Above North St. Louis The Good The Bad And The Fugly - Page 2

LMich · #21 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 5:34 AM**

Where's "the good" part of this? Interesting tour, but I'd have like to have seen some more representative photos of the area.

James Bond Agent 007 · #22 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 6:09 AM**

Wow, some of that looks lower density than your average suburb.

JivecitySTL · #23 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 6:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by montecarloss

LOL, I love your spirit and while every major city has grit & decay, not many cities have the amount of abandonment and blight of North St. Louis city.

The empty lots used to have homes. More than likely the homes were torched by arson and/or bull dozed. This neighborhood used to be very dense with homes like parts of Detroit. St. Louis was recently named #1 most dangerous city again and this is where most of the crime in the city happens. The good thing is that while it is close to downtown St. Louis in driving distance, it usually doesn't work its way into the CBD.

You are really such a pussy.

We could show IDENTICAL pics of Chicago, Philadelphia, DC, South Bronx, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland and others. You're in denial if you doubt it.

westsider · #24 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 7:11 AM**

It's bizzare seeing those skinny houses surounded by acres of vacent lots. I've never seen anything like it in person.

Suburban Lou · #25 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 7:48 AM**

Jesus christ people I said in my first post that I still had more pics to post.

anyways onto

Baden.

North Broadway.

North Pointe

Halls Ferry Circle where several major roads meet up and where the city flows into suburbia.

Mark Twian

Kingsway East

Kingsway West

Penrose

O'Fallon Park not to be confused with the other O'Fallon's.

Ex-Ithacan · #26 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 10:29 AM**

^ Cool additions Sub Lou. Lots of those detached houses are really squeezed in there pretty tight. I guess if you own a double lot in one of those hood you must feel like you live in the country.

Thanks for the additional pics.

STLgasm · #27 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 1:17 PM**

You should really post those new pics of Baden in a new thread, because the most interested forumers have already viewed the thread and will not check it again.

HomeInMyShoes · #28 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 1:57 PM**

^I'll check again. I just had absolutely nothing to say the first round. It's just sadness for me. Even walking four blocks North for me the entire vibe of the city changes. St. Louis is like a patchwork quilt of new fabric, well taken care of old material, and worn-out faded thread-bare patches.

cincyimages · #29 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 2:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JivecitySTL

You are really such a pussy.

You are a homer and can't stomach a difference of opinion. In fact you have become less tolerant of differing opinions over the years. People can do a search for your handle and see you attacking people for disagreeing with St. Louis all over the internet. You really need to manage your personal time a little better because your defense of your city has become a sickness.

JivecitySTL · #30 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 3:08 PM**

^Whatever, I'm so sick of your smear campaign. Also, St. Louis is NOT the most dangerous American city. It was awarded that distinction by the Morgan Quitno Press, which has no authority, credibility or validity whatsoever as a crime-tracking agency. You can see what a dipshit that guy is by going here, right from the horse's mouth:

http://www.ksdk.com/video/player.asp...31&bw=hi&cat=3

If you seriously buy what this guy is saying, you're a complete idiot too.

Shasta · #31 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 4:09 PM**

It is wild to see these lots! Viewed at street level, I would have never guessed that most would be so long and narrow. Plus, the paved back alleys are nicer than most Boston streets!

cincyimages · #32 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 5:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JivecitySTL

^Whatever, I'm so sick of your smear campaign.

Sick of my smear campaign? LOL - I rarely post on SSP anymore. You have your opinion, I have mine. Are we not in America anymore, Mr. Stalin?

Anyway, I enjoyed the Morgan Quinto piece and will probably share it with others.

I-15 · #33 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 5:53 PM**

I love the North Side, I used to live on W. Florrisant near Riverview, but I have been up and down most all of those streets between Grand, Nat. Bridge, and the River, and some in the N. St. Louis neighborhood as well.

I love those streets west of O'Fallon Park. Redbud, Harris, Pope, Holly.

