During the 1904 World’s Fair, two sisters—Emme and Mayme Gerhard—cemented their place in photographic history. St. Louis natives, the Gerhard sisters learned their craft as young women, apprenticing with Fitz Guerin, a popular local photographer. When Guerin retired in 1903, the sisters took over his studio, just in time for the World’s Fair. However, both Emme and Mayme were already quite well known and respected for their work in the St. Read more »

After almost two decades of vacancy, seemingly neverending feasibility studies, and a slew of rejected redevelopment proposals, work is finally scheduled to begin this week on a major renovation of the Kiel Opera House in downtown St. Louis. Opened in 1934, the massive, limestone-clad building at Market and Fourteenth streets played host to a diverse variety of cultural events for decades before closing in 1991. Read more »

Over 100 years after the 1904 World’s Fair closed, the giant Ferris wheel remains one of its most memorable features. Even for St. Louisans several generations removed from 1904, the image of the wheel towering above the surrounding landscape remains the iconic representation of the Fair. We still like to imagine what it was like and speculate on what happened to it when the Fair was over.

The wheel used at the Fair actually made its debut at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. It was a technological and industrial marvel, as well as a popular and profitable attraction. Read more »

The piercing eyes of Keokuk, a well-known Sac and Fox chief, look out at us in this 1847 daguerreotype by Thomas Easterly. Keokuk is wearing a large headdress and a string of bear claws around his neck. Read more »