Some of you likely missed the presentation on the new Gateway Mall plan the other night. Well, despair not, good friends--you can experience the presentation in the comfort of your own living room or office. It will take you less time to do than it has taken me to write this blog entry (on my short break at work).
Simply go to Google, click on "images," and then search for the phrases "public park planning trends" and "trendy park lighting." Print out a couple pages of miscellaneous results, tape them to your wall, and BAM! You've got the new Gateway Mall right in front of you. Now, sit back and wait to get your check from the City*.
*Ideas about public spaces in St. Louis are neither expected nor welcomed from native St. Louisans, and consequently any native St. Louisans attempting this module should not expect to receive a check of any sort. Sorry, kids, but you've got a Parochial Attitude(tm)!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
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2 comments:
You forgot the dog run, the kiosks and the pile of dirt...
HEY Harland, what about filling in the amphitheater in Kiener Plaza and closing Chestnut?
Also, proposing a Starbucks for the west end of Kiener Plaza? Great! The one in the Hilton across the street is too far!
Also, I have checked since Monday, there is no way to see the arch from the west end of the mall. It is completely obscured by the courthouse.
Don't forget the token cafe on eighth street that the AT&T workers cannot even get to since there is no exit from the main building onto Chestnut? (Note to head consultant person, as I said Monday, it takes more than one stupid restaurant that will fail in six months to get people down there.)
I am going to mention the same thing I told the head consultant guy about comparing Bryant Park in NYC and Millenium Park in Chicago to the Gateway Mall.
A) These are the destinations for tourists in Chicago and NYC. That sculpture thing in Millenium Park to me is Chicago's Arch.
B) The arch is the destination for St Louis, not the gateway. The hotels are built to serve the arch. That's why there are 5 hotels on 4th St and one on the far eastern part in the mall area.
C) How many people live within a mile of those? 100k+ for Bryant Park and 50k+ for Millenium Park conservatively?
Speaking of the Arch, they completely left out how they were going to connect the mall to the Archgrounds. Are people going to come there by magic??? Some sort of diffusion of people from the archgrounds to the mall that they can't even see? Perhaps a token sign? Come sere our stupid sculpture garden on eight street?
I didn't even mention to ask how they aren't going to have this become a fancy hangout for the homeless crowd, not that they don't deserve one.
I hate to say it, the 1980's plan on slide 6 of their presentation is the best idea I saw there on Monday as it involves adding that evil word DENSITY into the downtown environment. As it stands there just isn't enough people around to go to this and all of the action in downtown is 3 blocks north. The gateway mall area is purely a 8-5 office worker area. Although, the sculptures sound like nice shade in the summer and a good wind break in the winter for the homeless.
I am sick of the five minute walk excuse that head consultant guy and everyone else uses. It doesn't happen, unless there is a critical mass across the street for it.
I swear, I truly needed some out of town consultants to give me a rundown of the latest fads in urban parks.
Now for my solution, west of Tucker minus closing Chestnut wasn't horrible. Skip the mound and the ice skating rink and it wasn't horrible. Oh wait, that's essentially what is there already.
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