Last week, I introduced Wellston Loop readers to Colin Gordon’s detailed study, Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City (Penn Press, 2008). This week, I want to zero in on twin issues in the book – “urban abandonment” (nearly synonymous in St. Louis’s case with “white flight”) and the simultaneous phenomenon of […]
Continue reading about Mapping Decline: Urban Abandonment and Suburbanization
Hang on to your hats. It’s going to be a bumpy – and depressing – ride for the next few blog entries. Why? Because I’m going to be focusing on Colin Gordon’s Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City (Penn Press, 2008). The journey won’t be depressing because of the quality […]
Continue reading about Colin Gordon’s “Mapping Decline”: Introduction
Last month, I reflected on the wonderful neighborhoods I’ve been fortunate to call home over the last 20+ years. In that post, I mentioned a great film, Designing a Great Neighborhood. It tells the story of my present neighborhood – North Boulder’s Holiday Neighborhood – and focuses in particular on the development of the Wild […]
Last month, I heard a great NPR piece on Los Angeles and the history of its streetcar system. Seems that the automobile-choked L.A. has finally built one leg of a light-rail system – and not surprisingly, it follows an old streetcar route. Sound familiar? It’s just like St. Louis’s MetroLink, which follows transit routes that […]
Continue reading about New L.A. Light Rail Built along Old Streetcar Route
For those interested in St. Louis history and/or the fate of the American city in the 20th century, the new Chad Freidrichs documentary, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, is a must-see. I was very fortunate to attend the first St. Louis screening of the 83-minute film April 9 at the Missouri History Museum. The screening was sold […]
Well, it’s been quite a month of memories! My mother (Bonnie Landsbury Burrows, Wellston High ‘57) and my aunt (Louise Landsbury Overbey, Wellston High ‘65) kicked us off with their memories of their growing-up days in Wellston. Three readers –Nan Sweet, Janice Clark, and Wayne Brasler – added their own recollections. Janice won a copy […]
Continue reading about Results of “Do You Remember?” Contest
On Friday, April 22, my friend Hazel Dickens – legendary bluegrass pioneer and champion of workers and their rights – died in Washington, D.C., from complications of pneumonia. She was 75. I spent much of Friday searching the Internet for articles on Hazel and remembering her on Facebook with other friends. I also shared the […]
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you news of Andrew D. Young’s marvelous 2002 book, Streets and Streetcars of St. Louis: A Sentimental Journey. I described all the great things you’ll find in the book – but thought you might also like to learn about the history of the streetcars Young shares in […]
Continue reading about Streets and Streetcars of St. Louis, Part 2
I’m delighted to welcome two new guest bloggers – my mother (Bonnie Landsbury Burrows, Wellston High ‘57) and my aunt (Louise Landsbury Overbey, Wellston High ‘65). They offer some tantalizing memories of their growing-up days in Wellston. Readers: Post your own memory as a comment and be entered in a drawing for a free copy […]
Wellston Loop reader (and dear friend) Bryan Bowen (owner of Bryan Bowen Architects) sent me a link to a Grist article that I highly recommend. “Trust in the Rust Belt: This Is Flint, Michigan, in All Its Pain and All Its Glory” is an evocative thought piece on the fading “Vehicle City.” Author Wes Janz, […]
Recent Comments