I II I III I THE RIVER FRONT Possible Municipal Ownership of a Railway from Chain of Rocks to River des Peres, with Additional Approach to Municipal Bridge REPORT OF THE City Plan Commission APRIL, 1913 •• • •T> .1{1Ni(!:lP•^L/i tOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBKAHt • • • <" • • • • • CITY PLAN COMMISSION OF ST. LOUIS MEMBERS EX-OFFICIO Sam Lazarus, President City Council A. Gazzolo, Speaker House of Delegates E. R. KiNSEY, President Board of Public Improvements Charles M. Talbert, Street Commissioner D WIGHT F. Davis, Park Commissioner James N. McKelvey, Building Commissioner MEMBERS APPOINTED BY MAYOR John H. Gundlach George E. Kessler Hugo A. Koehler Colin M. Selph Charles A. Stix James C. Tra villa Cyrus P. Walbridge Harry B. Wallace Thomas C. Young Walter B. Stevens, Secretary — 2 — 3E NA 3) V| SiSi 2574- AN ORDINANCE CREATING A CITY PLAN COMMISSION, DEFINING THE DUTIES THEREOF Be it ordained I)y the ^Municipal Assembly of the City of St. Louis, as follows : Section One. There is hereby created a Commission to be known as the City Plan Commission, which shall consist of fifteen members. Section Two. The President of the City Council ex-officio, the Speaker of the House of Delegates ex-oflficio, the President of the Board of Public Improvements ex-officio, the Street Commissioner ex-officio, the Park Commissioner ex-officio, and the Commissioner of Public Buildings ex-officio shall be members of said Commission. The other nine members shall be appointed by the Mayor and all members of said Comnussion shall serve without compensation. Five of said nine members to be appointed by the Mayor shall be appointed for four years and the remaining four members shall be appointed for two years. All of said members so appointed shall hold their re- spective office until their successors shall be duly appointed and (juali- fied. Section Three. The (lualifications of the members so to be ap- pointed by the Mayor shall be as provided in Section Ten of Article Four of the Charter of the City of St. Louis. Section Foui-. The duties of the City i'lan Commission sliall be: First. To prepare a comprehensive city plan for the future im- provoment, as well as for the coiniiK'rcial (Icvcloptncul of the city, iii- cludiug recommendations for: (h) Improvement of the river front; (b) PLxtcnsion of streets and tlic supervision of liic opening of sub-divisions; — 3 — 218506 Report of City Plan Commission (c) Improvement of surroundings of Union Station; (d) A system of widening and opening various through streets so as to make the city more cohesive and less disjointed ; (e) Control of nuisances ; (f) A playground, park and boulevard system; (g) Location of public buildings; (h) Encouraging the location of manufacturing establishments in designated districts; (i) Extension of conduit district for v^^ires; (j) Extension of granitoid sidewalk districts, and for the regu- lation of same in the residence districts so as to provide for the plant- ing of trees and for sufficient soil space to assure their growth ; (k) Such other improvements as will tend to make St. Louis a greater and more beautiful city. Second. To suggest the state and municipal legislation neces- sary to carry out the recommendations of the Commission. Section Five. The Commission shall make all rules for its guid- ance and procedure. Section Six. The Commission shall submit a report to the Mu- nicipal Assembly as comprehensive as may be, on or before January first, nineteen hundred and twelve, and shall make such other reports as the Commission may deem advisable. Approved March 27, 1911. — 4 — The River Front THE Rl\ KR FRONT OF ST. LOUIS REPORT OF THE CITY PLAN COMMISSION, APRIL 7, 1913, Showing Possible Municipal-Owned or Controlled Railway from Chain of Rocks to River des Peres, w^th Additional Approach to the Municipal Bridge. To the Honorable Municipal Assemhly of ilie City of St. Louis — Gentlemen : Several railroad franchises under which tracks were laid and are now in use on the river front of St. Louis will expire in 1914 and 1915. The ordinance creating the City Plan Commission specifically designates "Improvement of the River Front" as one of the subjects to be considered. Plans "for the Commercial Development of the City" are included in the duties assigned to this body. The Commission has given several months to a study of river front conditions. Early in the consideration of a possible park for that section it became apparent that transportation problems must be taken into account. That existing railroad tracks have intimate bear- ing on any improvement of the levee district was also evident. The investigation carried on by the Commission led to examination of ordi- nances under which railroads now occupy that part of the city. The prospective usefulness of the nuniicipal bridge also claimed attention. Possible Municipal Ownership. The Commis.sion deems it proper to lay before the JMuiiieipal As- sembly a report on conditions. Within the coming eigliteen months the city will be coiifroiitcfl with new (|U('stioiis of public policy towanl the steam i-ailroads. lOxpiriiig franchises present iinj)ortant trans- [)ortation j)Os.sibiliti«'S. 