st. louis
You say you’ve had your fill of holiday house tours already? Maybe it’s time for a European jaunt to enjoy some architectural finery. And, if you can’t make it to see the Vatican, Pantheon or Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library anytime soon, a tour of the ornate Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library will give you a taste of each. An architectural trifecta, if you will—and more—Central Library boasts some of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts and Neo-Classical architecture anywhere in the country. Designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert and completed in 1912, the impressive structure occupies a full city block downtown, at 1301 Olive St. (with Locust on the north edge of the block, and 13th and 14th streets delineating the east and west borders). Exquisite replicas of landmarks from the Old Country bring the Italian Renaissance to life in the heart of downtown. A $70 million renovation was completed in 2012, and it showcases a masterly blend of classical and modern architectural styles, while taking great pains to preserve the stunning building for generations to come. It’s a feast for the eyeballs: Regularly scheduled, docent-led tours are available for individuals and groups under 10 people on Mondays and Saturdays on a walk-in basis. Docents greet patrons at the large wooden desk in the Great Hall. Tours begin on the hour. For private tours and groups of 10 or more, a reservation is required. Pictured at top.
chesterfield
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals could be developing more advanced and life-saving cures in Chesterfield by 2020 on 32 acres at the corner of Olive Boulevard and Chesterfield Parkway, if all goes according to plan. Part of consolidating R&D operations in the metro, it would bring together facilities from an existing Chesterfield location and another in Weldon Spring, at Missouri Research Park just across the Missouri River in St. Charles County. Officials say construction of a $200 million building should begin next year. An additional 80 new positions are projected to complement the 450 already here, with the focus on furthering vaccines and cancer therapies for clinical trials. This is encouraging news, considering the loss of company jobs here in 2009, when 600 of 1,000 positions moved from the Lou to Cambridge, Massachusetts, following Pfizer’s $68 billion purchase of Wyeth. It doesn’t appear as though there will be layoffs this go-round. (When did consolidation become something of an epithet?)
kirkwood
Coloring books for adults? No, no Minions or Disney princesses in these. They’re generally quite a bit more complicated than that, and folks 18 and older … sometimes much older, or younger in some cases … may relax while filling in complex line drawings from nature, urban views or historical scenes. And not with fat Crayolas, or even the 64-crayon box, but with colored pencils that need to be kept somewhat sharp whether filling in the detailed Art Deco geometric patterns atop the Chrysler Building in New York, or the wings of an exotic butterfly. Now, primary-color lovers and aficionados of subtle tone and hue can tackle St. Louis Splendor: An Adult Coloring Book by Jo Ann Kargus. Take a few days to fill in one of 50 drawings: perhaps a summer scene at Ted Drewes (with about 150 too few people in it), or try your hand at a favorite rendering of the Missouri Botanical Garden, with Dale Chihuly glassworks in the lily pond and the Climatron in the background. Kargus, an architectural illustrator who now lives and works in Imperial but started out in a Kirkwood studio, did the renderings, and The Bug Store in Kirkwood held a book signing for her last month. Upcoming signings are at The Service Bureau in Clayton (Dec. 16, noon to 2 p.m.), with two more coming up at County Library branches (Natural Bridge, Dec. 13; Grant’s View, Dec. 19) as the holidays unfold. The book can be found locally at The Bug Store, Left Bank Books, City Museum and about a dozen other locations throughout the metro, and also is available on Amazon. Kargus says the book, now in its second printing, will be complemented in the spring with another volume focusing on familiar landmarks from far and wide … but her publisher, Reedy Press, advises her to keep mum on those images should a competing artist start sketching furiously.
clayton
As of Nov. 28, parking rates in Clayton increased from a buck to $1.50 per hour. So, that’s $3 for the maximum at a meter, which is two hours. Re-feeding the meter won’t cut you any slack, especially if the meter cart operator chalks your tire to check whether you’ve simply moved the car. That gets you into overtime, even if you, say, move the car from one space to another in the row, metered lot or an upcoming ‘Park Once’ zone, which means you can’t finagle a longer period simply by moving the vehicle to a different space. ‘After the initial parking, the vehicle would need to be gone for 2 hours before returning to the zone,’ the city advises. Have parking anxiety? Well, there’s soon to be an app for that. Come next month, PassportParking will be an easy way to save some hassle via a mobile phone. No more quarters or running to check the meter; just park, pay and be on your way. If you need more time, you can extend your parking session from anywhere using the app. You also can check to see how much time you have left in your session and get a reminder 10 minutes before it expires. There’s no bonus time for the technologically advanced, however: Two hours is two hours. Of course, this is all during regular business hours; parking is gratis before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m., plus all day on weekends and holidays. But there’s more expensive news: Parking tickets will cost more come next month, as well. Harrumph. Want to protest by parking in St. Louis and walking? That may get you plenty of exercise but won’t save you any coin: Rates in heavily trafficked areas downtown went up from $1 to $1.50 per hour in July.
frontenac
Black Friday came a day late for Saks Fifth Avenue at Plaza Frontenac, when a group of burglars ran in, smashed display cases and made off with pricey purses, then led police from multiple jurisdictions on a 60-mile chase into Illinois before a spike strip disabled the thieves’ car. The wild caper began mid-morning Saturday, Nov. 26, when Saks was sacked of Chanel handbags, and wound up when eight men were taken into custody on I-55 northbound near Farmersville. The vehicle, an SUV with temporary Illinois plates, must have been awfully crowded with so many knuckleheads and handbags bouncing around inside. Much of the merchandise was recovered, but it’s likely that more was inside a second car, which at press time had not been located. Luckily, no shoppers or store personnel were hurt; no shots were fired during the arrests. In this case, a criminal Christmas may have been averted. This crooked behavior may not be as Scrooge-y as running off with a Salvation Army kettle right under the nose of a bell-ringer, but it would still turn the Grinch green with envy. Greener, that is.