We have had doves using a nest under the eaves of out porch, which I think was built a few years ago by robins. They hatched a pair of eggs in late spring (https://tinyurl.com/4rjcmzny). Doves can have more than one clutch of eggs in a season and two more little ones showed up recently. They have been out of the nest for a couple of days. I think this is one of the parents and a chick waiting for dinner.
Over to Kansas City today, then out to the farm for a family event.
I drive by this place occasionally and it has always seemed mysterious. Plain facade of a building on the edge of the Soulard neighborhood, near the huge Anheuser-Busch brewery. So I looked up the website, https://www.sbacstl.org/, and it is stranger than I thought. Not my hangout.
A gate in the flood wall along the Mississippi, part of the graffiti-permitted Paint Louis section. The river lies just beyond the trees. I've never seen this gate closed, but then I wouldn't drive by if the water was that high.
Yeah, we have some passenger rail service in this country. I wish we had a lot more, like Europe or Japan. We have good memories of being whisked from Avignon to Paris on the TGV, or Tokyo to Kyoto on the Shinkansen. Our town has service to Kansas City and Chicago. It takes a little longer than driving but is so much more comfortable. Looking forward to October when we go from Prague to Vienna to Budapest by train.
When Powell Symphony Hall reopened almost a year ago, we found an ultra-modern new building surrounding two sides of the old one. It adds a lot of space for the public, but also adequate dressing rooms for the musicians, especially the women, who now make up half of the players. They have a comfortable lounge. There are proper executive offices, a music library, instrument storage and a large public education room. Lots of the inside views are pretty good, too.
Down and out philosophy in my favorite post-industrial ruins near the Arch and the Mississippi. Doesn't leave any room for reassessment, growth, the unforeseen or bad choices. For your Philosophy 101 exam, discuss and critique.
Mid-town St. Louis, as urban as it gets around here. It doesn't seem like a good location for a huge golf driving range but there it is, doing enough business to have been around several years. The Target is a mini store compared to the usual suburban iterations, set in the ground floor of a new apartment complex. It is all mid-way between St. Louis University's main campus and the south/medical campus. BTW, looking generally east on Chouteau from Grand.
Railroad engineers snatched out of their cabs? Scary. For those unfamiliar with the particularly American theological concept, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture .
That's Big Boy's engine number for the Union Pacific Railroad. This was as close as I could get with my longest lens when it was at St. Louis Union Station Saturday. The thing exudes power.
Mrs. C and I have been subscribers to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for something in the upper 40s of years. Our first date in April 1973 was there (cheapest seats, Mahler's 1st). They had an open house for subscribers yesterday morning, coffee and pastries, short talk by an orchestra member, three pieces by a quartet drawn from the string section, go check out the view from your seats.
The century-old hall had been closed for two years for complete restoration, reopening last fall. We were not happy with our seat assignments, then moving around program by program. Long talk with the box office and our new ones are pretty good. I'll wander around the architecture for a bit.
During World War II, the Union Pacific Railroad built a group of enormous locomotives to move material, known as Big Boys. Only one of them, Number 4014, is still operational. https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/big-boy-4014 Every few years the company trots it out for a coast to coast tour, stopping in St. Louis yesterday. The viewing area was so poorly laid out that no one could get beyond the front of the unit and the crush of people was intolerable. This other engine, with its semiquincentennial theme, had plenty of room.
Big Boy will pass close to our home this morning on its way to Kansas City so I will see if I can get a better shot.
Seen while stopped at a traffic light. I assume this is a utility or telecom box. I'll stop by to see the finished product.
South of the Arch and hard by the Mississippi sits and old industrial area, mostly vacant now. There were well-advanced plans for a multi-use redevelopment using some of the buildings in the background. Something over a year ago intense fire swept through the structures with the now-blank windows. The future is unknown.
Noted on my way out of Soulard Market after the Bastille Day stuff. It was getting late on Saturday afternoon and things were beginning to wind down. Black Diamond is an odd name for watermelon (sounds like it would hurt to bite into it) but they are dark.
The mock Bastille Day festivities began and ended outside our historic Soulard Farmers Market, https://tinyurl.com/2s4xmfu8, established in 1779. The current building opened in 1929. Vendors sell all kinds of foods down the four long arms, with unusual shops in the center. I assume the sign is to draw attention, but does Spider Man shop here?
As has been noted in these pages, St. Louis loves an excuse to drink in public. As the mob followed the king and queen on Soulard Bastille Day, many had bottles or cans in hand. Some of those too unsteady to walk the route rode golf carts, voiturettes de golf, flying le tricolore.
