New Mississippi Bridge, Towers Almost Topped Out

Grand Viaduct Nearing Completion

I don't know what to say about the new Grand Viaduct, as I don't plan on every using it, as despite all the expense, the exit off of Highway 40 will remain just as dysfunctional as before. And I assume the traffic will be just as bad.

And sadly, I have a feeling it will be torn down in fifty years anyway, all of its pseudo-historical elements and blocks of styrofoam.

Maybe then I'll be able to snap a picture of the old original bridge's stone left in situ under the roadbed on the north side of the bridge.

I know one thing for sure; Chouteau and Grand will remain vacant, devoid of life, nothing more than sewers spewing traffic on either side of the bridge.

One of my few vices is battered fish, so I stopped in the Captain D's; the staff was very friendly and implored me to post their picture on the internet. I sat and chatted with the staff for a couple of minutes; they were sad to hear the Pevely Building was being demolished as well. Behind the facade of that decadent Cape-Cod Revival fast food restaurant is some real heart.

Steel

There's not a lot to say about these pictures, other than how I was fascinated how the approaches to the MacArthur Bridge create hundreds of irregularly shaped picture frames, framing the city in hundreds of unique ways.

Freight Train, MacArthur Bridge

New Mississippi River Bridge, Revisited

I've begun to spot the towers of the new Mississippi Bridge all over town, whether at the corner of Washington and 14th, or in the photo above, as I was driving eastbound down Natural Bridge Avenue south of Fairgrounds Park.

The two towers are proceeding rapidly, and I imagine next year they'll start to lay the bridge deck. While I'm not claiming this is the second coming of the hugely important Eads Bridge, I think it is notable that this is the first bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis since the 1960's, when the Poplar Street Bridge was built.

All this means permanent change for the empty land on both sides of the river, particularly the vast open spaces of the old National Stockyards. Will Armour Meat Packing Plant soon face the fate of its two comrades?

Grand Viaduct, Styrofoam and Bad Decisions

As I remarked recently, for some St. Louisans, this will be the third Grand Viaduct over Mill Creek in their lifetimes. Let us hope it is the last. I still can't believe they tore down the old one; august and massive, it was our own Brooklyn Bridge, right in the heart of the city. But alas, as you can see at 3:34 in this old movie, it fell victim to "progress."
Now sixty or so years later, I was driving on the exit ramp under the new bridge, and spotted these large white monoliths. I finally realized they were huge blocks of styrofoam, which are also being used in the filling of the old Tucker Tunnel downtown. I even glimpsed some of the old masonry for the original bridge, but I was not able to photograph before it was covered by new construction.

Regardless of the cost of revamping the original bridge, I can't imagine it being more than the cost of building two new bridges in its place in as many generations.

Shots Around St. Louis by Jeff Phillips

I gave my friend in from China a tour around the city and parts of Illinois, and these are some of the shots he took.

Above, Armour Meat Packing Plant, and below a corner store in North City.

Below, I think this house is in Old North St. Louis.

Taking a shot of some houses while we were driving creates an interesting visual effect in the foreground.

The lines of the McKinley Bridge never cease to amaze me as well.

And finally, the view of downtown from the old National Stockyards. The day we were there the prostitutes out along Route 3 were wearing Santa Claus hats.

All photos by Jeff Phillips

The Riverfront, Desolation

With the recent removal and dismantlement of the Admiral, the riverfront has lost one of the last (if not particularly healthy) beacons of activity on what was once a bustling wharf.

When I first moved to St. Louis, there were at least three more riverboats on the levee: the Robert E. Lee, the McDonalds, and the Burger King with its Inaugural minesweeper.

All those are now gone, and all that remains seems to be the riverboat cruises.

Which is sad, because from the riverfront, you can view many of St. Louis's greatest engineering and civic icons; everything is huge down here, built on a scale befitting a great city. What will the future hold? Honestly, probably not much, but at least you can still witness these grand structures without interruption.

Covered Bridge, Burfordsville

While now closed to traffic, the Burfordsville covered bridge still allows visitors to walk across the river to photograph the mill.One of only four or five covered bridges left in Missouri, the bridge used a new technology that included a steel tie bar in addition to the two crossed beams.The roof was not just to protect the bridge, but also offered shelter in thunderstorms to travelers caught in the rain.At harvest time, all of the farmers from the surrounding area would come together at the mill and bridge to grind their grain and celebrate the fall season.

Delavan, Illinois

The historic Third Street Bridge is on the National Register, and was the reason I visited Delavan, Illinois late in August. As I soon discovered, the town is really wonderful, full of beautiful buildings and some unique businesses.The bridge itself spans a now abandoned rail line that led through the middle of town.

Cemetery Road Bridge, Washington, Illinois

I have driven over this bridge dozens of times, and only recently did I realize how interesting a bridge it really was. Glendale Cemetery holds the oldest graves in the town of Washington, and this bridge, from the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century, is on the National Register of Historic Places.Constructed of cut stone forming two arches over the creek, the bridge was designed by Jacob Habluetzel and Federick Rickman.I always wondered why the bridge was so narrow, and that is because of its age.It is worth stopping and getting out of the car when traveling in the area; I must say I'm glad it's still in use after a century of use.

MacArthur Bridge Approaches, Chouteau's Landing

I still can't believe the amazing, sublime structure the MacArthur Bridge. Just drive under it sometime and feel how it looms over you.

Route 66 Bridge, Times Beach

The now-defunct town of Times Beach lies on the other side of this now closed bridge, which once served Route 66 as it headed out to Los Angeles. It has been closed due to structural problems, and will probably be torn down if money cannot be found to fix it. Next to it is an old roadhouse, which now serves as the maintenance facility for the Route 66 Park.