This is newish construction. The mansard is a little awkward, but note the copper trim on the top and bottom of the roof. I find this commitment to detail:- Impressive because the copper hasn't been stolen yet
- Strange because this is an office on a truck lot
- Not entirely surprising: A-B is an ideal corporate neighbor and maintains amazing architecture, landscaping, safety and lighting.
While A-B has an excellent track record of maintaining their beautiful buildings, I'm not sure I would use the word "ideal" to describe them as a neighbor. There is a small area south of the brewery centered on 9th & Utah that has seen several great rehabs in the last several years. From what I have been told though, A-B had been buying property in the area and if they had their way would have bulldozed the whole area for corporate expansion even though they have several parking lots and other areas to build if they so need.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Mansard Lady. I like having places like A-B around to keep things looking nice. I don't necessarily agree with the demolition of historic buildings, but there are certain instances where I'm fairly ok with it. It's kind of like people having an issue with SLU. True, they have wrecked a lot of old stuff that I would have liked to see saved, but at the same time it's guaranteed to be immaculate at all times. And in 20 years it will look exactly the same. You can't say that about too many neighbors.
ReplyDeleteCompanies and institutions which wreck and then landbank the vacant lots are doing a disservice to their neighbors and the City. It produces a sense of unease and insecurity. It is unfair to the residents who take care of their buildings shows a deep disrespect towards the efforts of those who seek to improve and expand the fabric of urban configuration. As for SLU, well, take a ride around their "campus", which seems to be, for them, the entirety of Grand Ave. from Lindell to Highway 44. Not a pretty picture. So many, many buildings which once enhanced that area merely by being present. In different states of repair, but all contributing to a sense that someday this particular area could come back with only some committed rehabbing. Now, it's impossible to imagine that without wondering how many millions of dollars it will take to put buildings on ALL of those vacant lots. Considering the, ahem, "taste" shown by SLU, those replacements wouldn't be pretty. Some of their newer buildings in the "Grand Center" look like prisons. It's painful driving north on Grand, and SLU hasn't helped.
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