St. Louis Daily Photo

WAIT, I THOUGHT I LEFT THERE

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

I was driving around the South Side of the city the other day looking for anything to shoot. After rounding a corner I was confronted with Slovakian and Czech flags, countries we visited in April. Turns out they were flying over something called the American-Czech Educational Center, new to me. I may return to that but the circus opens tonight and we're taking the kid. They let you take all the pictures you want.

HALF CENTURY

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

I've read about hip-hop's purported origin, spontaneously at a block party in the South Bronx. (I went to high school in the Mid Bronx. We didn't know about this stuff.) No criticism, but the style, the culture, the sound is alien to me. I'm an old white guy who went to his first symphony concert at 11 and got hooked (you can see me with the glasses off Lenny's left shoulder - https://tinyurl.com/mt52k9jx.) Generations pass.

STAINED GLASS

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Walls Off Washington has a central nave, the alley between the painted buildings. It is usually shrouded in shadow but light filters down from above. The place can feel like a secular cathedral, which, of course, needs appropriate windows.

FEELS LIKE A ST. LOUIS SUMMER

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

The alley between the buildings of Walls Off Washington is narrow. It is hard to get a good perspective,even with digital editing. This tropical image, a bit reminiscent of both Gaugin and STL's summer climate, is called I Dance, Too, by Rowan Bathurst. I don't, though.

ROAR

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

A corner at Walls Off Washington, where a six-limbed dinosaur threatens a human with a torch. The beast seems to radiate like Godzilla. The St. Louis Big Top is in the right background, home of our own Circus Flora. The season is about to start and we're taking the grandkid on Saturday.

CITY DAILY PHOTO JUNE THEME - SKY

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

The monumental statue of Saint Louis atop Art Hill, looking out over clouds and blue sky. There is even a rainbow towards the bottom.

The collection of CDP skygazers is at https://citydailyphoto.org/2026/05/25/june-theme-sky/

DETAIL

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Sun, 31 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

This image is a zoom into one of the sections in Walls Off Washington. The plaque underneath says it is called My Sky Sings Joy by Shinique Smith. It may be hard to see on a screen, particularly a phone, but individual elements are amazingly detailed. Look, for example, at the green paisley-like area. This took a lot of planning.

MATISSE COMES TO AN ELECTRICAL BOX

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Sat, 30 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

That's what it looks like to me, late Matisse, his birds painted or made with paper cut-outs. I don't know it that was the artist's intention for this section of Walls Off Washington but it is carried off well. It does seem, though, to have a bit of irony, peaceful symbols covering all those volts.

SPECTRUM

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Fri, 29 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

A small connecting building between the larger ones in The Walls Off Washington. All the other surfaces have designs, figurative or abstract (or a mix). This part makes for a good transition.

WALLS OFF WASHINGTON

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Thu, 28 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Why haven't I ever gotten through here? Walls Off Washington has been around for a few years, another project supported by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation. Kranzberg is a major sponsor of the St. Lou Fringe Festival, which, as long-time readers know, is a big interest of mine. Most of the wall art is along an alley between buildings mostly devoted to arts organizations. You can't see much from the street. More to come.

THE SHOW IS ABOUT TO START

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Wed, 27 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Almost curtain time at Opera Theatre. This is the lobby of the Loretto Hilton Theater on the campus of Webster University, a smaller local school less than 10 minutes from our home. (No one remembers why it's called that.) It is just under a thousand seats if all the back and side bays are open, with an unusual thrust stage. The opera shares the venue with the St. Louis Repertory Theatre. The acoustics are excellent.

LE DINER SUR L'HERBE

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Tue, 26 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Apologies to Manet. Lots of people bring picnic dinners or order catered meals to have on the lawn outside the theater before our opera performances. There are many tables under the tent. We always go early to get a place there out of the sun or rain, but the tables extend much beyond the view in this photo. It makes for the start of a very civilized evening.

OPERA GOERS

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Mon, 25 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

One of the nice, unusual things about our Opera Theatre is that it takes place on the leafy campus of a small university. There are broad lawns and gardens. Many people come early and have dinner al fresco. The crowd can be interesting. These two look like a mismatch. She was looking for attention. What you can't see here is that she was wearing just-under-the-knee black leather boots with three inch chunky heels. She made her point.

OPENING NIGHT

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Sun, 24 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Yesterday was opening night of the 51st season of Opera Theatre of St. Louis. We've been subscribers for somewhere in the mid-upper 40s. They do four productions in rotating repertory in May and June, all in English with super titles. This year kicked off with a wacky and hilarious production of Pirates of Penzance. The man who played Major General Stanley may hold the record for the fastest comprehensible speeech in the English language.

