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St. Louis Brews, 3rd Edition

St. Louis Brews, 3rd Edition
$45.00

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  • On the hottest day of the year (so far), I briefly visited Loretta Hall park in the Carr Square neighborhood (on my way back from dehydrating myself on a birding hike in Weldon Springs). Put into ordinance in 1842, this park is 2.3 acres in size. It offers a nice view of downtown, but sadly this seems like a space used more as a shortcut than a place of recreation. It does have the standard playground and ball field, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone really use the park for park-like things. But what's really notable about this park is the building just to the north, Carr School. The park was originally donated to the city by the same guy the school is named after, William C. Carr, a lawyer and judge in the early 19th century. According to the city's and Groth's St. Louis City Talk websites, Carr was an early advocate of quality higher education in St. Louis (among other things). The school, which is barely freaking standing, is (or was) one of William B. Ittner's most impressive #stl school designs. It is an absolute tragedy that this building is now in such a state of disrepair. It's still neat to take a look at his mosaics and brick designs, though. Built in 1908, the Missouri History Museum has a great photo of what it looked like in the 1950's. I wrote a blog article about Ittner several years ago if anyone wants more info on that awesome guy. And finally, here's an Eastern Bluebird (Missouri’s state bird) from my sweat-a-thon birding hike. #stlbirds #stlhistory #stlparks #stl #iloveittner
  • Indigo Bunting! Taken today while baking at Shaw Nature Reserve. 😊 #nofilter #stlbirds #stl #indigobunting #birdnerd #birds
  • Today’s #stl park survey took me to Father Filipiak Park in the Columbus Square neighborhood. And I could write about this park all day. It is filled with, and surrounded by fascinating #stl history. The park is a simple 4.3 acre space with trees and small rolling hills, and it sits right next to the Shrine of St. Joseph (pic 2) at the corner of Biddle and Tenth. This amazing structure is the only example of Baroque church architecture in St. Louis. The cornerstone of the church was laid in 1844, and the park next to it (put into ordinance in 1980) is named after the guy who saved the church from being demolished in 1979. Father Edward Filipiak was the church’s pastor at the time, a man who was tragically murdered in 1980 by three teenagers attempting to steal wine from the church. The church is also noted for being the scene of an actual Vatican-verified miracle (I don’t buy these things, but still kinda cool). I’m more into cholera, and St. Joseph was front and center during both the 1849 and 1866 epidemics. “Kayser’s Lake”, the festering pool of sewage named after the engineer who proposed a “natural” method of diverting waste water into underground caves (which became clogged and flooded the area) sat right in front of the church during the 1849 epidemic. And in the 1866 epidemic, the church performed as many as 25 funerals a day. And if all of this all isn’t enough good history, there’s even an Ittner school across the street. No birds of note, but I got a good close-up of a juvenile robin. #stlbirds #stlhistory #stlparks #iloveittner
  • Another #stl park visit. This time I walked around W.C. Handy Park in the Kingsway East neighborhood. Put into ordinance in 1941, the park was dedicated to the famous composer and musician in 1960. The inspiration for Handy's famous song “St. Louis Blues” happened in 1893 when Handy was homeless and looking for work in St. Louis. On the riverfront, he met a woman who told him her man “had a heart like a rock cast into the sea.” He remembered the line and used it in his famous song that was published in 1914 (pic #2 shows Handy later in life at the Old Rock House-photo courtesy of the Missouri History Museum). Fun fact: Handy's hit was the inspiration for our NHL team that began play in 1967. Today, we associate St. Louis Blues with the Stanley Cup (hooray!) but a handful of people at the time weren't happy with the name selection, believing that it sounded somewhat depressing. Other considerations included "Apollo" and "Mercury" since each space capsule was built in St. Louis. Personally, I’m glad they went with the Blues. As for the park, it's a nice space checking in at 12 acres. It has ballfields, basketball courts, and a nice path that I walked around. No birds of note, so I stopped by the Campbell House to see the hawks again. And I think this one is actually flipping me the bird! How appropriate. #stlparks #stlhistory #stl #stlbirds
  • Interesting #STL park find today. In the Penrose neighborhood, I visited Eugene “Tink” Bradley Park at the corner of Marcus and Margaretta Avenues. Walking in, right away I noticed this weird stone structure near the playground. But before I get to that, I’ll mention that the park is 3.18 acres in size and is named after a former alderman who was the first African-American to serve as the President of the Board of Aldermen in the late 1970’s. Later, I did some googling to find out what the deal with the stone thing is, and along with finding out a guy got shot in the toe there recently, I was interested to learn the park used to be the site of a quarry. The park was originally known as Union-Marcus Quarry Park until it was renamed after Mr. Bradley in the 1980’s. My guess is the stone thing is some sort of nod to what used to be there, and this is exactly why I’m having so much fun with this #stl park project. After that, I drove up towards Alton again and waded through areas that had recently been completely under water (pic 3). While there, I saw my first Lesser Yellowlegs, a bird I had never even heard of before. A good day to take the edge off a tough week. 😊 #stlbirds #stlparks
  • He looks deep in thought. #ringbilledgull #stlbirds
  • Visited a couple north #stl parks yesterday. The first was Gregory J. Carter park in the Walnut Park East neighborhood. Created in 1951, the park is 9.6 acres in size. This park was originally named Dwight Davis Park (after our famous tennis icon), and was renamed just a few years ago to honor five-term alderman Gregory J. Carter, who died in an automobile accident in 2012. This is a large park with a big field, a walking path, and the usual playground setup. Then I headed over to Vivian Astra Park in the North Point neighborhood (pic 3). This park is really nothing but a 1.1 acre patch of land between streets, formed by the windy paths of Vivian and Astra Avenues. It even has signs stating “No Picnics and No Sport Activities Allowed”. That’s a shame, because it looks like it could be the nice patch of ground for kids to at least play catch or kick a ball around. It was kind of a lame day all around. I visited these parks on the way to find birds at Riverlands, but it was too hot for the birds (and me). But I did get another shot of a Red-winged Blackbird that I like. #stlbirds #stlparks #stl #stl
  • The view the Flaming Lips had the other night. 😊 #yoshimi
  • Well, it was bound to happen. I found a #stl park that I won’t be visiting again anytime soon. This past weekend, I found Sister Marie Charles Park in the Carondelet neighborhood. This is a weird park, because it sits between the Mississippi River and Bellerive Park. It’s odd because I’ve been to Bellerive often, and I always thought that park sat adjacent to the river. I had no idea there’s another park further down the bluff. Sister Marie Charles Park was put into ordinance in 1982 and is three acres in size. It’s long and very narrow, with a single path that at first looks inviting. But walk down that path and the vibe changes quickly. I’m a big guy and I normally don’t get nervous in sketchy situations, but I found myself looking for escape routes almost immediately. I noticed a couple sketchy characters just hanging around, and at the end of the path a car was parked (and there’s no road… the car must have driven on the path). All of the doors were open and a guy was just sitting inside it. Next to the car was a large concrete slab where something very large had recently been burned. What really got to me was I think the only escape routes are back towards the park entrance on Elwood Street (requiring me to walk past the creepy guys again) or simply jump in the river (a route I briefly considered). It’s easy to see what goes on in this park, so if that’s not your thing, I suggest staying far away from it. But if you want to risk it, it does get you a great view of the river. I’m still kinda creeped out, but I have recent shots of a Great Blue Heron and a soaring Great Egret to calm me down. #stlparkfail #birdtherapy
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