Scenes from Metro Theater Company’s Performance of Super Cowgirl & Mighty Miracle

Please join us Sunday (March 25) at 1 p.m. for another FREE performance of Metro Theater Company’s Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle at the Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group Gallery, 2700 N. 14th Street.

In the meantime, enjoy these scenes from today’s performance.

The play is great for young children and the cast are fantastic with interacting with the audience after the performance.  Thank you again to Metro Theater Company for bringing this to the community, and thank you to the Regional Arts Commission for making it possible for ONSLRG to host events such as this.

• POSTED IN
• 14th Street Mall, Art in Old North, Crown Square, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, Old North Gallery (formerly known as Crown Village Gallery), Old North St. Louis Restoration Group
• 0 Comments

March 24-25: Metro Theater Co. Performances of Super Cowgirl & Mighty Miracle at Old North Gallery

Please plan to join us next Saturday, March 24, or Sunday, March 25, for Metro Theater Company’s performances of Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle, a new play by award-winning playwright, Jose Cruz Gonzalez.  Both performances start at 1 p.m. and are free of charge.

Please spread the word and invite your neighbors, especially families with children.  This powerful and often humorous play is appropriate for audiences of all ages.  Click HERE for a PDF version of the flyer pictured above, which you can print and post or pass along to those you want to invite.

For information about the performances in Old North, please contact Old North St. Louis Restoration Group at 314-241-5031.  For more information about the play, contact Metro Theater Company at 314-997-6777 or visit their website at www.metrotheatercompany.org.

• POSTED IN
• 14th Street Mall, Art in Old North, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, Old North Gallery (formerly known as Crown Village Gallery), Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Uncategorized
• 0 Comments

Tschetters’ Home Featured in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch

Thank you to Susan and Tom Tschetter for allowing your home to be featured in Sunday’s Home section of the Post-Dispatch and for sharing your upbeat perspective on living in Old North St. Louis.  The article can be found on page H3 of the March 11, 2012, edition of the Post or click HERE to read the online version at stltoday.com/lifestyles.

In addition to showing the world that Old North is a neighborhood of historically significant homes with cool, one-of-a-kind features, the story also makes a plug for the enriching, community aspect of life in Old North.  After describing the great character and architectural details of the Tschetters’ 1879 home, reporter Amy Bertrand notes that “it’s the people of the neighborhood that mean the most to the Tschetters,” and then offers a quote from Susan: “It’s the ambience… We love it here.”

To see more photos from the Tschetters’ home, click here for the STL Today photo page, but we can also provide a few of our own from just a couple weeks ago, when Susan and Tom opened their home for the most recent of the many groups of visitors who’ve come to be impressed by their home and other developments in Old North.

On February 25, “Urban Walkers Group” came to see the revitalization in progress throughout the neighborhood, and made a stop at the Tschetters’ home along with other sites in Old North.

Friends of Old North and others who would like to see more of the fascinating homes in ONSL will get a chance on Saturday, May 19 when ONSLRG puts on the annual Old North House & Community Tour.  For more details and to purchase tickets, visit the tour page now: http://onsl.org/house-and-community-tour/.

Of course we also have opportunities to enjoy the ambience of the neighborhood as an owner of one of these historic gems, which can be rehabbed to reflect your own personality and style at a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere.  We recently received a visit from a current New Yorker who just closed on the purchase of a house in Old North.  Among her reasons for buying in Old North: “This house was an amazing value, and the mortgage rates are at historic lows; so, from a long-term investment standpoint, it makes perfect sense.”

To learn more about homebuying opportunities in Old North, visit ONSL.org’s real estate page at http://onsl.org/real-estate/.  And even if you’re not up for the rehab process or owning an old home, among the positive features of Old North is that we have new homes, as well.  Check out the website for 1319 North Market, which is one of the best deals in town for new or recently constructed homes.

• POSTED IN
• Historic rehabs, House Tour, Houses for Sale, LRA properties in ONSL, Life in ONSL, North Market Place, ONSL amenities, ONSL in the news, ONSL people, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Renovation, real estate

Trivia Night on April 14 for North City Farmers’ Market and 13th Street Community Garden

Join friends of the North City Farmers’ Market and Old North’s 13th Street Community Garden on Saturday, April 14th to show your support and provide these good community causes with some financial means to keep up their good work.

