Tower Grove East
Tell us the story of how you chose your house. What makes your house your "home"?
I had been looking at house with my great realtor, Sal Dinolfo, for about 6 months. He had patiently shown me house after house in neighborhoods all over South City. One night, after looking a t a house I was about to decide to buy, we swung by a new listing. I noticed that while there was a condemned house next door, the rest of the street looked very quiet and well-kept. One of the neighbors even had a great deal of very pretty statuary in the yard! If they could keep that statuary in good shape then there couldn't me too much vandalism in the area. Otherwise the yard art would have been damaged. A friend who was helping me look at houses and I went in. We saw the big, open Arts & Crafts style with built-in stained glass and I was sold. Even though the the house is a modest 2-bedroom, 1 bath home, the classic layout gives it a much bigger feel. The house is not what makes this home to me. Its the small town feel of living in the neighborhoods around Tower Grove Park that ties it all up in a nice package. St. Louis is big enough to feel like the other cities I've lived in (San Francisco, Los Angeles among others) but the closeness and comradery yet diverse kinds of people of the Tower grove neighborhoods makes it feel like Cicely, Alaska without the snow. The upshot is if you always wanted to live a version of "Northern Exposure" Tower Grove East is the closest thing to it!
What does your neighborhood mean to you? Why do you stay?
My neighborhood is a great example of how people with different backgrounds can live together peacefully and even happily. My neighbors run the gamut from white, middle-class to New Americans from China, Bosnia, Africa and Vietnam. We look different and we may even decorate the outsides of homes differently but we share one thing -- we all want a good, peaceful life. Also, I love living near Grand and the Park! I can walk to restaurants and I can take my dogs walking as well. I stay because the combination of good people, gracious bricks and commitment to making this a better part of the world are an unbeatable combination. Where else could I find all that? The suburbs? I don't think so.
How do you describe the neighborhood to your family? your friends? Are the two descriptions different?
I tell people I live in a vibrant, artistic, grand old part of town that feels like a cross between Cicely, Alaska, San Francisco and a touch of Dublin, Ireland with the architectural styles. It is defined by a Victorian park rivaled by few in the States.
Tell us the ideal snapshot of the neighborhood in 5 years. In 10 years.
In 5 years -- no board-ups and all those buildings will have been rehabbed or, if past rehabilitation, then they have been torn down. On South Grand, how about a great pet store and a bakery to go with the nice selection of stores already on South grand? Also, I would like to see the Grand South Grand business district positively infect Grand south of the district so that the area around Gravois and Grand takes on more of the elan of the stores already on South Grand near Arsenal. 10 years --I would love to see more of the unused corner businesses in the neighborhoods filled in away from Grand (much like the fun new Shenandoah Crossings). That would extend the activity throughout the neighborhoods.
I had been looking at house with my great realtor, Sal Dinolfo, for about 6 months. He had patiently shown me house after house in neighborhoods all over South City. One night, after looking a t a house I was about to decide to buy, we swung by a new listing. I noticed that while there was a condemned house next door, the rest of the street looked very quiet and well-kept. One of the neighbors even had a great deal of very pretty statuary in the yard! If they could keep that statuary in good shape then there couldn't me too much vandalism in the area. Otherwise the yard art would have been damaged. A friend who was helping me look at houses and I went in. We saw the big, open Arts & Crafts style with built-in stained glass and I was sold. Even though the the house is a modest 2-bedroom, 1 bath home, the classic layout gives it a much bigger feel. The house is not what makes this home to me. Its the small town feel of living in the neighborhoods around Tower Grove Park that ties it all up in a nice package. St. Louis is big enough to feel like the other cities I've lived in (San Francisco, Los Angeles among others) but the closeness and comradery yet diverse kinds of people of the Tower grove neighborhoods makes it feel like Cicely, Alaska without the snow. The upshot is if you always wanted to live a version of "Northern Exposure" Tower Grove East is the closest thing to it!
What does your neighborhood mean to you? Why do you stay?
My neighborhood is a great example of how people with different backgrounds can live together peacefully and even happily. My neighbors run the gamut from white, middle-class to New Americans from China, Bosnia, Africa and Vietnam. We look different and we may even decorate the outsides of homes differently but we share one thing -- we all want a good, peaceful life. Also, I love living near Grand and the Park! I can walk to restaurants and I can take my dogs walking as well. I stay because the combination of good people, gracious bricks and commitment to making this a better part of the world are an unbeatable combination. Where else could I find all that? The suburbs? I don't think so.
How do you describe the neighborhood to your family? your friends? Are the two descriptions different?
I tell people I live in a vibrant, artistic, grand old part of town that feels like a cross between Cicely, Alaska, San Francisco and a touch of Dublin, Ireland with the architectural styles. It is defined by a Victorian park rivaled by few in the States.
Tell us the ideal snapshot of the neighborhood in 5 years. In 10 years.
In 5 years -- no board-ups and all those buildings will have been rehabbed or, if past rehabilitation, then they have been torn down. On South Grand, how about a great pet store and a bakery to go with the nice selection of stores already on South grand? Also, I would like to see the Grand South Grand business district positively infect Grand south of the district so that the area around Gravois and Grand takes on more of the elan of the stores already on South Grand near Arsenal. 10 years --I would love to see more of the unused corner businesses in the neighborhoods filled in away from Grand (much like the fun new Shenandoah Crossings). That would extend the activity throughout the neighborhoods.
