Monday, November 9, 2020
St. Louis Then and Now: The Riverfront and the Gateway Arch
Posted By Jaime Lees on Mon, Nov 9, 2020 at 8:23 AM
The Riverfront, 1928
Posted by Vintage St. Louis & Route 66 on Sunday, November 8, 2020
From the days of Lewis & Clark to the floating McDonald’s to the heyday of Mississippi Nights to the legendary visit from Barack Obama, St. Louis’ riverfront area along the Mississippi River has seen it all.
The set of vintage photos above were posted Sunday on the Vintage St. Louis & Route 66 Facebook page. They show how the area looked way back in 1928, a full 35 years before construction began on the Gateway Arch in 1963. The riverfront buildings were torn down to make way for the Arch project, but the curve and beauty of the river there has remained the same.
RELATED: 50 Stunning Photos from the Gateway Arch Construction
The first vintage photo above was taken from the area near the Eads bridge looking south toward the Poplar Street Bridge. If you look closely, you can see the tall stacks from the Watco building across the river in Sauget, IL, peeking above the Poplar Street Bridge. They look exactly the same in modern pictures, too.
Check it out:
The second vintage photo above shows the buildings along the river that were commandeered and torn down during the latter part of the 1930s. The foundation of the Arch was laid in 1961 and the construction of it was completed in October of 1965.
Here's a more modern comparison of that angle:
Email the author at jaime.lees@riverfronttimes.com
Support Local Journalism.
Join the Riverfront Times Press Club
Local journalism is information. Information is power. And we believe everyone deserves access to accurate independent coverage of their community and state. Our readers helped us continue this coverage in 2020, and we are so grateful for the support.
Help us keep this coverage going in 2021. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing membership pledge, your support goes to local-based reporting from our small but mighty team.
Join the Riverfront Times Club for as little as $5 a month.
Related Stories
-
St. Louis Then and Now: Clayton-Tamm Neighborhood at Hampton and Manchester
Feb 23, 2021 -
St. Louis Then and Now: Vandeventer at Highway 40/64
Feb 4, 2021 -
Best Lightning Rod
Oct 14, 2020 -
St. Louis Then and Now: The Chase Park Plaza on Kingshighway
Sep 21, 2020 -
You Can Get High in the St. Louis Arch Again (By Riding the Tram)
Sep 1, 2020 -
Four People in St. Louis (and the Arch) Were Struck by Lightning on Sunday
Jul 21, 2020 -
Vintage Photo From the Admiral Shows the St. Louis Showboat in Stunning Detail
May 7, 2020 -
St. Louis Then and Now: St. Louis City Hall Downtown
Dec 16, 2019
Speaking of...
More by Jaime Lees
Most Popular
-
Hartmann: Saint Louis Zoo Needs to Ditch its 20th Century Tourism Model Read More
-
Humane Society of Missouri Rescues Nearly 100 Dogs, Needs St. Louis' Support Read More
-
Parson Doubles Down On Push To Prosecute Reporter Who Found Security Flaw in State Site Read More
-
A Cop Targeted Women for 'Neanderthalling.' Wesley Bell Tried to Protect Him Read More
-
The Big Mad: Parson's Perfidy, Society's Sickness and Kroenke's Expansion Scheme Read More
Read the Digital Print Issue
October 20, 2021
Newsletters
Euclid Media Group, LLC
Read Our Sister Publications
- Cleveland Scene
- Cincinnati CityBeat
- Creative Loafing Tampa
- Detroit Metro Times
- Louisville LEO Weekly
- Orlando Weekly
- San Antonio Current
- Out in SA
- Out in STL
Marketing Services
