The Arch from Citygarden - the dome is the Dred Scott court building.
The next morning (but not too early!) George drove us all downtown to the new Citygarden, a landscaped and sculpture-filled mall aligned with the Arch at the edge of the Mississippi.
Barb & George - life is good!
I had visited St.Louis shortly after George first came here, when the Arch was still pretty young, but nothing like Citygarden existed. It’s a wonderful space, and apart from one eyesore of an office building which was allowed to be built there, provides an unobstructed extension of the park that the Arch sits on.
Lots of sculpture, much of it very cool!.
George's favorite view of the Arch.
George loves this new public space and the Arch itself, and is an enthusiastic tour guide. He led us straight to one corner of the North base, a spot from which the Arch seems to sit completely crosswise. He also pointed out to us the plaque on the stairs leading down to the river, which indicates the high water mark of the Great Flood of 1993. You can see the riverfront sidewalk down on the right, considerably higher than the current level of the river, which is nevertheless still causing serious flooding downstream of St. Louis.
George is pointing to the plaque....which marks the flood level of 1993
Back home for dinner, where we were joined by Suzanne, the youngest of George and Barb’s three girls, and her boyfriend Ben. Suzie graduated last year from Scripps College in Claremont – unfortunately we were in New York all the time she was in California and we never got to see her. Suzie and Ben will be in Atlanta next year where she’s starting a Master’s program, we were really glad that we were able to see them on this trip.
Ben & Suzie George G, Barb & Ben