One Last Invite to Join Us TOMORROW (Sat., May 18) for Old North House & Community Tour… AND Announcing Another Crown Square Commercial Tenant

We’re down to the last few hours before the big day, so we’ll issue one last invitation to all friends of Old North, former residents, current residents, fans of urban revitalization, advocates for sustainable development, historic preservationists, arts enthusiasts, and anyone who just happens to like Crown Candy Kitchen: please join us on Saturday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for our annual Old North House & Community Tour. The forecast shows beautiful weather for tomorrow.  Come on out to enjoy a pleasant stroll though the walkable, architecturally rich, historic neighborhood of Old North St. Louis.

It'll be a gorgeous day in Old North on Saturday, according to the hour by hour forecast from the experts at Weather.com.

For those who are new to St. Louis or just aren’t familiar with how neighborhood house tours work, here’s what you can expect from the Old North House & Community Tour:

The Old North House & Community Tour is a self-guided tour, so you’ll be able to use our tour booklet to decide which stops to visit and in what order - or you can visit all of the sites on the tour in the order presented in the booklet.  And, you’ll be able to go at your own pace, whether that means enjoying the nice, summery weather as you walk leisurely between stops or as you catch a free ride from one of the roving, environmentally- friendly bicycle rickshaws from St. Louis 3Wheel Taxi.

For more on what will be featured on the tour, take a look at our posts from Thursday (click HERE) and Tuesday (click HERE).

Registration for the tour - where you can buy tickets, trade in your already-bought tickets for the tour booklet or pick up tickets you purchased online - will be at the new and improved Crown Square corner plaza at the southwest corner of St. Louis Avenue and N. 14th Street, pictured below.

The first official performances on the plaza’s stage will take place immediately following a brief dedication ceremony at 10:30 a.m.   Scheduled to perform are local musician, poet, and spoken-word artist, Chris Ware, and later by Old North’s own favorite steel drum musician, Jamaica Ray.

We also want to share the reminder that the public is invited to celebrate the official start of work at the 5 Sustainable Land Lab projects in Old North, with a ceremony scheduled for 9 a.m. at 1318 Warren (just east of 14th Street at the south end of Crown Square).  Mayor Slay will be on hand to congratulate the winners of the competition, and representatives from all 5 of the projects will be present to show off their sites and discuss their projects.

Although the “day-of” ticket prices of $12 should go into effect after midnight, the advance ticket price of $10 can still be obtained by purchasing online up until about 6 a.m.  So act now!

And, now for some other big news we’re thrilled to share…

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FIRECRACKER PRESS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO SET UP SHOP AT CROWN SQUARE

Earlier today, Firecracker Press issued the following press release:

The Firecracker Press is excited to announce, in addition to its location at 2838 Cherokee Street, the expansion of a second location at 2612 North 14th Street, in Crown Square. The expansion will take place over the Summer of 2013 with a Grand Opening to be announced later this year.

Founded in St. Louis in 2002, The Firecracker Press has become a cultural institution for printmaking. With a gang of antique printing presses (some dating back to the 1800s), a rich collection of St. Louis printing history, and a talented group of designers and printers, The Firecracker Press has made its mark regionally and nationally. Handmade, letterpress posters for music and art shows, custom business cards, stationery, wedding invitations, and books are just a few of the things that The Firecracker Press crafts. Using printing presses that are found and restored, The Firecracker Press prints from hand-set wood/lead type and uses hand-carved woodblocks to create imagery that’s rooted in history yet freshly modern. Its Southside, Cherokee Street location will remain while The Firecracker Press plans to expand a rotating list of events, classes and demonstrations at the new Crown Square location.

The Firecracker Press location in Old North will be in the former Sobel Department Store building at 2612-24 N. 14th Street.

Their announcement further describes their plans for the space in the heart of Old North, just across Montgomery from Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s office:

The new space, nearly 8000 sq. ft., will host a large collection of printing presses and tools, a retail storefront with a variety of posters and design-related home-goods, and a 100 person capacity venue for music, readings, and events. The Firecracker Press will continue to offer the same high quality, unique, independently minded services that have made them well-known. The expansion will also bring the opportunity to collaborate with other organizations including Old North Restoration Group and its affiliates, and with Studio STL, which will be sharing a portion of the space for its non-profit, children’s writing programs. The publishing arm of The Firecracker Press dovetails in exciting ways with the mission of Studio STL. An arts center for writers, thinkers, and makers will grow where The Firecracker Press and Studio STL overlap, with more to come.

