Grand Center, St. Louis

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The Fox Theatre is one of the theaters in the Grand Center area, the Continental Building is the white structure visible in the rear center of the picture.

Grand Center, located just north of the Saint Louis University campus, bills itself as the arts district of St. Louis, Missouri.

The phrase can refer to the district itself (which is also known as Midtown), or to the not-for-profit agency, Grand Center, Inc. (GCI), which possesses certain quasi-governmental powers and administers arts and urban-renewal programs in the area. The district includes the Fox Theatre, Powell Symphony Hall (home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra) and is adjacent to the campus of Saint Louis University and its Saint Louis University Museum of Art [1] and Museum of Contemporary Religious Art [2].

The neighborhood features the recently restored and distinctive art deco white high-rise the Continental Life Building [3], in addition to some large neon sign art pieces both free standing and decorating the facade of the not yet restored Sun Theater [4]. There is a jazz club [5], a coffee house, a gospel church and an all ages music venue [6]. The St Louis Black Repertory Theater Company [7], The Contemporary Art Museum Saint Louis, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts [8], the Sheldon concert hall [9], and the headquarters of KETC channel 9 a PBS affiliate are located nearby. There is a bowling alley and movie theater within walking distance. It is within walking distance of the Grand (St. Louis Metrolink) Metro station.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Articles

"Grand Center Stars As Premier Entertainment District," St. Louis Front Page, 2006. (Online article providing recent description of Grand Center.)
Eddie Silva, "Grand Illusion," Riverfront Times, April 21, 1999. (Lengthy 1999 feature article with criticisms of GCI.)