DOME WITHIN A DOME

A model of the Old Courthouse made mostly of clear plastic, revealing some of its interior structure. I’m particularly interested in how much larger the outer dome is than the inner one, pictured recently.            

LAW AND TYRANNY

A display in the Old Courthouse about the American federal legal system. Obviously, I didn’t need to read the details. However, the inscription is true - but I hope not prophetic.                                                      

THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS

Architectural detail inside the Old Courthouse. The stairway is straight and steep up  to a landing, then curls back to reach the next floor. The rail is wood and the cross bars are iron. The rosettes at their center are cast iron, made in sand molds on display in the museum.              

HERE COMES THE JUDGE

The Old Courthouse, of course, has courtrooms. Although I practiced law for 47 years I rarely set foot in one, since my work was in a niche specialty of federal administrative law. This room has a ponderous 19th Century vibe. The circuit court name was also antique. When this building was in full use Missouri was pretty rural outside of St. Louis and judges “rode a circuit,” traveling from one county to another at a regular schedule. The name persists in the in the state’s modern legal structure.                

IF YOU COULD GET CLOSER

I rarely use two pictures in the same post but today’s topic deserves it. Yesterday I complained about the Old Courthouse having no plans to reopen the second and third level circular balconies under the dome. The staff told me it was a safety concern but I suspect it was a matter of budget. These pictures were taken from the first balcony. The next two were open before the recent restoration, making it easy to admire the historical and allegorical paintings.

                  

UNDER THE DOME

The copper clad dome of the Old Courthouse stands out in the exterior views seen the last couple of days. The inside, however, is richly decorated. It’s a shame that you can’t get close enough to see the paintings. There are three levels of circular galleries above the ground floor and, sadly, only the first has been reopened (with a chest-high glass barrier, at that). I asked a staff member if there were plans to reopen the next two. No, safety. It’s absurd.                       

ELEVATION

The Old Courthouse seen yesterday, but this time from above. As pointed out by one of our colleagues, the neoclassical style stands in marked contrast to the grids of the modern buildings behind. That’s the Mississippi in the upper right corner.

We will come back later to the reason for the high rise view.                     

THE OLD COURTHOUSE

The reason for our trip downtown on Wednesday was to check out the just-reopened Old Courthouse, one of our most significant buildings. It was built in stages when St. Louis boomed in the second quarter of the 19th Century and is now part of the national park that includes the Gateway Arch. One of the most significant trials in the country’s history, the Dred Scott case, defining the rights of black people and leading to one of the most appalling decisions in the history of our Supreme Court (well, there are competitors). I won’t write an essay about its history, but, if interested, look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Courthouse_(St._Louis) .                  

RETURN OF THE THURSDAY ARCH SERIES

I used to post a picture of the Gateway Arch most Thursdays. It was easier when I worked downtown and it was a short walk away. Over time, though, it got harder to find something new to see in a 193 m / 630 ft stainless steel wicket, so the series withered. However, one of our most historically and architecturally significant buildings, which we call the Old Courthouse, just reopened after several years of restoration. Mrs. C and I went down to check it out and found this view through the east portico.                   

DOWNWARD FORCE

 

A last old photo from a Cinco de Mayo festival on Cherokee Street. There is something new to shoot today. All the photography courses I’ve ever taken have taught me to avoid having objects protruding from people’s bodies, e.g., no light poles growing out of someone’s head. However, I kinda like what happened here.                

MEXICAN ACCORDION

Sampling more old Cinco de Mayo and People’s Parade pix to fill for last weekend’s rainout. The lettering on the instrument says Monterrey. I wish I had an audio recording.               

NOT SO FUNNY

Quick, send in the clowns

But where are the clowns?

Don't bothеr, they're herе.

Going with more old People’s Parade pix because of Saturday’s rainout. The crew of scary clowns always shows up.           