Happy Bastille Day to all our French friends. This town was founded by a pair of French explorer-traders. Our originally French Soulard neighborhood holds an annual tongue-in-cheek celebration of the revolution, wherein the royal couple are chased very slowly from one to another of the several local bars, ending at a mock execution at le rasoir national.
Still in the Dogtown neighborhood. The owner of this building does no believe in subtlety. Visitors, welcome or not, will have no trouble finding it. I notice that it is a two family. Seems a bit small for that. The sign on the utility pole says no zoo parking. The zoo is kinda sorta in the area but way farther than I'd want to walk.
And happy birthday to Mrs. C.
There are times when I just need some pictures and I'll go out cruising in neighborhoods I don't generally visit. That happened recently when I was driving around the picturesquely named Dogtown (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtown,_St._Louis). Never heard of this thoroughfare before. It would be generous to call it an alley, just enough for my car to fit through. Now, where is Three-Quarters Lane?
Imo's is the classic St. Louis pizza chain. Their product is quirky: cracker thin crust, coated with a cheese blend unique to here (if you are a local you know, if not it's incomprehensible) and cut into squares, not wedges. Pack down enough of it and you may end up at the massive Washington University Medical Center in the background. It goes way back from what you can see here. They keep me repaired from time to time.
A skateboarder in Kiener Plaza downtown. Boards came on the scene when I was in high school in the 1960s. My friends and I used to grab ours and head for the NY subway early Saturday mornings, hoping to find an empty first or last car. If we were in luck, we would try to slalom through the vertical poles while the train was moving. Lots of bruises but fortunately no lost teeth.
Some time ago I posted a picture of a mourning dove sitting on a nest, located in a crook of a downspout from our front porch. A bit later, I had a photo of two chicks on a nearby chair, both parents keeping watch. The nest has been there for awhile, having been used by robins a couple of years ago. Doves can have more than one clutch of eggs in a season so I'm watching to see who may pop up.
I'm a photographer for pleasure and and personal fulfillment, not for money. In the nearly twenty years I've been posting pictures online and entering the occasional show, I've never made a penny for my work. Out of the blue, I was contacted by the multi-talented Carrie Mae Weems, who had a commission to do an installation for the new Obama Center in Chicago. She wanted to use my photo of one of the sculptures of her close late friend, Terry Adkins. I am so honored to be part of an institution I hold in the highest regard. A check is kinda nice, too.
When my extended family gets together there is enough wine on hand to serve an emperor's banquet (and only the good stuff, please). My brother brought this from his town in Massachusetts. Although it lacks an E, it was refreshing but failed to get me on my feet.
Every Fourth of July my sister and brother-in-law in New Jersey throw a massive backyard barbecue party - cheeseburgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken, cold macaroni salad, green salad, fresh Jersey corn, watermelon...it seems endless. An indispensable element is her Fourth of July flag cake. Yum yum yum.
Home later today.
We are in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with a crowd of family, from baby to octogenarian, hiding inside from the heat. My sister-in-law noticed two fawns outside the window. Mom was off wangering somewhere, but these two were remarkably calm.
Couldn't resist. Another spiral, maybe better than the last one. Interesting views all over the new Powell Hall.
We're in New Jersey now, visiting my three sibs, their spouses, kids and grandkids. We flew into La Guardia, which is a pretty nice airport these days. When we got in the rental car it was 106 F / 41 C, worse than back home. No outdoor activities here, but we all have AC.
When Powell Symphony Hall reopened almost a year ago, we found an ultra-modern new building surrounding two sides of the old one. It adds a lot of space for the public, but also adequate dressing rooms for the musicians, especially the women, who now make up half of the players. They have a comfortable lounge. There are proper executive offices, a music library, instrument storage and a large public education room. Lots of the inside views are pretty good, too.
Too little is trouble. Too much is trouble. Too hot or cold can be a problem. Yet we can't live without it. We are water based organisms on the water planet. The illustration is snow melt on the street beneath the Arch. See how wet other City Daily Photo members are at https://citydailyphoto.org/2026/06/23/july-theme-water/
Looking back and up from the edge of the stage at Powell Symphony Hall. I don't know how you would describe the architecture and decoration style (help welcome). I think that the ceiling is pink from the white LED lights reflecting off red upholstery. The balcony goes up much farther than you can see from this angle. You might be able to find an usher standing just below and left of center. Our seats are around there.