Because of limited space, those planning to attend the trivia night fundraiser are encouraged to RSVP for the event by calling ONSLRG at 314-241-5031 or sending an email to info@onsl.org.

Both the market and the garden are projects of OId North St. Louis Restoration Group, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.  All contributions to support the market and the garden are tax-deductible and should be made payable to Old North St. Louis Restoration Group or ONSLRG, with a note or reference in the subject line for NCFM or 13th St. Garden.

• POSTED IN
• 13th Street Community Garden, Community Gardens, Life in ONSL, North City Farmers' Market, ONSL amenities, Old North Gallery (formerly known as Crown Village Gallery), Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, sustainability
• 0 Comments

Thank you to Pi Pizza Truck for Supporting ONSLRG!

If you get an opportunity to eat at one of the Pi Pizza Restaurants around town or if you can catch the Pi Pizza Truck during a lunch break, be sure to thank them for their support of Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group.  Today the pizza truck dedicated 50% of its sales to support the ongoing work of ONSLRG, which was more than enough reason for us to get out of the office for lunch and track down the truck at 8th and Pine in Downtown St. Louis.  As seen in the photo above, our practicum students, Michelle Wiegand, Sheila Galvez, and Becky Bitzer, joined us for the field trip to witness good corporate citizenship in action.

• POSTED IN
• Interns, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group
• 0 Comments

Save the Date NOW: Sat., May 19th - Old North House & Community Tour and Homegrown Street Festival

Put Saturday, May 19, 2012, on your calendar now, and make plans join us that day for the Annual Old North House & Community Tour.

Once the weather starts getting nice (and we got a head-start on that a few months ago this year), all sorts of events and activities start jockeying for space on our calendars. So, now is the time to get Saturday, May 19 onto your calendar - and it’s not too early to start telling all of your friends, family, co-workers, and everyone else you know to join you for a day of celebrating all that’s good about urban neighborhoods.

Get your tickets now - either online by clicking HERE for the Tour and Street Festival Page on our ONSL.org website or by stopping by the ONSLRG office at 2700 N. 14th Street.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for businesses and organizations that want to support the ongoing revitalization of Old North and want to demonstrate their commitment to “one of the country’s very best revitalizing neighborhoods,” (as our good friend Kaid Benfield described Old North in his post on the Atlantic Cities site when Old North won EPA’s National Award for Smart Growth Achievement).  Click HERE for information about sponsorship levels and how to take advantage of that opportunity.

And volunteer opportunities are still available for all who want to help us make the day a rousing success- and get a free pass for the tour, an invite to the after-party, and other great tokens of our appreciation.  Click HERE for information about volunteer opportunities.

For any other questions, please feel free to call the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031.

• POSTED IN
• Awards and honors, House Tour, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Volunteer Opportunities, sustainability
• 0 Comments

Scenes from Run for the Chocolate in Old North

More than 1,000 participants braved the sub-freezing temperatures early this morning as they made their way through the heart of Old North in the first ever “Run for the Chocolate” 5K race.

A good distance ahead of the pack, the first runner passed the halfway point at N. 14th Street and St. Louis Avenue and headed back through Crown Square around 9:13 a.m. en route to the finish line just north of Laclede’s Landing.

For many of the runners it was their first glimpse of the revitalization in progress in Old North, especially along N. 14th Street at Crown Square.  Among the participants, though, were residents of Old North, including Nicole Leone (dressed in black with red gloves in the photo above) and Nico Leone (who was a bit too fast to capture in a photo).  Also in the crowd was Crown Square commercial leasing agent Susan Sauer who as able to point out some available spaces as she passed by.  (If you missed her during the run, you still can contact her by phone at 314-571-7654 or email at ssauer@ndconsulting.com.)

Although Crown Candy Kitchen was closed during the run, participants could smell the bacon, which no doubt provided incentive for some to finish the race to get back here for a good BLT and shake.  Those calories that just got burned off have to be replenished somehow.

And even though runners couldn’t stop for chocolates while passing by Crown Candy, race volunteers were still out on the street with complimentary heart-shaped chocolates along with the more traditional cups of water.

