Send This YouTube Link to Encourage Others To Come See Old North This Saturday

We’ve put together a brief, rapid-pace video of recent transformations in Old North as a way of enticing those who haven’t seen the neighborhood (or haven’t seen it in a while) to come on out to the Old North House & Community Tour this Saturday, May 19.  Take a look and please feel free to “like” it and send the link on to others if you think it conveys the dynamic pace and positive changes that have taken place in Old North over the past few years.

Thank you to Old North resident Joe Eisenbraun for allowing us to use his music in this video. For more about Joe and links to more of his music, check out our post from January 20, 2012.

If you’d like to pick up a pile of OId North House & Community Tour tickets to sell (or flyers or postcards to distribute), give us a call at the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group office at 314-241-5031.  Or if you’d just like to buy some tickets online via our secure PayPal account, click HERE.

• POSTED IN
• 13th Street Community Garden, 14th Street Mall, Art in Old North, Awards and honors, Bikes and Trails, Community Gardens, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Historic rehabs, History, House Tour, LRA properties in ONSL, Life in ONSL, North City Farmers' Market, North Market Place, 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, Outreach, Parks and green spaces, Pictures, Renovation, Uncategorized, Videos, Volunteer Opportunities, real estate, sustainability
• 0 Comments

1 Week to Go: Old North House & Community Tour and Homegrown Street Festival on Sat., May 19

We’ve come a long way in the past 30 years.  In May of 1982 Old North St. Louis Restoration Group held its first house tour, featuring 3 occupied homes and 2 vacant city-owned buildings available for purchase.

This year, the Old North House & Community Tour will feature 8 historically rehabbed homes, 1 historically-sensitive relatively new home, 1 historic home in the midst of a complete rehab, 1 LEED-certified new Habitat for Humanity home, a neighborhood business that produces wrought iron fencing & other ornamental iron, a Crown Square commercial space, the neighborhood grocery co-op, a produce-growing community garden, and a soon-to-open neighborhood art center in a rehabbed 19th century building. Among the stops on the tour are 7 properties that previously have been recognized by Landmarks Association with “Most Enhanced” Awards.  And, back by popular demand, one of the stops on this year’s tour will be one of the three homes featured on the very first tour in 1982.  Come on out to find out which one.

Tickets are available for purchase online by clicking HERE or they can be purchased in person at Rambles Gift Gallery & Boutique (2611 N. 14th), Crown Candy Kitchen (1401 St. Louis Avenue), Old North Grocery Co-op (2718 N. 13th) or Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s office (2700 N. 14th Street).

Because Old North is a community that embraces and celebrates diversity, we have two different flyers for this year’s tour.  Feel free to right-click and save the flyer below for forwarding as an invitation to all of your friends, family, and colleagues.

• POSTED IN
• 13th Street Community Garden, 14th Street Mall, Art in Old North, Awards and honors, Community Gardens, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Habitat for Humanity, Historic rehabs, History, House Tour, Infill housing, LRA properties in ONSL, Life in ONSL, North Market Place, ONSL amenities, 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, sustainability
• 0 Comments

Scenes from Brightside Blitz Clean-up in Old North

Thank you to all of the neighbors and other volunteers who came out today to help clean up debris and trash throughout Old North as part of the annual Brightside Blitz.

Among the volunteers caught in the act of cleaning up Old North’s alleys, streets, gardens and vacant lots were Dave Eisenbraun, Brian, Heidi Sever, and Gloria Bratkowski (pictured above, from left to right).

Below  is the “before” picture of the pile these volunteers cleared away, along with the back of the “No Dumping” sign which had been dumped on top of the pile. (photo courtesy of Heidi Sever)

Over in the Hebert Street Community Garden, aka the Johnnie Owens Garden, Jay Roberts and Eric Little (shown in the photo below) assisted Barbara Manzara with the re-staining and re-sealing the arbor.

Doug Corey cleared and chopped wayward trees and branches on Sullivan (above) and Ross Dorsey (below) worked the 13th Street Community Garden.

Thanks to all others who put in hours of hard work while managing to avoid the glare of cameras - today and on the numerous other days of service to the community!

• POSTED IN
• 13th Street Community Garden, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, ONSL people, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Parks and green spaces, Volunteer Opportunities
• 0 Comments

International Media Coverage of Old North in Cities Today

What do Toronto, Zurich, Budapest, and Old North St. Louis have in common? All are mentioned in an article on walkability and urban economic development published in Cities Today, a London-based magazine focused on urban sustainable development initiatives around the world.  Click HERE to read the online version of the article.

The article includes a photo of sidewalks being installed along the 1300 block of North Market during the construction phase of the North Market Place Homes development as an example of efforts to make the neighborhood more walkable.

