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WHEN: June 1, 2013    

WHERE: Benton Park @ corner of Jefferson & Arsenal (across I-55 from Anheuser Busch)

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY:

St. Louis' neighborhoods are gems in their own right: full of history, great people and, as far as Gut Check is concerned, fantastic food. Each week we'll take you into a specific neighborhood and point you in the direction of the best places to grab some bites.

WHEN: May 19, 2012
WHERE: Benton Park @ corner of Jefferson & Arsenal (across I-55 from Anheuser Busch)

Tlaloc Rivas sat in a circle with eight people and opened his binder. He took a deep breath and said, "'The New World,' part four."

With those words, the second day of rehearsals began March 28 for a unique play that will be performed under unique circumstances with a unique cast.

"The New World" will be performed April 27-29 at the intersection of Cherokee Avenue and California Street in the Benton Park Neighborhood.

Of the cast of 19 actors, only three are professionals. The rest are amateurs, most of whom live in the neighborhood. They lend authenticity to a play intended to reflect Cherokee Street with its varied ethnic groups and one-of-kind shops, Rivas said.

The police captain couldn't believe it. He had the Knockout King in his office.

It was September 2011, and police were struggling to get a handle on a series of vicious knockout assaults in south St. Louis. Groups of teens were cold-cocking older pedestrians at random. One was dead, several injured. Residents were alarmed, police baffled. It didn't make sense, such a cruel and cowardly crime.

A servant heard a muffled pop from her master's bedroom. She summoned his sons, who broke down the locked door and found William J. Lemp Sr. dead with a gunshot to his right temple.

The .38-caliber revolver was nearby. It was the first of four fatal gunshots in the sad tale of St. Louis' first beer dynasty.

Lemp, 68, shot himself on the morning of Feb. 13, 1904, in his second-floor bedroom of the family mansion at 3322 South 13th Street (now DeMenil Place), next to his brewery covering 13 blocks. Lemp had never gotten over the sudden death in 1901 of his son, Frederick, brewery superintendent, from a heart ailment. His depression deepened. When he didn't emerge from the room that morning, no one took much notice.

For most of us East-Siders, St. Louis is like our second home. We go to the zoo; to the Science Center; to shop, to see Cardinal, Rams or Blues games; we often dine in the city's fine restaurants, and many of us work there.

This poor slob was encountered Tuesday afternoon on Lemp Avenue, two blocks north of Arsenal. East side of the street. (Curiously, this is very close to two watering holes: Venice Cafe and Fraziers......)

Disclaimer: this was not staged by Daily RFT....

_{By Nicholas Phillips, December 22, 2010}

This review brought to you by:

The BPNA has launched a new neighborhood website with the URL being www.bpnastl.org.

President Nancy Galvin completed the interviewing web site designers back in July.  The recommendation was to hire Casey Kasparek for $2,000.