'i'hey o|)en the way to municipal ownership of a railroad from a jioinl considerably south of the municipal bridge along the levee and the river front to I he ('liain of Hocks, 'i'iie city — 6 — Report of City Plan Commission already owns a railroad covering the northern section of this route, extending from Bissell's Point to the Chain of Rocks and traversing a district especially adapted to industrial development. Not only is it possible for the city to own a river front railroad southward from Bissell's Point, but the acquisition can be effected at comparatively small cost. The Commission does not make recommendation but sug- gests that the expiring franchises present this possibility for serious consideration by the city in the immediate future. The importance of the situation in respect to river front tracks will be vastly increased upon the completion of the municipal bridge. With the building of the western approach the city will own a rail- road extending out Gratiot street to Twenty-third street. Connection between the bridge and river front tracks owned by the city is shown by the engineer of the Commission to be practicable from a construc- tion point of view and not prohibitive in cost. The New Harbor Line. The franchises about to expire apply to tracks, the southern ex- tremity of which is Arsenal street. If the city shall decide to adopt the policy of a municipal-owned railroad along the river front, con- necting with the municipal bridge, there will be presented the ques- tion of extension southward from Arsenal street to reach an indus- trial district adjacent to the River des Peres. In the opinion of the engineer, such an extension is practicable. The harbor line of St. Louis as established in 1903 permits a material extension of the river front. The city can expand eastward into shallow water and increase the river front to the extent necessary for railroad tracks. Along the Illinois front opposite St. Louis is being constructed a concrete wall, the crest of which is above high water. As to the probable effect of this wall on the river stage along the St. Louis front engineers differ widely. It may be found in time expedient for St. Louis to build a concrete wall along its front. If this is done advantage may be taken of the new harbor line and a large area may be added to the city's frontage. Accompanying this report is a map of the river front of St. Louis, showing the possibility of a municipal-owned or controlled rail- way from Chain of Rocks to the River des Peres, with an additional approach to the municipal bridge, prepared for the City Plan Com- mission by Baxter L. Brown, consulting engineer. The River Front What the Map Shows. (a) Existing municipal railway from Chain of Rocks southward to the Bissell's Point waterworks. (Marked by solid red line.) (b) Municipal railway southward from Bissell's Point made pos- sible by expiring franchises. (]\ Larked by solid blue line.) (c) Additional approach to the municipal bridge from the south and connecting with municipal railway made possible by expiring franchises. (Marked by dotted red line.) (d) Municipal railwaj' extension southward to River des Peres from suggested southern approach to municipal bridge, made possible by harbor line established in 1903. (i\Iarked by dotted red line.) (e) Railroad terminal and manufacturing territory accessible to possible municipal railway along river front and to western municipal bridge approach. (Marked in yellow.) (f) Western municipal bridge approach along Gratiot street. (Marked by solid red line.) (g) Parks. (Marked in green.) Under ordinances 12975, 13452 and 13497, the St. Louis Transfer Railway was granted the right to construct and operate a single and double track railway from connection with the Iron ^Mountain Rail- way at Arsenal street to connection with the tracks of tlie Waterworks Railway at Bissell's Point, excepting between Valentine street and Morgan street on the wharf, where right was given to use the tracks of the Iron ^Mountain. This franchise as granted by ordinance 12975 expires June 11, 1914. subject to an extension covered by ordinance l:J452, which ends December 15, 1915. The City Can Own the Tracks. Tlic consulliiig engineer. iVoiii an exaiiiiiiat imi (if all orilinances bearing upon ihe various i-ailroad IVaiieliises and rit,dils between Carr street and ('liouleau a\eniie, expresses the opinion: "It would be no trouble to arrange for joint use of traeks in that vicinity, or, Iteitei- Htili, tlu' city can own Ihe tiaeks and lease them to the various road.s — 7 — Eeport of City Plan Commission on the trackage principle. Below Chouteau avenue there is either room for the tracks, or it can be secured by moving the harbor line to the east sufficiently to provide room. As to the moving of the har- bor line there is every reason to believe that little trouble would be encountered south of the Pittsburg Dike. ' ' The engineer also shows from the harbor and wharf lines estab- lished by the War Department in 1903 that the city may acquire, "A material extension to the east of the line to which permanent struc- tures may be extended. At North Market street, for example, where the width of the present wharf is 400 feet, the new harbor line per- mits an extension of 370 feet to the east, which will ultimately make the width of the city wharf at that point 770 feet. A sandbar just inside