 

IF IT WEREN’T RAINING SO MUCH

One of our best annual photo ops got washed out yesterday. The first part is the People’s Parade, where anybody can sign up, dress and display as they will and march down the street in one of our funkiest neighborhoods. The area is also the center of our Latino population and the venue for the Cinco de Mayo festival. It’s a minor event in Mexico, celebrating a victory over French colonial forces, but lots of Americans use it as an excuse to swill tequila in public. St. Louis sure does.

But it rained all afternoon and evening, leaving me without days of material. I’ve been shooting these events for years so I can bring back some old favorites.                         

SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE

                

An order of nonconformists, to be sure. The sisters turn up at many events and I’ve photographed them lots of times. Their liturgy is a little, um, uncertain. I confess I don’t know exactly what they are doing at Earth Day,

Big annual photo op today if it doesn’t get rained out and my spine holds up.                 

DURABLE FLOWERS

Back at Earth Day. This woman’s creations were bright and cheerful, perhaps not natural flowers but made of durable cotton. I would have loved to buy some, but we’re in the phase of life when we are trying to have a lot less, not more, stuff in our home.                 

CITY DAILY PHOTO MAY THEME - VERY SMALL

How can you tell if something is very small from a photograph? One way is to put something else in the picture that provides a sense of scale. This was taken in a butterfly room with much luck from a cooperative subject. City Daily Photo members around the world squint their eyes and find the tiny at https://citydailyphoto.org/category/theme-days/ .                        

WELL, TOMORROW IS MAY DAY

The first of May is a celebration of workers in some countries. It was a big deal in the old Soviet Union but doesn’t go down quite like that in the U.S. This booth was in a section at Earth Day with a banner labeled social justice. The illustrated boot looks like it was made in a sophisticated factory. This kind of revolution isn’t coming here. Maybe another kind.                    

THEY LOVE BASEBALL IN JAPAN

The Japanese Society of St. Louis had a table at Earth Day. My granddaughter, of course, was attracted by the anime trinkets. The woman representing the society was wearing a stunning kimono, covered with emblems of our mediocre baseball team. Nobody says konichiwa! when you enter its stadium.                       

MADELEINE MONDAY

Haven’t had the kid on in some time. That’s her in the back of the canoe with her bestie in the middle, sampling what was on offer at Earth Day. No life jackets needed. Big Muddy is a name sometimes used for the Mississippi River.                   

EARTH DAY

The international celebration of Earth Day was, I believe, last Tuesday. Well, except maybe certain precincts in Washington. Many cities in the U.S. have large festivals on the following weekend. Ours is in Forest Park, our largest, and it is sprawling. The event brings out all sorts of interesting people. Tame chickens, too. This one was amazingly calm.                       

STL DPL IN IRELAND - LOVE HOTEL

We were looking for someplace interesting for dinner on our last night in Dublin. A short walk from where we were staying was a small, expensive boutique hotel with a terrace restaurant on the top floor. Dublin is booming, and I counted no less than thirteen construction cranes scattered across the horizon. This is the hotel’s lobby. Shouldn’t the romance be established before you check in?                

STL DPB IN IRELAND - ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE

 

Not all of the books in the Long Hall of Trinity College’s Old Library have yet been removed for conservation. This gives an idea of how the stacks looked when the place was in operation. I look at those ladders and, as an American lawyer, I think about liability insurance coverage.                     

STL DPB IN IRELAND - THE LONG ROOM

 

Many people who go to Dublin visit Trinity College. (My favorite alumnus is Oscar Wilde.) The chief attractions are the 7th Century Book of Kells, a magnificent illustrated Bible produced by the monks of the Dark Ages, and the Long Hall of the Old Library, seen here. Most of the books have been removed for  conservation. The six meter globe in the center is called Gaia.                 

STL DPB IN IRELAND - ECCO IL PAPA

 

Seen yesterday in Grafton Street, the busy pedestrianized shopping thoroughfare in the heart of Dublin. The artist had stretched some kind of plastic sheeting between two posts and was painting a portrait of Pope Francis, who died on Monday. It would leave no permanent record and the authorities didn’t object. Imagine that in the U.S. 