• POSTED IN
• Infill housing, Life in ONSL, North City Farmers' Market, ONSL amenities, ONSL in the news, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Parks and green spaces, Uncategorized, sustainability
• 0 Comments

Old North Bustling with Activity, including Bike To My Lou and Volunteers from SLU’s Showers of Service and Dept. of Corrections

VOLUNTEERS ASSIST WITH CLEANING UP, SPRUCING UP, AND BOARD-UP TASKS

Old North neighborhood volunteers received considerable help today from students from St. Louis University and another group of volunteers brought to the neighborhood by the Missouri Department of Corrections’ Office of Probation & Parole.  SLU’s annual Showers of Service program is a day of service sponsored and planned by the SLU chapter of Alpha Phi Omega.  For several years now, this program has sent dozens of students to Old North St. Louis Restoration Group to be deployed throughout the neighborhood for various volunteer projects where they can work side by side with neighborhood residents on community improvement projects.  As shown in the photos below, this year’s range of activities included alley clean-ups, boarding up vacant buildings, clearing empty lots, and a lot of work in the neighborhood’s numerous community gardens.

ONSLRG's Community Development Specialist, Matt Fernandez, a SLU grad with a bachelor's degree in Urban Affairs and a Master's in Urban Planning & Real Estate Development, inspired the students with evidence of life & employment after SLU.

The results of the volunteers’ work can be seen all over Old North…

The Johnnie Owens Garden at the Hebert Street Community Garden

Aida Rodriguez appreciated the help she received at Wingmann Park

The quasi-free-range residents of the 13th Street Community Garden are enjoying the cleaned up conditions around their home

Thank you to Alpha Phi Omega at SLU, to the Dept. of Corrections’ Office of Probation & Parole, and to neighborhood residents, including but not limited to James & Luz Maria Cox & family; Keith Marquard, Aida Rodriguez, Ernie Stanley, Chris Goetsch, Vela Hermann, Graham Lane, Ben Sever, Matt Fernandez, Ross Dorsey, Thom Fletcher, and many, many others.

BIKE TO MY LOU BIKE RIDE PASSES THROUGH OLD NORTH

A large contingent of cyclists passed through Old North this afternoon as part of the Bike to My Lou bike ride.  The free community ride and festival took riders through some of downtown’s adjacent neighborhoods - and we thank the organizers and sponsors for including Old North on the itinerary!

HABITAT HOMES UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Meanwhile, work continues on the 12 Habitat for Humanity homes under construction at N. 13th and Clinton.

A GOOD DAY FOR BUSINESS

Businesses in Old North enjoyed the flow of customers brought in by the various events going on in the neighborhood and the beautiful spring weather.

La Mancha Coffeehouse

Therapy Boutique

Crown Candy Kitchen

• POSTED IN
• 13th Street Community Garden, 14th Street Mall, Bikes and Trails, Community Gardens, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Habitat for Humanity, Johnnie Owens, Life in ONSL, ONSL amenities, ONSL people, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Parks and green spaces, Uncategorized, Volunteer Opportunities, sustainability
• 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

Old North St. Louis Selected for National Award for Excellence in Smart Growth Achievement

This morning in Washington, D.C., the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities announced that the revitalization of Old North St. Louis is the winner of the 2011 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement.  The National Award for Smart Growth Achievement recognizes communities that have successfully used the principles of smart growth to preserve and enhance their quality of life while helping to protect public health and the environment.  Of the five projects or communities selected for awards this year, Old North was recognized with the Award for Overall Excellence in Smart Growth.  St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Old North St. Louis Restoration Group executive director Sean Thomas were on-hand to receive the award from John Frece, Director of EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities.

The Award for Overall Excellence in Smart Growth is the highest award under this program and “recognizes an outstanding comprehensive approach to growth, including built projects, supportive plans and policies, and effective community participation,” according to the selection committee.  The committee further notes that “This award is for the best overall approach to implementing smart growth on a variety of fronts—not just for a single plan or project, but at the neighborhood, corridor, city, county, or regional level.”  Last year’s Overall Excellence award recognized collaborative efforts among New York City’s Departments of Transportation, Health, Design & Construction, and Planning toward improving that city’s livability.

Among the factors that contributed to Old North’s selection was the neighborhood’s 28% population increase over the past decade.  A winning project not only shows that a comprehensive approach is in place, but that it has significant impacts.  Because the overall achievement award is not for one specific project but for the collaborative and strategic efforts over several years, credit for this achievement goes out to a wide range of groups and individuals who worked together on multiple projects.  On behalf of the Board and staff of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, we especially thank the residents of Old North who, over many years, have scraped together limited resources and put in countless hours of service to the community.

Specific initiatives that have contributed to the neighborhood-wide revitalization include the $35 million, 27-building Crown Square redevelopment of the former 14th Street Pedestrian Mal, and with it, 80 new households in an area that had largely abandoned and a growing number of new locally-owned businesses; the new homes at North Market Place and the historically-rehabbed North Market Apartments, which salvaged 9 previously crumbling, abandoned buildings; the cultivation and maintenance of community gardens throughout the neighborhood; the North City Farmers’ Market; and last year’s opening of the community-owned Old North Grocery Co-op.

