The St. Louis Beacon has a slideshow featuring the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, Inc. Most Enhanced Awards. These are amazing examples that everyone should see. The next time that someone tells you that a building can't be saved just send them a link to the following.



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1. 1416 Hebert St., two historic houses, one dating back to 1880, renovated by James Cox and Luz-Maria Evans.

2. Winston Churchill Apartments, a 1927 apartment building at 5475 Cabanne Ave., renovated by Friedman Development Ltd and Dublin Capital.

3. Irving School, a public school at 3829 North 25th St. dating back to 1871, renovated for housing by Tim Wolf, Tim Person and Ken Nuernberger.

4. Tudor Building, a 1925 commercial building at 1901-1937 Washington Ave., renovated by developer Pete Rothschild, Robert Wood and Dan Holak.

5. Forest Park Hall, built in 1908 as a lodge hall with commercial space at 4512 Manchester Ave., renovated by Sitelines and Renaissance Development.

6. Hotel Indigo, built in 1957 at 4630 Lindell Blvd. as a Bel Air Motel, renovated by Michael and Steve Roberts.

7. 2730 McNair Ave., an 1885 corner commercial building, renovated by Phoenix Development.

8. 1814 Sidney St., an 1884 house and attached storefront, renovated by Rothschild Development.

9. Goodyear Tire & Rubber, built in 1916 at 3010 Locust St., renovated by Renaissance Development.

10. The Power House, built in 1927 at 1100 Clark Ave. to generate steam for nearby municipal buildings, renovated by Cannon Design as its office.

11. Harry Hammerman House, built in 1954 at 219 Graybridge Rd. in Ladue, renovated by Ray Simon.

12. Rawhide Building, constructed in 1904 as two commercial buildings at 4229-4231 Manchester Ave., renovated by Pete Rothschild.

13. Lindenwood School, a public school built in 1928 at 7018 Mardel Ave., renovated by Rothschild Development.

14. G. W. Lofts, built between 1894 and 1907 at 2615 Washington Ave. renovated by McGowan-Walsh.

A hardworking group of urban activists have been doing their best to bring attention to the San Luis Apartments in the Central West End. The short story is that the Archdiocese of St. Louis wants to demolish the building for a surface parking lot on one of the more prominent corners in the neighborhood. Click the link below, watch the video and pass it on.

No Parking Lot on Lindell




The Archdiocese has already had a very negative affect on the density and urbanism of this portion of the city's most vibrant neighborhood. The image below shows what was then called the de Ville Motor Hotel and building in the immediate vicinity lost since it was built. The circular administrative offices to the east is decidedly suburban in form and while a motor lodge is auto-centric by definition, the San Luis adds density with its height and does an admirable job of hiding the 180+ parking spaces. Again, the Archdiocese would like to replace the San Luis with a surface parking lot to help create a "campus." We should all be protesting this:


{a rendering of the parking lot and campus of the Archdiocese}

While there has been no word from the Archdiocese for some time, the building still stands and the effort to save it will help pull together an effective community promoting smarter development.


{the deVille and buildings already lost to less dense development}

The Denver Post recently covered "agriburbia," basically the integration of agri-business and suburban development. The idea is introduced in three ways: introducing food gardens into yards of less than one acre, utilizing land awaiting the next economic boom and developing "farm-cultured" communities. On the surface this may seem like a "progressive" idea suited only for suburban Denver, Seattle or Portland.

But St. Louis offers many opportunities to bring agriculture close to our homes. Flying into and out of St. Louis on a regular basis I often have an excellent view of suburban agriculture. A wedge of land on the east side of I-170 at the eastern end of Lambert's main runway is being used as an active farm.


{a suburban farm near Lambert Airport}

Whether it be corners of underutilized land near our airport, wedges of land next to an Interstate or vacant lots awaiting development, there is a great opportunity to create sustainable and locally produced food. I would love to see Ballpark Village turned into a farm until the day it's finally developed. What about the Bottle District land? Not to mention hundreds of lots in North St. Louis. Many individuals have begun growing their own urban gardens for fun and food, but a larger effort to coordinate urban and suburban agriculture is needed.