LOCAL SWILL

 

Anheuser-Busch used to be headquartered in St. Louis. Some years ago it was taken over or merged into the Belgian-Brazilian giant Inbev, which moved the North American headquarters to New York. Still, their biggest American brewery is here and it marked the end of the Mardi Gras parade route.

Another corporate headquarters lost to St. Louis. Still, it was announced yesterday that Boeing is moving its defense offices back here from a suburb of Washington. We were the HQ when it was McDonnell Douglas.                      

COULD BE OUR CITY MOTTO

Some countries have official mottoes:  Dieu et Mon Droit; Liberté, égalité, fraternité; E Pluribus Unum. Some cities do, too. I've always been amused by Chicago's, Urbs In Horto, City In A Garden. Right. The beloved late columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, Mike Royko, maintained it should be Ubi Est Mea? or, Where's Mine?

I don't think St. Louis has one but this would do. We went to one last holiday lights drive-through on Saturday, this time at the big Anheuser-Busch brewery. This town has its single malt Scotch fanciers and some who can tell one vintage of Bordeaux from another. However, if we all collectively raise a glass this could be our cry.           

PANDEMIC IN SPRINGTIME 3 - ESSENTIAL BUSINESS

Is there a more essential business in St. Louis these days, other than, perhaps the Washington University and St. Louis University Medical Centers? Yes, this is the headquarters of Budweiser, or sort of, since it was sucked up by a Brazilian-Belgian conglomerate. It chases you everywhere in the world (except, I think, the Czech Republic). The brand was on the first advertising sign we saw when our little group got off the plane in Tibet years ago. https://flic.kr/p/71dTXFhttps://flic.kr/p/71dTXF . I guarantee you this place is still open for business.            

THE GEOMETRY OF THIRST

This is in the current revision of St. Louis Union Station. You can get water or fizzy flavored sugar water here, but mostly it's about Anheuser-Busch products. Or, more recently, Anheuser-Busch-Inbev, the merged Belgian-Brazilian-American beer behemoth that took over one of our largest employers. Never a shortage of customers.

The photo was taken from the Saint Louis Wheel, the new Ferris wheel installed here. Much more about that soon.

             

Taps

One of the vendors in Soulard Market, ready to pour you some of the awful (IMHO) products of Anheuser Busch Inbev, while grilling hot dogs or sausages behind. Anheuser Busch used to own this town until it got sucked into the Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate Inbev. Budweiser was everywhere, even all over the world. The first advertising sign I saw in Tibet at a little airport restaurant was for Bud. The sign was in English, Tibetan and Chinese. The picture of the can said Anheuser Busch, St. Louis, Missouri.

I'm not fond of Budweiser. I'm sipping a Cotes du Rhone as I write this.        

Bevo

Our Bosnian population is centered around the old Bevo Mill, a landmark German restaurant on the south side. It was built in 1915-16 by August Busch, Sr., one of the founders of Anheuser-Busch. The location was chosen because it was about half way between the brewery and Busch's country estate, now known as Grant's Farm. (Apparently Ulysses S. Grant once lived there.) The name of the mill may be a variation on pivo, the Czech word for beer, since its pilsner-style brew was growing in popularity at the time.

(I learned three phrases in Czech when I visited Prague years ago: pivo, prosim - beer, please; jedno pivo prosim - another beer, please; and ucet, prosim - the bill, please. Somehow I failed to learn how to ask directions to the WC. Fortunately, the waiters were always able to tell from the expressions on the tourists' faces. But back to our story.)

The neighborhood was still primarily German and Dutch when I started living on the south side in the mid-70s. Times change, people in the area moved to the suburbs and A-B eventually closed the restaurant. Someone bought it a few years ago and did a fine restoration. Now it is a special events hall, weddings and such, and has a grand Sunday brunch. The neighborhood later filled with Bosnian refugees, who have revitalized the area.

Big Suds

A few years ago when Mrs. C and I visited Tibet, our plane landed outside Lhasa. Our group went to lunch at a little restaurant nearby. The first advertising sign I saw in the Tibetan countryside was for Budweiser. The picture of a beer can said "Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis MO USA." 

Not sure why I've posted few pictures of one of The Lou's most famous institutions. Maybe because I don't drink much beer (and when I do it's usually the main local microbrew, not the maxibrew). Maybe it's because the place isn't that photogenic except for this iconic sign. Management recently tore down the decades-old neon sign and replaced it with an energy-efficient LED version.

