最新杏吧原创

鈥淭he only thing missing from that picture,鈥� said Cohen, 鈥渁s is often missing from every picture we show of downtown 最新杏吧原创 鈥� 鈥�

鈥淣o people,鈥� chimed in Zeile.

鈥淣o people,鈥� repeated Cohen. 鈥淭here鈥檚 never anybody walking around in downtown 最新杏吧原创 鈥� It鈥檚 like, remember the old neutron bomb that wouldn鈥檛 knock down buildings but just would eliminate all the people? It鈥檚 like one of those hit 最新杏吧原创.鈥�

Ouch.

Yes, it was a cheap shot. Yes, some out-of-towners can be brutal in their assessment of our city鈥檚 front stoop.

But they're not the only ones.

When it comes to the public聽image of downtown 最新杏吧原创聽鈥� a crucial challenge to drawing tourists, conventioneers and other visitors 鈥斅爐he neighborhood鈥檚 biggest problem might be 鈥� 最新杏吧原创ans.

鈥淚f there was one story that was told to us more than any other, it was how local 最新杏吧原创ans are the biggest detractors of 最新杏吧原创,鈥� says a report commissioned last year by Explore 最新杏吧原创, the city's marketing arm, on how to boost downtown convention and tourism activity.

The report鈥檚 advice: 鈥淭ransform the mindset of 最新杏吧原创ans to become enthusiastic promoters.鈥�

The Post-Dispatch Editorial Board this week is publishing a series of editorials exploring how 最新杏吧原创 can revive its downtown/Downtown West corridor. That鈥檚 the more than two-square-mile stretch from the Arch grounds on the east, Jefferson Avenue on the west, Chouteau Avenue on the south, and just beyond Washington Avenue on the north. We are keeping all the editorials in the series outside our paywall, free to everyone, to include as many community members in the conversation as possible.

Today, we focus on the neighborhood鈥檚 national reputation for being lifeless and empty 鈥� and the even more damaging message that neighbors across the 最新杏吧原创 metropolitan area often send.聽

Countering that reputational punch is crucial to building a healthy tourism and convention business. And it must start with our fellow 最新杏吧原创ans.

There's a聽pervasive and damaging attitude among residents who have come to see downtown through a prism of misperceptions 鈥� especially the idea that the neighborhood is a crime-ridden shooting gallery.

That鈥檚 not to say that rare but shocking anecdotes about downtown chaos don鈥檛 have an impact on our national image, with resulting blows to our聽tourism and convention activity.

But even the biggest downtown boosters can鈥檛 deny what those Mets announcers observed during that April ballgame: the lack of downtown life聽鈥� of聽activity. It should instead be teeming,聽especially around major events. The Explore 最新杏吧原创 report called it "low brand visibility."

鈥淥verwhelmingly, local 最新杏吧原创ans believe that the biggest challenge the visitor economy faces is the perception that 最新杏吧原创 is an unsafe destination,鈥� it states. 鈥淚nterestingly, while safety is a significant issue, other data points to the biggest problem being that 最新杏吧原创 is not even on potential visitors鈥� radar as a place to visit.鈥�

A damaging cycle

How a perceived lack of safety can directly impact convention business was tragically demonstrated in 2023.

On the night of Feb. 18 of that year, Janae Edmondson, 17, a Tennessee high schooler participating in a volleyball tournament at the Dome at America's Center, was struck by a speeding car as she walked with her parents near St. Charles and 11th Street, just off Washington Avenue. She ultimately lost parts of both her legs. It was a national story.

Four months later, Dot Foods, which had for about 20 years held its major annual trade show at the Convention Center, announced it was ending its relationship with 最新杏吧原创 and moving its convention to Denver. The company cited safety concerns from employees and customers.

鈥淚t is important for us to keep increasing the number of customers and suppliers that attend our show,鈥� Dot CEO Dick Tracy聽said at the time. 鈥淭here is already a long list of barriers in making that happen, and we don鈥檛 need safety to be yet another one.鈥�

It was a gut-punch. But was it fair?

This editorial series tackled the perception of a crime-ridden core earlier this week, showing that actual numbers tell a different story. Which brings us back to the damaging cycle: an isolated but high-profile incident feeds misperceptions among area residents that downtown is constantly dangerous; they bemoan the state of public safety; the national reputation takes a new hit.聽

Boosting our national reputation and luring visitors to downtown helps all of us聽鈥� from St. Charles to south city. At stake is money and jobs. We're not saying to gloss over glaring issues and put a happy spin on them. But we also can't keep being our own loudest detractors, especially when facts and first-hand experiences can paint a different picture.聽

Besides, we'd argue, as did the Explore 最新杏吧原创 report, that there are other forces at play. And that takes us to football.

Losing a team, losing attention

There are few events more major to an American city than regularly hosting National Football League home games. 最新杏吧原创' loss of the Rams 10 years ago was not a mere punch to the gut 鈥� it was flying kick to the gut. We're still trying to recover a decade later.

