By Eddie Silva
Photograph courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis
Ten years after the 1904 World's Fair, a group of idealists sought to shake St. Louis out of the apathy that had taken hold of the city. They decided to stage a "Pageant and Masque"—with a cast of nearly 8,000—at the base of Art Hill. About 455,000 people would attend, watching as the child St. Louis grew into manhood and then did battle with those cruel furies (Gold, War, Poverty) that threatened to impede the city's progress. "Out of the formless void, beauty and order are born," the chorus would sing. "One for all, all in one, we wheel in the joy of our dance. Brother with brother sharing our light, build we new worlds with ancient fire!"
