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LOCATION: 14th Street between St. Louis and Warren Avenues; Old North St. Louis; Saint Louis, Missouri More information and photos: Built St. Louis; Kurt Groetsch; Landmarks Association. The 14th Street mall is a two-block pedestrian mall of mainly abandoned storefront buildings. A remnant of 1970's era urban planning, the closure of 14th Street from St. Louis Avenue southward to Warren Avenue left a once-bustling shopping district in decline. The shop buildings gradually became vacant, and only a few businesses on the fringes remain open -- notably the venerable Crown Candy Kitchen at 14th and St. Louis. With some renewed attention to the surrounding Old North St. Louis area in the last two years, though, the 14th Street Mall could enjoy some form of rejuvenation soon. Hopefully, rejuvenation will not consist of massive demolition; the two blocks suffered from much demolition when the mall was built to accommodate parking behind the stores on 14th Street. The scale of this shopping district is as intimately urban as that of the Cherokee Street district. Buildings here are small and close together, and within walking district of beautiful and remarkably intact -- by northside standards -- 19th century row and town houses. It could be instrumental in developing a multi-racial, mixed-income district of housing and shopping north of downtown, which is priced out of range for most of Saint Louis and is woefully lacking in diversity in its emergent population. This area could anchor a belt of family-friendly housing, cooperatively managed rental units, urban gardens, live-work spaces (Neighborhood Gardens, anyone?), and neighborhood schools. This neighborhood could strike a blow against the real estate forces that are pushing the middle and lower classes out of older parts of south city. Imagine: affordable, restored historic living space in the inner city in the 21st century! Already, someone has started imagining a new life for the Mall. Read about and see photos of German artist Ralf Tafler's 2002 installation on the 14th Street Mall: Picture Imperfect, by Thomas Crone (from The Commonspace). Images from September 4, 2004:
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