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The first bandstand was constructed in 1867 coinciding with the opening of Benton Place -- a private street (or, in the local terminology, "private place)" off Park Avenue. In 1868, an historic crowd of 25,000 to 40,000 gathered to witness the unveiling of a bronze statue of Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

Statue of Benton

The first bandstand was constructed in 1867 coinciding with the opening of Benton Place -- a private…

St. Louis, Missouri is the home of the first rail and road bridge to cross the Mississippi River, the Eads Bridge, which was completed in 1874.

Eads Bridge

St. Louis, Missouri is the home of the first rail and road bridge to cross the Mississippi River, the…

Illinois and St. Louis Bridge.

Illinois Bridge

Illinois and St. Louis Bridge.

An illustration of the St. Louis Life Insurance Company building.

St. Louis Life Insurance Company Building

An illustration of the St. Louis Life Insurance Company building.

An illustration of the Church of Christ located in St. Louis, Missouri in 1874.

Church

An illustration of the Church of Christ located in St. Louis, Missouri in 1874.

An illustration of the First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, Missouri in 1874.

Church

An illustration of the First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, Missouri in 1874.

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote, February 6th, 1862. Flag Officer Foote's official report- United States Flagship Cincinatti, off Fort Henry, Tennessee River, February 6th, 1862: 'The gunboats under my command- the <em>Essex</em>, Commander Porter; the <em>Carondelet</em>, Commander Walker; the <em>Cincinnati</em>, Commander Stembel; the <em>St. Louis</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Paulding; the <em>Conestoga</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Phelps; the <em>Taylor</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Gwin; and the <em>Lexington</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Shirk. After a severe and rapid fire of one hour and a quarter, have captured Fort Henry and have taken General Lloyd Tilghman and his staff as prisoners. The surrender to the gunboats was unconditional, as we kept an open fire upon the enemy until their flag was struck. In half an hour after the surrender I handed the fort and the prisoners over to General Grant, commanding the army, on his arrival at the fort in force. The <em>Essex</em> had a shot in her boiler, after fighting most effectually for two thirds of the action, and was obliged to drop down the river. She, with the other gunboats, officers and men, fought with the greatest gallantry. The <em>Cincinnati</em> received thirty-one shots and had one man killed and eight wounded, two seriously. The fort, with twenty guns and seventeen mortars, was defended by General Tilghman with the most determined gallantry.'" —Leslie, 1896

Bombardment of Fort Henry

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote,…

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote, February 6th, 1862. Flag Officer Foote's official report- United States Flagship Cincinatti, off Fort Henry, Tennessee River, February 6th, 1862: 'The gunboats under my command- the <em>Essex</em>, Commander Porter; the <em>Carondelet</em>, Commander Walker; the <em>Cincinnati</em>, Commander Stembel; the <em>St. Louis</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Paulding; the <em>Conestoga</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Phelps; the <em>Taylor</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Gwin; and the <em>Lexington</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Shirk. After a severe and rapid fire of one hour and a quarter, have captured Fort Henry and have taken General Lloyd Tilghman and his staff as prisoners. The surrender to the gunboats was unconditional, as we kept an open fire upon the enemy until their flag was struck. In half an hour after the surrender I handed the fort and the prisoners over to General Grant, commanding the army, on his arrival at the fort in force. The <em>Essex</em> had a shot in her boiler, after fighting most effectually for two thirds of the action, and was obliged to drop down the river. She, with the other gunboats, officers and men, fought with the greatest gallantry. The <em>Cincinnati</em> received thirty-one shots and had one man killed and eight wounded, two seriously. The fort, with twenty guns and seventeen mortars, was defended by General Tilghman with the most determined gallantry.'" —Leslie, 1896

Bombardment of Fort Henry

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote,…

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote, February 6th, 1862. Flag Officer Foote's official report- United States Flagship Cincinatti, off Fort Henry, Tennessee River, February 6th, 1862: 'The gunboats under my command- the <em>Essex</em>, Commander Porter; the <em>Carondelet</em>, Commander Walker; the <em>Cincinnati</em>, Commander Stembel; the <em>St. Louis</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Paulding; the <em>Conestoga</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Phelps; the <em>Taylor</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Gwin; and the <em>Lexington</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Shirk. After a severe and rapid fire of one hour and a quarter, have captured Fort Henry and have taken General Lloyd Tilghman and his staff as prisoners. The surrender to the gunboats was unconditional, as we kept an open fire upon the enemy until their flag was struck. In half an hour after the surrender I handed the fort and the prisoners over to General Grant, commanding the army, on his arrival at the fort in force. The <em>Essex</em> had a shot in her boiler, after fighting most effectually for two thirds of the action, and was obliged to drop down the river. She, with the other gunboats, officers and men, fought with the greatest gallantry. The <em>Cincinnati</em> received thirty-one shots and had one man killed and eight wounded, two seriously. The fort, with twenty guns and seventeen mortars, was defended by General Tilghman with the most determined gallantry.'" —Leslie, 1896

