Today, the Boston Globe announced that cities may be harmful to our brains - all the rushing and scrambling, the exhaust, the perpetual shade of skyscrapers, the asphalt ... and even urban green spaces don't help, unless they are landscaped the proper way (that is, with a large variety of plant life, and not just a savannah of lawn.)
Still, I'm rather fond of the city; so is brilliant historian and preservationinst Esley Hamilton. This Sunday at 2pm, he'll be giving a free presentation at the Scott Joplin House, complete with slides and photos, documenting how St. Louis city has changed shape since Joplin's time. Later this month, on January 25, Dr. Huping Ling of Truman State University will be on site to give a lecture about St. Louis' vanished Chinatown, which was torn down for construction of Busch Stadium.
All things in moderation, of course: if you want to balance the brain-busting city with dendrite-enhancing wilderness, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (who oversees the Joplin House) offers tons of events, most of it outdoors, and priced right (read: free). Their calandar database can be a pain in the neck to find, so I'll link to it here; events run the gamut from historical reenactments to eagle watching to fishing to geocaching. Or even eating cake at Deutschheim State Historic Site in honor of Thomas Paine's birthday. —Stefene Russell
