Grew up in the 50's in west Webster Groves, walking home from Clark School along Frisco tracks, W. Glendale Rd to Berry Rd. Am trying to locate photos of two locations: 1. The W. Glendale Rd Warren Truss Bridge over Frisco tracks, between Rock Hill Rd & Berry Rd. (demolished late 60's for I-44) 2. The "Little Store" located at SE corner of Berry Rd. at Frisco tracks. (same) Any leads or references to photos of either item would be greatly appreciated. Steve McGee
This will be of no help to you whatsoever, but I remember hanging out at "The Little Store" when I was a kid. I can still remember also the inside layout. Outside, there was a crossing signal at Berry Road and a battery box right next to it where we used to sit and drink a soda while waiting for a train to come by. I think at one time that store was called "Swan's," and there might be something in the Post-Dispatch archives dating from the time it would have closed to make room for the I-44 extension. GS
Steve, I can think of three different possible resources for the kind of photos you seek. I used them for getting pictures of things in my home town of Cape Girardeau; newspaper, local photography studios, and the public library. Greg mentioned one, the Post Dispatch; newspapers typically have archives of photos their photographers have taken. Also in St Louis the Globe Democrat would have had the same, but I don't know who would have ended up with their archives. In my case, the Southeast Missourian has an incredible photo archive. I would try to find out what photography studios would been in the area and try to track down what happened to their archives. In Cape Girardeau, their were two photography studios, now defunct, that had lots of local photos. Tracking down the owners led to their archives of photos. A local public library or a university library ofttimes ends up with the photos of individual photographers or entire collections from studios especially if they are of historical significance. Hope this helps.
Steve - Check with the Webster Groves Library, and the St Louis County Library. If there is one, and I think there is, also check with the Webster Groves Historical Society. I know there is one in neighbor Kirkwood, plus a Kirkwood Library. And, there were two books about Webster Groves with a lot of pictures - the WG library will certainly have them. My wife grew up in Webster, and somewhere around here she has both books. That's where I saw the pic of the Old Orchard depot for the first time. Another thought - the Webster-Kirkwood Times local newspaper is widely read in the two communities and the surrounding neighbors (we get it in Frontenac, on the northern border of Kirkwood). Call them to see if they have any ideas, photos, etc. Or, invest a few bucks and run an ad asking for information, pics, etc. Ken
Great options...many thanks to you all. Will be checking these out, and thought I'd also check with Museum of Transport archives to see if they offer research service. Appreciate the replies. Steve