Bombardment of Fort Henry

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote,…

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote, February 6th, 1862. Flag Officer Foote's official report- United States Flagship Cincinatti, off Fort Henry, Tennessee River, February 6th, 1862: 'The gunboats under my command- the <em>Essex</em>, Commander Porter; the <em>Carondelet</em>, Commander Walker; the <em>Cincinnati</em>, Commander Stembel; the <em>St. Louis</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Paulding; the <em>Conestoga</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Phelps; the <em>Taylor</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Gwin; and the <em>Lexington</em>, Lieutenant Commanding Shirk. After a severe and rapid fire of one hour and a quarter, have captured Fort Henry and have taken General Lloyd Tilghman and his staff as prisoners. The surrender to the gunboats was unconditional, as we kept an open fire upon the enemy until their flag was struck. In half an hour after the surrender I handed the fort and the prisoners over to General Grant, commanding the army, on his arrival at the fort in force. The <em>Essex</em> had a shot in her boiler, after fighting most effectually for two thirds of the action, and was obliged to drop down the river. She, with the other gunboats, officers and men, fought with the greatest gallantry. The <em>Cincinnati</em> received thirty-one shots and had one man killed and eight wounded, two seriously. The fort, with twenty guns and seventeen mortars, was defended by General Tilghman with the most determined gallantry.'" —Leslie, 1896

Bombardment of Fort Henry

"Bombardment of Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Tenn., by the Mississippi Flotilla, Flag Officer Foote,…

An illustration of an iron furnace located at Iron Mountain, Missouri.

Iron Furnace

An illustration of an iron furnace located at Iron Mountain, Missouri.

"Bombardment of Island No. 10 and the fortifications opposite, on the Kentucky Shore, by the Federal mortar boats and gunboats, March 17th, 1862. From a sketch by our special artist Mr. H. Lovie, on board the gunboat "Conestoga." On the 16th of March, 1862, the mortar fleet and the gunboats, consisting of the <em>Cincinnati, Pittsburg, St. Louis, Silver Wave, Carondelet, Mount City, Conestoga, Louisville, Rob Roy, Alps, Wilson, Lake Erie, Great Western</em> and <em>Torrence</em>, and nine mortar boats, arrived near the Point. These were accompanied by several tugboats. On the same day they opened fire, which, after some hours' delay, was returned by the Confederate batteries. This continued for several days, with very small loss to the Federal side, owing to the iron casing of the vessels engaged, and a superior range." — Frank Leslie, 1896

Bombardment of Island No. 10

"Bombardment of Island No. 10 and the fortifications opposite, on the Kentucky Shore, by the Federal…

Fixtures used in a Boston house wiring campaign. (Listed at consumer price). Fixtures sold in finished-building wiring campaign by the Union Electric Light & Power Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

Light Fixtures

Fixtures used in a Boston house wiring campaign. (Listed at consumer price). Fixtures sold in finished-building…

"The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, 1904. One of the bridges and lagoons, with the Palace of Education." -Gordy, 1916

Louisiana Purchase Exposition

"The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, 1904. One of the bridges and lagoons, with the Palace…

"The Boyer Machine Shop, St. Louis, where one of the first successful adding and listing machines was born." -Hill, 1921

Boyer Machine Shop

"The Boyer Machine Shop, St. Louis, where one of the first successful adding and listing machines was…

An view of Lafayette Park in St. Louis, Missouri. A woman walking across a small wooden bridge over a stream.

Lafayette Park

An view of Lafayette Park in St. Louis, Missouri. A woman walking across a small wooden bridge over…

The Gratiot Street Prison was an American Civil War prison located in St. Louis, Missouri and was the largest war prison in Missouri. Run by the Union Army, it housed Confederate prisoners-of-war. The prison building was previously a medical school named McDowell's College, which was confiscated by the Union Army and converted to a prison in December 1861. Its official capacity 1,200 but at times it had 2,000 prisoners.

Gratiot Street Prison

The Gratiot Street Prison was an American Civil War prison located in St. Louis, Missouri and was the…

"Siege of Island No. 10, on the Mississippi River- night bombardment by the Federal mortar boats, ten o'clock P. M., March 18th, 1862. On the 16th of March, 1862, the mortar fleet and the gunboats, consisting of the <em>Cincinnati, Pittsburg, St. Louis, Silver Wave, Carondelet, Mound City, Conestoga, Louisville, Rob Roy, Alps, Wilson, Lake Erie, Great Western</em> and <em>Torrence</em>, and nine mortar boats, arrived near the Point. These were accompanied by several tugboats. On the 18th they opened fire, which, after some hours' delay, was returned by the Confederate batteries. This continued for several days, with very little loss to the Federal troops, owing to the iron casing of the vessels. The study of mortar firing is very interesting. Our sketch represents the manner in which the smoke rolls, and a small column frequently splits out when the shell passes. The shell itself can be seen at night during its entire flight, the fuse having the appearance of a star, which appears and disappears as the shell rolls through the air, very like the twinkling of the celestial orbs. The explosion of the shell at night is a magnificent and fearful sight, sending a glow of surpassing brightness around it as though some world of combustible light had burst." &mdash; Frank Leslie, 1896

Siege of Island

"Siege of Island No. 10, on the Mississippi River- night bombardment by the Federal mortar boats, ten…

"The American Line Steamship <em>St. Louis</em>, launched from the Cramps Docks, November 12, 1894."&mdash;E. Benjamin Andrews 1895

St. Louis

"The American Line Steamship St. Louis, launched from the Cramps Docks, November 12, 1894."—E.…

The bridge accross the Mississippi at St. Louis.

St. Louis Bridge

The bridge accross the Mississippi at St. Louis.

St. Louis was a river city, and it therefore developed in response to its relationship to the river. Development, particularly economic development, clustered around the settlement’s Mississippi River bank on what was called "the levee" and is now called "the landing."

St. Louis Levee

St. Louis was a river city, and it therefore developed in response to its relationship to the river.…