Restoration

Many cities are already investing in nature-based solutions, such as removing pavement, building marshes and making room for rivers to flow. Now, St. Louis is looking to learn from Missouri’s neighbors in Dubuque, Iowa, on what the city can do with the River Des Peres.

The Washington Theater in Quincy was home to vaudeville acts and later a movie theater before it shuttered in the 1980s. Now, an effort is underway to restore the theater to its former glory.

The existential threat from flooding is also an economic one for the cities and towns that hug the country's major rivers. In total, flooding in 2019 along the Mississippi and its tributaries caused an estimated $6.2 billion in damage, including millions in the St. Louis region.

About $6 million will help restore St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury. The church — now built in Fulton, Missouri — traces its roots to the 12th century.

"Within a 40-mile radius of the town of Monroe City, there are two remnants of the 8,000-year old prairie," one conservationist notes.

The festival organizer hopes Saturday’s event will not only bring people into the city but also ensure that they don’t leave.

“We have so many different cultural aspects, and we’re not taking care of them,” said one East St. Louisan.

Restoration House STL provides age-appropriate mentoring and services for young adults 18 to 25. In June, the faith-based nonprofit opened its first “success center,” also called the Rock, in Dutchtown’s historic Melvin Theatre.

BELLEVILLE — Emily Smith is fascinated by older homes. It’s an interest she’s had since she was a child. As an 8-year-old, she carried around a disposable…

This story originally aired on St. Louis on the Air on July 26, 2017. It was rebroadcast on Oct. 12, 2017.If you’ve undertaken any kind of home renovation…