For more details about The Firecracker Press and their plans for the space at Crown Square, click HERE to read the full news release.

The leasing of 2612-24 N. 14th Street follows the recent leasing of 2606-08 N. 14th to Blackmun Footcare, which opened just last month, and the leasing of 2601 N. 14th to Kennedy’s Pet Shop, which is now in the midst of interior build-out.  Both Blackmun Footcare and Kennedy’s Pet Shop will be open for tours on Saturday.

With just a few spaces left, anyone interested in leasing commercial space at Crown Square should contact leasing agent Susan Sauer of Duffe-Nuernberger Realty by phone at 314-571-7654 or by email at ssauer@ndconsulting.com.

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Old North House & Community Tour: 2 Days Away to Sat., May 18

We’re down to counting the hours now until our biggest event of the year - so any help you can offer in spreading the word about the Old North House & Community Tour would be greatly appreciated, and you still have time to let us know if you can volunteer to help out on the day of the tour.

If you still aren’t subscribed to receive our e-Newsletter, then you probably missed our most recent edition.  Click on the image below or click HERE to view the web version.  Once you’re there, be sure to click on the Facebook “Like” image and/or the Twitter “tweet” image to share via these social media tools.

We also have some updates on what else will be going on here on Saturday.

At 9:00 a.m., Mayor Slay and the organizers responsible for the Sustainable Land Lab competition will lead the official kick-off ceremonies marking the start of work at the 5 Land Lab projects in Old North.  This ceremony will start at 1318 Warren (as seen in the photo above, courtesy of Washington University’s Office of Sustainable Development), the site where the Sunflower + project is underway, and will then travel to the other 3 Land Lab lots.  Please join us for this celebration just prior to the start of the Old North House & Community Tour.

At 10 a.m., the House & Community Tour officially begins, with registration table at N. 14th & St. Louis Avenue (see photo below) opening to distribute tour booklets to those who’ve registered in advance or to sell tour tickets (at the day-of price of $12) and the environmentally-friendly, bicycle rickshaw shuttle service will start up for those who don’t want to walk between the stops.

At 10:30 a.m., we’ll celebrate the ceremonial, unveiling / ribbon-cutting of the recently improved Crown Square corner plaza, followed by performances on the new stage by local musician, poet, and spoken-word artist, Chris Ware, and later by Old North’s own favorite steel drum musician, Jamaica Ray.

The tour activities will continue until 4 p.m., featuring 20 stops, 4 of which are located in historically rehabbed buildings at Crown Square, including a residential apartment incorporating a portion of the mezzanine level of the former J.C. Penney building (originally built for the Peters Dry Goods & Clothing Co. in 1881), the recently-opened Blackmun Footcare in that same building, and the soon-to-open Kennedy’s Pet Shop at 2601 N. 14th (in the photo above).

Other stops include:

• the 4 empty lots where 5 Sustainable Land Lab demonstration projects are being implemented;
• 2 other businesses offering free treats to tour-goers, La Mancha Coffeehouse, which is offering free cups of coffee, and City Bar & Grill, which is offering free toasted ravioli;
• 2 historically-rehabbed homes, which have won Landmarks Association “Most Enhanced” Awards in previous years (in addition to the Crown Square project, which also received one of these awards in 2010);
• a “loft-style” conversion of a warehouse building into a living space and a separate sculpture studio;
• a couple of historic houses that are still in the midst of major re-construction and rehabilitation after massive damage, from a fire at one and two-different storms at the other, that would have led to demolition in other neighborhoods;
• the future home in Old North for the Episcopal Service Corps community later this year;
• the Old North Grocery Co-op and 13th Street Community Garden;
• the home of Northside Workshop, a community art space that opened last year; and
• the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group office and Gallery, where a new photography exhibit will have its opening on Saturday; this exhibit, titled “Revitalizing,” features photos from 6 neighborhoods (including Old North), where UMSL’s PPRC Photography Project worked with community residents.

As noted in Tuesday’s post, another tradition of this event is the treat of some ice cream from Crown Candy Kitchen (celebrating 100 years of service to Old North).  All tour-goers will receive a coupon for a free ice cream cup, redeemable at the Old North Gallery.

If you haven’t already clicked on the link above, click below to get your tickets while you can still take advantage of the advance ticket price of $10.

And, if for whatever reason, you’re still not convinced that something special is going on in Old North St. Louis, take another look at the YouTube video we prepared before last year’s tour to highlight the dramatic transformations in progress throughout Old North.

