Forward, Into The Past
The old saw goes that St. Louis was “first in shoes, first in booze, and last in the American League”. We’ve got gallons of local booze lore, and you’ll soon read more on the Lafayette Square connection to the Browns, so let’s go with “first in shoes” for now.
In the list of St Louis City ordinances from 1861, there is a provision for the handling of dead animal carcasses, and a prohibition on raising hogs within the city limits. There is even an ordinance banning the flying of kites. But there was no mention of the movement of cattle through city streets. On September 10th 1874, the St Louis Dispatch gave notice of a public meeting meant to organize protest to a proposed ordinance allowing the driving of cattle down public streets during daylight hours. As you can see, the signatories to this notice include many of the leading Lafayette Square residents (and community leaders) of the day, including former mayors Thomas and Britton.
Continue reading “1874: A Cattle Call From Lafayette Square”Soon after a craft beer festival in Lafayette Park, a neighbor whose dog was mixing with mine commented on a strong smell, like that of someone having barfed nearby.
That odor actually IS the smell of someone barfing nearby. It’s butyric acid, and it’s formed by the rotting fruit of the female ginkgo tree. I say female because there are two sexes to this tree. Not that this would help you select one to plant, as they are also known to change sex from male to female on short notice.
Continue reading “2019: Ode To Ginkgo, Or Eau De Ginkgo”A reference to ‘speaking tubes’ appeared during a look at the 1892 real estate listings around Lafayette Square. Being from split level suburbia, I’d never heard of them.
Continue reading “1892: Can You Hear Me Now?”We live in a neighborhood steeped in its own history. The times change fast, but it’s comforting to consider the constants around us, and Lafayette Park holds a big bouquet of them.
Continue reading “2020: Lafayette Park Ferns – Of Fiddleheads and Rabbit Holes”Among so many, there is a certain wonderful booklet from 1885 in the Mercantile Library, called “The Dark And Mysterious Places Of St Louis.” It’s an armchair investigator’s delight, in terms of being somewhere without having to go somewhere. This ‘where’ is St Louis society’s urban underbelly, full of, as the book cover promises, “Gilded Sin and Naked Vice!”
Continue reading “1885: The Dark And Mysterious Places of St Louis”
From May 18 through May 24, 1896, the most famous show of its type, the original and biggest spectacle of its age, stopped in St Louis, setting up at the corner of Compton and Manchester. The show was so large that it required 15 acres of empty ground to stage.
Continue reading “1896: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show Comes To St Louis”
