Welcome Home

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Something unusual happened downtown yesterday, a parade. Parades are commonplace, but this was the first and so far only ceremony welcoming home our men and women in uniform now that our national adventure in Iraq is over. Whatever you think of President Bush's eruption into the land where there were no WMDs (and it leaves me shaking my head), Americans appreciate the risks and effort undertaken by our armed forces. What a difference from when I was a young man and our soldiers came home from Vietnam to be met with scorn.

Two guys dreamed this up over coffee just a few weeks ago. They started a Facebook page. Money and help poured in. Even MSNBC, the cable channel for left wing political rant in this country (you know, the one we watch - none of that Rupert Murdoch claptrap in this house) urged everyone to turn out. Thousands of people lined Market Street for the event. We will have more scenes over the next few days. Good video from NBC News here.

Who's In Charge

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Another shot from the Park Pacific of a notable downtown building, this time City Hall. Unfortunately, it was taken through a window, not from the rooftop terrace. The building has considerable architectural interest. Its inspiration was Paris' Hôtel de Ville, although ours is rather less grand. (The two cities are easily distinguished.) The interior is impressive, especially the rotunda. Really need to go shoot there some time but the building is only open on weekdays. That's hard for my overloaded schedule.

Below is Mayor Francis Slay. He's been running the show for eleven years and is likely to get another term. I've taken his photo on a number of occasions but I think he's still a little puzzled about who this older guy is in the suit with the big camera. He's always gracious and well-respected in most quarters. (He's a politician - can't please everybody.)

The Courts

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Another view from the rooftop terrace at the Park Pacific apartments. These are places lawyers hang out so beware. Center-left is the Egypto-Babbylonio-Neoclassic confection known as the Civil Courts Building. It contains Missouri state courts. On the right is the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse, the seat of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Eagleton was a senator some decades back. It may surprise you to learn that this is the largest single courts building in the country. In any event, I try to avoid both of them.

Below is another shot from the party at Park Pacific, a couple who appear to be having a good time. Turns out the young lady and I have only one degree of separation, as they say, a common client. We knew of each other but had never met. These small-town happenstances occur in St. Louis all the time.

Not Exactly The Thursday Arch Series

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Well, it's Thursday and I needed something with the Arch at least in it. Plus I want to run with the Park Pacific shots for a bit. The top photo is a view from the 23rd floor rooftop of the apartment building looking east. Our firm is in the office tower on the left - well, sort of tower. There aren't any buildings in St. Louis taller than the Arch. I can see that the lights are still on in my partner's office. That woman works a lot of hours.

The bottom picture is one of the guests at the party in a model apartment. Nice kitchen build out, as you can see. He seems to be enjoying himself but how come they gave him twice as much champagne as me?

Party At The Park Pacific

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Had some fun last night. I was invited to a reception at the downtown Park Pacific apartments, maybe because I've worked downtown for ages and maybe also because of this blog. It was built in the 1920s as the headquarters of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Those of you with literary interests would recognize it as the building where the father worked in St. Louisan Jonathan Franzen's bestseller The Corrections. It's been beautifully restored into rental apartments. The party promoted this building and downtown living in general.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, including two of the bartenders, above. The choice of wine to sample was a very serious decision, as you can tell from the couple below.

More of this over the next few days.

River Navigation

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The water level in the Mississippi is low at this time of year, so the barge pilots must be extra cautious. There are five bridges across the river at or near downtown, with a sixth under construction, all throwing concrete and steel obstacles in the way of maritime traffic. Fog makes the task even more difficult.

There is a museum at the first lock and dam at Alton, Illinois, just north of us. (It's so flat south of here all the way to New Orleans that none are needed.) One of the exhibits is a video game in which you are the pilot, trying to maneuver your towboat and a chain of barges several city blocks long into a lock. I run the thing into the ground every time.

Vision

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Foggy, cold, damp, miserable day yesterday. Everything your eyes observed was soft, including the angular statue of King Louis IX of France, St. Louis, in front of the art museum.