USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > The story of a great city in a nutshell : 500 facts about St. Louis > Part 8
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Others, of varying opinions, have united themselves into Swedenborgian, " non-sectarian," "self-culture," and other congregations. There is a flourishing com- pany of Latter Day Saints, a large congregation of Christian Scientists, several spiritualistic societies which meet regularly, and a theosophical society that follows the Socratic method of questions and answers, for the furtherance of thought, on Sunday afternoons. In fact, every sect and creed under the sun is represented in St. Louis, either in piles of masonry that shelter wor- shipers or in organizations for the propagation and dis- semination of their various tenets and beliefs.
Among the Protestant denominations, the Young Men's Christian Association is a valued auxiliary to all religious endeavor. This organization has a handsome building, equipped with gymnasium, drill rooms, facili- ties for baths, reading rooms, roof garden, and numer- ous other attractions. A large auditorium in the build- ing is a rallying-place for the various young people's societies of different denominations, and for interde- nominational meetings, which are occasionally held. A corps of instructors conduct night classes in a score or more of studies of practical benefit, and no pains are spared by the management of the Association to make every department contributory to the advancement of the best interests of young men.
The churches of St. Louis, apart from the spiritual and moral advantages that they bestow, add greatly to the beauty of the city. Indeed, scores of them are numbered among the first specimens of architecture
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CHURCHES OF ST. LOUIS.
that grace St. Louis. Such, for instance, is St. Al- phonsus' Church, on Grand Avenue between Finney and Cook; the Second Baptist Church, at Beaumont and Locust Streets ; Christ Church Cathedral, at Thir- teenth and Locust Streets; the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church, at Sixteenth and Pine Streets ; Shaare-Emeth Temple, at Lindell Boulevard and Van- deventer Avenue; the Washington and Compton Ave- nues Presbyterian Church; the Cumberland Presby- terian Church, at Channing and Lucas Avenues ; and the Church of St. Francis Xavier, at Grand Avenue and Lindell Boulevard.
St. Louis is eminently a church-going community. This is manifested not only by the millions of dollars represented in church property, but by the close atten- tion and care shown on all sides for church affairs. Tens of thousands of St. Louisans are members of the various church auxiliary organizations.
CLUBS AND FRATERNITIES.
I N the woof and warp of Christian goodness, socia- bility and fraternalism are among the strongest strands. Many of St. Louis' felicities are woven in the tinted threads of clubdom and social organiza- tion. Its clubs are distinctively representative. Among them are the following : St. Louis Club, 3633 Lindell Boulevard ; University Club, Washington and Grand Avenues ; Mercantile Club, Locust and Seventh Streets ; Union Club, Lafayette and Jefferson Avenues ; Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks, Holland Building ; Concordia Club, 1511 Chouteau Avenue ; St. Louis Jockey Club, Fair Grounds ; Noonday Club, Fourth and Locust Streets; the Columbian Club, Lindell Boulevard and Vandeventer Avenue ; the Liederkranz, Chouteau Avenue and Thirteenth Street ; Office Men's Club, 3022 Olive Street ; and the Standard Club.
The quarters of some of these clubs surpass the im- agery of words. Magnificent palaces of comfort and social pleasure, these superb buildings attract the eye
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CLUBS AND FRATERNITIES.
from the outside, while their splendidly appointed in- teriors charm the senses and enchant the vision. The clubhouses of the St. Louis, University, Mercantile and Columbian Clubs are among the finest in America. Membership in each is guarded with jealous closeness, and a card of admission to the club-room is deservedly regarded as a badge of social eligibility.
Among the other clubs, not intended for exclusively social purposes, the Jefferson and Merchants' League Clubs are prominent-the latter, with quarters at Eighteenth and Olive Streets, is the leading Republican Club of the city ; while the former, whose domicile is on Grand Avenue at the southwest corner of West Pine Boulevard, is a representative Democratic organization.
