09/29/09

Of course, the major St. Louis landmark, the Arch. Built on the shores of the Mississippi River to symbolize St. Louis's position as the "Gateway to the West", the Arch is bigger in person than you'd expect, and offers a lot of photography opportunities (as you can see on the excellent STL Daily Photo).

A big issue for the city is that the arch and the river are cut off from the rest of downtown, and while there is a Metro (light rail) stop to access the Arch (Arch / Laclede's Landing), it's not a straightforward path. It didn't occur to me until I had lived here for some time that they cannot develop along the river the same way one might along a lake or ocean shoreline, because the Mississippi is big, muddy, and prone to floods. Developing the riverfront and integrating it with the downtown under these circumstances (not to mention I-70 getting in the way) is a major challenge.

As a tangent, it's funny how growing up next to a body of water can shape you. I imagine growing up next to this river as a defining characteristic, something that runs through Mark Twain's writing, for example. I don't feel the same kind of affinity for the river lands, maybe because I grew up on the Great Lakes. I miss the water. On the other hand, someone who grew up next to the ocean might feel that the big lakes are missing something too, maybe the smell of the salt instead.