Statue & Fountain at Missouri Botanical Garden

Marine Week 2011 in Saint Louis

A couple shots of the Boeing MV-22 Osprey from Marine Week in Saint Louis, held in June:

What a beautiful aircraft.  God Bless America.

Missouri Botanical Garden

Some scenes from this weekend's jaunt to the Missouri Botanical Garden:

Hailstones from May 25, 2011 Storm in Saint Louis, MO

Here are some photos of hailstones produced by a recent round of supercells that passed through the Saint Louis metro area:

 Hailstones of varying size strewn about the grass.

 The size and shape of the hailstones varied greatly, from spheroid to a more menacing-looking spiked stone.

To give you perspective, these shoes are size 12.

This stone cracked in half when it hit the surface.  Note the layers (like a jawbreaker),  resulting from the stone being thrown up and down in the storm until it fell.

Another look at the layers of a large hailstone.

This little guy also has some layers to show off!

 Great dissected view of a large hailstone.

Comparing the size of some of the largest hailstones that fell nearby to the size of my hand.  Thank God everyone is safe, and no major damage to cars - just some small dents!

Old Courthouse Rotunda

A vertical view of the Old Courthouse rotunda.

Columns supporting the courthouse rotunda.

Saarinen's Masterpiece

...in my humble opinion, of course.  The Gateway Arch is one of my favorite subjects and I will never shy away from an opportunity to photograph it as my main subject or as a backdrop to another scene.  Please enjoy these photos of Saint Louis's great mid-century modern monument.

Citygarden

A few shots from Citygarden in downtown Saint Louis:

Kindly Geppetto - Tom Otterness

Femmes Au Perroquet - Fernand Léger

Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels - Jim Dine

The Orpheum Theater

I will sum this post to two words: a priceless treasure.

I didn't know this building existed - it has become one of my new favorites in Saint Louis!

The Orpheum Theater is a beautiful Beaux Arts style theater built in 1917 for the Orpheum franchise.  It's original purpose was to host vaudeville acts, but those acts soon gave way to the silver screen in the mid 1930s.

The theater was re-christened as the American in the 1960s and hosted many musical acts through the 1990s; however, the number of acts has declined drastically since then.

A family by the name of Roberts purchased the Orpheum in 2003 and branded the theater with its current name: the Roberts Orpheum Theater.

My favorite part of this building is the elaborate, florid, and dramatic sculptures that adorn the facade of the Orpheum, designed by Leo Lentelli.

Saint Louis needs revitalization - could it be through the arts?  I hope that our civic leaders and citizens can find the multitude of treasures that already exist in this city and not only bring them back to their former glory but also turn this stagnant town into a leader once again.