One more by Harry Weber. Actually, this is just across the river in East St. Louis, Illinois. Malcolm Martin was a corporate lawyer in a big firm. My tiny firm was in the same building so I saw him around on occasion. He was successful, never married and wanted to do some good with his money. The land directly across the Mississippi from the Arch was vacant. Martin wanted to establish a viewing point for the river, Arch and downtown, preserved for the public. His bequest made it happen. It's a wonderful place.
This is an old picture. The object behind Martin is a one of many sculptured cakes marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis.
Back in the mid 80s, I had a part time/weekend gig at the legendary Paul's Books, then located at the corner of Delmar and Kingsland in U City. It was a great job, and Paul and his wife Suzanne were wonderful to work for. Harry Weber used to drop in all the time, as did many of the nearby Wash U staff, and spent long afternoons hanging out with Paul. The store's art section was incredible, curated by Paul himself.
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