Photographs by Julie Thomas
Bill Ruppert spent the winter picking flowers: bright tropicals such as Bengal Tiger cannas, Dragon Wing begonias and New Gold lantana. Come summer, these and many other blooms will overflow giant planters in Kiener Plaza. Ruppert also chose plants for the Market Street median, a simpler job because just two colors predominate—red and white. “I call it the Cardinal Collection,” he says. “I’m not much of a sports fan, but I’ve come to appreciate the power of the Cardinals. They get people downtown.”
Getting people to linger downtown, or even move there, is the purpose of the floral displays put on by Urban Roots. This public/private coalition made a splash last summer by turning the dusty strip in the middle of Market into a miniature Amazon jungle of lush greenery and brilliant blooms.
“Last year was well received,” says developer Kevin McGowan, one of Urban Roots’ prime movers. “This year we’ll double the effort, spend twice the money—a quarter of a million dollars.”
The project got going two winters ago. Ruppert, a plant wholesaler and spark plug on the local horticulture scene, was waxing enthusiastic about the luxuriant downtown plantings in Chicago to Charlie Brennan, host of the Morning Meeting on KMOX (1120 AM). Brennan suggested a scouting mission to Chicago and invited McGowan and Dennis Woldum, head of Gateway Greening. The three had cooperated the previous summer on a floral project for Washington Avenue.
In Chicago, the men met with Mayor Richard Daley and his parks-and-horticulture team. They came back convinced that a Chicago vision had to be implemented in St. Louis style. “We’re different,” Ruppert explains. “The mayor in Chicago has powers the mayor of St. Louis doesn’t. The Chicago organization Friends of the Parks looks after all the parks. In St. Louis, a neighborhood looks after its own park, and that left out downtown because, until recently, nobody lived there.”
The money came mostly from corporate donors whose offices are on Market Street. “There are no tax dollars—tell people that,” says Ruppert with a grin, recalling how he heard one passerby grumble that the city was spending its money on flowers rather than pothole repair. Most of the labor was provided by Gateway Greening’s volunteers, aided by the professionals at Horstmann Brothers Landscaping and the city’s parks department. Last May, some 50 people helped on planting day. Among them were Mayor Francis Slay’s chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, and Rainford’s daughter, Claire. The city’s liaison with Urban Roots, Rainford enjoyed the flowers all summer. “Going for a walk at lunchtime made a difference in my whole workday,” he says. “It’s not only beautiful in its own right; it gives us an idea what Market Street can be.”
According to McGowan, “this is just the beginning of what will be a very large effort.” He’s talking about a $50 million makeover of the Gateway Mall, including a new name. Numerous ideas came out of a charrette held by the American Institute of Architects last fall: a skating rink for Kiener Plaza, hardscaped areas for parades and fairs near City Hall, outdoor performance areas in front of the library, even a Ferris wheel near Union Station. Next fall, the AIA will launch a national competition for plans. That word makes jaded locals roll their eyes, Ruppert admits: “I know, [Post-Dispatch columnist] Bill McClellan calls St. Louis the ‘City of Plans’—but some plans are realized.” McGowan says stoutly, “You’ll see construction begin in 2009–'10. Everybody we talk to is enthusiastic—and why not? The mall’s a wasteland now, and it could be one of the country’s finest public gardens. This summer is just a teaser.”