One of the most influential organizations in St. Louis is the Commercial Club, organized in 1881 for the purpose of advancing the business interests of the city through the agency of social and intellectual inter- course. Its membership embraces the foremost finan- ciers and commercial men of St. Louis.
An exclusively social institution whose members are among the best "set " in the city, but whose domicile is outside the municipal limits, is the Country Club. Organized in 1895, it erected a magnificent clubhouse on its spacious grounds one mile south of Clayton on the West side of the Hanley Road. Two years later, the club building was destroyed by fire and a new house, one of the finest club structures in the West, was erected in its place. The Country Club grounds are periodically enlivened by out-door functions the ele-
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gance and sumptuousness of which are contributed to by the most exclusive circles in the city. Since golf's remarkable accession of American popularity, the Country Club has won added note because of the excel- lance of its grounds for the pursuit of that game.
A social organization the distinctive feature of which is presented by the professional and business eminence of its members, is the Noonday Club, organized in 1893 by less than a dozen gentlemen who sought for them- selves and their associates a means of downtown diver- sion during opportune intervals of the day. Its member- ship has grown constantly since then and the club quarters, on the tenth and eleventh floors of the Security Building, are among the best appointed in the city. Features of the Noonday Club are its exclusiveness and its sumptuous café, the cuisine of which vies with the finest hostelries in the world.
The St. Louis Clubhouse on Lindell Boulevard, cost- ing more than a quarter of million dollars, is rated the finest in the West. It is one of the most recent struc- tures in the neighborhood.
The Union Club's quarters, erected on the site of the handsome building wrecked by the tornado of 1896, is even more attractive than its predecessor and is one of the architectural ornaments of the city.
The home of the Columbian Club was built in 1893 at an expense of $175,000. With the Standard Club, its membership includes the leading Hebrew residents of St. Louis.
One of the widest known of St. Louis' organizations is
LAFAYETTE BRIDGE, FOREST PARK.
--
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CLUBS AND FRATERNITIES.
the Latin-American Club, composed of merchants who are interested in Mexican, Central and South American trade. The chief object of the club is to promote the commercial relations between St. Louis and the Latin- American republics. In its relatively brief career, the club has already accomplished brilliant triumphs. Nu- merous excursions to and from Mexico have been con- ducted under the auspices of the club, which has an educational department that distributes great quantities of instructive literature relative to Latin-American affairs.
One of the strongest German clubs in the city is the Liederkranz Society, organized in 1870 for the cultiva- tion of music and for social entertainment. An organi- zation with similar characteristics is the St. Louis Asso- ciation of Painters and Sculptors, which gives annual exhibitions. : Many members of this association are also members of the St. Louis Artists' Guild, which has handsome quarters at 1820 Locust Street.
