Mr. Mark Dobalina
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archcityhistory.bsky.social
Mr. Mark Dobalina
@archcityhistory.bsky.social

Urban Historian. Focus: Neighborhood Organizing/Displacement/City Planning

None of my opinions reflect those of my employer, not even the good ones

St. Louis, Misery
Not being cynical or anything but someone chewed me out for saying that greenway development/connecting disparate neighborhoods is as much a tool of economic development/attracting new residents as it is to build recreational outlets for current residents.

Greenways are trails, squared.
November 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Weather is going to be perfect this weekend. Don't believe the fake news. Go out and support small businesses and artists. Help us at least break even.
November 26, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
I still have a lotttttt of questions about Pulte’s activity In North St. Louis www.stltoday.com/news/local/m...
November 26, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
A truly wild legal filing by an Elvis-cosplaying judge in St. Charles, Missouri, includes a request to the state's Supreme Court to declare his previous agreement to resign "void" and to reduce his suspension from 6 months to 60 days.
A St. Charles judge admits he made mistakes – but wearing an Elvis outfit wasn’t one of them
In St. Charles, Elvis has left the courtroom.
www.stlpr.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I rarely consume WW2 history stuff but this was quite interesting. St. Louis is mentioned about halfway thru, as the video follows POW paths west from the east coast, the POWs shocked at the grain silos/barges that lined both sides of the river as they crossed the Eads

youtu.be/gykVp3JJNdI?...
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Someone just said dick to dick to me, and it instantly unlocked a core memory.
November 26, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
Centennial Christian Church is saying goodbye to its tornado-damaged building but not its mission.

Members and pastors gathered to honor 102 years of ministry and look ahead to rebuilding in Fountain Park.
Centennial Church members say goodbye to tornado-stricken building, but keep ministries alive
Centennial Christian Church in Fountain Park will be demolished in the next few weeks. It’s one of the worship centers in north St. Louis that was destroyed by the May tornado.
www.stlpr.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I've unlocked a cheat code. If you go to the counter at bread co and ask why something is sold out it usually isn't, just one ingredient. And they'll immediately make it and give it to you for free
November 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
It may surprise you to learn this man used to have his finger on the pulse of St. Louis. He used to cook.
November 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Got a bunch of new lemen photos tonight after I requested them for art purposes. Love this view of both Sumner High School but even more exciting, a view of the old Tandy Park baseball diamond
November 26, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
Three things about the Witkoff tapes:

1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.

2) This Ukraine "deal" was all Witkoff's idea.

3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.
November 25, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
I would wipe Rise of Skywalker from continuity and make tony gilroy write the new end to the sequel trilogy. It can be as bleak as he wants it to be bsky.app/profile/benj...
If you were a despotic president, what movie would you force Hollywood to make? I want to see Quentin's Star Trek movie or maybe Kill Bill Vol 3.
November 25, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Something I'm still not over is the museum pruning Leon Strauss' name from my displacement map in the exhibit, where I discuss the mass-displacement that occurred at Strauss' order in Pershing Waterman.

Strauss regarded those who he displaced as undesirables
November 25, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Mohist added dozens upon dozens of images to the WC Persons collection on their website. Most of them are industrial/factory interiors
November 25, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
You know how there are some historical reenactment museum areas where you can go and see people dressed old timey churning butter and making horseshoes? There should be one that's a bar and kids can go listen to reenactors complain about their city's sports teams from different decades
November 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Ok new idea occurred to me. Historical St. Louis figure trading cards.
November 24, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
This is an important piece from Sunday's print edition. Other neighborhoods have been hit with "catch ups" in prior re-assessment periods. When gentrification crosses paths with an antiquated city government, the increased tax bills for long-time residents can be shocking.
Property taxes are rising across the region, but nowhere more than in a handful of neighborhoods in southeastern St. Louis, where residents have been shocked to receive statements with eye-popping increases in bills. From @kelseylandis.bsky.social and me.

www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
Some St. Louis residents are seeing huge spikes in property taxes. What happened?
Property taxes are rising across the region, but nowhere more than some south St. Louis neighborhoods. Residents there are getting eye-popping bills.
www.stltoday.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
Six months after the May tornado, some north St. Louis residents say their insurance companies are fighting them “every step of the way,” leaving them with little payout and no home to return to.
St. Louis homeowners still fighting insurance companies to fix tornado-damaged homes
Six months after the May 16 tornado ripped through north St. Louis, people who had insurance policies are struggling to repair their homes. Some say their insurance companies aren’t making it easier.
www.stlpr.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
Axl Rose wore a "St. Louis Sucks" T-shirt on stage during Guns 'N Roses 1992 tour.

270 police officers responded to the chaos that ensued in St. Louis. It ended with 75 injured, with fans trampling fences, throwing seats at the stage, spraying fire hoses and uprooting trees.
Guess St. Louis doesn’t suck: Guns N’ Roses announces Busch Stadium show
Fans in in pain over a canceled 2023 Guns N’ Roses tour stop can now confirm: Nothin’ lasts forever.
www.stlpr.org
November 24, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Trading the toxicity of the museum for the mundane setting of civil service was the best decision I ever made.
November 24, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
Property taxes are rising across the region, but nowhere more than in a handful of neighborhoods in southeastern St. Louis, where residents have been shocked to receive statements with eye-popping increases in bills. From @kelseylandis.bsky.social and me.

www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
Some St. Louis residents are seeing huge spikes in property taxes. What happened?
Property taxes are rising across the region, but nowhere more than some south St. Louis neighborhoods. Residents there are getting eye-popping bills.
www.stltoday.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Mr. Mark Dobalina
St. Louis needs a bikeshare comeback. 🚲📉📈

We’re launching a new Bikeshare Working Group to advocate for a system that actually connects our neighborhoods and transit.

Sign up for more info👉 buff.ly/V40MNeg
November 24, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Back in the saddle
November 24, 2025 at 4:19 AM
I often remark that I have a fascinating google drive, consisting of 10+ years of scans from research projects/boredom and tonight I surprised even myself stumbling across a pdf containing handwritten notes from the LCRA for land acquisitions re: Mill Creek Valley.

1st one is Union Memorial ME
November 24, 2025 at 1:16 AM