The building is otherworldly, casting a long shadow from its UFO-inspired roof. More than 40 years ago, the building housed a Phillips 66 and is now the home of a Del Taco. Despite the franchise’s continuous rotation of ownership, the structure has left an undeniable impression on St. Louis. At least that’s what Mike Batchelor discovered after creating the Save St. Louis Del Taco Facebook page. Having created the page last Tuesday night, it’s already drawn more than 9,500 fans and continues to grow.
Michael Allen, a local building preservationist and president of Modern-STL.com, is not surprised by the outpouring of support. “Landmarks are made by familiarity,” Allen says. “It’s such a visible landmark and a part of people’s lives who have gone to SLU or lived in Council Plaza.” Although the building was put on the National Registry for Historic Buildings in 2007, the current legislature overrides that distinction and gives the ultimate decision to the St. Louis Board of Alderman. Allen hopes a middle ground can be reached with developer Rick Yackey, but so far it has yet to happen.
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
So what is it about this greasy taco shack that has people so concerned about its preservation? For some, it’s the cheese and bean burritos. For Allen and Batchelor, though, it’s the building’s Googie-influenced exterior. Batchelor recently discussed exactly why the “saucer” should stay.
Why did you decide to start the Save St. Louis Del Taco Facebook page?
I decided to start it about Tuesday night at about 9 o’clock, after I read the Post-Dispatch article on Tuesday evening. I had actually posted some personal pictures [of the building] on my Facebook page a couple of weeks before, not having any idea that it was in sights to be torn down. I just said, “Wow, how long is the place going to be around? This is a cool place.” I posted on my personal Facebook again, and people said, “He jinxed the building.” So I went ahead and started the page around 9 o’clock on Tuesday night and since then it’s grown to over 9,000 people.
Did you have any idea that this building was so important to so many people?
No. I thought maybe 50 or 100 people would be interested, or historic preservationists might friend the page. I would never in my wildest dreams expected to create a media firestorm. I’ve even been on national stuff. I’m hearing people have seen it on local newscasts from hundreds of miles away. It’s made it all over the country. It’s nuts!
Have you become more involved in the preservation process than you thought you were going to be?
I would like to become a little more involved. I never thought before about becoming involved in historic preservation, but I’ve had some people contact me and want me to stay involved, so I think I’m going to go ahead and stay involved, and hopefully if any other landmarks [will be torn down], maybe I can focus on them with social media as well.
Do you have any personal attachments to the building?
Not personally. I just think it’s a really neat building. I remember it ever since I was a little kid. It’s been there forever for me. It’s been there my whole life, and I’ve always thought it was a really neat place.
At this point, what are you doing to help preserve this building?
I’m not organizing anything personally, but a gentleman by the name of Michael Allen is doing some organization. There is the Landmark Association of St. Louis that is doing some organization. I’m just doing what I can to help those people out by running this Facebook page and giving them any information that I can.
Do you have a background in social media?
My background is mostly in radio broadcasting and IT. I had an IT-and-computer shop for several years; I worked part-time for a couple of radio stations that serviced the western St. Louis area. I worked on an Internet station with Randy Raley, who used to be on KSHE 95. I set up all of the social media for that. So I’ve got a little bit of background in doing this kind of stuff.
Are you a fan of Del Taco?
From what I understand, the Del Taco franchise in St. Louis is bankrupt. So the odds are that regardless of what happens, Del Taco was going to close. Really and truly, we would like to see the building preserved no matter what kind of use it’s for—just in some kind of use that is relevant to that area that will add to Grand Center and Council Plaza.
So what chances does the building have?
It’s up to the Board of Alderman. Apparently, they just today passed a resolution moving it on to the next step of tearing it down. It’s not quite done yet. It still has to go through a couple more steps until they formally approve it, which will take—from what I understand—a couple more weeks or so. As of right now, by the vote they took today, it doesn’t look real good. I don’t know how good the chances really ever were. I just wanted to point it out. I didn’t want it to go unnoticed. It was just a little blip in the Post-Dispatch and the bottom of the page until I put up this Facebook page. I don’t know if there would have been any chance at all if this page hadn’t been put up. It’s tough to say. It’s just the power of social media to get the word out to people.
The Alderman’s Housing, Urban Development, and Zoning Committee will vote on the bill on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