BIG MUDDY

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Sat, 23 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

When my son and granddaughter were in town recently, the mandatory first stop for the kid was the ride to the top of the Arch. It is triangular in cross section, with one apex pointing inward. The little slit windows point out and down. The Illinois side in the background is very flat, less so in Missouri.

It's opening night of our opera season later today, a big deal for us. I'm sure to get a few snaps.

DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Fri, 22 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

This modified freight container sits in the rides and amusements section of St. Louis Union Station. We sometimes refer to our town as The Lou. However, I'd wager that most people who pass by here don't get the British-ism. There are the usual symbols on the doors to the right, which solves the problem. It's clever, but does it communicate well?

THE PATH TO WORLD PEACE

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Thu, 21 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Would that it were so simple.

There is a restaurant at St. Louis Union Station simply called The Soda Fountain. It serves kid-pleasing, bad nutrition food, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, mac and cheese, curly fries, etc. The big draw is outrageous, huge ice cream concoctions. The one my son ordered for the table, called The King, was too much for the four of us. No one felt quarrelsome when we left.

INTRODUCTION TO THE DEEP

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Wed, 20 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

In the entry hall of the St. Louis Aquarium. The watery projections constantly change but the circle in the center is a window into the world of real fishies. Son Andy and granddaughter Josie stare into the depths.

Of course, this is in our once-grand railway station, hence the arch with the indication To Trains. The corridor leads to a mock train car, whose windows take you on a spectacular VR ride through and over the city, and down into the Mississippi.

WHY AM I POSTING A PICTURE OF AN ARMADILLO?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Tue, 19 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Because it is, as Ben Stein used to say, your moment of zen. The St. Louis Aquarium, in addition to the usual wet things, has hourly mini-shows with a variety of dry things to amuse the kids. This little armadillo kept pushing around a plastic toy as if it was its purpose in life. Maybe it was.

WET MEDUSA

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Mon, 18 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

A kid tour of St. Louis includes the Aquarium at Union Station. It's not Seattle or Chicago, but it's not bad. I always get pictures of the jellyfish, sub-phylum Medusozoa, named to the mythological Medusa, who has snakes for hair. They are unperturbed by our presence.

CHERRIES JUBILEE

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Sun, 17 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

We look Andy and Josie out to dinner at a local restaurant famous for its flaming desserts, particularly cherries jubilee. Josie's big sister, Audrey, talked it up big after she experienced it. I don't know the whole recipe, but after cherry sauce caramelized sugar, the server pours in brandy, tips the edge of the pan towards the burner and foooom! It's quite a show. Tastes great, too.

VIRTUAL REALITY

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Sat, 16 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

A day out with son Andy and granddaughter Josie. First stop was the mandatory ride to the top of the Arch. Back underneath, there was a VR experience, wandering around the bustling Mississippi riverfront in 1850. Josie must have been interested enough that she didn't notice that her hoodie was falling off.

TODAY'S DESTINATION

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Fri, 15 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Son Andy and granddaughter Josie, 7, are flying in early this morning for the weekend. They will take our light rail downtown from the airport, meeting us for breakfast at a locally famous hash and chili parlor. Then it's up to the top of the Arch for all of us. The afternoon plan is the zoo, and we have an exceptional one.

A MOUSE AND A NEW TOY

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Thu, 14 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

New stuff, in two ways. Time for some fresh material, and there is a lot of good outdoor sculpture around. (Although someday I'll do a series about the public artwork at St. Louis University, which has the worst collection of sculpture I've ever seen.) Also, while we were in Europe, the shutter crapped out on my main camera, a Fujifilm X-T5. (After only 47,000 actuations! Harrumph!) So I wanted a quality, very small camera to take anywhere, and settled on a Sony RX100 VII. I took it out for a test drive yesterday.

This is a Tom Otterness piece simply called Mouse, on Manchester Avenue at the entrance to the district known as The Grove. Its head seems to be quizzically tilted, as if wondering who is coming through.

NO ROOM AT THE INN

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Crowe) — Wed, 13 May 2026 05:01:00 +0000

More Route 66 neon. It would not occur to me to travel anywhere with an overnight stay without booking a hotel online in advance. It didn't used to be so. I remember a family road trip in my early teens up through New Hampshire to Quebec City. My father, who was, um, a bit of a character, drove up to the door of the Chateau Frontenac, expecting to put us up in style. Je suis désolé, monsieur, mais nous n'avons pas de chambres disponibles. Then we drove around for what seemed like a long time before ending up at Helen's Motel (sic., in English), which I recall being a bit of a dump but the kids loved it because they had a big trampoline. Vacancy.