We look forward to seeing you again in Old North on Saturday!

[One last appeal: if you've got some time available and are willing to help out, we still could use a few more volunteers.  Give us a call at the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031 or send an email to Claire Wolff: claire@onsl.org]

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Join us Thursday, March 28, for This Month’s Neighborhood Open Meeting

Please join us for this month’s Neighborhood Open Meeting this Thursday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group offices, 2700 N. 14th Street.  Speakers include:

• Seth Turner from Kennedy Pet Shop and Beth Ketcher from Studio STL, both of whom will talk about their respective businesses opening soon in Crown Square;
• Officer Lori Wozniak to discuss neighborhood safety issues;
• Michelle Howard from Energy Care to talk about the energy-related services that they provide to the neighborhood; and
• a group from the Sustainable Land Lab competition to talk about implementing a healing/meditative garden space in the neighborhood

Should be a good one! Please spread the word and encourage other neighbors to attend.  Refreshments will be provided!

See you Thursday!

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Highlights from Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck; and Welcome to New ONSLRG Board Members

Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group hosted the 2013 edition of our Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper on Monday evening with another good showing of neighbors, community stakeholders, and other friends of Old North.

Among the actions taken at the meeting, the following individuals were elected by ONSLRG’s members to serve on the ONSLRG Board, with terms running from February 2013 through February 2015:

• David Eisenbraun (returning for another term on the Board), resident of 1400 block of Sullivan; senior engineer at Nidec Motors;
• Graham Lane (also continuing service on the Board and currently serving as the Board’s Vice President), resident of 1300 block of North Market; sculptor / art instructor at St. Louis Community College;
• Bryan Reckamp, resident of 1400 block of Sullivan; web developer / designer at Arsenal Studios;
• Rev. Jonathan Stratton, executive director of Episcopal Services Corps (which recently purchased a home in Old North and will begin assigning interns to work with community-based organizations in the community in August) and Curate for Christ Church Cathedral.

• Christina Blash, a member of Fresh Anointing Church (on Sullivan & N. 14th), as a presidential appointee; and
• Terry Harris, a resident of 1300 block of North Market, who has accepted the opportunity to serve as co-chair of our Social Outreach Committee.

These new members will serve with members elected at the 2012 Annual Meeting and the chairs of ONSLRG’s five standing committees.   A full list can be found on the “Board” page of the “About Us” section of ONSL.org by clicking HERE.

Other scenes from the event:

Thank you to all who attended to celebrate the progress achieved in 2012 toward ONSLRG’s mission to revitalize the physical and social dimensions of Old North in a manner that respects the community’s historic, cultural, and urban character.  There is still much work to be done, so 2013 will continue to be another action-packed year of work.

ONSLRG staff and committee chairs presented information about the following upcoming events, programs or projects:

• multiple neighborhood clean-up days, including the annual Brightside blitz weekend, April 6-7, and the St. Louis University “Showers of Service” Day on Saturday, April 13, and other “Macho Action Group” board-up, clean-up Saturdays to be coordinated through the Real Estate Committee;
• work days at the 13th Street Community Garden (Feb. 23 and March 16, both 9 a.m.-noon);
• Neighborhood Open Meetings on the 4th Thursday of most months;
• various tasks at Old North’s other community gardens, with plans to be discussed at the next Green Space Committee meeting on March 11 (6 p.m. at the ONSLRG office);
• the ongoing “Brickstarter” campaign to support the preservation of historic buildings in Old North in need of stabilization, starting with the building at 1316 North Market;
• the kick-off of several other public improvements on Saturday, April 27, including major enhancements of the Crown Square corner plaza area at N. 14th & St. Louis Avenue with Rebuilding Together and volunteers from Equifax, and work the 4 lots that will benefit from projects through the Sustainable Land Lab competition;
• the 3rd Annual Trivia Night Fundraiser to benefit North City Farmers’ Market and the 13th Street Community Garden, scheduled for Friday, April 19;
• the Annual Old North House & Community Tour, scheduled for Saturday, May 18;
• the 7th season of North City Farmers’ Market, Saturday mornings, June 1-October 12.

Attendees had the opportunity to sign up to volunteer with all of the above and to participate on one of ONSLRG’s committees (Fund Raising, Green Space, Marketing, Real Estate, and Social Outreach).  If you missed the meeting and still want to get involved, please send an email to info@onsl.org or give us a call at 314-241-5031.

