John Poelker Park, part of the larger Gateway Mall, is looking better than ever, clean and well kept, with a new fence installed around the central statue. While Poelker was the fortieth mayor of St. Louis, the statue commemorates firefighters, dedicated in 1994 and sculpted by R.R. Daus. I find it fascinating that while there…
Tag: Gateway Mall
American Legion Auxiliary Monument, Gateway Mall
I noticed this small monument a few yards away from the Schiller Monument a few weeks ago. It is the smallest memorial in the Gateway Mall, by far. You can read more about the American Legion Auxiliary here.
Schiller Monument
Originally installed in St. Louis Place Park in 1898, the statue commemorating Friedrich Schiller was moved to one of those squares of greenspace in the Gateway Mall in the 1970s. Schiller is one of the most famous poets in the German language, having written what would become the lyrics of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” The…
About That Sinkhole
Oh dear! The ground collapsed north of the main post office in downtown a couple of weeks ago. There are many things down there, including the old cellars of the Julius Winkelmeyer Brewery, which dated back to the 1840s (and used to frequently beat Adam Lemp out for first place in the city’s fair every…
The Old Cathedral, Interior
I already discussed the copy of the Velázquez two days ago, so we’re going to go around the church and look at some of the other works of art in the newly refurbished interior of the Old Cathedral. While the high altarpiece Crucifixion, a copy of a painting by Diego Velazquez, is not one of them,…
The Old Cathedral, Exterior
I’m glad they didn’t tear down or move the Old Cathedral, but I wish they wouldn’t have left it so stranded in the middle of an interstate on one side, and an incongruous park on the other. Here are various shots of the exterior facade from different angles and croppings. It is the fourth church…
The End of MO-755
Update: The on-ramp above has been permanently removed. The Ewing Avenue Bridge was demolished the last week of February 2021 for replacement. The final exit ramp from westbound Highway 40 to Market Street was closed by the winter of 2022. Readers will probably have two reactions to the discussion of the closure of the five…
Frankie Muse Freeman
I think too many people get bronze statues in America, but one woman who definitely deserves one is Frankie Muse Freeman, who fought for Civil Rights for decades in St. Louis. You can read about her work at this link. The newspaper in her hand references her great victory in Davis et al. v. St….
The Rotunda, Old Courthouse
I took some pictures of the beautiful rotunda of the Old Courthouse a little while back. As is typical in classical architecture, the more stout architectural orders start at the bottom, and then work up to the more elegant and decorative orders, such as the Ionic, and then the Corinthian towards the top. The German…
Courtrooms and Hallways, Old Courthouse
There were once over a dozen courtrooms in the Old Courthouse, and there are just two left that have been carefully restored to their original appearance. This is one of them; you can see below how the floor has been worn smooth from all of the shoes that have walked over them. The other courtroom…