Saint Louis

One of the things that you are contractually obligated to do when you’re in St. Louis is go to the top of the Arch, so we of course took the kids over to the massive monument along the Mississippi River. I was eager to take a few pictures from the top, trying out a few different lenses (primarily the fisheye). I carried my big camera bag with me through downtown, through the park, through security, and into the tiny little elevator that goes to the top. When we finally arrived at the observation area, I got my camera out and turned it on. Or tried to turn it on. Turns out that I forgot something – the battery. It was sitting on the charger, back in our hotel room. Whoops.

The amount of time you have at the top is short – only about ten minutes. I managed to get a few pictures with my cell phone before we were herded back into the elevators and sent back down to the ground.





Later on the trip we got a bit of a different view of downtown, this time from the St. Louis Wheel. The Ferris wheel sits by Union Station, and stands 200 feet tall.



Our hotel was right by Union Station, the massive old train station that sits on the edge of downtown St. Louis. The station was built in 1894, and was the largest and busiest train station in the world when it opened.



Ridership at the station peaked in the 1940s, when it saw over 100,000 passengers per day. But by the 1970s, rail travel had declined significantly. The last Amtrak train left the station in 1978, and the once-grand station fell into disrepair. A few scenes for Escape From New York were filmed inside the empty station, like this scene filmed in the Great Hall:



A few years later, the station underwent a massive renovation and was converted into a fancy hotel and an indoor mall.



In the decades since, the attractions at Union Station have changed and evolved. The Hooters and Hard Rock Café are gone, replaced with an aquarium, ropes course and the Ferris wheel.



And here you can see the lights on the wheel, reflected in the windows of a hotel across the street.



From there I headed closer to the river, and ended up at the top of a parking deck that provided a pretty nice view of the Old Court House and the Gateway Arch.



I had to pay $4 to drive around the parking deck and get these shots...



From the Old Courthouse I headed a few blocks over to the Old Cathedral (formally called the Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France). And the Old Cathedral is indeed old, dating back to 1834.



And then I headed back over to the Arch for a few pictures (and this time I remembered to bring the camera battery).



It was a cold night, and the park grounds were quiet and devoid of other tourists and people. Except for a park ranger who drove by, I was the only person out there.









It was starting to get late and I needed to get back to the hotel, but I stopped by one of the ponds in the park for one last shot of the Arch. There wasn't much wind, and the Arch was perfectly reflected in the still waters.

Chain Of Rocks Bridge

For Spring Break this year we headed up to Missouri and did a little visit to Saint Louis. It's a great city to visit, especially for kids. Our boys got to run around the Science Museum and feed the goats at Grant's Farm. Our five year-old Elliott, who is still obsessed with cars, was amazed by all the antique vehicles at the National Transportation Museum. And I even found some time to take pictures, including a trip to the historic Chain Of Rocks Bridge.



The bridge over the Mississippi River was built in 1929, and it cost a grand total of five cents to cross when it opened. By 1936, it became the river crossing used by Route 66 as it made its way through St. Louis. The Route 66 history is commemorated on the bridge by a vintage motel sign, originally belonging to the 66 Auto Court in St. Louis. The motel was advertised as "St. Louis’s Finest Modern Auto Court." The motel closed in 1978 and no longer stands, the only lasting memory being this sign that still greets travelers retracing the path of the Mother Road.



The bridge is 5,323 feet long, and has a rather distinctive 30 degree bend in the middle. The sharp bend was added to make it easier for boats to navigate the river around the bridge supports, two water intake towers, and a series of shoals and rapids called the Chain of Rocks. From the bridge you get a good view of the rapids, and the two water towers. The first tower here was built in 1894, and was used to divert water from the river to a filtration plant. In the background, about 20 miles away, you can see the skyline of downtown St. Louis and the Gateway Arch.



As the city grew, along with the demand for more fresh drinking water, a second intake tower was built in 1915. It was large enough that it also contained living quarters for workers who maintained the towers and the pipes.



The Chain Of Rocks Bride closed in 1968, after a new bridge was built just upriver. And for awhile, the bridge sat abandoned. It was nearly torn down a few times, at one point the army wanted to demolish it for practice. The bridge did get used one time as a filming location for the classic movie Escape From New York:



In 1998 the bridge reopened as a pedestrian and bicycle crossing, and is now part of a massive trail system that runs for 300 miles along both sides of the river. It was peaceful and quiet on my visit (no cars with chandeliers or disco balls crashed through), with a nice breeze over the river and several groups of people either walking or biking across.

