Richard Deposki's Books

Historic North St. Louis

By: Albert Montesi,Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

During the early 19th century, the Mississippi River valley north of St. Louis attracted many settlers eager to farm its fertile land. Proximity to the river and downtown markets helped the area grow. Immigrants arrived from Germany and other European countries, and after the Civil War, blacks migrated from the South. Today, the Hyde Park, Bissell-College Hill, and Old North St. Louis neighborhoods are home to diverse communities with a rich and shared history. The neighborhoods are dotted with St. Louis landmarks such as Bissell Mansion, the world-famous Water Towers, Crown Candy, and hundreds of other architectural gems that have withstood the years. This visual history preserves the area's vibrant past and points to a bright future.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

132

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738523194

ISBN 13

9780738523194

St. Louis Garden District

By: Albert Montesi,Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

St. Louis Garden District

By: Albert Montesi,Richard Deposki

Found near the famed Missouri Botanical Garden, also known as Shaw's Garden, the Garden District of St. Louis encompasses the present-day environs of Compton Hill, Oak Hill, Compton Heights, Compton Hill Reservoir Square, Tower Grove East, Tower Grove Heights, and the Shaw neighborhood. Henry Shaw was one of St. Louis' most prominent landowners in the mid-nineteenth century and is directly responsible for the Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park. These, along with his other contributions, helped the Garden District flourish, and it continues to attract visitors year in and year out. The images in this book will take you on a tour of the beauty and history of the St. Louis Garden District.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

132

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738532592

ISBN 13

9780738532592

Lafayette Square, St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Lafayette Square, St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

Lafayette Square has always been a reflection of the life and times of St. Louis, Missouri. Originally a common land where cattle grazed and people hunted game, the area was set aside as a public park just before the Civil War. Following that era, Lafayette Square was developed into a showplace for the Victorian era, featuring fantastic gardens, gazebos, a bandstand, an aquarium, and a boathouse. On May 27, 1896, a tornado plowed through the area and destroyed most of its foliage and buildings. Following this tragedy, many homeowners fled to the Central West End, and the once elegant Lafayette Square fell into a state of decline. During the years of the Depression and World War II, the neighborhood and its surroundings became known as "Slum D." In 1945, architect and historian John Albury Bryan purchased a residence at Benton Place and began a fierce and lonely battle to renovate the Square. His dream of restoration became a reality in the 1960s and 1970s when a group of concerned citizens, determined to recapture the area's former glory, banded together to form the Lafayette Restoration Committee.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

132

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738500224

ISBN 13

9780738500225

Soulard, St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Soulard, St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

From its earliest days as Old Frenchtown, Soulard, St. Louis, has embodied a bold and colorful tapestry of immigrant life in America. With remarkable depth, authors Montesi and Deposki have detailed the birth, destruction, and final restoration of this historic area through over 200 photographs. Bequeathed by the widow of surveyor Antoine Soulard to the city of St. Louis in 1842, what was once a plot of land intended for a vegetable market became a center of a community of popular parks, breweries, churches, and shops. Masses of Eastern European immigrants flocked to Soulard, just outside downtown St. Louis, to start a new life of hope and growth. German, Irish, Italian, and Czech influences can be seen here in the images of the infamous "brew barons," horse-drawn market carts, and "flounder" houses that the authors have reproduced with insightful captions. Captured here in original photographs is the inescapable fury of the Great Cyclone of 1896 that destroyed the area but not its clenched-fist determination to survive. Montesi and Deposki take us on a heroic journey through the annals of time to discover the tenacious heart of a neighborhood now known as St. Louis' most popular venue for jazz and blues

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

132

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738507172

ISBN 13

9780738507170

St. Louis Union Station

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

St. Louis Union Station

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

When St. Louis' Union Station opened to the public in 1894, nearly 10,000 people gathered to celebrate. What they saw rivaled famed stations in the East, with its barrel-vaulted ceiling, sweeping archways, and Tiffany stained-glass windows. Modeled after the walled city of Carcassone, France, Union Station was one of the busiest in the world during its heyday. Follow the history of this great architectural triumph from its original glory days through its demise and rebirth. The days of rail transportation come to life in more than 200 historic images, from steam engines hissing into the 11-acre train shed, to the perky smiles of the renowned "Harvey Girls." Union Station is also seen here as tens of thousands of passengers a day dwindled to mere hundreds. As the automobile and airplane gained momentum in the 1950s and 60s, railroading lost popularity and St. Louis' Union Station fell into disrepair and eventually closed. Now restored to its original splendor, Union Station is again a bustling center of urban entertainment and activity.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

134

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738519839

ISBN 13

9780738519838

Ste. Genevieve

By: Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Ste. Genevieve

By: Richard Deposki

In the late 1600s and early 1700s, the French established forts, such as Fort de Chartres, in the midaMississippi Valley, as well as villages, such as River des Peres and Mine la Motte. Ste. Genevieve was founded in the late 1740s when French Canadians settled on the rich soil of the floodplain. They built homes, cultivated crops (including corn and cotton), and mined the rich veins of lead and the bluffs for stone. The great flood of 1785, referred to by early residents as laannA(c)e des grandes eaux, swept away the tiny village, and the mighty Mississippi River reclaimed its riverbed, forcing residents to move their village several miles farther west to higher ground. Today much of the early French culture remains in the numerous 18th- and 19th-century Creole houses that line the ancient streets. Germans began to arrive in the early 1800s and left their mark using the abundant clay and limestone for brick buildings and limestone houses. Ste. Genevieve is dotted with landmarks: the famous Bolduc House, the apost-in-the-grounda Amoureux House, the Felix VallA(c) House, and many other historic and architectural treasures.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

132

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

073855183X

ISBN 13

9780738551838

Central West End, St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Central West End, St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

In the 1860s, with bustling river traffic alive with boats and men, St. Louis was a picturesque river town. This was the St. Louis that Mark Twain, Edna Ferber, and T.S. Eliot wrote about: a town on the mysterious but profitable Mississippi. After the Civil War, profits from contracts with the Union and river trading brought increased wealth to the community. Prosperous residents were challenged to find land that could hold their prestigious mansions and gardens. Their eyes turned to the western section of the town, which in time became known as the Central West End.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

132

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738508004

ISBN 13

9780738508009

Downtown St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Downtown St. Louis

By: Al Montesi,Richard Deposki

St. Louis, a vibrant and bustling community, has long been dependent on the Mississippi River for trade and commerce, travel, and migration. Within the past century the city's downtown neighborhood has experienced the growth and change that has shaped this Midwestern city into one of the most notable cities in America. Downtown St. Louis is illustrated with over 200 vintage images that present a history as diverse as the residents of the area. Authors Albert Montesi and Richard Deposki survey St. Louis's downtown area, from a pioneer settlement as a fur trading post, to a major American city. Prosperity, decline, and finally renewal are many of the faces worn during the evolution of this unique city.

Average ratings

N/A