July 10, 1931. The Great Depression was in its second full year. Nationwide unemployment stood at 16% (it would rise to 25% by the end of 1932), and year over year growth constricted by 8.5%. Even the news seemed slow that Friday. The afternoon’s Post-Dispatch noted Secretary of State Stimpson, concluding disarmament talks with Italian dictator Mussolini. The German Reichsbank, reeling from its efforts to pay postwar debts and struggling to remain solvent, sought an international loan of $400,000,000 from the Bank of England, the Bank of France, the Federal Reserve Bank and World Bank.
Continue reading “1931: Strange Interlude on Park Avenue”Month: September 2021
1868: Sculptor, Philanthropist And Mad Doctor
The Lafayette Park Conservancy is a group dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the heart of Lafayette Square. In 2007, it set about restoring its 22 foot tall monument to Thomas Hart Benton. 2008 marked the 100th anniversary of the death of its creator, Harriet Hosmer, and the 140th year of the statue in the park. Therefore, a program was devised to coincide those anniversaries with the unveiling of a thoroughly refreshed Benton in the park.
1934: John A Bryan on Clearing The Air
St. Louis was simultaneously blessed for growth and cursed for livability by its proximity to the rich bituminous coal deposits of Southern Illinois. It made for cheap power, which allowed energy intensive industries like brick works and steel makers to thrive here. Most residents followed suit (or is it soot?) and burned coal to heat their homes. The smoke from soft coal hung heavy in the air of St. Louis every winter, dimming the daylight and causing respiratory issues. City efforts at smoke abatement through legislation reached back to the late 1860s, but the power of the coal business and low cost for home use kept it a perceived necessary evil.
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