Thank you to all of the run organizers and sponsors who brought this great event to Old North and helped show off one of our city’s coolest old neighborhoods.  Special thanks go to Mike Weiss and Jerry Bruce of Big Shark Bicycle Company and Lindsay Van Quaethem of the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.

• POSTED IN
• 14th Street Mall, Bikes and Trails, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Life in ONSL, ONSL people, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Uncategorized
• 3 Comments

Mark Your Calendar Now - Mon., Feb. 20: ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper

Please make plans to join us on Monday, February 20th at 6 p.m. for Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper.  Watch for more details soon.

In addition to the opportunity to share a food dish with neighbors from Old North and friends and supporters from outside the neighborhood, we’ll offer a preview of some of the plans for 2012 and hold an election for new ONSLRG board members.

If you know of someone you’d like to suggest for nomination to the board, or if you have any questions regarding the nomination process, please contact Thom Fletcher, co-chair of our Social Outreach Committee, at monstromo@yahoo.com or by phone at 623-4755.  ONSLRG Bylaws require that members of the board be members in good standing of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, are 18 years old or older, donate their time and labor in ONSLRG’s efforts to improve the neighborhood, and uphold the Bylaws of the Restoration Group. For information on how to renew your membership of the Old North St Louis Restoration Group, or for information on how to become a member, you can contact Thom, call the ONSLRG office (314-241-5031) or visit the ONSLRG membership page on the ONSL website at http://onsl.org/join/.

The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group is a community-based nonprofit organization established by neighborhood residents in 1981 to revitalize the physical and social dimensions of the community in a manner that respects its historic, cultural, and urban character.

• POSTED IN
• Life in ONSL, ONSL people, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Public Meetings, Uncategorized
• 0 Comments

New Year Brings More Media & Outside Attention for Old North

The new year is barely two weeks old, but Old North has already received a good deal of attention in 2012 from a range of outside sources, including some publications with national readerships.

The latest moment in the spotlight came when HUD’s Best Practices website posted a feature on Old North’s Crown Square on Friday.  The Crown Square redevelopment earned its place as the latest in a series of reports on “best practice” developments around the country because the project resulted from a strong partnership between Old North St. Louis Restoration Group and Regional Housing & Community Development Alliance (with support from the City of St. Louis), a genuine community-based planning process, and a commitment to affordable and mixed-income housing, historic preservation, and various other sustainable development principles.  Click HERE or on the image below to read the full report.

On January 5, Builder Magazine posted a story on their website about the desirability of walkable neighborhoods and used Old North St. Louis as their featured example of a community that has benefited from improvements to its walkability.  The article cited Old North’s comprehensive approach to redevelopment and offered several photos from Old North, including a community garden, the North City Farmers’ Market, historically sensitive new homes at North Market Place, and the streetscape at Crown Square, to illustrate the elements that have made Old North not just more livable for current residents but also more attractive to prospective residents.  Click HERE or on the image below to read the full article.

Eleven Music Magazine’s January issue has hit the streets with Old North as its “Neighborhood of the Month”, which is nice recognition, especially for the Crown Square redevelopment of the former 14th Street Pedestrian Mall.  (Although the piece includes a mis-quote about the age of the neighborhood - indicating that the neighborhood was a separate village from St. Louis from 1860 - 1940, rather than the real dates of 1816-1841, we’ll forgive that because of the overall positive tone of the piece and the fact that the actual quote may have been difficult to hear during the interview, which was recorded at Old North’s La Mancha Coffeehouse, with the sound of an espresso machine and various diners’ chatter in the background.)  Click HERE or on the image below to read the article.

Visitors to hotels throughout the St. Louis area are picking up this month’s issue of Where Magazine-St. Louis, in which they’ll read about 6 new independent retailers “worth your time,” including Old North’s newest Crown Square establishment, Rambles Gift Gallery & Boutique.

Where Magazine is available at concierge desks and in-room at medium-to-high end hotels and other select businesses, but it’s also available online to provide travelers (and locals) with “the most complete guide to the city’s top restaurants, shops, shows, exhibits, and tours.”  The online version (seen below) also features a photo of the interior at Rambles.  Click HERE or on the image below to see and read the online version of the review of Rambles.