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ONSLRG’s e-Newsletter, Article on “Characters” of Old North, + Reminder about ONSLRG Annual Meeting

The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group e-Newsletter is out.  If you didn’t get this in your email in-box, click HERE to view the web-version.

Within this edition, you’ll find:

• Another Invitation to Join Us on Monday, Feb. 18th for ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper

• A link to our YouTube video with very rapid-pace overview of most of the events, activities, and developments in Old North during 2012 (or you can just click HERE to see it)

• A link to a story and video in the St. Louis Beacon about Old North as a “Web of Artists, Rehabbers, and General Characters” (or you can just click HERE)

• Congratulations (again) to Tino Ochoa for his being names one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40″ individuals who are making a difference in St. Louis

• Information about our “Brickstarter” campaign to raise funds for the stabilization and preservation of Old North’s architectural integrity, starting with the majestic, brick building at 1316 North Market

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Six Churches in Old North Participate in MLK Day Gathering

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commitment to service and community, members of ONSLRG and representatives from six churches serving Old North St. Louis gathered on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at ONSLRG’s gallery for a pot-luck supper to exchange information about the different congregations’ programming that address needs of the community.

Thank you to all who attended, including representatives from the following churches:

• Fresh Anointing United Pentecostal Church
• Greater Leonard Missionary Baptist Church
• Holy Trinity Catholic Church
• Hope Apostolic Church
• Saints Cyril & Methodius Polish National Catholic Church
• True Gospel Temple

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Mark Your Calendar for Multiple Ways to Visit, Celebrate, and Support Old North!

The next few weeks will be chock full of events that will provide opportunities to visit, learn more about, celebrate, support, Old North St. Louis (and positive neighborhood development in general).  Come on out to join us at one or move of the following:

Monday, January 21 - 5:30 p.m. - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Gathering

In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commitment to service and community, ONSLRG will be hosting a gathering of churches serving Old North and providing a forum for an exchange of information about the great variety of programs coordinated by these churches, from food pantries to health screenings.  For more information, contact Claire Wolff, ONSLRG’s Community Engagement Specialist: claire@onsl.org.

Thursday, January 24th - 5:30 p.m. - inveSTL Event at ONSLRG Gallery

inveSTL is a charitable fund at the Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation dedicated to supporting the development of great neighborhoods in the St. Louis region.   As part of their efforts to raise awareness about how individuals in the St. Louis area can join them in investing in St. Louis neighborhoods and highlight areas where such investment might help, inveSTL holds monthly “Know Your Neighborhoods” gatherings in different parts of town.  This month, inveSTL is bringing their event to Old North.  Please come on out on Thursday, Jan. 24 to learn more about this great initiative and show your support for Old North at the same time.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at investloldnorth.eventbrite.com.

Saturday, January 26 - 9 a.m. - Cleanup Day in 13th Street Community Garden-

The 13th Street Garden Group and other volunteers will be getting a head-start on prepping the garden for the spring planting season.  Tasks will include prepping the sweet potato bed, cleaning the greenhouse, and various other ground work.   If you’re interested in joining them, contact the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031 or via email at info@ONSL.org.

Thursday, January 31 - 6:30 p.m. - Old North Neighborhood Open Meeting

In addition to the usual opportunity to get a variety of neighborhood updates and a chance to talk with officers from the 4th & 5th police districts, the January 31 Neighborhood Open Meeting will feature representatives from MoDOT who will report on the progress of construction work on I-70 and the Mississippi River Bridge.  Please join us and spread the word to your neighbors.

Friday, February 1 - Opening of Exhibit of Sustainable Land Lab Competition Design Proposals

The 15 teams selected for round two of the Sustainable Land Lab competition will be submitting concept boards and tentative implementation plans, which will be displayed at the ONSLRG Gallery for public viewing and comment.  Check back for exact details about the exhibit’s opening and viewing opportunities.  For more info about the competition, check out our December 18 post on the 15 teams vying for the chance to implement their creative ideas for sustainable re-uses of 4 empty lots in Old North.

The St. Louis Beacon covered the competition with two articles over the past week.  Click HERE for the first article, “The troubled past and possible futures of 1303 Montgomery St.” and HERE for the second article, “Vacant lots: when temporary change becomes transformational.”

