Explore St Louis-The Old Courthouse

In this post I will give you a pictorial review of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis Missouri. 

History of Old Courthouse

First I'd like to give you a very brief history of the Old Courthouse.  In 1816 land was donated for a courthouse in St.  Louis.  This land is just west of the St. Louis riverfront.  A federal style brick courthouse was first built on the site in 1828.  By the mid 1830's St. Louis had already outgrown this courthouse.  In 1839 construction began on the current courthouse which incorporated the original courthouse as part of the east wing.  Other revisions have been made to the courthouse over the years and the courts remained in the building until 1930.  In 1935 the courthouse became a National Monument and today it hosts many visitors.   The view below is from the southwest.

Important Events at Old Courthouse

There have been many important decisions made and events happening at the Old Courthouse.

Two of the most well known include:

• 1847 and 1850  Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom.
• 1872  Virginia Minor sued for the right to vote.

Both of these cases ended up going to the Supreme Court and lost.  But they are both considered to be key  turning points in history.

Prior to the Civil war slaves were sold on the courthouse steps. See the plaque below along with  two photos depicting the Dred Scott case.

Photographing the Old Courthouse

I was able to go down to the Old Courthouse on two different occasions in September and was able to photograph the Old Courthouse from different angles.  The photo below shows the courthouse in a distance as I was walking through the park just west of the courthouse.

In 1965 the opening of the Gateway Arch changed the landscape of downtown St. Louis.  Since that time a popular photo of the Old Courthouse is one where it is framed by the arch as you see in the photo below.

On my second visit during September to photograph down by the arch and courthouse we arrived before sunrise and were able to get some photographs in the early morning light.

Zazzle Items from my Photographs

St Louis Landmarks Poster
by mbgphoto

Historic Old Courthouse
by mbgphoto

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Explore St Louis-The Gateway Arch

Gateway to the West

I have lived in the St. Louis area for most of my life and I never get tired of telling people about my home town.  There are so many wonderful landmarks in the area and over the next few months I hope to share several of them with the Review This readers through my photographs. 

Reviewing The Gateway Arch

The most well known landmark in St. Louis is the Gateway Arch.  The arch was built during my high school years and I still remember hearing about the construction.  The arch was built as a monument to the "Westward Expansion" of the United States.

Construction on the arch began on February 12, 1963 and was completed on October 28, 1965.  It was located on the site of the founding of St. Louis on the west bank of the Mississippi river.  The arch stands at 630 feet tall.  It has a museum below the arch that tells of the history of the area and the westward expansion.

I have been to the top of the arch several times and it is always thrilling (and a bit scary) to ride the jerky little elevator to the top and then look out over St. Louis through the little windows.

See small windows at top of Arch

Over the years the arch has become the iconic symbol of St. Louis.  Whenever I travel whether by plane or car and I am returning home when I see the arch it brings a smile to my face.

Photographing the Arch

Over the years the arch has been photographed over and over.  It is always a challenge for a photographer to get a unique photo of the arch.  It has been photographed from every angle and most July 4th's you will see wonderful photographs of fireworks framed by the arch.  They are set off on a barge in the river and people gather on the arch grounds to watch the spectacle.  

In early September my husband and I went to a Cardinal ballgame one afternoon and before the game we walked the several blocks over to the arch grounds to photograph the arch.  It was a beautiful sunny day with some fluffy clouds in the sky.  The two photographs above are ones that I took that morning.  The first photograph was taken from the top of the steps of the Old Courthouse just across the street from the arch grounds.

That trip got me excited to take more photos of the arch and I decided I would love to capture it in the early morning light just before sunrise.  A couple of weeks later my friend and I got up early and took a drive downtown.  Here are a few of the photographs I got that morning.

Once the sun came up it was too bright to photograph the arch from the front.  I had heard that they had added a reflecting pond during a recent renovation of the arch grounds so we took a walk to look for the best angle to capture the arch and it's reflection.  Here is my favorite shot.

My Arch Photos on Zazzle

Here is a poster I made on Zazzle the includes several of my St. Louis photos.  You can find more of my work by clicking on the link below the poster or going to www.zazzle.com/mbgphoto.

St Louis Landmarks Poster

by mbgphoto 

I also have several other items showing the arch on Zazzle.

Dawn at Gateway Arch Metal Print
by mbgphoto

Sunrise at the Arch Card
by mbgphoto

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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