Last month, I heard a great NPR piece on Los Angeles and the history of its streetcar system. Seems that the automobile-choked L.A. has finally built one leg of a light-rail system – and not surprisingly, it follows an old streetcar route. Sound familiar? It’s just like St. Louis’s MetroLink, which follows transit routes that […]
Continue reading about New L.A. Light Rail Built along Old Streetcar Route
For those interested in St. Louis history and/or the fate of the American city in the 20th century, the new Chad Freidrichs documentary, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, is a must-see. I was very fortunate to attend the first St. Louis screening of the 83-minute film April 9 at the Missouri History Museum. The screening was sold […]
Well, it’s been quite a month of memories! My mother (Bonnie Landsbury Burrows, Wellston High ‘57) and my aunt (Louise Landsbury Overbey, Wellston High ‘65) kicked us off with their memories of their growing-up days in Wellston. Three readers –Nan Sweet, Janice Clark, and Wayne Brasler – added their own recollections. Janice won a copy […]
Continue reading about Results of “Do You Remember?” Contest
On Friday, April 22, my friend Hazel Dickens – legendary bluegrass pioneer and champion of workers and their rights – died in Washington, D.C., from complications of pneumonia. She was 75. I spent much of Friday searching the Internet for articles on Hazel and remembering her on Facebook with other friends. I also shared the […]
Researching and writing about Wellston has got me thinking about what makes a great neighborhood. When I hear my mother and my aunt tell stories about growing up in Wellston – how safe they felt, how they knew everyone, how they could buy anything they needed right there in their own neighborhood – I envy […]
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you news of Andrew D. Young’s marvelous 2002 book, Streets and Streetcars of St. Louis: A Sentimental Journey. I described all the great things you’ll find in the book – but thought you might also like to learn about the history of the streetcars Young shares in […]
Continue reading about Streets and Streetcars of St. Louis, Part 2
I’m delighted to welcome two new guest bloggers – my mother (Bonnie Landsbury Burrows, Wellston High ‘57) and my aunt (Louise Landsbury Overbey, Wellston High ‘65). They offer some tantalizing memories of their growing-up days in Wellston. Readers: Post your own memory as a comment and be entered in a drawing for a free copy […]
One of my goals in keeping this blog is to share resources I’m finding helpful as I research Wellston and St. Louis history (and soon I’ll be sharing resources related to the novel’s three target decades – the 1920s, 1950s, and 1970s). One resource I come back to again and again is Andrew D. Young’s […]
Continue reading about Streets and Streetcars of St. Louis, Part 1
Wellston Loop reader (and dear friend) Bryan Bowen (owner of Bryan Bowen Architects) sent me a link to a Grist article that I highly recommend. “Trust in the Rust Belt: This Is Flint, Michigan, in All Its Pain and All Its Glory” is an evocative thought piece on the fading “Vehicle City.” Author Wes Janz, […]
The Hodiamont streetcar may have stopped running more than 45 years ago, but that hasn’t stopped the Hodiamont right-of-way from making the news. Seems folks just can’t quite accept the idea that the right-of-way is not a street open to traffic — and as a result, accidents happen. KPLR-TV reports that a recent accident involved a […]
Recent Comments