Sunday, February 10 - 9 a.m. - Run for the Chocolate 5K

The St. Louis area’s sweetest 5k run and 1 mile walk returns for a second year with its route coming straight to the heart of Old North on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day.  All registrants will receive a super deluxe “Will Run for Chocolate” event shirt, along with pre-, post-, and mid-race chocolates.  T-shirts will be color-coded, so that you’ll be able to see whether your fellow runners are “on-the-market” (i.e., single) or “off-the-market” in case you’re still looking for a Valentine’s Day date.

Register online at www.runreg.com.  The event also could use some good neighborhood volunteers to help along the route, including passing out water and chocolates.  If that is more appealing than running in the race, contact the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031 or info@ONSL.org, and we’ll put you in touch with the event organizers.

Monday, February 18 - 6 p.m. - ONSLRG Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper

It’s a full month away, but it’s not too early to start planning your favorite dish.  Watch for more details, which will be posted here soon. In the meantime, please lock the date on your calendar and start telling your neighbors and any other friends of Old North to plan to join us on Monday, February 18!

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Nov. 9 Edition of ONSLRG eNewsletter Is Out

The Nov. 9 edition of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group e-Newsletter has been sent out to all of our subscribers.  If you didn’t get it in your email, click HERE to view the web-version.

This edition includes brief updates on :

• the Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates’ 3rd annual art exhibit at the ONSLRG Gallery (showing now through Dec. 2);
• Great Rivers Greenway’s open house at ONSLRG to show off plans for Branch Street improvements and the Trestle conversion to an elevated hiking and biking trail;
• information presented at the Oct. 25 Old North Neighborhood Open Meeting, including presentations on a proposed dog park for Old North and a sustainability-focused charter school;
• ONSLRG’s Winter Craft Market, scheduled for Dec. 1;
• Halloween in Old North;
• Plans for a makeover of the Crown Square corner plaza at N. 14th and St. Louis Avenue;
• the Sustainable Land Lab Competition for creative uses of vacant lots in Old North;
• Links to the draft of the City’s Sustainability Plan for public comment;
• Recent volunteer support, including students from the Episcopal Church of the Ascension;
• and various upcoming events and programs related to neighborhood issues.

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Streets, Trails, History, Art and Community in Old North

Over the next couple days, the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group Gallery at 2700 N. 14th Street will be buzzing with activity and conversations about different pieces of the overall community revitalization in progress and planned for Old North.  Although art exhibitions and plans for street improvements may not seem to have a lot of overlap, Old North is the kind of place where residents can be passionate and engaged in discussions about streets and trails on one day and turn out in force the next day to support an arts initiative or an exhibit in a gallery here.  On Thursday and Friday of this week, we’ll get a chance to see all of that in action as Great Rivers Greenway and Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates hold different events in our gallery.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

The latest plans for improving Branch Street will be on display for review and comment as Great Rivers Greenway brings maps, drawings, and planners out to the community in an open house style of event at the ONSLRG gallery on Thursday from 4-6:30 p.m.  Branch Street is one of the few ways to directly access the Riverfront Trail from a residential neighborhood in the City.  Over the past couple years, ONSLRG has worked closely with GRG, the city, Trailnet, and other partners to develop plans to clean up, beautify and increase safety along that corridor.  The event on Thursday will be a chance for more neighbors - especially those who  haven’t been able to participate in earlier discussions - to get in on this ongoing process.

Information will also be on hand about the current status and future phases of the Trestle project, which will connect the southeastern portion of Old North to the Riverfront Trail via the transformation of the long-abandoned railroad trestle into an elevated hiking and biking trail.

Since both Branch Street plans and the Trestle project represent significant investments in Old North and great recreational amenities for residents of the neighborhood and visitors alike, please spread the word and invite other neighbors to come on out to learn more - and have their voices heard.

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

With Old North’s rich history of welcoming immigrants into the community from its earliest days through the present and with the character of the neighborhood constantly evolving as a result of these new residents’ contributions, there should be a lot of local interest in a new exhibition opening in our gallery on Friday evening.  Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates will once again bring an exhibition to our gallery that puts a spotlight on the immigrant experience in St. Louis.  This year’s exhibit will include work by local New American photographers Juan Montana and Amelia Sinangic, along with historical photos from multiple archives, as curated by Danny Gonzales of the Missouri Historical Society.

The opening reception for the exhibit will take place at our gallery on Friday evening from 6 until 9 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public.  Please join us and invite your neighbors to come along with you.

