Fair St. Louis’ home sweet home: downtown or riverfront
Officials behind Fair St. Louis/Live on the Levee have a huge decision on their hands.
They must figure out which locale is best for the summer events that this year brought Black Crowes, Joss Stone, and Anthony Hamilton to town.
Flooding caused the annual events to move from their usual scenic perch on the riverfront to what was meant to be a temporary location downtown at Soldier’s Memorial Plaza, turning Live On the Levee into Live Off the Levee.
Now that the dust has cleared and the water has receded, organizers are deciding whether to return to the riverfront next summer or stay downtown.
Let’s look at this for a second.
Nothing beats a Live On the Levee concert, sitting near the base of the Arch with the river serving as a backdrop to one of your favorite performers. That ambiance, complete with fireworks, is nothing short of killer. But if the performer is especially popular, Live On the Levee is a logistical nightmare in terms of parking and just getting around.
Then there’s Soldier’s Memorial Plaza. It’s home to a number of other summer events, which makes it feel less than special. But there’s room for growth, and that appeals to the organizers.
Where do you think Fair St. Louis and Live On the Levee should take place next year?
Photo: Fireworks explode over the Mississippi River July 4 during Fair St. Louis
Photo credit: Emil Rasinski
Kevin C. Johnson has covered the St. Louis' music and nightlife scene for the past decade. 
Tom,
One of the many things that the Danforth Plan will do, specifically to this issue, is create wider and safer walkways across Highway 70. Actually, Highway 70 would be completely covered. That should allow for more crowds to move across that BLVD–faster and safer.