 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 31, No. 12 * June 21, 1999 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story St. Louis trivia features old bridge, By Kevin Wilcox
When most people think of St. Louis, they naturally think of the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Completed in 1960, it was the first geodesic dome to be built as a greenhouse. Or maybe they think of the Arch, which symbolizes the gateway to the West. It’s the tallest manmade monument in the nation. St. Louis was founded in 1764 when a French fur trader, Pierre Laclede, sloshed onto the shores of the Mississippi River looking for a place to store and sell furs. Laclede used St. Louis as the base of his trading business for about 14 years. He died in his boat and was buried in St. Louis. The problem is that people soon forgot where, and now nobody has the foggiest idea. St. Louis residents returning home from the Civil War got a good laugh at the expense of Captain James Eads, who wanted to build a bridge over the Mississippi made out of – get this – steel! Residents of the "show me" state thought that was impossible. In 1874, the Eads Bridge opened to traffic. When engineers tested the bridge in 1949 they found it was about twice as strong as Eads originally thought and that 75 years of both train and car traffic hadn’t hurt it a bit. It’s still open today. Talk about stretching your TEA-21 dollars. When you’re packing and find yourself saying, Wool? Linen? Wool? Linen? go with the linen. The average high temperature in St. Louis in July is 89. It usually rains about eight or nine days in the month of July. Mosaic fans will want to make note of the Cathedral of St. Louis, which houses the largest collection of mosaics in the world. There are one hundred million pieces of glass and stone in the art works. If all you really need to know you learned in kindergarten, thank Susan Blow. She started the first kindergarten in St. Louis in 1873. Not far from the Arch stands what they call the Old Courthouse. It was built in 1839 and was the site of the Dred Scott trials, which set the stage for the Civil War. St. Louis claims many famous sons and daughters. Everyone from Chuck Berry to T.S. Eliot. There’s a walk of fame on Delmar Blvd. Included in the walk are baseball legend James "Cool Papa" Bell, William Burroughs, Phyllis Diller, Buddy Ebsen, Ulysses S. Grant, Scott Joplin, Masters & Johnson, Joseph Pulitzer, Tina Turner and Tennessee Williams. Charles Lindbergh is there, as well. On Lindbergh’s trans-Atlantic flight, he was so tired, he took his plane down to sea level, opened the window and let cool water from breaking waves splash into the cockpit. Let’s see the stewardess explain that one. The first man to jump out of a plane with a parachute and live did it in St. Louis in 1912. The St. Louis Symphony celebrates 120 years this season. It’s the nation’s second oldest symphony. St. Louis hosted one of the most popular and profitable world fairs. The 1904 fair introduced the nation to hot dogs, hamburgers and the ice cream cone. Not to mention iced tea. |