Partners who have worked with ONSLRG to help make these great things happen include multiple agencies of City of St. Louis (such as the Community Development Administration, St. Louis Development Corporation, Land Reutilization Authority, Planning & Urban Design Agency, Cultural Resources Office), Regional Housing & Community Development Alliance, University of Missouri-St. Louis and MU-Extension; Missouri Foundation for Health, Ken & Nancy Kranzberg, Gateway Greening, Operation Brightside… and so many more than can be listed here.

Although this award recognizes past achievements, the real benefit is that it will help shed more light on an area that has even greater potential for more growth.  In fact, the work to continue the revitalization is already in progress.

• POSTED IN
• Art in Old North, Awards and honors, Bikes and Trails, Community Gardens, Crown Candy Kitchen, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Habitat for Humanity, Historic rehabs, Infill housing, Life in ONSL, North City Farmers' Market, North Market Place, 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, RHCDA, Renovation, Uncategorized, Videos, sustainability
• 1 Comment

Join us Saturday for Open Streets in Old North

Our previous post provided some basic information about Open Streets in Old North, scheduled for tomorrow (Sat., Oct. 8) from 9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Now, we’re happy to share some sneak preview images and more details about the activities that will be happening up and down N. 14th Street.

In addition to the second-to-last North City Farmers’ Market day of the season, featuring a great variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (including okra, collards, herbs, squash, lettuce, and corn), visitors will enjoy…

- live music provided by Bill Forness & the Tennessee Two…

- an appearance by the ever-popular Bubble Bus, courtesy of Tekno Bubbles…

Check out TeknoBubbles.com for more images of the "totally awesome and amazingly cool" Bubble Bus

- bike alley, including bike tune-ups/repairs and helmet fittings and giveaways, along with the smoothie-producing bike-blender, courtesy of Trailnet…

- basketball in the street, with free-throw contests and 3-on-3, 2-on-2, or maybe even 1-on-1 pick-up games…

- yoga and other physical fitness-oriented activities, such as a soccer activity area and obstacle course (thanks to the YMCA of Greater St. Louis) along with another activity area hosted by Old North St. Louis Restoration Group (with soccer balls and equipment that ONSLRG is borrowing from America Scores), in addition to some other equipment ONSLRG has purchased through a mini-grant from Washington University)…

- Tai chi demonstrations by the St. Louis Taoist Association…

Photo courtesy of Bob Crowe of St. Louis Daily Photo Blog (http://saintlouismodailyphoto.blogspot.com/).

- “(en)Visioning Hyde Park” exhibit at the Old North Gallery (made possible with support from the Missouri Arts Council), featuring photography by young students who worked with ReBuild Foundation this past summer…

- Frisbee activities and good, old-fashioned 4-square games (thanks to playground balls on loan from Confluence Academy’s school in Old North) in the street in front of La Mancha Coffeehouse, where you can find Veronica Holden, “best barrista in St. Louis” (as designated by the most recent Best of St. Louis issue of Riverfront Times) …

…a bounce house of some sort

- and, a chance to take in the sights of award-winning, historically-rehabbed and architecturally-significant buildings at Crown Square while shopping at some of the neighborhood’s cool, new retail establishments, such as Therapy Boutique, Closet Repeats, the Racq Salon & Spa, along with a sneak preview of the coming soon Rambles Gift Gallery & Boutique, and other establishments, such as Head Hunters Barber Shop, Poor Souls Society Art Gallery, and Crown Candy Kitchen.

… and much, much more!

For more information - and to register your plans to ATTEND - visit the facebook page for Open Streets in Old North by clicking HERE.

• POSTED IN
• 14th Street Mall, Bikes and Trails, Crown Square, Crown Square Businesses, Forks & Feet Forward Old North!, Historic rehabs, 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, Parks and green spaces, Pictures, Uncategorized, Volunteer Opportunities, sustainability
• 0 Comments

Open Streets Day Returns to Old North Sat., Oct. 8

Cyclists, rollerbladers, joggers, parents with strollers, individuals in wheelchairs, pedestrians, and all sorts of others will converge on N. 14th Street in the heart of Old North this coming Saturday (Oct. for the first of two Open Streets Days in the City of St. Louis.

Please plan to join us for this family-friendly, community-enriching event — and help us spread the word to all others who might want to join in on the fun.  For more information or to make your plans to attend known, visit the facebook page for the event in Old North.  If you’d like to help with any of the activities planned for the “activity hub” along the 2600-2800 blocks of N. 14th, call the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031 and ask for Molly.

• POSTED IN
• 14th Street Mall, Bikes and Trails, Life in ONSL, North City Farmers' Market, ONSL amenities, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, Outreach, Parks and green spaces, Volunteer Opportunities, sustainability
• 0 Comments