"I have found a site on which to form my settlement which might hereafter become one of the finest cities in America." — Laclède
Statue of Pierre Laclède, founder of Saint Louis, located on the grounds of the Saint Louis City Hall.
Pierre Laclède Liguest, (1729-1778) was born in Bedous, Béarn, France, and in 1764, laid out the town of Saint Louis. Located on high ground above the Mississippi River, about 18 miles south of its confluence with the Missouri River, Laclède reckoned this place was good for trading with the Indians in the west-central continent, due to the convenience of river transportation.
The city of Saint Louis, as originally designed, is now primarily the grounds of the Gateway Arch and the adjacent Laclede's Landing to the north, and Chouteau's Landing to the south.
Mark, how about some pictures of City Hall? I can remember when I was about 8 years old my grandfather got a ticket right in front of city hall in St. Louis!!! Some how he got stuck in the intersection when the light changed and the officer ticketed him right there!!! That was 45 years ago and it is as clear as can be! I am curious what the stone is that the city hall is built of and when the last time it was cleaned, my 45 year old memory sees to recall a much more red and smoke covered building???
ReplyDeleteThe Saint Louis City Hall is quite good. Here is one of my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/msabeln/2413016100/. It is based on the Hôtel de Ville, the Paris City Hall, and is made the way I like: good design, solidly built, and ought to be useful for the next few hundred years. Like the Paris original, this building had a tower, but it was removed due to deterioration. But it is somewhat shabby and poorly maintained. If I recall properly, it is still covered with coal dust. The exterior is Missouri pink granite, sandstone, and brick. I've heard that when they attempted to clean the building, the stone eroded badly, and so this coal dust removal was abandoned.
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