A few days ago, my wife and I took two of our grandsons to St. Louis to visit Gateway Park on the banks of the Mississippi River, the site of the famous Arch. There they enjoyed the free museum and their excursion to the top of he Arch. We also took a one-hour cruise along the riverfront, during which we were appalled by what we encountered.
While the Park ranger and boat captain did their best to offer historic context to the changing scenes, we were frankly disgusted by the condition of the riverfront itself. Festooned with barges and various structures tied to river commerce, the shoreline also harbored piles of trash, industrial debris, vacant buildings, rusting remnants of the past and a wide assortment of graffiti.
Despite its important role in the early exploration of the American West, St. Louis, unlike most river towns in this country, has clearly not embraced the value of its riverfront; indeed, it reflects the negligence that characterized most large, industrial cities back in the mid 20th Century. Rather than offering pleasant views of the city and its famous waterway, the cruise reminded us of all the damage that our species has inflicted on this once beautiful planet.