Every secret order or fraternity in the United States is represented in St. Louis. The Masonic Fraternity, including all branches, is especially strong. There are 25 lodges of Master Masons, 7 Royal Arch Chapters, I Council Royal and Select Masters, 4 Commanderies Knights Templars, Consistory, Council, Chapter and Lodge Scottish Rite, Temple of Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and 6 chapters Order of the Eastern Star. Several of the grand officers of each of these branches of Masonry reside and have their head- quarters here, and the Masonic Employment Bureau does good work in a fine field. The Independent
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Order of Odd Fellows is represented in St. Louis by 30 lodges, 2 Encampments, 3 Cantons Patriarchs Milli- tant, a degree lodge, 4 Rebeckah Lodges, and several associations, social and special within the order. There are 34 lodges Knights of Pythias, 34 Divisions Uni- formed Rank, and I Temple Knights of Khorassan. The headquarters of the Supreme body Knights of Honor are in St. Louis, and there are 21 subordinate lodges. Knights and Ladies of Honor, Grand Lodge and 66 subordinate lodges. There are 15 castles Select Knights and Ladies of America. The Legion of Honor is represented by the Grand Lodge and 20 sub- ordinate lodges ; Chosen Friends, Grand Council and 31 subordinate councils ; National Fraternal Union, 3 councils ; Protected Home Circle, 8 circles; Foresters of America, 8 courts ; A. O. U. W., 65 lodges ; Honor Degree A. O. U. W., 7 lodges; Order of Columbia, 5 lodges ; Order of Columbian Knights, 10 lodges ; American Protestant Association, 10 lodges ; U. O. A. Druids, 12 groves ; Harugari, 20 lodges ; Sons of Herman, 19 lodges ; True League, 17 lodges ; Red Men, 3 tribes ; Junior Order United American Mechanics, 10 councils ; American Legion of Honor, 14 councils ; United Order of Hope, 14 lodges ; Woodmen of the World, 16 camps ; National Union, 16 councils ; B'nai Brith, 3 lodges ; Free Sons of Israel, 7 lodges ; Royal Arcanum, 25 lodges : Royal League, 8 councils; Knights of the Maccabees, 27 tents; Catholic Knights of America, 36 branches ; Catholic Knights and Ladies of America, 13 branches ; Knights
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CLUBS AND FRATERNITIES.
of Father Mathew, 22 councils ; Ancient Order of Hibernians, 9 divisions. Besides these, the Grand Army of the Republic has 9 posts, with 9 corps W. R. C. The Loyal Legion, Sons of Veterans and Daughters of Veterans have strong organizations. The selection of Col. Leo Rassieur for Grand Commander, brought the national headquarters of the Grand Army to St. Louis. Many other secret fraternities are represented by one or more organizations.
Besides these are hundreds of labor organizations and clubs and societies of persons given to special pur- suits and indulgences, such as bicycle clubs, fishing clubs, dramatic clubs, bowling clubs, athletic clubs, electrical clubs, decorative art clubs, etc.
Among these miscellaneous organizations are the Turners and Singing Societies, all with large member- ship. The Turners are especially strong, all the so- cieties owning fine buildings and gymnasiums.
RECREATION.
W HILE St. Louisans have built a great city, with a foundation as solid as granite and have sent to the uttermost corners of the earth a reputation for integrity, enterprise and progress, second to that of no other community under the sun, they have not been unmindful of the maxim that "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Arts and letters have ever found appreciative patronage in the Mound City. The drama flourishes in St. Louis, and sports and recreation have a large following. There are seven regular theatres in St. Louis, and at these play houses are always pre- sented the best entertainment in their respective lines. The Olympic Theatre, on Broadway and Walnut Street, and the Century, on Olive and Ninth Streets, are the high-priced houses, and at them the very highest class theatrical attractions are presented. These houses play combinations and traveling companies headed by great stars, usually direct from New York with original produc- tions. There was a time when managers dreaded the
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severity of St. Louis criticism, but that very criticism taught them a lesson they have found most valuable. Through it the world was given warning that "fake shows," frauds and attractions sailing under false colors, would not be accepted in St. Louis. Coupled with this the dramatic world also learned that high-class plays and players could always count on a warm welcome and liberal patronage. " Understudies " and substitutes learned to shun St. Louis, and in their stead stars of the first magnitude and plays of merit draw large crowds to the play houses and put money into the managers' pockets. The Columbia Theater, on Sixth and St. Charles Streets, is an exclusively vaudeville house. Novelties of the season and the best enter- tainers on the vaudeville stage are always to be found there. The Imperial, at Tenth and Pine Streets, is a stock company house, presenting the best plays at popular prices. Many famous actors and actresses have trod its boards in sock and buskin. At Havlin's, at the corner of Sixth and Walnut Streets, melodrama by traveling companies is presented ; and at the Grand Opera House, on Market between Broadway and Sixth Street, the lighter comedies and farces are offered. Besides these regular theaters, light opera is presented at Grand Music Hall in the Exposition Building, at Olive and Thirteenth Streets. There are many other smaller play houses, occupied by special features, ama- teur companies, or as concert halls ; of these the more important are the Odeon, at Grand and Finney Avenues,
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the Pickwick, at Washington and Jefferson Avenues, and the Germania, at Fourteenth and Locust Streets. The Union Club and all the turner halls have regularly appointed stages with scenery and every requisite for dramatic entertainments.
