- 2 min read
- Posted on 01.01.16
Cherokee Street: This quirky thoroughfare is our readers’ Place of the Year (2015)
Cherokee Street is the spiritual and geographic confluence of four City neighborhoods, each rich in its own history: Benton Park, Benton Park West, Marine Villa, and Gravois Park. These neighborhoods are, in large part, sources of the diverse community that has propelled Cherokee Street to its current stature.
For Cherokee Street, 2015 was a busy year: haunted swap meets, indie craft beer neighborhood crawls, Shakespeare in the Streets, late-night dance parties, Cinco de Mayo – and Antique Row and the best burritos in the region.
What makes Cherokee Street work is its people. This vibrant place is powered by entrepreneurs, Latino immigrants, dancers, artists, bakers, bartenders, and even the occasional anarchist (see “bakers”). The relative newcomers seamlessly co-mingle with the residents who have long called Cherokee home, and together they’ve created one of the most fascinating pockets our city has to offer.
Second place: “My Own Neighborhood”
The Gateway Arch Turns 50: This milestone is our readers’ Event of the Year (2015)
Fifty years ago, the city’s most complicated engineering project – and most controversial planning decision – was formally completed.The final conjoining segment, bridging the gap between the north leg and the south leg, was slid carefully and precisely into place and forever captured thanks to photographer Robert Arteaga. Time stood still on that fall day. At 11am, the Arch was complete, becoming the landmark of St. Louis. No other structure will ever seem taller or more integral to our skyline.
From its groundbreaking in 1947 to its public debut in 1967, the Gateway Arch took 20 years to complete. That timetable reminds us that greatness isn’t always recognized when first proposed. Nor is it built in a day.
Second place: “Uber begins operations”
Photo by Adam Crane. Used with his permission.
