A little known fact: the grassy area around City Hall is technically Washington Square Park, and on its western side, in the former right-of-way of 13th Street is the monument to Pierre Laclede, which interestingly enough ignores the contribution of Auguste Chouteau. I didn’t realize this, but the dedicatory text doesn’t lie: this was installed…
Tag: Parks
John Poelker Park
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…
After the Tornado: Forest Park and Nearby
The western portion of Forest Park was hit hard, and while the major institutions were not damaged, thousands of trees were lost. At first glance, many trees looked like they had escaped damage from the tornado, but upon closer inspection, it becomes obvious that many trees lost limbs and foliage. North along Lindell Boulevard, where…
After the Tornado: Photographing Destruction
I grappled with whether I should take or post any photographs of the tornado damage that struck St. Louis on May 16, 2025, which a reader noted will now be indelibly linked with the anniversary of the founding of this website on the same day. Is it ethical to photograph destruction, and in particular people’s…
Pasadena Boulevard, Northwoods
Pasadena Boulevard follows the old right-of-way of the streetcar line that comes up out of Pine Lawn to the east. Just to the north of the park above was Minoma, the Italianate country estate of Jefferson Kearny. It is no longer extant. We enter Northwoods, which was the giant Edgewood survey, which you can see…
Saint Louis Art Museum, Nighttime
I was up at the Saint Louis Art Museum almost until close and snapped these photos with the night sky behind it.
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…
Cottleville, St. Charles County
They’re doing some great things out in St. Charles County. Yes, I know you might be really surprised to hear me say that, but it’s true. Let’s head out to the historic town of Cottleville (where yes, they were still repairing some damage from the unrelenting severe storms that have hit our region this spring),…
Lemp Brewery from the Air, 1930s
I really love this amazing aerial photograph of the Lemp Brewery, a decade after International Shoe had taken over. You can see how the shoe company had already added several floors onto a couple of buildings and altered the smokestack of the third boiler house or power plant to say ISCO. The railyard is still…
Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones-Confluence Point State Park
I completed the trifecta of visiting all three of the corners of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers two Saturdays ago when we visited Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones-Confluence Point State Park at the furthest eastern edge of St. Charles County. Looking across the Mississippi River, you can spot the tower in Hartford…