the new harbor line indicates that the filling in and extension of the wharf in that neighborhood can be easily accomplished. ''At the foot of "Washington avenue the wharf can be extended 50 to 60 feet east of the foot of the present paving, making the width in that neighborhood about 265 feet. Even allowing for a considerable increase in the river traffic, but a small proportion of the total wharf frontage is needed for boat landings ; and, with the exception of ferry landings, practically all of the boat wharfage is, and probably will be, south of the Eads Bridge. The use of considerable parts of the wharf has been granted to the Burlington, St. Louis Transfer, Merchants Terminal, "Wabash and Missouri Pacific railroads, but there are large stretches of which practically no use is made at the present time. ' ' City Planning Served. A municipal-owned or controlled railway along the river front, as indicated on the accompanying map, will serve two important pur- poses in city planning. The reports made by the engineer emphasize the fact that the double track extension of the municipal bridge ap- proach out Gratiot street to Twenty-third (marked by solid red line) "makes no provision for yards or other terminal accommodations." The engineer says, " It is a self-evident proposition, on account of the large territory covered by the industries of St. Louis, that no one location of terminals for the accommodation of business over the mu- nicipal bridge will suffice, but that a number of such terminals must be provided in different sections of the city, if the benefits expected to be derived from the construction of the bridge are to be obtained. That the Terminal Railroad Association has about fifteen such sets of The River Front team tracks aud teriniuals for the general use of the public aud is badly in need of as mauy more, or the doubling of the capacity of those now in use, even after being supplemented with the large invest- ments made in the last few years by individual railroads for local freight houses and team tracks, illustrates this point with a case right at home and one with which you are all familiar. "Furthermore, it is important tiiat these terminals should be pro- vided for the use of all railroads desiring to use them instead of allow- ing them to be constructed by the various railroads for their exclu- sive use." River Front Terminals. The increase of river front propert.y would afford room for track- age and terminals, which could be permitted under leases very profit- ably to the city. Furthermore, a municipal-ov.'ned railroad along Hie river front would open for industrial development two great districts, one in the northern suburbs above Grand avenue and one in the south along the River des Peres, for industrial development. (Marked in yellow on the map.) It appears to be entirely practicable tiiat within the coming two years the city may adopt a policy which, at moderate expenditure, will give it ownership or control of extensive terminals along the river front and which will encourage the location of manu- facturing industries in the northern and southern suburbs. Study of the map of St. Louis and vicinity will show, in the judg- ment of the Commission, that the city has two logical industrial dis- tricts at present almost wholly undeveloped; one of these is north of Bi.sseH's Point, the other is in the vicinity of the mouth of the River des Peres. Hoth of these districts are adjacent to the river. Both of tliem would have inlet and outlet by way of the municipal bridge with a municipal-owned or controlled railway along the river front as indi- eatcil l)y tlie foregoing report. The development of both of these logical industrial districts coubi br greatly encouraged by favorable switch- ing privileges with the municipal railway. Tlic districts are so locatecl as not to interfere with the expansion of tiic residential districts, a rehitionship wliieh must receive serious consideration in the near future. I'h"' ordinance creating the Cci'v Pi,\n' ("o.mmi.'^.sion dirccis that this body shall iriake reeoniineiidations for "encouraging the location of mainifai'lui-ing establishments in designated districts." It — 9 — Report of City Plan Commission is the purpose of the City Plan Commission to submit to the Munici- pal Assembly in the near future a report upon industrial districts. Respectfully, C. P. WALBRIDGE, Chairman. MAXIME REBER, C. M. TALBERT, DWIGHT F.DAVIS, GEO. E. KESSLER, HUGO A. KOEHLER, COLIN M. SELPH, CHARLES A. STIX, JAMES C. TRAVILLA, HARRY B. WALLACE, THOMAS C.YOUNG. WALTER B. STEVENS, Secretary. April 7,1913. 10 — TuE River Front REPORT OF THE CONSULTING ENGINEER ON RIVER FRONT CONDITIONS FAVORABLE TO MINICIPAL OWNERSFIIP OR CON- TROL OF A RAILROAD FROM CHAIN OF ROCKS TO THE RRT^R DES PERES To the City Plan Commission, City of St. Louis — Gentlemen: The St. Louis Transfer Railway Company ou-ns and operates a continuous line of railway (part double track and part single track) from a connection with the Iron Mountain Railway at Arsenal street to a connection with the tracks of the St. Louis Waterworks at Bis- sell's Point. The franchise for these tracks, excepting that part be- tween Valentine and Morgan streets, is covered by Ordinances Nos. 12975. 