While the areas of empty blocks is disturbing, it does not represent the N. Side as a whole, not even close. Most of the N. side is still full of vibrant, dense neighborhoods.

village person · #34 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 6:12 PM**

Really, the thing that astonishes me the most about St. Louis is how much of the city is intact after losing almost 60% of its population over the past half-century. Coming from the Sunbelt, I'm used to a certain mentality that what is old is expendable, and as soon as it's blighted, it's bull-dozed. I believe that when a city grows too fast, it puts on 'future goggles' and has less regard for the past. I see this over and over in a lot of Sunbelt cities.

It's really comforting learning how different things are where it counts the most: in the older, more established cities. Maybe it's just that the age and size of the cities meant that much could be lost and much would still remain. Whatever the reason, there's simply a lot left to work with, vacant lots aside. While the empty lots give me a numb feeling, boarded up or crumbling houses still could have a future, and that brings a smile to my face.

Added to that, I think St. Louis is doing a good job of experimenting with and perfecting infill projects. Though some are less than ideal, at worst they at least increase the number of decent housing units and attract new residents, and at best, they mend some of the torn fabric of this great city.

wanderer34 · #35 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 7:04 PM**

Damn, bro!!! It looks much, much worse than parts of West and North Phila!!! SAD!!!

Arch City · #36 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 7:05 PM**

Perhaps the second set should have gone first considering the title of the thread.

I'm just saying......

Also, although it has been said already, it bears worth repeating that the first set are of some of the most depopulated, poor areas of the city. The first set is below and borders N. Grand Blvd. Lower North St. Louis - Old North St. Louis, Jeff Vander Lou (which is huge and economically diverse), Hyde Park, College Hill, and St. Louis Place - is older. The vacants lots aren't necessarily pleasant to look at, but they are better than looking at once decaying structures, which were beyond repair. Vacant lots or dilapidated homes and structures. Take your pick.

Furthermore, the farther west you go (or above N. Grand Blvd.), as demonstrated in the second set of pictures, the more intact the neighborhoods are structurally.

FYI, Lower South St. Louis -Lafayette Square, Soulard, the Benton Parks, LaSalle Park and what is now known as The Gate District -faced some of the same depopulation and erosion below South Grand Blvd. They too are older parts of the city. Structural perservation - despite depopulation - was more of a priority in this part of town. In many instances, it is hard to tell new construction from the old in Lower South St. Louis because of city and neighborhood ordinances. Also, these neighborhoods have infilled and rehabbed at a rapid clip unlike Lower North St. Louis, which is just beginning to see rehabs and infills.

As people in the metro moved west, southwest, and northwest the older 'hoods were among the first to go.

With that said, neighborhoods in Lower North St. Louis and The Ville, which is an old neighborhood and was known as St. Louis' Harlem, are seeing new homes developed and lots of rehabs. Some of the activity is identifiable in the first set of photos.

In the Ville, there are a lot of new market rate home developments under construction or planned. A new one was just announced yesterday. Although it will be a big challenge, mostly African-American developers are trying to bring The Ville back to its glory days.

Hilton Heights in The Ville: Check out the video

JivecitySTL · #37 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 7:12 PM**

There aren't bird's eye views of all the St. Louis City 'hoods, but here are some satellite images to show that there are many, many intact neighborhoods left in the city:

flar · #38 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 7:26 PM**

To the St. Louis forumers, don't worry, the original post didn't give me a bad impression of St. Louis. As has been mentioned a couple times here, you can find neighbourhoods that have been destroyed in any large, old city in the US. When I see pictures like this it makes me think about what it must have been like back in the day and what a great heritage St. Louis has. I automatically assumed that these were the worst areas and that other neighbourhoods like these are intact and continue to thrive.

Rykachet · #39 Posted **Dec 14, 2006, 7:30 PM**

Come on now Jive, don't know you that well, but I've seen your posts. It's totally OK if someone has a difference of opinion of our great city...but those posts are damn entertaining.

I've been living in North City for about 15 years , and it does look really really bad in some areas.

But I hear about how dense StL is all the time. I had no idea how packed in we are until SurburbanLou posted those over head shots. Just, Wow.