Art towns in Missouri? (Kansas City, St. Louis: loft, houses, to buy)

[warmbutter]

Hi, I am an artist with work in several galleries in Texas and New Mexico. My husband will be retiring i a year and we would like to relocate to Missouri and open a small gallery. Any suggestions for towns that might be suitable?

Also we are looking to buy a house with 40 or 50 acres for small farming. I want a spring fed lake on the property.

Another question..how do i find out if my future house is in a flood zone?

[1greatcity]

I'd imagine a small art gallery would be a good fit for historic Main Street in St. Charles or in the business districts of Kirkwood,Webster Groves, and Maplewood. A high-end gallery could be located in Clayton.
I would think some of the nice river towns would work also. Places such as Washington, Ste. Genevieve, Hermann, or Kimmswick.
Another possible location that comes to mind is downtown Branson, which is east of the main commercial strip there.
If you're willing to commute to the city from your farm, there are several parts of St. Louis where an art gallery could be located: Euclid Avenue in the Central West End; Antique Row and points west on Cherokee Street; The Delmar Loop; The Loft District and Washington Avenue downtown; etc. I'm sure KC has some comparable areas, too, but someone more familiar with that city will have to jump in here.

To determine if a piece of property is in a flood zone, you would contact the city or county in which the property is located. You can also get a rough idea by using Google Earth, which gives the elevation of the land wherever your cursor is pointed.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

I'd imagine a small art gallery would be a good fit for historic Main Street in St. Charles or in the business districts of Kirkwood,Webster Groves, and Maplewood. A high-end gallery could be located in Clayton.
I would think some of the nice river towns would work also. Places such as Washington, Ste. Genevieve, Hermann, or Kimmswick.
Another possible location that comes to mind is downtown Branson, which is east of the main commercial strip there.
If you're willing to commute to the city from your farm, there are several parts of St. Louis where an art gallery could be located: Euclid Avenue in the Central West End; Antique Row and points west on Cherokee Street; The Delmar Loop; The Loft District and Washington Avenue downtown; etc. I'm sure KC has some comparable areas, too, but someone more familiar with that city will have to jump in here.

To determine if a piece of property is in a flood zone, you would contact the city or county in which the property is located. You can also get a rough idea by using Google Earth, which gives the elevation of the land wherever your cursor is pointed.

I think those I highlighted above are where I'd start my search, particularly if you're looking for acreage. Best of luck and feel free to ask any follow-up questions as you have them!

[Old Trafford]

Your best bets might all reside on the rivers

Louisiana Mo

Louisiana, Missouri: Missouri's Picturesque Rivertown

Ste. Genevieve Mo

City_of_Ste_Genevieve_Main_Page

Clarksville Mo

Official Website of Clarksville Missouri

Hermann Mo

Hermann, Missouri, Welcomes You

Kimmswick Mo

Visit Kimmswick - Home

Washington Mo

Washington Missouri in the heart of wine country dining lodging bed and breakfast wineries vineyards shopping antiques museums galleriesspecial events activities history tours recreation Missouri river riverfront parks trails day trips weekend getawa

All the above get a significant amount of tourist traffic and have some semblance of an art scene, but are still small towns within 2 hours of St. Louis. If you are looking to farm, the land values are going to be cheaper around Clarksville and Louisiana, there are several artists from around the country who relocated to Louisana, Clarksville is nearby but very small. Hermann gets a lot of tourist traffic and has a growing arts scene along with several wineries. Ste. Gen is doing some of the same things as Hermann, but is a little behind in some areas. Kimmswick is actually in the St. Louis region, but feels very isolated from the rest of the metro, land will be expensive there.

I would stay away from Branson from the farming aspect, good land at a decent price is very hard to come by.

In my opinion Hermann probably is the best balance, it has been several years since my last trip to Louisiana, they may have more going on now.

Washington has some neat river front development going on.

My advice, spend a week in St. Louis as a base, take day trips to all towns.

[xenokc]

For the Kansas City region... a couple small towns to consider are Parkville, which is a quaint rivertown just N of downtown KC or Weston, which is a small quaint town further N of KC, north of the airport. Smithville Lake area N of KC may be of interest in terms to live but not sure how well a gallery would do in downtown Smithville.

Downtown KC apparently has one of the largest gallery districts in the US - in the Xroads district with about 60-80 venues depending on what you call a gallery, but it sounds like you want small town. If locating near KC, there are plenty of KC art circles to network with, including ties to the coasts. First Fridays is a fun street party every month in Xroads, centered around the galleries.

KC gallery guides.. even if you don't locate in KC, you may tie up with some to network...
http://digitalissue.pitch.com/publication/?i=48359&p=4

http://ereview.org/go-see-art/kansas...arts-district/

[cyrano]

Check out the North Village Arts District in Columbia, created from converted warehouses on the edge of downtown and within walking distance of much of what's best in town, including the University of Missouri.

[brushrunner]

Ok sucker for River Towns.Thinking Boonville or Lexington.

brushrunner

[kshe95girl]

Ste Genevieve has a wonderful, historic art community, they have an art walk once a month, and festivals throughout the year.
I love my hometown!

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by Old Trafford

Your best bets might all reside on the rivers

Louisiana Mo

Louisiana, Missouri: Missouri's Picturesque Rivertown

Ste. Genevieve Mo

City_of_Ste_Genevieve_Main_Page

Clarksville Mo

Official Website of Clarksville Missouri

Hermann Mo

Hermann, Missouri, Welcomes You

Kimmswick Mo

Visit Kimmswick - Home

Washington Mo

Washington Missouri in the heart of wine country dining lodging bed and breakfast wineries vineyards shopping antiques museums galleriesspecial events activities history tours recreation Missouri river riverfront parks trails day trips weekend getawa

All the above get a significant amount of tourist traffic and have some semblance of an art scene, but are still small towns within 2 hours of St. Louis. If you are looking to farm, the land values are going to be cheaper around Clarksville and Louisiana, there are several artists from around the country who relocated to Louisana, Clarksville is nearby but very small. Hermann gets a lot of tourist traffic and has a growing arts scene along with several wineries. Ste. Gen is doing some of the same things as Hermann, but is a little behind in some areas. Kimmswick is actually in the St. Louis region, but feels very isolated from the rest of the metro, land will be expensive there.

I would stay away from Branson from the farming aspect, good land at a decent price is very hard to come by.

In my opinion Hermann probably is the best balance, it has been several years since my last trip to Louisiana, they may have more going on now.

Washington has some neat river front development going on.

My advice, spend a week in St. Louis as a base, take day trips to all towns.

Um......how, exactly, is Ste Gen "behind in some areas"?

[Old Trafford]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Um......how, exactly, is Ste Gen "behind in some areas"?

Behind is probably the wrong word.

The tourist industry is more developed in Hermann, more and bigger festivals, more renovation in town, wineries are walkable in town. though Ste. Gen does have some nice businesses and is well on its way, which is why I mentioned it as an excellant place to locate a gallery.