ding thing, you won’t hear a knell for Glik’s anytime soon. New stores are planned this year in small midwestern towns. Big cities, not so much. Glik’s has been around for more than 120 years, and by taking smallish growth steps in a reasonable time frame, it plans to be around for a century more. If you want to shop Glik’s in the metro, you’ll need to pop online or venture into the wilds of Illinois: Granite City. (Hey, it’s closer to downtown than Chesterfield!) The Missouri stores are in Farmington and two college towns, Columbia and Kirksville. In 2015, Glik’s expanded its Saugatuck, Michigan, store by 2,480 square feet, or about 40 percent. Glik’s has stores all along the tony Michigan lake shore. CEO Jeff Glik told our Business Journal that year that his company prefers smaller towns. Fewer retailers compete, space is cheaper, and typically employee turnover and customer theft are lower. Sounds like you actually could make a living there, whereas stores like Sears, JCPenney, Macy’s, Dillard’s—ad infinitum—don’t represent the growth side of the retail segment.
notable neighbor: prospect yards
The district on both sides of the Grand Boulevard viaduct between SLU and its under-construction hospital is a mishmash of abandoned industrial buildings, railroad tracks, deteriorating streets that go nowhere anymore, and graffiti galore. Sometimes, first impressions are hell. So, let’s try again. Travel east along the depressed section of I-64/Hwy. 40, and to the north you’ll get a glimpse of the City Foundry complex under restoration. It’s kind of hard to see from the elevated section as you head west … but hey, there’s IKEA! And to the south, that awesome neon sign with the eagle flapping! Well, you need to look closer … much, much closer. If not, you’ll miss The Armory, an architectural gem that’s being brought back to life by developer Phil Hulse of Green Street St. Louis, one of several companies dedicated to making it even more wonderful than the tennis arena and music venue it was in halcyon days. The iconic Art Deco structure is to be central to a revitalized urban area that will tie together office space, residences, eat-and-drinkeries and entertainment venues, not to mention a greenway—in short, it will make a hard-to-access area easy to get to and get around in. “It’s a heavy lift,” Hulse says. “But a good one.”
The Armory itself, with about 300,000 square feet of space on three floors, is a jaw-dropper—massive enough for hockey. Sports is a rich part of its history. An interactive display will feature Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors and the other metro tennis greats who competed there. Grateful Dead fans scratched their curious itch for aimless jamming in The Armory; Moby Grape played there, too. Built in 1935, its original use included a cavernous space for the 138th Infantry, Missouri National Guard, to drill. But that was way back in the 1930s, when Bernard Dickmann was mayor. Here and now, sustainability is key to the retrofit, as it’s a primary focus of all Green Street projects. Solar panels will cover the south-facing slope of the vast roof. Enormous flat spaces on either side will serve not only as patio space for office workers, but also as rooftop gardens. Hulse is gratified by how many share his vision, from developers and architects to the men and women who wear tool belts with their hard hats eight hours a day. “We’re creating a community, not just a place for people coming and going,” Hulse says. “To make a city cool, everyone has to be rowing in the same direction.” Entrepreneurs, millennials, bicyclists, artists, musicians, craft-brew aficionados—anyone and everyone who shares a dream for the StL to continue its metamorphosis into a vibrant, diverse new city with ‘great bones’—couldn’t agree more. Visit greenstreetstl.com.
