Gateway Geyser

.

The Gateway Geyser has been on the blog a couple of times before (here and here). It is set back some distance behind the Arch and downtown overlook opened a couple of years ago in East. St. Louis, Illinois. I don't get over there much but it was a glorious morning yesterday and I decided to go shoot from the overlook. I finished close to noon, one of the thrice-daily eruptions of the geyser. It didn't go very high - the altitude of the plume is determined by the wind speed. When the air is still, the geyser reaches 633 feet / 192 meters, the height of the Arch.

At some point I turned around and shot in the other direction, as noted today on Downtown St. Louis 365.

Visitor To The Gateway Geyser

The Gateway Geyser has been on the blog a few times. (Some older pictures here and here.) It's the giant water jet across from the Arch in East St. Louis, Illinois, that pops up exactly as high as the Arch itself (633 feet/192 meters) if the wind isn't too high. You can see what happens if it's gusty.

This was taken under the Arch, on top of the stairs down to the Mississippi. The picture would have been okay but then this brilliant bird photobombed my shot.

That contraption on the left looks like part of a chemical plant. It's actually the suction/blower mechanism that takes grain from river barges back and forth to a big set of storage elevators off to the left of the frame.                                             

3 PM: Fire To The North, Water To The East

I was going to post some more spring flowers today but, you know, more flowers. So I was sitting at my desk at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon in my usual torpor when I glanced out my window to the north (I'm in a northeast corner). High, billowing black smoke was rising from somewhere behind the football stadium. I looked at a couple of local news sites and found nothing. 

Then a glance to east across the Mississippi: the Gateway Geyser was having its mid-afternoon blow. This is directly across the river from the Arch. From my angle it's behind a grain elevator. It goes off at noon, 3 and 6 during the warm months, rising as high as the Arch itself when the wind is calm, like yesterday. The only one in the world that's higher is in Saudi Arabia.

Now if they could only direct that water canon back to the Missouri side.                       

GO FLY A KITE

Found in Malcolm Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis, Illinois. It is directly across from the Arch and contains a wonderful overlook across the Mississippi. There is also the Gateway Geyser, an enormous water jet whose spray, wind permitting, rises as high as the Arch itself. 

Most of the area is open green space. The Authorities don't want anyone snooping on the park or the nearby grain elevator, casino or railroad tracks. (Note the camera on the symbol of the drone.) Presumably a gentle kite is okay.            

The Other Direction

Follow up to yesterday's photo. This is the view to the east from the top of the Arch, across the Mississippi to East St. Louis, Illinois.

The river is pretty high but not flooding. You can see how close it comes to its banks. The white vertical column in the center is the Gateway Geyser, a water jet directly across from the Arch. It goes off at 12, 3 and 6, and we were fortunate to be at the top at noon. How high it blasts depends of the wind. If the air is still it blows as high as the Arch itself. The water spreads too far when it's windy to go to full height. It looks a lot better from down close.

       

Thar She Blows

Every once in a while I get across the river to shoot the Gateway Geyser. It is in Malcolm Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis, Illinois. I see it from my office window but I'm not often free to visit at the right time.

It's quite a lot bigger than the Jet d'Eau in Geneva, which impressed me when I saw it, but ours goes off just three times a day, noon, 3 and 6, in the warmer months. It can blow as high as the Arch is tall, 630 feet / 192 meters, but only when the wind is soft. Otherwise it would rain all over the surrounding neighborhoods and can be a hazard for planes using a nearby private airport. I don't think it was at its maximum height yesterday.        

Thursday Arch Series

.

I scrounged up a couple of Arch pictures last weekend. Still looking for new inspiration. I need some time off to think. I need a sabbatical. I need to retire.

Ha!, as Virginia would say.

Anyway, this was taken from the park in East St. Louis, Illinois, opposite the monument. The Malcolm Martin memorial overlook is just visible on the horizon. See that cylindrical building to the left of the Arch? Just below and to the left of that. Behind me is the Gateway Geyser, our water jet that blasts a stream as high as the Arch is tall (which is pretty damn high, at least by local standards). More about that soon. By the way, that structure on the right is a big grain elevator. The whole area looks like part of the Midwest prairie.

There may be another post or two from the Renaissance Faire before I'm done. You did want to hear about Axel the Sot, didn't you?

Well, It's Not Geneva

.

I have visited Geneva, Switzerland, once. Years ago, Mrs. C, the kids and I were staying in the Jura Mountains of eastern France and we popped over for a day. What I remember was that it was pretty, it was the most expensive place on earth I had visited to date and it had this enormous water spout shoot up out of the lake toward the sky.

It was, of course, the famous Jet d'Eau. (My American ears heard only "jeddo" for a while and I had no idea what they were talking about). Well, the Lou has its own version. This is the Gateway Geyser. It is straight across the Mississippi from the Arch in Illinois. Unlike its Swiss counterpart, it goes off for 15 minutes, three times a day. But it's pretty cool - at its maximum the water spray is as high as the Arch itself, quite a lot higher than the Jet d'Eau. I think they have to turn it down sometimes, depending on the wind, for aircraft safety. I took this picture while standing under the Arch so it was a long way off.

I regret that I will not be able to make comments on others' posts from Tuesday evening, probably until Wednesday evening. We're getting a new telephone/Internet/television bundle at home and until they finish installing it we we have no web service. You would laugh to see me writing this post while sitting in my car outside of a cafe with free WiFi. The show must go on.
.

Around The Overlook

.

Scenes from Saturday's dedication of the new Mississippi River overlook and park.

Above is the Gateway Geyser, which has been in this location for twelve years. Most St. Louisans are unaware of it because is is only on for 15 minute periods during the warmer months. You can't see it from almost anywhere except right under the Arch and the neighborhood in East St. Louis. The water can rise over 190 meters, as high as the Arch, but it does so only occasionally. The height of the plume is limited by local wind speed and a general aviation airport located nearby. Very cool when it's on blast, though.

The first picture below is me at the edge of the overlook. The park district had a photgrapher and printers for anyone who wanted a souvenir of the opening. The composite below is comprised of a security guard on a Segway (there is lots of 24/7 security), Mayor Alvin Parks of East St. Louis speaking at the dedication, a reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch interviewing visitors to the top and a closer view of the structure itself.

Off to Kansas City tonight and north-central Kansas tomorrow to see my wife's family. I bet there will be a picture of a cornfield soon.

Thursday Arch Series

.
There's something new on the St. Louis scene, Malcolm Martin Memorial Park and Overlook. It is a four-story structure in East St. Louis, Illinois, that provides a commanding view of the Arch and Mississippi. The photo above is my first shot from the edge. The one below shows the whole structure.

Malcolm Martin was a prominent lawyer. He never married and lived frugally but was devoted to the improvement of the St. Louis area. He knew that the best view of the Arch, the river and downtown was from the Illinois side. Martin started a foundation to create this overlook and preserve the vista for the public. It opened last Saturday and I attended the ceremony.

If you would like to know more about the project, check the article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch here. Come back tomorrow for more pictures about the park complex and (yes!) the Gateway Geyser. It is at the back of the park and shoots water over 190 meters in the air, as high as the Arch itself.