At a time when health precautions impede our urges to load up the car and visit our favorite museums, theaters, and restaurants with friends and family, St. Louis in Watercolor: Living History in the Gateway City is a lovely way to reflect on days past until such pastimes are possible once again.
Published by Reedy Press, the newly released book features watercolors by Marilynne Bradley and vignettes by Jennifer L Grotpeter. The collection of iconic paintings of beloved landmarks includes the usual suspects, such as The Muny, Gateway Arch, and The Magic House. The 125 featured places also includes less expected sites, such as the Endangered Wolf Center, Rosati-Kain High School, and Hendel’s Cafe.
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Ah, the restaurants… Over the years, Bradley has portrayed dozens of them.
The book is a particular pleasure for people who appreciate architecture. Things kick off with Soulard Market’s facade, based on Brunelleschi’s famous Foundling Hospital in Florence, Italy. It then shows off, for instance, Cupples House and the Fountain on Locust’s colorful interior.
While the focus is on the visual art, credit also goes to Grotpeter, whose writing explains the sites for newcomer and includes information that locals might not know. For instance, here’s a fun fact: The Wainwright Building downtown has stylized hops as a decorative motif, because it was originally meant to house the St. Louis Brewers’ Association.
Watercolors’ slight haziness and variable intensity of color registers the same way that memories seem to lie in our brains. While there are many people who will enjoy this book, an overheard remark last weekend brought one particular group to mind. Someone brought this to her aging parents, one in poor health and the other in the early stages of memory loss. They started looking at the pictures, began telling stories—and ended up perkier than they had been in a long time.
St. Louis in Watercolor: Living History in the Gateway City is now available online and at local bookstores.