The economic impact is obvious. But how much has it also undermined our downtown's stature? Anecdotally, 最新杏吧原创ans can get an idea of the damage on any given Sunday, when they turn on their TVs and see Kansas City. The Chiefs and their three recent Super Bowl wins have given KC plenty of buzz. It's hard to match that level of attention.

The sought to quantify the issue two years ago.聽The outlet commissioned an analysis of mentions of Kansas City in U.S. publications with circulations of more than 500,000.聽It found KC was mentioned more than 282,900 times in 2023.

Mentions of 最新杏吧原创, with its bigger metropolitan area? Fewer than 169,340.聽

What good news the study had for 最新杏吧原创 was that its national profile has tended to rise in years when the Cardinals or Blues have done well, or when the city hosts nationally watched events like a presidential debate. And, yes, landing City SC and the construction of Energizer Park have been big wins.聽

But on too many days, without a big event to bank on, downtown is vulnerable to, well, cheap shots from New York Mets announcers.

That鈥檚 certainly the case around America's Center, especially at night.

鈥淲e wish things stayed open a little later,鈥� Bishop Tommy Williams, in town from Memphis with a convention of the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops, said on a recent mid-March afternoon.

He was standing on a sidewalk across Washington Avenue from the National Blues Museum.

The bishops鈥� nightly services at the convention generally started around 7 p.m. and lasted three or four hours. The most visible sit-down restaurant nearby, Sugarfire Smoke House, closes at 8 or 9 p.m. most nights.

鈥淎bout the time we get out of our services, things are closed,鈥� Bishop Williams said.

Bishop Kenneth Taylor, also from Memphis, nodded in agreement. 鈥淵ou guys don鈥檛 stay open late here.鈥�

Almost as if on cue just two weeks later, the National Blues Museum, a tourism聽staple for the past decade, suddenly announced its permanent聽closure. A key reason it cited? "The economic climate of downtown 最新杏吧原创."

The lesson isn't that 最新杏吧原创 should be vying again for a music-themed museum or an NFL team聽鈥� the football play is over, at least for the foreseeable future 鈥� but that attention is a commodity our city doesn't have enough of these days.聽

That translates directly into loss of potential visitors and the dollars they bring. So what can we do about it?

Leverage what you have

It's not like we don't have any tools at our disposal. We can start by more fully leveraging the big commodities we still have.

We have a great story to tell with City Museum, CityGarden and other spots. And, of course, there's聽the Arch.

鈥淚 can't overstate how truly magnificent the renovation of the Arch grounds is,鈥� Mayor Cara Spencer recently told the Editorial Board. 鈥淏ut let's face it: there's nothing to do down there.鈥�

鈥淵ou can't get a bite to eat, you can't stick around and have a cocktail and enjoy it on a patio. There's no pavilion, there's no European-style gathering spot. We need to have places that allow you to stick around and stay for a while and really enjoy.鈥�

As others we鈥檝e talked to have done, Spencer pointed to Detroit as a potential inspiration for how to change downtown 最新杏吧原创鈥� trajectory in the eyes of the world. Detroit has transformed its once-desolate downtown largely by leaning on private investment and philanthropy from sources like Ford Motor Co.

鈥淎nyone who鈥檚 been to Detroit recently, the renaissance in their downtown along the riverfront, it's truly spectacular,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 amphitheaters, there's gathering spots, there's restaurants. There are any number of things you can do 鈥� beyond just looking around, taking a photo and leaving. Which is what we need.鈥�

Those who open storefront businesses on 最新杏吧原创' downtown strip these days are doing their part聽鈥� and they're not聽just selling food and drinks. Ask them, and they'll tell you they're on a broader mission to offer the kind of amenities that can boost the neighborhood's image.

One of them is聽Corey James,聽co-owner of Buddy鈥檚 Local Grill & Bar on Washington Avenue at 10th Street. He also co-owns the newly opened Bella's Coffee Cafe聽on the other end of the block, at Washington and 11th.聽For him and partner Austin Blankenship, it's more than just a new business venture. It's about countering what the lack of storefront coffee shops was conveying.

鈥淎 lot of people who come downtown are like, 鈥業鈥檓 just going to see a ballgame,鈥欌�� James told us.

He frequently encourages people to explore beyond that narrow agenda.聽鈥淭he walkability downtown in incredible. A 5-, 10-minute walk gets you from Ballpark Village to the Arch, to Washington Avenue. There鈥檚 vibrant storefronts 鈥� there鈥檚 the feeling of a neighborhood.鈥�

Change the look, feel and buzz around your downtown, and you change your prospects as a destination city. We'll offer more ideas for how to jumpstart that effort going forward. And maybe positive changes聽can also alter how residents talk about their own town.

This series was conceived, and its subjects interviewed, by the聽Post-Dispatch Editorial Board: Editorial Page Editor Kevin McDermott, Post-Dispatch Publisher Ian Caso, and community board members Antonio French, Janet Y. Jackson and Lynn Schmidt. It was researched and written by McDermott.