Saint Louis Favorites

Favorite thing: Civil War General and 18th United State President Ullysses Grant married a woman from a prominent St. Louis family - Julia Dent - and for several years operated a farm just outside the city limits. He is commemorated with the fine statue, the 1888 work of Robert Porter Bringhurst (1855-1924). It is said that this was the first Grant statue to be unveiled in the USA, and the ceremony attracted a crowd of thousands.

It's located on the grounds of the St. Louis City Hall, at the corner of 12th and Market.

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Favorite thing: It's interesting to compare this kind of neo-classical "Art Deco-ish" civic structure with the rather grander Civil courts building (the "St. Louis Pyramid") across the streets. Both projects were conceived during the 1920s, as part of an enormous burst of civic planning and renovation. Just a few years separate the buildings in time; but the US Courts were planned and constructed AFTER the Great Depression, and here the style is much more restrained, more pared down, minimalistic almost.

The local architects Mauran, Russell and Crowell were responsible for the US Court House/Custom House. (Street address of 1114 Market.)

By the way, this structure should not be confused with either the Old Courthouse - the 19th century domed building just in front of the Gateway Arch; or with the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse, recently constructed (2000) and just a few blocks away on 10th street.

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Favorite thing: The Civil Courts Building (sometimes called the St. Louis Pyramid!) is one of the most distinctive structures in this or any other American city, IMHO. The top of the building has certainly a dramatic presence that few can rival. It was modeled closely after the famous Mausoleum of Maussollos, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient World. Featured are 32 Ionic Columns, 8 per side; each column is 42 feet high and more than 5 feet in circumfrence. Constructed mainly of Indiana limestone, the Civil Courts structure reaches a height of 386 feet; yet because it houses impressive courtrooms and not simple offices, there are only 13 floors in the building.

Credit should be given to local architects Klipstein and Rathmann for creating a memorable courthouse that clearly conveys the central role of law and justice in American life.

Favorite thing: This was originally the HQ of the Bell Telephone Company in St. Louis; now it is loft apartments, with a nifty small grocer on the ground floor. The building is in a fascinating version of the American Romanesque style of the 1890s, with prominent rounded arches on the fourth and sixth floors. Interestingly, it was designed by the Architectural firm of Shepley Rutan & Coolidge, the successor company to H. H. Richardson.

Favorite thing: Constructed to house the St. Louis Board of Education in 1891, this handsome Romanesque Revival structure at 911 Locust is being converted to Loft style apartments by the Roberts Brothers. It's good to see that downtown St. Louis is trying to restore itself as a residential community, as well as a business and governmental center.

Favorite thing: Originally the Custom House, this exuberant Beaux-Arts pile has just undergone (as of 2006) a major $35 million renovation that has transformed it into a model multi-use facility in the heart of downtown, at 815 Olive.

The major section of the first two floors house the downtown campus of Webster University, while above that the Missouri Court of Appeals operates, along with several other prominent state offices. There are a few restaurants and shops on the ground floor, along with a branch of the St. Louis Public Library!

The building was designed by Alfred Mullett, and opened its doors for the first time in 1884.

Favorite thing: The Bank of America Plaza is an attractive and shiny 31-story skyscraper at 8th and Market, on the Gateway Mall. Built at a time in the early 1980s when plate glass was "in" and trendy, the building makes a good presence because it is not located right on the street, and it respects its neighbors without trying to overwhelm them. (It reminds me in some ways of I.M. Pei's John Hancock building in Boston.0 The architect/design firm was 3D/International.

Favorite thing: "The Runner" dominates the section of the Gateway Plaza known as Kiener Plaza. It's the work of a prominent sculptor from the first half of the 20th century, William Zorach. Zorach, born in Lithuania in 1887, immigrated to the US and took part in the famous Armory Show of contemporary art in 1913. Specializing in figurative art, he became a prominent figure in the metropolitan art scene of the 1920s and 1930s. He died in Maine in 1966.

Between 6th and 7th at Market Street.