In the summer season there is even a wider range of amusements offered at the garden theaters. Uhrig's Cave, at Jefferson and Washington Avenues, is known far beyond the limits of St. Louis as the home of comic opera, and from its boards many of the most famous comic opera singers of the world have graduated. Del- mar Garden, in the central western suburbs, Forest Park Highlands, in the southwestern section, and Suburban Garden, in the northwestern, are great places of amuse- ment, at which the very best of musical and dramatic entertainment is offered. In the midsummer season it is not unusual to see ten thousand people at each of these resorts. All are reached by electric cars running direct into the grounds. There are a dozen other garden theaters in the northern and southern sections of the city where stage performances are given. The annual Exposition, now in its 18th year, occupies a great structure occupying what was originally two city blocks-fronting on Olive, Thirteenth, Fourteenth and St. Charles Streets. The annual exhibitions for thirty days are most diversified and entertaining. In the building is the Grand Music Hall, one of the largest halls of its kind in the world, with a seating capacity of over three thousand. The grand Coliseum, with a splendid arena and seating capacity for 12,000 people,
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RECREATION.
is also under the same roof. In this great structure the Annual Horse Show takes place, as well as great athletic events. The annual Fair, an institution with a national reputation, occupies a place in the amusement world all its own. The great amphitheatre, the magnificent park-like grounds, arena, speed rings, and buildings for exhibits might well be classed together as one of the wonders of the Western world.
The musical organizations of St. Louis are conducted in a manner that has won them commendation at home and abroad. The Choral Symphony Society, rich in talent and most admirably managed, has a reputation for splendid work, especially in oratorio. The Morn- ing Choral, Apollo club and Lyric club number among their membership men and women of social prominence and artistic ability. The German singing societies, of which the Liederkranz and the Socialen Saengerchor are the more prominent, are strong in talent and member- ship. Entertainments given by the Liederkranz are fre- quently on a scale of magnificence almost dazzling.
As a patron of legitimate sport St. Louis stands second to no other city in the United States. Golf, base ball, foot ball and polo each have a very large following. Amateur athletics are sustained by large memberships in a dozen or more clubs, and most generously patron- ized. The St. Louis Jockey Club's track, adjoining the Fair Grounds, is one of the best running tracks in the country.
Year by year the fame of the St. Louis Jockey Club has grown, and the present racing season promises to be
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the most successful in its history. Every effort is made to make the turf indeed the sport of kings, and the fair- ness of the decisions given and the " cleanness " of the sport afforded at the Jockey Club's track have won for it a national reputation.
The fall of 1900 witnessed the inaugural race meet- ing of the Kinloch Park Jockey Club, whose track is a short ride west of the city on the Wabash Railway. The gentlemen composing the club are St. Louisans, and the fall race meetings at Kinloch park are certain to be- come among the fixtures that make St. Louis famous among the sportsmen of America.
The German Turners of St. Louis have, ever since they first organized, taken an active and prominent part in the progress of the community. For many years St. Louis was the seat of the Executive Board of the National Turners' organization (Nordamerikanischer Turnerbund), to which it gave some leaders of national renown, among them Henry Braun, E. G. Winter, Wm. Ahrends, Carl Sommer, Professor Nathamenn and Al- bert Haeseler, who filled the highest positions in the " Bund." There are ten Turners' societies in St. Louis, with an aggregate membership of 7000, not in- cluding those smaller organizations in the surrounding towns, which with the St. Louis societies form the St. Louis District, by far the strongest in the "Bund." The speaker of this powerful District is E. G. Winter, member of the St. Louis and South St. Louis Turn- vereins. The names of the organizations are as follows : St. Louis Turnverein, Süd St. Louis Turnverein, Con-
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cordia Turnverein, Nord St. Louis Turnverein, Südwest Turnverein, Germania Turnverein, Rockspring Turn- verein, West St. Louis Turnverein, Humboldt Turn- verein and Schweitzer National Turnverein.
