Once I had the model in this 1880s bustle dress, I didn’t want to let her out! The weather was SO pretty outside that we decided to go take some fashion photos at Carondelet Park. The boathouse at Carondelet Park, although originally built in 1918, and the concrete pergolas (built in the 1930s), made for perfect a perfect set to go with this 150+ year old dress.
These photos show the Arch under various stages of construction, from just two legs, to the final keystone about to be placed into the nearly complete monument… fascinating historic slide scans of the Gateway Arch under construction in 1965.
I have no idea what South St. Louis pharmacy or drugstore is pictured here, but these pictures that I scanned are fascinating! You can see all the glass bottles and vials of medicine neatly on shelves behind the counter, and signs saying: “Frog in your throat? 10 cents – the Greatest Cough ??? on Earth”, Adams Black Jack Gum, Humphrey’s Specifics, Abbey’s ?? Salt… and more.
Here are 2 pictures of Seymour’s Regiment Band, from the early 1900s. Charles Seymour was a famed conductor and soloist in St. Louis at the time, and I wonder if this was the band he led.
These pictures were labeled “Civil War or Spanish War Veterans”. They’re actually slides from the 1960s, when someone had tried to copy or preserve the originals. Pretty interesting to see the elderly soldiers standing in formation. I wonder what event this was for?
I’m not sure what building was being built, or torn down, but here are some interesting construction, street scene, and architecture photos. One is obviously of the Old Rock House Saloon & Restaurant, and there are photos of two plaques: The Nichols-Howard Building – Landmark of the Great Fire of 1849, and The Old Rock House.
These were in a mixed album of early 1900s St. Louis photos that I scanned. One of these shows the civil courts building under construction, with just the steel beams up, which was completed in 1930 (so this picture would have been c. 1929). Another old photo is dated 1910 and appears to be a group photo of men in the Teamsters Union.
Here is evidence in pictures of the destruction wrought by the huge tornado that devastated parts of downtown St. Louis on September 29, 1927. These pictures of the tornado damage were taken at approximately 1:15pm, and are the property of the Carondelet Historical Society (who kindly let me scan and post them here).
It appears as if bus service to the Muny at Forest Park during World War II was very comprehensive! Bus service extended as far as Gravois and Hampton, Grand and Holly Hills, 3rd and Washington (downtown), Florissant and Kingshighway, and Delmar and DeBalviere… a pretty wide radius!
Also in these last few pages of the 1943 St Louis Municipal Opera program, besides ads, was the list of large donors who gave to the Municipal Theatre Associations guarantee fund. It reads like a long list of old St. Louis society’s who’s-who and includes Adolphus Busch II and his son, August Buch (of the Anheuser-Busch brewery). It’s interesting to see who the early supporters of the Muny were!
These pages from the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera program include the Municipal Opera Productions Directory (from 1919-1942), and a brief history and facts about the Muny Association.
These pages of the Municipal Opera Silver Anniversary program contained small ads for local companies that had been in business for 50 years and 75 years or more, as of 1943! This showcased St. Louis businesses that had started before 1869 and 1894. I wonder how many are still in business?
This set of scans of the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera Theater Program includes the seating chart and seat prices in an advertisement for C.L. Finot Inc. Concessionaires. It looks like during WWII, The Muny seated 10,000 people and you could get front section box seats for two dollars, or sit in the back section for 25 cents. This was my favorite page in this set.
Here are more pages of WWII business ads from the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera program. This starts with an advertisement for The Gatesworth (and the Walnut Room), and with the synopsis for The Great Waltz underneath.
Here are more St. Louis beer and brewery advertisements and the synopsis of The Great Waltz from the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera Program.
Advertisers in these pages included: Falstaff Brewing Company, Manhattan Coffee, Efficiency Service Co (employment specialists), Griesedieck Brothers Brewing Company, The Circus Snack Bar at the Forest Park Hotel, and the Gaylord Container Corporation.
Here are four more pages scanned from the 25th anniversary program of the St. Louis Municipal Opera (now known as The Muny).
The Zodiac Cocktail Lounge and Bar at the Chase Park Hotel advertised Neil Bondshu and his Society Orchestra, Mary Raye and Naldi, Don Tannen (Russian Comedy Song Star), and “Snow White” Sensational Wizard of Tap with Bobby Swain and his “Note-ables”. Entertainment nightly with Joe Karnes and Betty Barr (satirical songs and piano styling). This was probably my favorite advertisement of these pages, because they really gave me a flavor for the type of WWII nightlife and entertainment available here in St. Louis.
Here are 4 more pages out of the 25th Anniversary Program for the 1943 season at the St. Louis Municipal Opera (The Muny). The St. Louis Municipal Opera was started in 1918, and 1943 was the 25th (Silver Anniversary) Season. Included is an advertisement for the musical romance “Rosalie”, an ad for Hunter Meat Food Products (out of East St. Louis Illinois), Philip Morris Cigarettes, Alpen Brau Beer (and KMOX) promotional advertisement, and an ad for Nu Grape Soda (bottled locally by American Soda Water Co.).