Home late tonight but there are lots of Irish images still to edit on the plane.                     

STL DPB IN IRELAND - IN DUBLIN’S FAIR CITY...

 

In Dublin's fair city, 
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

The song is the unofficial anthem of Dublin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Malone . Molly was, by legend, a 17th Century fishmonger, the daughter of fishmonger parents. The statue was installed in 1988 and has become one of the most Instagram-able places in the city.

The statue has obviously been burnished by tourists. Comically, after a recent public poll, the city decided to place monitors (without authority) at the statue asking visitors to respect her patina. They will only be there from 9 to 5, so after the pubs get busy Molly will be defenseless.

However, if your monitor allows it, look closely at her face. The weariness and sadness are powerful.                    

STL DPB IN IRELAND - CLONMACNOISE

 

Clonmancoise is the site of a monastery founded in the 6th Century, containing the ruins of the church and an ancient graveyard with several high crosses. It sits in a beautiful location on a gentle hill overlooking the River Shannon. We stopped there on our way back to Dublin from Galway.               

STL DPB IN IRELAND - CONNEMARA

 

Connemara is a wild and desolate region in the west of Ireland, covering parts of County Galway and spilling into County Mayo. It is filled with mountains, lakes, peat bogs and more sheep than people. Wild beauty.                 

STL DPB IN IRELAND - CLIFFS OF MOHER

 

Day trip yesterday to the Cliffs of Moher, the 700 foot / 214 meter drop-off from the west coast to the Atlantic. The day did not go well. We got a flat tire on the way, thanks in large part to the condition of narrow rural roads and enormous oncoming vehicles that push you aside. Fortunately, we had purchased roadside assistance and it didn’t take too long to get aid. When we got to the cliffs it was very cold and the howling wind pricked the rain into our jackets. Still, gotta get a snap of something.              

STL DPB IN IRELAND - GALWAY

 

Arrived in Dublin yesterday morning and got a rental car. I was a bit worried since it has been years since I drove on the left and, well, jet lag. Made it across the island in 2.5 hours and arrived safely in Galway. Even though it’s the beginning of Easter weekend the town is full of visitors. Obviously, this is the tourist trap street.                   

STL DPB IN THE AIR - POSH

Greetings once again from beautiful Dallas - Ft. Worth International Airport. It seems like we can’t stay out of this place. American Airlines loves me, (It really does, or at least I like to think so.) Since we’re on international, they let us use this cushy lounge. If you had a problem with tipple this upscale open bar could be a challenge.   

Now we’re in Galway.        

FLY THE FLAG

 

The flag of the City of St. Louis on the patio behind The Royale. It references the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, with a symbol and colors based on our French and Spanish heritage. Pretty good design.

It’s a travel day.    🇺🇸  →   🇮🇪 

ARTICANS

 

Artican is the demonym that people call themselves who are fans of and participants of the Artica scene. The logo is a stylized version of the burning wooden effigy of Our Lady of Artica that ends the festival. The community was hanging out at Saturday night’s event.                

ROBOTS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!

 

Robots of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your oil cans!

My favorite local off-the-wall arts festival is Artica, featured here many times over the years. The main event is in October but last night there was a kick-off party for the year’s activities at a bar and restaurant called The Royale. It was a mild night and the crowd was out on the patio, which was full of quirky art. This metallic, hostile-looking fellow wielded a hammer and sickle. Interpret as you will.

Oh, and Mrs. C and I are so old that today is our 51st anniversary. We get along pretty well.                  

PURPLE ARCHES

 

Plum trees in springtime bloom mark a pathway in the botanical garden. Now I have to hunt for a few more days of images. Wednesday is a travel day. When we arrive on Thursday I’ll have to drive all the way across a country in 2.5 hours.                        

MAZE

 

A last picture from The Observatory in the Missouri Botanical Garden. Off to one side is a traditional hedgerow maze. I am frightened by these things. It’s a dim memory, but it seems that once I felt hopelessly lost in one and had to call out for help to a monitor on a tower overlooking the puzzle. (Edinburgh?) I’d rather photograph this one from above.               

