History Outside The Square Archives - Page 2 of 3

1939: A Local History of Coal

Walking the alleys of Lafayette Square, I came upon this old coal chute door in the side of a building.

Closer inspection yielded some specifics on its origin.

1868: Founders, Foundries And Statues In The Park

A colossal (technically speaking, twice life-size) bronze statue of Thomas Hart Benton resides in St. Louis’s Lafayette Park. It was cast by Ferdinand Miller in 1864 at the Royal Metal Foundry of Munich in Bavaria.

This grand giant, the first public monument placed in Missouri, was produced by a rightly famed sculptress, Harriet Hosmer. She is profiled in an earlier essay here.

1904: Down The Pike At The World’s Fair

*Pike Day at the 1904 World’s Fair. Atlantic Magazine.*

St. Louis finally one-ups Chicago

It’s a marvel that the undisputed height of cultural achievement in St. Louis came 117 years ago. Ice cream cones, hot dogs, iced tea, the acquisition of the Philippines, and preemie incubators on display. The 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition had it all. Times come and go, but the fair remains a defining event.

1910: Schnaider’s Beer Empire – Part 3

Joseph Schnaider’s late 1880’s were a time of trusts – well capitalized businesses that created monopolies in certain industries. Railroads, steel, oil, tobacco and even beer faced stiff competition, buyouts, and consolidation. Coupled with rapid technological advances in the beer world, a business advantage was created for those who knew how to play it. One of the first breakthroughs was mechanical refrigeration, eliminating the need for caves. Refrigeration enabled year-round production, and when extended to railway boxcars, led ambitious brewers to develop regional and national distribution. Mass production reduced costs all down the line. Large breweries like Lemp and Anheuser-Busch took early advantage, establishing filling depots and rail centers across the country. Pasteurization and improved bottle closures extended shelf life and made global distribution possible.

1908: Behold The Amazing Billiken

1888: Ignorance Of The Law Was No Excuse

It is true that archivists are a form of non-destructive bookworm. I prefer to think of myself more as an old pioneer panning for gold in the cold stream of time. In that spirit, I submit something I ran across recently; from an 1888 version of the booklet “Police Guide And Directory Of St Louis”. Here, on page 43, a helpful table of petty crime a stranger might wish to avoid in the Lafayette Park neighborhood.

1835: Sol Smith – Father of St. Louis Theater

It’s not everyone who gets to create the first permanent theater west of the Mississippi River, make out like a bandit on Lafayette Square residential acreage, and keep Missouri in the Union as the Civil War loomed. But Sol Smith did.

A recent essay in this space featured Adelina Patti, opera diva of the late 1800s. As a child phenomenon on nationwide tour at the age of 12, she played dolls with the granddaughter of Sol Smith. He owned the St. Louis Theatre, where she performed. Over the years, many stage luminaries visited with “Old Sol,” who was known as the father of St. Louis theater.

1884: The Opera Diva And Lafayette Park

Adelina Patti, the opera diva reminds me that I’ll read nearly anything put in front of me. This includes ingredient lists on food boxes, consumer warnings for everyday products, and clothing labels. I like to steal a glance at anything printed out for someone else to read, or printed on a consumer product to avoid legal action.

1891: The Granitoid Sidewalks Of St Louis

Some of the oldest sidewalks in St. Louis aren’t concrete, they’re granitoid. Let’s take a walk and explore our native surface material.

1876: Keevil, The Hatter

“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I can’t take more.”
“You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter: “It’s very easy to take more than nothing.”