Saenger Theater

The Saenger Theater in downtown Pine Bluff has stood for over 100 years. But for almost half of that time, the old building has sat empty and abandoned. And the accumulated decades of decay, rot, weather and vandals have left their indelible marks on the building.



But despite the abuse the building has taken, it still holds hints to its former majesty. And for the first time in years, there is optimism that the Saenger will be saved and restored to its former glory.



Last month I had the opportunity to tour the interior of the Saenger Theater, along with the talented photographer Matt Howard. The tour was given by Kathy Majewska, who is spearheading the effort to restore the Saenger to its former glory.

The Saenger wasn't the first theater on this site. The first was called the Hauber Theater, which burned down in 1922 (and which can be seen here in one of the creepiest pictures ever). The Saenger opened on November 17, 1924, and was called the "Showplace of the South." It was probably one of the finest and most elaborate theaters in Arkansas. The interior was built with an "Egyptian Temple" theme, and featured marble floors, massive chandeliers, gold leaf, and intricately detailed architectural motifs. While the massive chandeliers and the organ are gone, you can still see signs of the building's distinctive architecture and beauty.



The horseshoe-shaped balcony is typical of the Saenger's movie palace designs, which were all built in the early 1900s. The Saenger company built over 300 theaters across the country, with the Pine Bluff one being considered one of the chain's flagship theaters.



The stage is deep enough that it allowed for both movie screens and plays, and it saw performances from the likes of Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, John Philip Sousa, and the Zigfried Follies.



In the 1950s, the building was converted into a movie theater. And in order to "modernize" the building for the Atomic Age, pink linoleum tiles were placed over the Italian marble in the lobby. The massive golden chandeliers and the pipe organ (which was the largest in the state when it was installed) were removed. The finely detailed Egyptian themed details were painted over and obscured, and the theater box seats were removed to make way for an ungainly looking air conditioning unit.





The Saenger Theater closed in 1975 when new movie theaters and shopping malls began to open up in the suburbs. This was also about the same time that the Hotel Pines closed, along with many other downtown businesses.



The building sat empty and disused until the 1990s, when it became the home for the Pine Bluff Film Festival. But when the festival ended, the building would sit, seemingly abandoned. Holes in the roof led to major water damage, with chunks of the plaster on the wall collapsing onto the balcony. The old orchestra pit and basement were filled with several feet of murky water. Vandals made their way into the building, ripping out and stealing metal and wiring. The city of Pine Bluff became owners of the property, but the old theater wasn't a priority. Enough basic maintenance was done on the building to ensure it stayed standing, but its future was in doubt.



Until last year, when the city decided to restore the theater. They hired Kathy Majewska as a consultant, and now plans are being put in motion. Earlier this year, a 3D digital scan of the building was made, which will help guide architects on the process of restoring and renovating the historic theater.





In the upper balcony you can still see some of the original seats from the 1920s, which include a decorative "S" for Saenger.



We were able to spend a lot of time inside taking pictures. The theater was quiet, except for the sound of the horn from the passing freight trains, which echoed through the building like ghosts.





And here you can see some of the intricate motifs and designs, including this sword that is intwined with garland and leaves and also includes two small birds. There is also some Egyptian-themed motifs above it that are unfortunately obscured by the air conditioning ducts.



And the view from the balcony, which shows some of the damage that occurred from a leak in the roof.



There are only eight other Saenger movie-palace theaters still standing - the others are in Mobile, Pensacola, Texarkana, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Shreveport, and New Orleans. None of those theaters were ever closed or abandoned, and looking at pictures of those theaters shows the potential of what a restored Saenger in Pine Bluff could look like.



















The holes in the ceiling here were caused by water leaking in from the roof many years ago. It won't be easy, or cheap, to restore the building. But it will be worth it.







And one last picture from inside the Saenger, taken from the stage. The same stage where Harry Houdini made a horse disappear a century ago.



It's rare to see abandoned buildings in this part of the state be preserved. So it's absolutely thrilling that the Saenger may not only be saved, but to be restored to its former glory. It would be a jewel, something that the entire state could be proud of. And the money is there to save it. If Arkansas can spend a billion dollars on a prison, then it can find the money to preserve the Saenger. I can't wait to visit the Saenger is a few years and walk through here again when it is returned as it's rightful status as the "Showplace of the South."