DOWN THE GARDEN PATH

 

Another direction from the parapet of the Observatory at the botanical garden. I should go back and see what’s now in bloom.              

PUBLIC OPINION, PART 2

 

Anti-imperialism lives on in Webster Groves. This is the same house in my neighborhood seen here about a week ago flying the Ukraine and Canadian flags. There was a  change yesterday. Now the nearer one is the flag of Greenland. Recognize it? I wonder where the homeowner found one.                    

HOME & GARDEN

 

From the walkway on the second level of the Observatory. The white building is the home of Henry Shaw, mentioned yesterday, who founded the Missouri Botanical Garden. The wedges of green on the right will be full of flowers in a few days.                        

OBSERVATORY

 

The land that became the Missouri Botanical Garden was originally the estate of Henry Shaw. He was the son of a steel manufacturer in the British Midlands and was sent here in the 19th Century as an agent. He settled in St. Louis and made a fortune, using some of his money on his hobby as a keen amateur botanist. He built an octagonal tower, an observatory, to view his domain. This building is a reproduction but faithful to the original design.                    

KOI

 

A Japanese garden would not be complete without a koi pond. Siewa-en has a pretty good size artificial lake but the koi population stays in one corner. That’s probably because there is a bridge where visitors throw them something to eat. (Given local business connections, maybe it’s Purina koi chow.)                    

BRIDGE TO THE TEAHOUSE

 

The Japanese garden has a small island containing a tea house. You may notice that the bridge is barred. The tea house is open only for special occasions and can hold a small number of people. Makes me think of the time we were at a tourist tea ceremony in Tokyo and stiff-jointed Western me couldn’t come close to sitting in an appropriate position. They didn’t kick me out.                          

SEIWA-EN

 

Back to the wonderful Missouri Botanical Garden. This is part of the Japanese Garden, called Siewa-en, garden of pure, clear harmony and peace. I wish the theme was more accurate.                  

PUBLIC OPINION

 

A house in my neighborhood. Perhaps a sign of the resistance. I hope so. After yesterday, our retirement investments have lost 10% since Trump’s inauguration, and they are cautiously managed.                  

A SPRINGTIME WALK IN THE GARDEN

 

Springtime has come to the Midwest (as opposed to Costa Rica, where there are two seasons, hot and dry and hot and wet). Tuesday was mild and mostly sunny, a perfect day for a walk in the sprawling Missouri Botanical Garden. The cherry trees were still in bloom in the Japanese garden area.                    

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - DAY’S END

 

Just past sunset on Tamarindo beach. There was a group of young women in fancy tropical dresses waiting at water’s edge. Perhaps there was a seaborne soiree. It may  be time to go back to The Lou but more Costa Rica at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobcrowe/albums/72177720324696670/ and more to add in the next few days.                

CITY DAILY PHOTO APRIL THEME - STRIPES

 

In Tower Grove Park, my favorite in St. Louis. It is laid out like an old-fashioned English walking park. There are many old, fancy pavilions available to rent. This one, called the Turkish Pavilion, is the largest.                 

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - SHIPWRECK

 

Tamarindo beach, where the day trip boats anchor. Dinghies shuttle the passengers to and from the beach. This one has seen better days. No way to tell whether it broke up here or out at sea and then washed in. It’s a bit of an exaggeration to call it a shipwreck but it still looks a bit scary.

Home yesterday. I’ll stick with these for a bit until I find some local stuff.                        

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - CHILL OUT

 

Seen on the lawn of our condo development between the pool and the beach. As Mrs. C and I get older we wonder what there is to do here if our granddaughter isn’t with us. We don’t sit on the beach. I’m as pale as they come and I’ve already had melanoma once. The pool is okay (Ellie loves it) but it doesn’t do much for us. People used to bring books and read on the lawn. Now they have tablets. Will there be a next time?