creve coeur
Lower-income seniors’ dreams of a pleasant and affordable place to live out their retirement years have come to fruition. The ribbon has been cut at Covenant Place, opening the second section of a planned three-phase, $84 million project on the grounds of The J in Creve Coeur. The Cahn Family Building, at four stories and 111,697 square feet, features 102 affordable onebedroom apartments. Notable is the Mirowitz Center with HJ’s Café—a 19,000-square-foot community center serving the needs of Covenant Place residents and older adults throughout the county. By design, Mirowitz brings healthcare providers and community resources together in a single location. The new complex features a bank, access to the county library bookmobile, and other amenities including:
Washington University Geriatric Primary Care Physicians
RPI Therapy Services
Center for Hearing and Speech programs
Aging Ahead programs and services
Social spaces and meeting places for classes, programs and events
Whenever space is available, low-income residents are welcome, with rent based on income. About 88 percent of Covenant I residents and 99 percent of Covenant II residents have annual incomes of less than $30,000.
umsl Two of the most familiar sculptures in the metro are about as different as ice and fire: A bas-relief image on an expansive, vertical brick surface and an undulating steel form on a pedestal. But the same man—the late Saunders ‘Sandy’ Schultz—created them both, among dozens of other abstract pieces throughout the StL. Schultz was not merely prolific; he was indefatigable, and kind of a daredevil. For decades, westbound motorists on Hwy. 40 and Forest Park Boulevard have passed a striking image on the 27-story Council Tower senior apartments, erected in 1969. Finite-Infinite, the bas-relief work, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It’s a series of swooping curves that evoke the Gateway Arch two miles to the east.
Well, Schultz went even bigger than the Arch—his imagination encompassed another iconic artwork, God’s hand reaching out to touch Adam (from Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel). To create the architectural sculpture, Schultz started some 230 feet in the air, descending on a platform anchored to the roof. He created drawings for the men working with hammer and chisel to carve his curvilinear vision. By 2007, the piece had deteriorated and bricks were falling away, but the building was restored inside and out in 2012. Technology made the design easier to recreate, and Schultz no doubt was grateful to participate with his feet on terra firma this time. He was 90 years old and passed away five years later.
A few miles to the west, Continuum is Schultz’s nearly two-ton stainless steel piece on a waterburbling marble pedestal. It graces the entrance to Caleres headquarters at 8300 Maryland Ave. in Clayton. This was the artist’s last original work, completed when he was 88. (Miss the huge, whimsical, aluminum ladies’ shoe fashioned from dozens of life-size silver pumps that formerly occupied the spot? Fret not. It’s been relocated farther west in front of the complex.) Sponsored by St. Louis Mercantile Library at UMSL, a free exhibit, Saunders Schultz: Visionary Abstractions, runs through Jan. 1 in Meier Hall at One University Boulevard. Schultz’s oeuvre will astonish you; visit saundersschultz.com to see how many other pieces you may not realize you’ve already seen.
clayton
The hits just keep on coming in the ongoing federal investigation of Steve Stenger, former county exec and now felonious former politician, and his collaborators. Stenger had pleaded not guilty at the outset, as had John G. Rallo, the one-time high-flying exec who was awarded lucrative contracts in return for substantial donations to Stenger’s campaign. Now a Salt Lake City resident, Rallo changed his tune, pleading guilty to federal fraud charges. That means, including the disgraced county executive, Rallo is the fourth co-conspirator to fall hard. He could spend around two years in prison. Also in very hot water for their roles in the elaborate criminal scheme are Sheila Sweeney, former CEO of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, and Bill Miller, who was Stenger’s chief of staff. Sentencings are scheduled on different dates this fall. Prison time is possible for any and all of those convicted, as well as steep financial penalties and restitution. Gives one cause to wonder whether Dr. Sam Page, Stenger’s successor, has complained that you just can’t get good help anymore.
Of course, you recall Better Together, the concerted effort to merge St. Louis city and county. We were among many who may have called it harebrained, or something even less complimentary. After Stenger— the plan’s so-called (and would-be) ‘metro mayor’— and his cronies shot themselves in their own feet, the merger plans landed with a thud and may not get off the mat for another century.
notable neighbors: chesterfield valley Mary Tuttle-Gallow was a force of nature. Her sense of taste and unbridled energy inspired customers and employees alike. Mary Tuttle’s, the floral and gift boutique she established in 1984 at Lamp & Lantern Village, is celebrating its 35th anniversary. It’s now located at 17021 Baxter Road in Chesterfield Valley, and you can see the towering Top Golf complex right across the way on Highway 40. Life in the Valley used to be more bucolic and less crowded than it is now, recalls Angela Carter, Mary’s daughter, who runs the day-to-day with her stepdad, Howard Gallow. “Years ago, it was pretty much just The Smokehouse and Annie Gunn’s in this area,” she recalls, a hint of disbelief on her face. Outlet malls, the ‘world’s longest strip center,’ office buildings and restaurants have sprung up like weeds. But fine flowers have been Mary Tuttle’s core business since Angela’s mom got wooed away from Dierbergs’ floral department, in part by a client who believed she had something special to offer on her own and decided to invest in her success. “For a while, she thought about keeping both stores open,” says Angela. Lamp & Lantern Village experienced a resurgence in the past few years, but it was on the decline in the mid-1980s. Amelia’s, a companion linen business to Mary Tuttle’s, operated two doors down; today it’s a ‘store within a store’ that, even to the most manly of men, smells absolutely heavenly. Many males seem to wind up in a trance there; they can’t help but stay a while because there’s myriad finery for mom, wives or girlfriends and fun stuff for kids. You’ll also find fine furniture, dishware, glassware, and some of the funniest greeting cards ever. Angela, of course, started working in the shop as a teen and began making deliveries as soon as she could drive. A former associate notes that Angela’s approach to longtime clients and walk-ins alike is almost eerie: She knows everyone’s name, their kids’ and spouses’ names, and their birthdays. It seems like she has a database in her head. This may be a result of having worked 10 years as an HR exec for one of the region’s biggest banks, but more likely, Mary’s same attention to detail is in her DNA. Even when deathly ill, Mary was a near-constant presence at the store; she fully intended to get right back to it once she left the hospital, but she passed away in February 2017. Howard, married to Mary for more than 30 years, called her “a real go-getter.” He even tried to retire from highway construction … for a while. “Now I’m back at it,” he says, grinning and shaking his head. “She was the hardest-working woman I ever met in my life, and I had women working for me in construction.” Mary’s partner in crime was Michael Horwedel, who still handles the display work. “They were like brother and sister,” says Angela. Did Mary always share his vision? Well, kind of. “Even if she liked something, she probably didn’t like everything about it,” her daughter notes. Mary was a dreamer, literally and figuratively. At the end of one day, she was imagining the next. If creatively stuck, she would say, “Let me dream on it.” Angela smiles: “It would always be a great idea.” Visit marytuttlesflowers.com to learn more.