Several of the national festivals have been held in St. Louis, the last one in 1897, being the most successful in the history of the organization. At these festivals the St. Louis Turners invariably secured the first prizes, individually and collectively, which proves that their gymnastic training is high above the average.
WORLD'S FAIR.
T HE officers of THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION COMPANY, the corporation organized to create and conduct the World's Fair, are :
President, - - DAVID R. FRANCIS,
Treasurer, - - WILLIAM H. THOMPSON,
Secretary, - - WALTER B. STEVENS.
[ Headquarters, sixth and seventh floors Laclede Building, Southwest Cor. Fourth and Olive Streets. ]
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
CORWIN H. SPENCER, SAMUEL M. KENNARD,
DANIEL M. HOUSER,
CYRUS P. WALBRIDGE,
SETH W. COBB.
CHAS. H. HUTTIG,
AUGUST GEHNER,
PIERRE CHOUTEAU.
DIRECTORS.
D. M. Houser.
W. B. Wells,
D. R. Francis,
Charles F. Wenneker,
William H. Thompson.
J. J. Wertheimer, Edwards Whitaker,
F. W. Lehmann, James L. Blair, A. A. B. Woerheide,
Nathan Frank,
W. H. Woodward, George M. Wright,
Pierre Chouteau, C. W. Knapp, John Schroers, W. C. Steigers, A. A. Allen,
B. F. Yoakum, Norris B. Gregg,
W. T. Haarstick, A. B. Hart,
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2
4.
-7
8.
10.
11.
OFFICERS LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION CO.
1. Pierre Chouteau.
2. Corwin H. Spencer.
3. Sam. M. Kennard.
4. Wm. HI. Thompson.
5. Walter B. Stevens. 6. David R. Francis. 7. Daniel M. Houser.
8. Seth W. Cobb.
9. Charles H. Huttig.
10. August Gehner.
11. Cyrus P. Walbridge.
WORLD'S FAIR.
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DIRECTORS CONTINUED.
George A. Baker,
Walker Hill,
Nicholas M. Bell,
John A. Holmes,
C. F. Blanke,
C. H. Huttig,
W. F. Boyle,
Breckinridge Jones,
A. D. Brown,
S. M. Kennard, Goodman King,
Paul Brown,
W. J. Kinsella,
Adolphus Busch,
Doctor J. J. Lawrence,
James G. Butler,
W. H. Lee.
James Campbell,
William J. Lemp,
Murray Carleton,
Thomas H. McKittrick, .
Seth W. Cobb,
George A. Madill,
James F. Coyle,
C. F. G. Meyer,
George T. Cram,
F. G. Niedringhaus.
John D. Davis,
W. F. Nolker,
Alexander N. DeMenil,
D. C. Nugent, Peter A. O'Neill,
S. M. Dodd,
L. D. Dozier,
Ed. S. Orr,
Harrison I. Drummond, George W. Parker,
R. B. Dula,
H. Clay Pierce,
Joseph Ramsey, Jr., David Ranken, Jr.,
Jonathan Rice,
Clark H. Sampson,
A. H. Frederick, August Gehner, J. E. Smith,
C. H. Spencer,
Charles A. Stix,
R. H. Stockton, J. J. Turner, Charles H. Turner, J. C. Van Blarcom, Festus J. Wade, C. P. Walbridge, Julius S. Walsh, C. G. Warner,
Julius J. Schotten, Isaac Schwab, R. M. Scruggs, John Scullin, A. L. Shapleigh. E. C. Simmons, J. W. McDonald, Stuyvesant Fish, II. W. Steinbiss, Melville E. Ingalls, Samuel Spencer.