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Recent Events at Old North St. Louis Restoration Group Gallery

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s Gallery at 2700 N. 14th Street in the heart of Crown Square has been a busy place lately.  Just within the past week, the following events took place at our gallery:

Pruitt-Igoe Now Exhibit

The walls of the Old North Gallery are covered with 31 poster-boards depicting a diverse range of creative ideas for redeveloping the former Pruitt-Igoe public housing site, a large, overgrown tract of land a short distance to the south and west of Old North.  Each display board represents a finalist in the Pruitt-Igoe Nowdesign competition, which put out a call to the creative community worldwide to  re-imagine the 57 acres on which the Pruitt and Igoe housing projects once were located.

The opening reception for the exhibit on July 25 included some of the artists, architects, designers, planners, and other creative teams who submitted ideas, concepts and designs through this competition. Among the finalists was Annie White, who had worked with ONSLRG as an intern last summer. The Third Prize winning proposal was submitted by Social Agency Lab, which partnered with ReBuild Foundation of Hyde Park to incorporate creative ideas of students living in the area, some of whom attended the reception with their families.  For more information on the competition, visit the Pruitt-Igoe Now site.

The crowd at the July 25 opening reception listening to Bob Hansman of Washington University's School of Architecture describe the selection process.

The exhibit will remain at our gallery through Aug. 31 and can be viewed during ONSLRG’s regular business hours (9-5, M-F) or on Saturday mornings during the hours of the North City Farmers’ Market (9 a.m.-noon).

Old North St. Louis Quality of Life Meeting

The next evening a different crowd gathered at the Old North Gallery for the monthly Old North Quality of Life meeting on July 26.  At this meeting, neighborhood residents received updates from Lt. Donnell Moore of the 4th District (who reported that they have very few problems in Old North), 5th District Commander, Capt. Mary Edwards-Fears, and Liaison Officer Lori Wozniak.  Vela Hermann reported on opportunities for residents to join the others who have already signed up to help with various components of the Old North Neighborhood Ownership Plan, including citizen patrols.  Also on the topic of neighborhood safety, Beth Moser, Gateway Greening’s Americorps Summer Associate helping with the 13th Street Garden volunteers, reported on the National Night Out celebration planned for Tuesday, Aug. 7 at the 13th Street Community Garden (including a bonfire for roasting hot dogs & marshmallows).  And Juan Chavez discussed programming at the new Northside Workshop space at 1306 St. Louis Avenue, including this week’s class with the World Chess Hall of Fame and the Chess
Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

Old North Grocery Co-op Annual Meeting

Members of the Old North Grocery Co-op assembled on Saturday, July 28 for the co-op’s 2nd Annual Members’ Meeting.  In addition to updates on the steady improvements at the store - and a challenge to the members to shop more at the store and to recruit more neighbors to shop there, the meeting included election of 2 new co-op board members, Keith Marquard and David Holden, and acknowledgments and expressions of appreciation to former manager Sarah Kate Buckles and outgoing / retired board members, Matt Fernandez, Stefene Russell, and Sean Thomas.

Co-Manager Jill Whitmann updates members on recent improvements at the store.

“Jumpstart Your Business” Program, Featuring Author Susan S. Elliott, Presented by Regions Bank

On Monday morning (July 30), Regions Bank presented an information session focused on resources for small businesses.  With sponsorship support from St. Louis American, the program featured presentations by Bob Newman of the SBA, Tim Hill of Regions, Galen Gondolfi of Justine Petersen, and keynote speaker, Susan Elliott, founder, chairman and former President/CEO of SSE.

After the session, Susan Elliott signed copies of her book, Across the Divide: Navigating the Digital Revolution as a Woman, Entrepreneur and CEO.

If you’d like to support ONSLRG’s commitment to making this space available for events that bring programming to the neighborhood or activities that enrich the quality of life in Old North, a financial contribution of any amount would help ONSLRG cover the costs of rent, utilities, clean-up, equipment and furnishing tables, chairs, table cloths, etc.  You can make a contribution online by clicking HERE or in person at the ONSLRG office or by mailing a check to:  ONSLRG, 2700 N. 14th Street, St. Louis, MO  63106.

And, if you have an event or exhibit you’d like to bring to the Old North Gallery, please contact the ONSLRG office by phone at 314-241-5031 or email: info@onsl.org.

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• 13th Street Community Garden, 14th Street Mall, Art in Old North, Community Gardens, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Life in ONSL, North City Farmers' Market, ONSL amenities, ONSL people, Old North Gallery (formerly known as Crown Village Gallery), Old North Grocery Co-op, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Outreach, Uncategorized, Volunteer Opportunities
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