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Some books that wind up on the local-slash-regional bookshelf of your area bookseller have a somewhat tenuous relationship with the town. Perhaps the author spent their collegiate years here, or there’s a mild, regional hint within the content. Others, though, are through-and-through St. Louis, with no doubt left that this here town is exactly the place this book should be sold and read. In fact, in the case of Amanda Doyle’s recent work, the title says not only a lot, it says it all: Finally! A Locally Produced Guidebook to St. Louis By and For St. Louisans, Neighborhood by Neighborhood.
For some years, Doyle’s been involved in the local community, in a host of roles: President of Metropolis St. Louis, writing and editing for Where Magazine, co-founding the physical (and digital) iterations of The Commonspace, and hosting shows for KDHX for some 10 years—where, in the interests of disclosure, she shared a microphone with this writer. A resident of Tower Grove Heights, Doyle’s been a staunch city advocate, even after introducing to the world a youngster, Milo, with her husband Brian Marston. That’s often the time when even the most gung-ho city residents take a flyer on a new community, but there’s little chance that this family’s uprooting for a house in the ‘burbs.
The accompanying video trailer, shot and edited by Bill Streeter, says as much, even as it gives a rich visual interpretation to what’s found in the heavily-illustrated work. We’d invite you to take a peek at it, as well as noting Doyle’s answers below.
Featuring some supplemental writings by Kerri Bonasch of the Reedy Press staff, along with a forward by famed developer and STL advocate Joe Edwards, the book’s had Doyle on the local media circuit’s merry-go-round for the past month, with TV, radio, print and podcasting interviews all slotted. We add to the media-frenzy with some questions of own, which Doyle answered on the fly, while taking in a weekend in Nashville.
Finally! A Locally Produced Guidebook to St. Louis, By and For St. Louisans, Neighborhood By Neighborhood (Trailer) from bill streeter on Vimeo.
You've sketched this out before, but for those learning of your book for the first time, can you describe the project's genesis and research?
Matt and Josh at Reedy Press had long had an idea for a guidebook for locals, and approached me about working on it with them. They had a broad vision, but really left the entire structure and approach to the book up to me, which was both completely liberating and entirely daunting. Because of my work (for more than a decade) at Where Magazine, I did have a pretty strong base of establishments in lots of parts of town, but this book allowed me to stretch the geographic boundaries (from Lake St. Louis/Wentzville to Edwardsville/Maryville) of my normal orbit and the kinds of spots I normally get to write about. I did poll friends—some folks in outlying areas heard more from me in the last months than they have in years!—and check the Internet, but the best research is driving the roads, walking the blocks, squeezing the fabric. There's just no substitute for seeing things with your own eyes, although I confess I haven't personally eaten, drunk or shopped at every single spot listed in the books. And I got to go to plenty of spots that were new to me.
With your work with Metropolis and other city-based civic endeavors, you've built a lot of goodwill with people inside the city borders. Did you have to convince anyone that you'd be open to really exploring and shining a light on non-city locations?
As far as the city-centricness of my entire St. Louis life up to now, it's a bias I admit freely. However, again thanks to my day job and to my own curiosity, I am fully aware of tons of worthy businesses, neighborhoods, people and places that lie—gasp!—beyond the inner belt. One of my biggest goals for the book was actually to illuminate some of the non-central-corridor parts of our region that are never given their due. Like, you know, anything north. I found that folks who aren't on the usual suspects list of "cool stuff" are incredibly grateful to hear someone validate their existence. Not that London Tea Room or Lady Di's Diner needs my stamp of approval, but I think people spend so much time just doing their jobs that they don't always get to hear that people notice and appreciate what they're doing.
To that end, what are some parts of town—in addition to your beloved Ferguson—that you enjoy visiting for, say, an afternoon trip?
Neighborhoods I love to kick around in: downtown Kirkwood, Old Orchard in Webster, Edwardsville, downtown Belleville. And downtown St. Louis! I work downtown now, and I just love roaming around. For a day trip, I have a serious alternative life, all in my mind, in New Haven, MO, a great little river town with a single-screen theater and a small concert venue, the Riverfront Cultural Society. I also am a big fan of a drive up the River Road, eating pie all along the way and ending up at Pere Marquette State Park.
How do you think that having a young child has changed your approach to writing this? Both in terms of the time you were able to spend, and in the way you view the city?
Having a toddler in tow hugely colors my experience of St. Louis, although I'm also very much of the "throw the kid in the stroller and take 'em along" school of parenting. I will say that, although I frequented Tower Grove Park and the Missouri History Museum and Laumeier and Main Street St. Charles prior to having a kid, I never appreciated the fullness of amusement they would also provide to the under-three-feet-tall set. And Milo was my ghostwriter for much of this book, since it was pretty much an extracurricular activity. The thing about our much-vaunted rep as a "family-friendly town" is that things that are great and fun for families are generally great and fun for everyone, or are at least a kind of canary in the cage for how hospitable and active a neighborhood or a city is.
You've really embraced new media is getting the word out about the book, with a dedicated website and video trailer. How did those come together?
Bill Streeter, local videographer extraordinaire and the brains behind the amazing Brick by Chance and Fortune documentary, was kind enough to let me buy him lunch and pick his brain for promotional ideas; he's done a terrific job getting the word out about his projects. At the end of lunch, almost an afterthought, he said, "Have you considered making a book trailer?" Famous last words, and a few days later he was hired to help me shoot and produce a great two-and-a-half-minute trailer for the book. I'm really proud of the end result; it was so fun to run around town filming in some of my haunts. For a hot second I thought I wanted to have a camera traipsing around town with me would be really fun, until a friend pointed out to me that's called "reality TV." Then I lost interest. And the website is the ongoing work of my delightful husband, Brian Marston, who took my initial request and really ran with it.
Lightning round!! Outdoor sleeper hit?
Laumeier Sculpture Park, or Powder Valley Nature Center.
Restaurant discovery?
Grace Manor in Edwardsville; inventive food in a historic home, with a seasonal, local focus.
Favorite store that's not AfroWorld?
Charm, a jewelry store that just moved to Maplewood from downtown. Really lovely, unique, affordable jewelry.
Spot Milo loves?
Anywhere we can get on the bike, especially along Manchester in The Grove, where he has a little bit of a crush on the Atomic Cowboy cowgirl. He's a fan of riding and spotting public art and graffiti.
Gone and missed?
Ginger’s bar, above Dapper Dan’s, where every day was a holiday.
Check out our December issue (which will be on newsstands soon!) for another spirited, but very different, conversation with Amanda Doyle about her new guidebook.