13452 and 13497, and expires December 15, 1915. The fran- chise for that part of its railway between Valentine and Carr streets is covered by Ordinance No. 16034 and expires March 20, 1921, and covers the eastern track on the wharf between those two points. Originally, under Ordinance No. 12975, the St. Louis Transfer Railway Company was given the right to operate its trains between Almond (now Valentine) street and Morgan street "along, over and upon the tracks of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Rail- road Company." This is the middle of the three tracks on the wharf between Valentine and Morgan streets and is covered by Ordiiumce No. 10822 and stipulates that the City of St. Louis nuiy grant 1o other railroad companies the right to use said tracks on payment of just charges determined by the Municipal Assembly." Terminals Needed. The pi'csi'iit phuis (if Ihe city provide foi- llif construction of a double 1i-ack extension of the lower deck .approach of the iininicipal bridge up Gratiot street lo Twenty tliird street, but make no ])r()- vision foi- yards or other terminal acconuiiodalions. Suitable i)rovisi()n for j)lacing of cars for the loading and unload- ing of freight, as well a.s for the switching of them, is just as iiii- I)ortant to the success of the bridge, as a highway for the moveiuent of freight, as the construction of the bridge itself, and without such provision the henelil to lie (|ei-i\c(| liy the city from its construction — 11 — Report of City Plan Commission will be comparatively small. Connections can readily be made with the tracks of the Terminal Railroad Association and the Missouri Pacific Railway in the Mill Creek Valley and the cars sent to their various team tracks, but if this is done the advantages expected to be gained by the use of the municipal bridge will be largely lost through the switching charges. Furthermore, the Terminal Railroad Associa- tion has not nearly enough team tracks and switching facilities to properly handle its own business at present and any additional busi- ness would simply congest them the more. It is a self-evident proposition, on account of the large territory covered by the industries of St. Louis, that no one location of termi- nals for the accommodation of business over the municipal bridge will suffice, l)ut that a number of such terminals must be provided in different sections of the city, if the benefits expected to be derived from the construction of the bridge are to be obtained. That the Terminal Railroad Association has about fifteen such sets of team tracks and terminals for the general use of the public and is badly in need of as many more, or the doubling of the capacity of those now in. use, even after being supplemented with the large investments made in the last few years by individual railroads for local freight houses and team tracks, illustrates this point with a case right at home and one with which you are all familiar. Furthermore, it is important that these terminals should be pro- vided for the use of all railroads desiring to use them, instead of allowing them to be constructed by the various railroads for their exclusive use. It is within reason to expect that one, and possibly two, ad- vantageous locations for team tracks and warehouses with a suitable storage yard can be found along Gratiot street and thereby serve an extensive area already devoted to industries, and also tend to make more available for industrial development a section of the city that has ceased to be desirable for residence purposes. Strategic Value of Waterworks Track. The track owned by the city and operated by the Waterworks Department, although capable of being made the foundation of a valuable railroad property, is virtually idle. Few persons seem to realize its strategic value. Between Bissell's Point and Chain of Rocks the track traverses a territory of about one thousand acres that is practically undeveloped, although well adapted to manufacturing industries and not desirable for residence purposes. — 12 — The Kr-er Front By the eoustmetion of an approach on the south to tlie luunicipal bridge connection can be made with the tracks of the St. Louis Trans- fer Railway above referred to, as well as with those of tiie St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern and the jMauufacturers' Railways, and a line can be secured to Chain of Rocks for use of all roads desiring to use it. There is also the possibility of making connection through these tracks with the ^lerchants Bridge tracks and using these under a trackage agreement. At first thought it is natural to assume that the Terminal Rail- road Association would stubbornly oppose a proposition of this kind, but on account of the wise provisions made in the ordinances granted to the St. Louis Merchants Bridge Terminal Railway Company, it cannot make any serious objection. Ordinance No. 14078 is the original ordinance authorizing the construction of the St. Louis i\Ierchants Terminal Railway, and sec- tion 8 provides that any railway company may operate trains over these tracks upon payment of reasonable compensation, and provides for the determination of such compensation. Ordinance No. 15376 amends Ordinance No. 14078 in certain de- tails, and section 12 reads as follows: "The grants, rights and