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    St. Louis: 1875-1940
    St. Louis: 1875-1940
    St. Louis: 1875-1940
    Ebook163 pages24 minutes

    St. Louis: 1875-1940

    By Joan M. Thomas

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    About this ebook

    The "beautiful city" described by early 20th century picture postcard senders still exists. The vintage postcard images presented here take you on a tour of St. Louis' burgeoning days, where you will revisit the grand architecture and neighborhoods of the early part of the last century. See Union Station in its original incarnation as a train station. Witness the grandeur of the 1904 World's Fair held at forever beautiful Forest Park. Plus, savor the charm of the city's many other parks, such as Lafayette Park, the site where baseball was first introduced to St. Louis. You will visit the thoroughfares of downtown St. Louis before it became necessary to rebuild and renovate. Finally, visit favorite places like Soulard Market, which have thrived from the beginning, maintaining a connection between the past and the present.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateNov 1, 2003
    ISBN9781439631256
    St. Louis: 1875-1940
    Author

    Joan M. Thomas

    Joan M. Thomas is a freelance writer who lives in a 19th century shotgun-style house in St. Louis. Writing for a variety of local monthlies, she also enjoys biographical writing and research for a wider audience.

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      Book preview

      St. Louis - Joan M. Thomas

      efforts.

      INTRODUCTION

      The vehicle of communication that in certain circles is still called a penny postcard began in the 19th century. Postcards date back to about 1861, when one side was used for the address, and the reverse for the message. Most of these early cards were used for advertising purposes. Then, the first view cards, or picture postcards, made their appearance around 1893. At first, the message was written on the side with the picture. For example, look at the blank space in the center of the card featuring Tony Faust’s Restaurant on page 41.

      By the time of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, better known as the St. Louis World’s Fair, the practice of sending cards from vacation spots was in high gear. As it is with most new ideas, some folks at first vilified the practice, warning that it would end the time-honored art of letter writing. One could liken it to today’s concern about possible overuse of email as opposed to what some call snail-mail. But, here we are more than a century later, and anyone visiting a foreign city or country is expected to send us a card as evidence that we were really there.

      The popularity of the picture postcard dwindled somewhat after the first few decades of the twentieth century, and leveled off to what it is today. Naturally, the cost of mailing a postcard has risen along with everything else. There are more than a few generations of adults today who cannot imagine anything ever costing a penny. Yet, we all get postcards reminding us of meetings, elections, appointments, etc. And most of us are thrilled, or jealous, when the postman delivers us a card with a scenic view of some distant land, the writing on the back saying, Wish you were here!

      Hundreds of old picture postcards still in existence allow us to see St. Louis at another time. Thanks to the dedication and passion of collectors, these images of bygone days are preserved and protected. In the St. Louis area, members of the Gateway Postcard Collectors Club, as well as area historical societies, are the primary guardians of these vintage keepsakes. Although some cards, like many antiques, are quite valuable, true aficionados appreciate each one for its uniqueness and/or historical importance. One can ask any member of the club about a certain place or building in St. Louis and get a concise answer. If that person it not sure, you can bet that at least one other collector will know. They gained that knowledge through their intense study of the places pictured on the cards that they collect. A newcomer to the hobby, the author of this book, discovered more about St. Louis than she ever imagined by researching information for the images’ captions. Most notable, she learned to appreciate the profound impact of the 1904 World’s Fair on the city of St. Louis.

      Authorities speculate that the amount of postcards issued for the 1904 Fair were the largest ever for an American exposition. In Chapter 10, you will see a variety of those cards. What is most amazing is that all but one of the buildings erected on the fairgrounds for that event are gone. The Art Museum was the only one built to last. Nevertheless, outside the fairgrounds, the city of St. Louis gained a number of permanent and wonderful buildings. Even our water supply was enhanced in preparation for the Fair.

      Although some of St. Louis’s once-prized buildings have been destroyed, and much of the landscape has been altered, the city is still blessed with more than just remnants of the past. The devastating events of September 11, 2001 demonstrated the vulnerability of fortress-like structures. Now, we can truly appreciate the dedication and heroic efforts of modern preservationists and visionaries. Not only have they managed to save many of the buildings and places seen on the pages to follow, in many cases they have effected rebirth and revitalization.

      There are

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