There are some bizarre decorative details scattered around. The beast below looks like a wolf in German garb, gnawing a bone with a stein of Bud at the ready. Does this say something about the taste of the designers and perhaps the taste of the beer?                     

St. Louis Central Library Reopening: 19th Century Art

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There is a lot of interesting art around the restored library. No idea how much of this was on display before the project began. I could only shoot parts of what's now on the walls because of the crowds.

The first piece is a illustration of the downtown waterfront in 1855. Almost no resemblance to what it looks like today. The only link is the dome in the center, the top of what we now call The Old Courthouse. All of the surrounding warehouses and tenements were cleared out for the Arch's park in the middle 1960s. 

I didn't see any date on the second picture. Propeller screws replaced paddle wheels for propulsion some time in the 19th Century. Any St. Louisan knows that the building in the background is the Anheuser-Busch brewery and that opened in 1852. 

We will go a century forward tomorrow.   

City Daily Monthly Theme Day: Animals

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Hmm. What kind of animal would you associate with St. Louis? A baseball cardinal or football ram? Perhaps the pigeons in Kiener Plaza or a weasel sucking up real estate redevelopment tax credits.

For us locals the choice is clear: the Anheuser-Busch team of huge Clydesdale horses pulling an old-fasioned Budweiser beer wagon. They have been around for many decades and appear at all sorts of public events. And they're always accompanied by a dalmatian sitting by the wagon drivers. What's more, they seem to have a broad sense of humor and enjoy a good horse laugh.

The first three pictures could have been exposed better. Wicked backlight.

You can view the animal traits of all the City Daily Photo members participating in theme day by clicking here.

Hey Beer Man!

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Budweiser rules this town, as illustrated by these shots at Busch (as in Anheuser-Busch) Stadium during a Cardinals baseball game. Like the sign on the bottom says, Genuine St. Louis Since 1876. Except it's not anymore, not since AB sold out to the Belgian-Brazilian megabrewer Inbev, resulting in hundreds of local layoffs. Budweiser is pretty bland, anyway, IMHO.

South Soulard

I've had a notice on this blog for a long time that if people, groups or organizations would like to be featured here they should just e-mail me. Well, someone finally did. Soulard is an eclectic neighborhood just south of downtown. A member of the local community association saw my blog and invited me to photograph a ceremony marking the restoration of three beautiful old homes. This was in a sub-district called South Soulard, a little jewel of a neighborhood tucked in a corner between the huge Anheuser-Busch brewery and I 55. I drive around my city on weekends looking for places to photograph but I've never been here.

An anchor of the neighborhood is the Clydesdale Cottage, a charming B & B owned by Maureen and Ray Kanski. It's been open about a year. The name refers to Anheuser-Busch's Clydesdale horses, a symbol of A-B's Budweiser beer. The bathrooms all have newly-made stained glass windows; this picture is an example. More about South Soulard, the ceremony and the Clydesdale Cottage over the next few days.

Have a Few Brewskis

Anheuser-Busch is one of the world's largest brewing companies and by far the biggest in the US., Its headquarters is in St. Louis. The picture above is the huge brewery here. Their corporate offices are adjacent.

These people know marketing and want to stuff their products into your brain and down your throat. Many of you around the world are hit with advertising for Budweiser. (Click this link to see one of their time-tested techniques.) In some EC countries, they have to sell it as Bud because of the never-ending trademark battle with the Czech Republic's Budějovice Budweiser, or Budvar.

A-B's marketing is inescapable in this country. I went to the Cardinals' baseball game last night at Busch Stadium (yes, as in Anheuser-Busch; the Busch family has run the business for generations). Their trademarks are everywhere. You can't go a day in the US without seeing their ads dozens of times unless you hole up in the wilderness. When you return, it will be one of the first things you see, right next to Coca-Cola.

I drink beer occasionally but I don't like Budweiser. It tastes slightly sweet and cloying to me. When I do drink beer, I prefer Mexico's Pacifico (which, ironically, is half owned by A-B) or another Czech beer, Staropramen. I hate to say this because I adore the country, but I think the worst beer I've ever tasted is Argentina's Quilmes. To my palate, it's flat and bland with a bit of a soapy taste.

What's your favorite beer? What would you never drink again?

TOMORROW: Thursday Arch Series