Medium Essays (1001 - 3000 Words) Archives - Page 4 of 6

1866: Stephen Barlow Rocks Lafayette Park

Stephen D. Barlow was a pioneer; the first to develop land directly opposite Lafayette Park to the east. He was born in Vermont in 1816 and first came to St. Louis in 1839.

1931: Strange Interlude on Park Avenue

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.

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.

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.

2021: The Spark In The Park – Lightning Bugs

Growing up in western Montana, the only exposure a kid gets to fireflies is anecdotal, like the bug in Sam And The Firefly from the Dr Seuss series of books; a tiny comic superhero. Moving to Missouri and camping on the Huzzah River, watching the early evening light display of real-life fireflies was memorable.

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.

1935: Just Past Noon at the Junction

A City Struggling To Recover

1935 was well over 80 years ago. Lafayette Square had regressed from mansions to boarding and rooming houses, as the nation around it sank firmly into its fifth year of economic depression. FDR attempted to prime the pump with federal funds by creating both the Social Security Administration and National Recovery Administration (NRA) that year.

1960: Retta Reed – ‘Mayor’ Of Benton Place

If John Albury Bryan was the father of the restoration of Lafayette Square, it might be fair to ask who the mother was. The answer is most likely Ruth Kamphoefner, and rightly so. However, there were movers before Ruth moved to the Square in 1972. Consider the fascinating lady that lived about 100 feet from Bryan on Benton Place. She died eight weeks before him, and the passing of these two must have resonated in the neighborhood. Let’s take a time trip back and look in on Henrietta “Retta” Strantz Reed.

1916: Frederick Gardner – Coffin King

The hot market for St. Louis coffins

St. Louis was once preeminent in the manufacture of shoes and booze, white lead, bricks, and crackers. Less famously, it was home to a coffin trust, with a hammerlock on the funeral supply business. Here is the story of Frederick Gardner and the St. Louis Coffin Company.