privileges conferred by this ordinance are subject to all the provisions, restrictions and conditions contained in Ordinance number 14078, of which it is amendatory and any and all tracks laid or constructed under authority of this ordinance shall be subject to the right of all other companies or corporations to occupy and use the same as provided and set forth in section 9 of said original Ordinance number 14078 upon compensation to be fixed in accordance willi the provisions of said section nine." As that portion of the i\Ierchants Bridge tracks that could be used is largely in city streets and the cost of const rud ion not high, the valuation upon which the rental woidd be based should not hi; prohibitive and could be, if thought tlesirable, largely olTset by grant- ing tliat coinpany trackage rights over the Waterworks track An objection 1(» liiis proposition that can |)erhaps be consistently raised is the i)roI)able heavy traffic tli.it would eventually occur hy the joint use of these tracks, thereby interfering with tiirough train nioveiiieut. — 13 — Report of City Plan Commission Possibilities of River Front Development. The adoption of this plan would allow a development of the wharf, as it would provide opportunities for necessary locations for team tracks and freight houses sufficient to serve a very extensive section of the city, and would make possible a competition with the Terminal Railroad Association that would be felt. That the joint operation of tracks is thoroughly practical is evidenced by innumer- able cases existing all over the country. The city owns, mostly in fee, about six miles of the wharf, its holdings, with the exception of a short stretch just north of Biddle street and a few short sections between Dock and Ferry streets, ex- tending from Grand avenue on the north to Dorcas street on the south. The recent establishment by the United States Government of the present harbor line permits a material extension to the east of the line to which permanent structures may be extended. At North Market street, for example, where the width of the present wharf is 400 feet, the new harbor line permits an extension of 370 feet to the east, which will ultimately make the width of the city wharf at that point 770 feet. A sandbar just inside the new harbor line indicates that the filling in and extension of the wharf in that neighborhood can be easily accomplished. At the foot of Washington avenue the wharf can be extended 50 to 60 feet east of the foot of the present paving, making the width in that neighborhood about 265 feet. Even allowing for a considerable increase in the river traffic, but a small proportion of the total wharf frontage is needed for boat landings; and, with the exception of ferry landings, practically all of the boat wharfage is, and probably will be, south of the Eads Bridge. The use of considerable parts of the wharf has been granted the Burlington, St. Louis Transfer, Mer- chants Terminal, Wabash and Missouri Pacific railroads, but there are large stretches of which practically no use is made at the present time. Should this plan be adopted, it would mean that the city could and probably would, eventually control a line of railway extending from Chain of Rocks to River des Peres. With the ordinances grant- ing various railroads rights along the wharf from Carr street to Chouteau avenue expiring in the near future, there should be no trouble to arrange for joint use of tracks in that vicinity, or, bet- ter still, the city can own the tracks and lease them to the various roads on the trackage principle. Below this section there is either — 14 — The River Front room for the tracks, or it can be secured by moving the harbor line to the east sufficiently to provide room. As to the moving of the har- bor line there is every reason to believe that little trouble would be encountered south of the Pittsburg Dike. A Bridge Approach from the South. The Manufacturers' Railway, as is well known, is desirous of a connection with the municipal ])ridge, and has made several attempts to arrange with the city for its construction. It has excellent terminal facilities already developed and is anxiously awaiting a proper outlet for a material increase of development. The location proposed by the Manufacturers' Railway in Kosci- usko street, while fitting its conditions well enough, lands the ap- proach in such a way that it would be so difficult and expensive to reach the wharf as to be almost impossible. However, an approach can be so located that it can reach the wharf and at the same time not only serve the Manufacturers' Rail- way, but also the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, the St. Louis Transfer Railway, and the proposed city tracks. If the Manufacturers' Railway would agree to build on this route with a provision that the city might purchase the approach at any future time, it would remove the necessity of the city providing additional funds for construction purposes on the west side for some time to come. BAXTER L. BROWN, St. Louis, April 7, 1913. Consulting Engineer. — 15 — 2J850{> This book is DUE on the last date stamped below feo lO-URL FEB 6 1990 NA 9,127 SlSl St. Louis. City plan commission- The river front . 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