Missouri’s St. Louis Roots

Today marks the 191st anniversary of the first meeting of the Missouri general assembly:

“September 18, 1820: The first session of the general assembly of the state of Missouri met in the Missouri Hotel in St. Louis to administer the affairs of a state still awaiting statehood. In March jubilant St. Louisans had received news that the Missouri State Bill had passed Congress, and, despite the fact that debate over the Missouri Compromise caused a delay of more than a year in its ratification.” (St. Louis Day by Day p178)

Missouri became the 24th state in the Union on Aug. 10, 1821 (source). Missouri’s origins were in St. Louis:

The present Capitol, completed in 1917 and occupied the following year, is the third Capitol in Jefferson City and the sixth in Missouri history. The first seat of state government was housed in the Mansion House, Third and Vine Streets, St. Louis; the second was in the Missouri Hotel, Maine and Morgan Streets, also in St. Louis. St. Charles was designated as temporary capital of the state in 1821 and remained the seat of government until 1826. (Wikipedia)

The Missouri Hotel was razed in 1873. The poll question this week: “Missouri legislators are “part-time” public servants, should we have full-time legislators to manage the state?” The poll is in the right sidebar, final results on Wednesday September 28, 2011.

– Steve Patterson

1907: “Colored” St. Louis School Principal Misquoted by the Press

In researching the Dumas Public School, razed long ago, I came across an interesting tidbit about the school’s principal, Arthur D. Langston. The following appeared in the New York Times on December 8, 1907:

URGES NEGROES TO BE POLITE
Colored School Principsal Advises His Race — Corrects Statement.

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 7. – Prof. Arthur D. Langston, Principal of the Dumas Public School of St. Louis, in addressing the Missouri Negro Republican League delegates here a few days ago, was erroneously reported as having said that  “no negro should occupy a seat while a white woman stands, and dirty negros should not be allowed on the street cars at all.”

In his address Prof. Langston said: “Colored people and whites associate more intimately in the street cars than in other places; therefore, it becomes a matter of great importance that we conduct ourselves properly in “every way on street cars.  Let the negro make the white man ashamed by never occupying a seat while a lady is standing.”

Wow, huge difference between the two! Mr. Langston (1855-1908) died the following April at the age of 52, he is buried in Nashville TN.

– Steve Patterson

The Great Fire Engine Rally Has 19th Century Roots

This past weekend was the annual Great Fire Engine Rally with participation from fire departments throughout the St. Louis region. The rally is part of firefighters weekend.

You might think such an event was held  this past weekend of to coincide with 9/11. You can think that, but you’d be way off – this year was the 28th.  But the history of celebrating firefighting in mid-September is much much older.

From the book St. Louis Day-By-Day:

September 15, 1858

The Steam Engine Fire Department celebrated it’s first anniversary with a procession of its seven steam fire engines through downtown St. Louis. For several years the volunteer fire system had been increasingly troublesome as fights erupted between companies for first place at the city’s conflagrations, and in 1857 a board of fire engineers was appointed to organize a new system using steam boilers in place of the old hand-pumped machines.

It was less than a decade earlier when fire destroyed boats on the wharf which spread to nearby buildings:

The St. Louis Fire of 1849 was a devastating fire that occurred on May 17, 1849 and destroyed a significant part of St. Louis, Missouri and many of the steamboats using the Mississippi River and Missouri River. This was the first fire in United States history in which it is known that a firefighter was killed in the line of duty. Captain Thomas B. Targee was killed while trying to blast a fire break. (Wikipedia)

To these early residents fighting fire was serious business.  In 1850 the population was  just 77,860 but by 1860 it had grown to 160,773 (Wikipedia), all living in very close proximity where a single fire could destroy many properties.

Hats off to the men and women who serve as firefighters and EMS!

– Steve Patterson

A Decade Ago

A decade ago I was excited about an upcoming 19-day vacation with a friend. Our itinerary would begin in Washington D.C., with a drive through the Pennsylvania countryside to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water, on to NYC for a few days and then back to D.C. before flying home. Our flights, car rental and hotel were all booked. We would fly into Dulles Airport on October 19, 2001.

For both os us it would be our first trip to Manhattan, iconic buildings like the Empire State and World Trade Center were on our must-see list.  Then it happened.

The morning of September 11, 2001 I was driving to a client’s house in St. Louis County when I heard the report on the radio of the first plane hitting the first tower. When I arrived they had their television on, we watched the reports…and the second plane hitting the second tower. Like the rest of the world, we were stunned. It seemed unreal, so unimaginable.  Death & destruction like we’d never seen before.

For a while it looked like we would cancel our vacation, but then it became clear these areas needed tourists dollars. We went, and had a great time. Returning to D.C. after New York the Pentagon, still damaged, at least had most of the debris  removed.

Remember the Post 9/11 anthrax scare? A person on NYC’s upper east side died of anthrax poisoning the day we were walking through the area. We visited a friend on the upper west side, a week earlier he could see hazmat crews in the offices of ABC just across the alley cleaning after an anthrax scare.  It was a surreal vacation.

The families of all who died that day, and of first responders who are ill, it was more than surreal. I can’t begin to imagine what they felt then, or now.

On Sundays I introduce a new poll for the week:

The number of Americans who say the government should do whatever it takes to protect its citizens against terrorism —even if it means violating civil liberties — has dropped almost in half since the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. (Source)

This seems like a good topic, the poll is in the right sidebar.  Those on mobile devices will need to switch to the full site to vote in the poll.

– Steve Patterson

What a Handsome Bride

Recently I attended the open house for Trailnet’s new offices at 10th & Locust. The offices are nice but it was their view to the south that really got my attention.

On the right is the long-vacant Bridge’s House building built in 1886. On the left is the renovated building that has Left Bank Books and Bridge Tap House on the ground floor and rental lofts on the upper floors. By contrast it looks very modern but it was built just four years later, in 1890.

The contrasts are what is so great! First, the floor levels don’t align with each other. Misguided historic standards in some neighborhoods require new construction to align perfectly with adjacent structures. The Materials and colors are also quite different, although brick is used on both buildings.

Then there is the blade sign from the 20th century, a real gem of a sign.

– Steve Patterson