You have better than central park? rethink that again, you have a park full of ghetto trash and the feeling of uneasiness all the time. Central PArk is loaded with women and is an awesome time, you can get food and what not to. STL will remain the same due to a lack of out of towners that bring their own sense of living and ideas to a city. Untill the boarded up buildings and pigeons go, STL will be just a blurp on the map, certainly nothing more. Sad but that’s what happens when you have 92 municipalities fighting one another for every dollar, you have winners, you have losers, and STL city is the biggest loser sadly.

I write alot in here and that is because I like STL, it’s my hometown, but it makes me sick when I here about more studies and more talk that leads to nothing more than great artist illustrations and nothing more. Government must change first for corporate business to take notice, a city county merger would work over the long haul much like in Indianpolis many years ago. fter that, the tax base would strenghthen and the power in numbers would show that STL is ready for prime time and then only then will anything happen that will forever change STL into a proggressive leader in the 21st century. Forget the worlds fair, that was 100 years plus ago, before you know it, cities like KC and Nashville will be passing you up.

The Arch should have a permanent memorial to the African-Americans that invented and built the Arch.

Vox,
African Americans, for all their virtues, did not invent the catenary curve, which is the basis for the Arch. I’m sure there were plenty of African Americans who worked on the Arch, but I remember also the Mohawk American Indians, an Indian nation nationally famous for working high iron, who worked on the Arch too, not to mention (mostly men, of course for the time) of all ethnic backgrounds who worked to create the monument. There was a big brouhaha at the time that this *was* the creation of a multi-ethnic work force, and as such, it reflected the many ethnicities which settled the West.
We need monuments which unite us all as Americans, not ones which divide us by artificial cultural differences. It’s the coming new world, and I’d rather be a part of it than the old hyphenated one.

I may, I say may, like to see more attractions around the Arch, but ONLY if they relate to the Arch and its surrounds. Not restaurants or rides or shows; we don’t need something that as a consequence draws crowds in but as an attribute attracts tourists.
I think also we should spend more in advertising. Not enough is known about the museum and attractions down below. I also think the lines for entry are too long and the wait to get in is unbearable. Either add more lines or streamline the process to make it faster to enter and I think this will add more tourists. People didn’t wait in lines at the airport all that time to wait in lines to get into the Arch; its too much of a detracter.

I remember the attractions on the riverfront. We used to make it a day; go to the destroyer, watch the helicopters come and go, see the steamboats with the big paddle wheels, I even remember the Admiral when it was originally moored there, the grand Cathedral. And the finale was the climb up the stairs to the Gateway Arch (it was even more thrilling when the water was so high the stairs were covered!) The point is, we need more attractions that ADD to the riverfront and the ARCH, not take away from it.
I always thought it would be AWESOME if we could float the USS Missouri to the riverfront and add it to the attractions…don’t know what the draft is though…19ft perhaps?

Teresa:

You’re right. The New World Order will be great! In honor of it we should paint the arch with a giant rainbow to celebrate that if it wasn’t for homosexuals there wouldn’t even be an arch and then we can put lifesize deer made out of chocolate beneath the arch and fill the reflecting pools with chocolate milk and gumdrops.

I’ve spent a few beautiful Saturday afternoons on the grounds with my kids. Personally, I love the green space - like an urban oasis. Yet, hardly anyone is using the archgrounds. Most days you can count on two hands the number of people down there.

The lid over 70 is the place to start, along with renovating the parking garage (scary!) After that, there has to be a way to offer more food and beverage service without “developing” the whole grounds. Keep the feel of the green space and add a few other features.

Oh, and what’s this talk of a “touch-up” of the Old Cathedral? I understand that the church itself is the property of the Archdiocese but the ground it sits on belongs to the national park service. Does ‘touch-up’ refer to some basic maintenance or something more? Let’s not get too many ideas about changing the church - don’t fix what isn’t broken. I’m sure someone would love to turn it into loft condos with a Starbucks in the front.

I have 2 ideas. First, an 80 foot wide rope ladder or tower with rope ladders and rapeling ropes to keep the climbers safe with 2 platforms wide enough for many people made of steel or wood. One platform for beginners and one for more advanced. It would be nice if there was elevator access for those who want to see with physical challenges or just older adults. This would be great for grandparents to watch their grandchildren and it would encourage physical fitness. A button could be given or sold saying I climbed the rope ladder at the Arch or I tried to climb the rope ladder at the arch. I am a Correction Officer on the Emergency Squad at MECC and it is similar to the concept of the Climbing Rapeling Tower at Farmington Correctional Center. Second, another structure that could be built with a view would be a treehouse structure made of cement that looks like a treehouse similar to the one at the San Diego Zoo with a restaurant on top that is inexpensive with elevator access for physically challenged and with steps to make it fun for children and visitors, both having views and encouraging physical fitness. Again buttons and T-shirts could be sold like St. Louis Treehouse and St. Louis Climbing Tower and both ideas to work and attract families and schools would have to be well advertised in the news and newspapers. Robert J. Davis