[akhare]

I will be in St. Louis from 3/9 - 3/12 (having SIL in town made it a cinch to convince spouse LOL) and intend to play in a few sessions.

Are there any forum members looking for partners? Also, even if you already taken, it will be great for meet those of you who will be there in person...

[jchiu]

I will be in Saint Louis for the entire tournament. In theory, I am booked for the entire event, but could be convinced to play a midnight game with other BBF members.

Does anyone know of good restaurants in the downtown area?

[BillFinque]

Click on the URL
http://www.unit143.org/

There is a section on things to do

Bill

[pdmunro]

I came across these webpages of an architect who has a fascination with older St Louis buildings.

I am an Australian who lived and worked in St Louis for 3 & 1/2 years. I played bridge 4 or 5 nights a week which really helped me to make friends. Loved it.

But from the moment, I arrived I was advised not to enter North St Louis. (I don't know if it is still the same.) I ended up there late one night by accident. I was scared from all the stories, and in my mild panic did something a bit a silly. I ran a few red lights thinking that 1) I wasn't going to stop and get car-jacked; and 2) If the police pulled me over, then I would be safe.

There is an easier and safer way to see what all the fuss is about. Take a virtual tour of North St Louis, the badlands of the 1990's, where time has stood still.

Of course, there are lots of glitzy newer areas in the city. But it is just fascinating to see a part that has been just allowed to sit, frozen-in-time.

I would love to go back and play bridge there. Both the home bridge and the club scene were most enjoyable.

[pdmunro]

Wow, I have just stumbled on a Blog, with many comments, detailing a development scenario that's straight out of the wild west. And it is happening in North St Louis, right there, right now, 2007.
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=2996

The crux of matter is that one of the oldest parts of St Louis, namely North St Louis, has been economically-depressed for many years. And as the area has become more and more run-down, some developers have seen a big-buck opportunity. Looking at the map they have purchased perhaps 10% of the old city. http://www.eco-absen...airmont/map.htm

One of the intriguing aspects of the situation is that the developers are doing little developing for now, simply letting buildings decay further. Plus they are not saying what their future plans are. Is it a giant gamble that may lose someone a fortune? Is it something sinister?

The comments to the Blog include:

" ... there are vast areas of the city where our industrial base has vacated, and without an employed middle-class, there’s not going to be much of a market for middle-class housing of any sort."
# Jim Zaviston 10 Feb 2007 at 12:07 pm

"The plan is to simply remove the largely African-American community from a defined geographic area. Starting at Washington Ave, clear out the existing residents all the way up to Natural Bridge. Do not supply replacement housing. Buy it all up and run them out. ... Now you are ready to build WhiteHaven on the northside."
# Barbaraon 12 Feb 2007 at 10:04 pm

I find the machinations of politics and bridge, equally fascinating.