Powell Symphony Hall looks good after its restoration. The LED lights are adjustable, economical and cool. The new seats are very comfortable. We prefer to sit in the front of the balcony, however. We like to be able to look down at all the players, front to back. Everyone agrees that the sound is better upstairs.
Mrs. C and I have been subscribers to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for something in the upper 40s of years. Our first date in April 1973 was there (cheapest seats, Mahler's 1st). They had an open house for subscribers yesterday morning, coffee and pastries, short talk by an orchestra member, three pieces by a quartet drawn from the string section, go check out the view from your seats.
The century-old hall had been closed for two years for complete restoration, reopening last fall. We were not happy with our seat assignments, then moving around program by program. Long talk with the box office and our new ones are pretty good. I'll wander around the architecture for a bit.
A well-preserved but disused sign on Gravois Avenue. When I was young and the quality of cars was much worse, the fabric on seats could deteriorate. Repairs ranged from a complete re-upholster to slip-on outer covers. Shops like this were common. The seats are tougher now, or maybe their American occupants are softer.
Our public radio station's photo walk ended in a secluded area at one end of the Arch park. The circular area in the center of the picture is known as the Explorers' Garden. We divided into several small groups to discuss our impressions about what we saw and the issues confronting our city. Peaceful ending.
Seen along the public radio station's downtown photo walk. A young man sits alone on a tree stump by the reflecting pool (and yes, it has algae), playing his guitar and singing. Sadly, he was out of earshot. Our group left him to his reverie.
One of the stops in the downtown photo walk was the Old Courthouse, whose history is too long and rich to discuss here (although it's part of the Arch national park and well worth a visit). The ironwork on the outer fence is covered with turtles and there is a cute story. A 19th Century building caretaker named James Quigley had a pet turtle. It lived in the outdoor fountain in the warm months and inside the rest of the year. It was beloved by locals and its springtime return to the fountain was noted in the newspapers. It died in the 1870s and received an obituary in the papers. Quigley himself never did.
We have a marvelous public radio station. In something new for them, they organized a downtown photo walk yesterday, starting in a central plaza and ending in a peaceful garden in the park north of the Arch. It was cosponsored by a local arts organization called Loutopia. Thirty or forty people came. We split into groups, talking about and recording our urban core and its history, emphasizing what unites and devides us. More ot come.
Curtain call at the last production of Opera Theatre of St. Louis' season, Andre Previn's interpretation of A Streetcar Named Desire. It was stunning, a story by itself tight to the breaking point intensified by perfectly matched music. Stella!
A big sinkhole developed on the north edge of downtown about a week ago. A break in a large water main caused extensive subsidence. It's right under a major elevated highway that has been closed since. I wanted some pictures but so many streets were closed I couldn't get close. Looking around, I saw the iconic giant bottle of a local soft drink company. It used to rotate. That's a casino in the left background.
Finished with the Circus Flora images so back on the street. This is a puzzle. It stands beside a nondescript, one-story commercial building. It has the name of some random company with no other information. The sign is clean and well-maintained. Maybe it's from a previous occupant. I don't mind a smile as I drive down a busy street.
A couple of final pictures from Circus Flora (which closes this weekend for locals who haven't been). Carlos Carballlo, the Number 1 guy on the Wheel Of Death, jumps rope at the top of the arc. Then he puts on a black hood and keeps walking over the rotating drum. Beyond my understanding, but that's what makes Circus Flora so much fun.
I had my lumbar nerve root ablation on Monday and things are getting better. It takes some awhile to see the results but it's time to get back on the street.
A last picture of Elayne Kramer at Circus Flora, shooting a bow and arrow using her feet. The bow must have been spring loaded or something like a cross bow. I was shooting at five frames per second and was super lucky to get the arrow in the air. And, yes, the balloon popped.
Elayne Kramer is doing something I would not have thought possible. She is literally hanging by her teeth and jaws with her body impossibly balanced. The vertical rod is topped by something made of leather or rubber. I don't remember how long she hung there because I was stunned. And then she uncurled safely. Big applause for Circus Flora.
The atomic makeup of a protein molecule is not its only important characteristic. How the elements are folded onto one another is, I've read, critical. How the human body can be folded is a subject of comfort, activity and circus gymnastics. Elayne Kramer from Argentina is an international star in hand balance and contortion. I'll show more.
Amanda Pennino and Ermes Zamperla doing their thing again at Circus Flora. I usually post a single photo but the strength and balance of both performers was just so striking. Don't know if this will work in the Facebook version.
