It was spring of 2005 when Bike St. Louis unveiled 20 miles of continuous on-street bicycle route.  Since that time, the Great Rivers Greenway District has helped opened 57 additional miles routes through St. Louis County and St. Louis City. With the expansion, the Bike St. Louis system now totals 77 miles of dedicated bike lanes and shared traffic lanes. Map of routes is available (here).

It all started according to the Bike St. Louis website:

The idea came from then Alderman Lewis Reed and Congressman Russ Carnahan, long-time friends and cyclists who felt it was time to create a way to connect the parks in the City for cyclists and to provide safe commuter route options.

St. Louis has come a long way since 2005 and continues to move forward with more bike lanes and cyclist friendly routes.  As evidence of the increase in awareness of the role that cyclists play in St. Louis, South Grand is considering additional improvements for cyclists and there are plans to open city streets for foot and bike traffic.

There has also been a lot more organization by cyclists in the community.  Organizations such has the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation help coordinate bike related activities and work on projects such as the Bike Parking Demonstration Project which will install at least 100 new bike racks around St. Louis city and county.  Organizations and groups such as the Banana Bike Brigade, BWORKS, St. Louis Cycling Club, and Trailnet all have benefited our community immensely.

Additionally, events such as the Annual Moonlight Ramble bring  cyclists from all around the community Downtown.  Also the Tour of Missouri and Gateway Cup have introduced the St. Louis community to some of the best of bike races in the Midwest and even the United States.

With the continued growth to bike trails in St. Louis businesses have met the demand by offering bike rentals including: Big Shark Bicycle Company, Gateway Arch Riverfront Bike Rentals, Maplewood Bicycle, Momentum Cycles – St. Charles, Touring Cyclist, and World’s Fair Bike Rental – Forest Park.  There are even pedicab services with St. Louis Rickshaw and St. Louis 3Wheel Taxi.

As you can see from all the organizations, events and businesses in St. Louis, cyclists continue to become a essential part of the social fabric and culture of our community.  People have continued to learn to appreciate the serenity of a bike ride and health benefits of regular cycling.  With additional of dedicated bike lanes and bike friendly streets, St. Louis will continue to make the progress that we have seen since 2005 when the community came together to create Bike St. Louis.

Today marked the ribbon cutting and opening ceremonies of Downtown’s newest business, the Culinaria – A Schnucks Market. On the 70th Anniversary of the first Schnucks being opened, this store is a unique example of an urban grocery store and is further proof that Downtown is moving forward.

It was crowded this morning as people looked at the murals on the wall and the fresh fruit in the aisles. As you can see from the pictures below, this store is unlike any other Schnucks store you may have been in and is designed for the urban employee or resident. The Culinaria is located on the corner of 9th and Olive.

Before March, medical attention Downtown was hard to come by, especially in the case of an emergency.  It did not make any difference if you had a headache, chest pains, twisted ankle or something more serious you had to seek medical attention outside of the downtown area. 

A new option was made available to Downtown employees and residents alike on March 31, 2009.  Downtown Urgent Care, located at 916 Olive, opened to fill the gap in medical facilities Downtown. 

The driving force behind Downtown Urgent Care is Dr. Sonny Saggar, M.D. a Emergency Department physician at St. Luke’s Hospital.   He build the 2,600 square foot acute medical care facility which has 6 patient exam rooms, an on-site lab, a radiology department, and a front ambulance bay ready to transport critical patients to a hospital emergency room.   Downtown Urgent Care is staffed by board certified physicians.

 The motivation behind Downtown Urgent Care occurred when Dr. Sager, while Downtown, noticed that there were people who lived and worked there, but did not have access to immediate medical attention.  He also noticed that the City population was increasing.  He felt the excitement of the rebirth of the downtown area and wanted to be a part of this change by providing services to the people who live and work in the community.

In addition to the treatment of illnesses and injuries usually seen at an emergency room Downtown Urgent Care  provides DOT, executive physicals, various vaccinations, health seminars,  nutrition seminars, corporate fitness programs, comprehensive blood work, and  on-site prescription dispensing.  Dr. Saggar stated that “serving the downtown community, our facility provides acute medical care for a fraction of the cost.  Also we cut down on the wait time incurred in a hospital emergency room.”

According to Dr. Saggard, the response to Downtown Urgent Care has been tremendous and plans on offering more hours of operation in the future.  Presently, the hours of operation are Monday-Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm; and Saturday and Sunday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Downtown Urgen Care can be reached at 314-436-9300

August 3rd through the 9th will afford people an opportunity to visit some of their favorite restaurants Downtown as part of the 5th Annual Downtown Restaurant Week.  For $25, people can go to one of the 25 participating restaurants and select from special 3-course dinner menu.  Reservations are recommended as last year attracted over 15,000 diners. 

Additionally, diners have the option to “Add an Extra Helping” for $5.00 that will benefit Operation Food Search, the largest distributor of free food in St. Louis.  This is a great opportunity to visit some of Downtown’s best restaurants for only $25.

The participating restaurants include:

• 400 Olive
• An American Place
• Anthony’s Bar
• Asia
• Beechwood Bistro
• Burger Bar
• Carmine’s Steak House
• Charlie Gitto’s
• Cielo Restaurant & Bar
• Clark Street Grill
• The Drunken Fish
• The Dubliner
• Fifteen
• Gio’s Ristorante & Bar
• Harry’s
• House of Savoy
• J. Bucks
• Kitchen K
• Lombardo’s Trattoria
• Lucas Park
• Mike Shannon’s
• Mosaic
• Red Kitchen & Bar
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House
• Top of the Riverfront

By Rory Roundtree

2009 marks the 75th Anniversary of the opening of the Kiel Opera House. On this Anniversary, an opportunity exists to restore one of St. Louis famous landmarks.  

Kiel Opera House represents more than a beautiful building downtown. In many ways, Kiel represents the struggles of downtown.  

Kiel is a beautiful, architecturally significant building that shows the wear of the years. As you can see from the pictures below, while worn it has great potential.

Kiel also represents an opportunity.  An opportunity to further the redevelopment of the downtown area, to strengthen St. Louis’ well deserved reputation as a city with numerous entertainment opportunities, and to reclaim some of our glorious past.  

The redevelopment of Kiel is more than the building itself; it is a symbolic step in the continuing rebirth of St. Louis.

HISTORY

Kiel Opera House was designed by prominent St. Louis architects LaBeaume & Klein. It opened in 1932 as part of Municipal Auditorium complex. The complex was named the “Henry W. Kiel Auditorium” in 1943. Read the full story