The reopened section of Tucker Boulevard north of Cole
Here at Count On Downtown we didn’t think we’d ever get too excited by another McDonald’s Restaurant opening up. In this case we’ll make an exception. This new franchise owned by Jimmy Williams opened today, in sync with the new Tucker Boulevard section north of Cole Street that will eventually lead to the new Mississippi river bridge.
The new restaurant is open 24 hours a day
View of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch building and downtown from the parking lot
Sidewalk detail
The roadway and pavement of this new stretch of Tucker look good. Nice materials, wide sidewalks, landscaping along the roadway and in the median. The new McDonald’s restaurant boasts the look and style now used for franchises nationwide. All-in-all a good addition to downtown. We fear for the circumferences of our friends at the Post-Dispatch with this new food option a stone’s throw away.
Yep, never thought I’d take a McDonald’s opening as a good sign, but in this case it definitely is. From the pictures it looks distressingly suburban. We need to increase density and urbanity within city limits, not import the suburbs into the city as we have done in too many cases (look at the great north/south boulevards: Grand, Kingshighway, Hampton. It’s too bad). Still, this opening is a very good sign for the revitalization of downtown.
I know it is a good sign but the pics still make me vomit in the back of my throat. The front parking lot, the interrupted sidewalk, the stamped concrete bricks. Why does it have to look like a frickin’ suburb?
To cut them a little slack, this is a redo of an existing situation. I don’t know if you’ve seen this area before but it’s definitely a huge improvement. I see both your points about the (too)suburban feel. Maybe this is downtown’s secret weapon: bring the suburbs to the city! All joking aside, give it a few more years and when the new bridge opens this new Tucker corridor will hopefully live up to its promise.
The problem is that St. Louis City doesn’t demand better urban design. It doesn’t scrutinize design except for heavily-coded areas like Soulard, parts of the CWE and Lafayette Square. And those areas have their own watchdogs. While a preservation office has been good for preserving older structures in the city, St. Louis City needs an office of urban design under the tutelage of the St. Louis Development Corporation where it accepts and rejects proposed designs based on a number of factors. If a company such as McDonald’s sees a worthwhile opportunity in the city, then it will design accordingly.
While this location is new and demonstrates progress, it’s still too suburban on a strip that has the potential to be very dense and urban considering the its connection to the new bridge.
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4125/5188630137_712428fda4_m.jpg
http://blog.timesunion.com/saratogaseen/files/2011/06/mcds.jpg
Oh, by the way those links are to urban McDonald’s in downtown Denver and Saratoga (Florida, I think). And thanks for posting this. I enjoy your blog.