Thank you to all of these publications for sharing our story with the rest of the world!

• POSTED IN
• 13th Street Community Garden, 14th Street Mall, Awards and honors, Bikes and Trails, Community Gardens, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Historic rehabs, History, Houses for Sale, Infill housing, Life in ONSL, North City Farmers' Market, North Market Place, ONSL amenities, ONSL in the news, ONSL people, Old North Grocery Co-op, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Parks and green spaces, Pictures, RHCDA, Uncategorized, real estate, sustainability
• 0 Comments

Part 3 of Highlights of Old North’s Event-Filled Year in 2011

On Wednesday and Thursday we reviewed Old North’s population gains, the new businesses that have set up shop in the heart of the community, and some of the events that took place in Old North this year.  (Click HERE to see Part 1 and HERE for Part 2) Now, we take a look back at even more events and high profile developments that took place in 2011…

VARIOUS EVENTS SPONSORED BY ONSLRG OR OTHERS AT ONSLRG’S GALLERY

The first ever Open/Closed conference in March held its opening and closing events with standing room only crowds at ONSLRG’s gallery in March, including a presentation by Juan William Chavez on bee colonies at the former Pruitt-Igoe site and a screening of The Pruitt-Igoe Myth.

On September 29, the founding meeting of the Community Builders Network of Metropolitan St. Louis took place at ONSLRG’s gallery, with a convening of executive directors from community development corporations and key partners from throughout the St. Louis area.

The first-ever Old North Holiday Market took place on Dec. 17, thanks to great planning and coordination by our practicum student Molly Johnson.

ARTS EVENTS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates held their second annual exhibit at ONSLRG’s gallery from November 18 through December 11, this time featuring the work of two artists, including former Old North resident, Seitu James Smith (shown in the photo above).

Also for the second year in a row, Cinema St. Louis hosted several film screenings for students from schools in Old North (including Ames Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School, shown above) as part of their St. Louis International Film Festival.

In February the St. Louis Rescue & Restore Coalition held their exhibit, “Freedom from, Freedom to” at the ONSLRG Gallery to raise awareness about human trafficking and the fact that slavery still exists in our world.

Starting with an opening reception on September 1, the ONSLRG Gallery hosted the ReBuild Foundation’s “(en)Visioning Hyde Park” exhibit of photographs taken by young participants in their summer photography program.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS THROUGHOUT OLD NORTH

Work finally got underway at the historic building at 1306 St. Louis Avenue, where a partnership between Ken Kranzberg and ONSLRG is rehabbing the long-abandoned building to accommodate Northside Workshop, a new community art center established by award-winning artist Juan William Chavez.  Watch for an opening in the spring of 2012.

Another art-themed public investment happened at the intersection of Warren and N. 14th Streets with the painting of a street mural by Lucas Rouggly and volunteers recruited through his Love the Lou organization.

Completion of Jackson Park Improvements & Ribbon-cutting Celebration… thanks especially to Miranda Gilstrap and Trailnet.

(Other green space work, including Wingmann Park improvements and 13th Street Community Garden work, will be in the next post.)

Habitat for Humanity continued their home-building in Old North with 12 homes under construction along N. 13th Street and along the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Clinton.

Due to time restrictions, that will have to do for today’s post.  But there still is much more to come.

And, as mentioned in the past two posts…THANK YOU to all who have supported the many components of our comprehensive, neighborhood-wide revitalization strategy.  To help us continue that work throughout the coming year, please click HERE to make a secure, online tax-deductible contribution.

We invite you to check back tomorrow for the final segment of the Old North Year in Review.

• POSTED IN
• 13th Street Community Garden, 14th Street Mall, Art in Old North, Awards and honors, Bikes and Trails, Community Gardens, Crown Square, Forks & Feet Forward Old North!, Historic rehabs, House Tour, Interns, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, ONSL in the news, ONSL people, Old North Gallery (formerly known as Crown Village Gallery), Old North Grocery Co-op, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Parks and green spaces, Uncategorized, Virtual City, Volunteer Opportunities
• 1 Comment