What was once known as the Gateway Mall was a strip of greenspace which was envisioned to run uninterrupted down the center of downtown, as the centerpiece of a grand double-boulevard that was part of the city's 1907 plan. Economic decline prevented the vision from being realized. Also like the High Line, Citygarden was decades in the making--and only made possible thanks to dedicated and visionary citizens who saw the 1.1-mile long plot of land as a place for potential urban intervention.
Comments
Just spent a month in St Louis
What's overwhelming downtown are the number of empty beautiful old office buildings. One near my hotel had a sign, "Condos Coming in 2005!" I took the light rail/subway and it's on the "honor system" but I had my ticket checked 3 times on one journey. Also, shocking as it my seem, little attention has been given to the walk from downtown to the Arch National Park. Peds have to cross a busy highway and the sidewalks don't have wheelchair ramps. Best places? Lafayette Square, the Soulard, and the Central West End. Also, the City Museum is amazing.
-Justin