George W. Brown,
George L. Edwards, Howard Elliott,
S. M. Felton,
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INCORPORATORS.
Moses C. Wetmore,
H. T. Kent,
S. W. Fordyce.
John H. Terry.
L. H. Laidley,
W. S. Eames,
James Cox,
L. C. Nelson,
Arthur Ittner,
Isaac S. Taylor,
F. W. Baumhoff,
Emil Preetorious,
James W. Bell,
H. S. Potter.
Dean Cooper.
Charles Clark.
F. N. Judson,
Gerhard Geralds,
William H. Thompson,
Charles Nagel,
Henry Hiemenz, Jr.,
Charles F. Vogel.
Daniel Evans.
Nathan Cole.
J. E. Marshall.
WHO THEY ARE.
DAVID R. FRANCIS, President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, is the head of the firm of Francis Bro. & Co .; vice-president of the Mer- chants-Laclede National Bank; director of the Mississippi Valley Trust Company, and connected officially with or interested in many other great financial and business concerns. Thoroughly identified with the growth of St. Louis from boy- hood. he is recognized as a leader in the city's so- cial, business. and political life. Born in Rich- mond, Ky , Oct. 1, 1850 ; came to St. Louis when only 16 : graduated from Washington University in 1870 : entered commercial life as a clerk ; began business for himself in 1877. He was vice-presi- dent Merchants' Exchange in 1883, and president in 1884. His popularity forced him into politics,
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WORLD'S FAIR.
and he was elected Mayor of St. Louis in 1885 : elected Governor of Missouri in 1888 : and served as Secretary of the Interior during a portion of President Cleveland's second term. Gov. Fran- cis married in 1876 Miss Jennie Perry. They have six children, all boys. The family residence on Maryland Avenue is one of the handsomest homes in the city.
WILLIAM H. THOMPSON, Treasurer, is president of the National Bank of Commerce, and officially con- nected with half a hundred other financial and business concerns. He is vice-president of the Laclede Building Company; treasurer of the Odd-Fellows' Hall Company, an officer and one of the organizers of the Commonwealth Realty Company that built the Planters' Hotel. Though a banker by profession. and recognized as a great financier, he is or was a plumber by trade. He was born in Huntington, Pa., Oct. 13, 1830 : came to St. Louis in 1853, and worked as a plumber. Eleven years afterwards he established a factory for the manufacture of lead pipe and sheet lead. He organized the Missouri Lead and Oil Company in 1871, and was elected president of the Bank of Commerce in 1883. He was formerly president of the St. Louis Gas Company. Is thoroughly identified with the financial and commercial growth of the city. The family residence is on Lindell Boulevard.
WALTER B. STEVENS, Secretary, was born at Meridian,
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Conn., in July, 1848. His parents moved west when he was five years old, and he grew up in Peoria, Ill. In 1866 he went to Ann Arbor and entered the Michigan State University, from which he graduated in 1870. Within ten days of his graduation, when 22, he began his newspaper work as a reporter on the St. Louis Times. In 1881 he joined the staff of the St. Louis Globe- Democrat, where in a short time he was made city editor. Later he became traveling correspondent for that paper, and in 1885 was made its Wash- ington correspondent, which position he held until called to the secretaryship of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company. While traveling correspondent he wrote several series of articles on "Convict Camps and Penitentiaries in the South," "Black Labor in the South," "Among the Mormons: Talks with Saints and Sinners," and others. Among his classmates at Ann Arbor were Wm. R. Day, late secretary of state, and now United States Circuit judge; Prof. Bernard Morse, of the University of California, and now a member of the Philippines Commission ; Alfred Noble, member of the Government Isthmian Canal Commission ; William L. Penfield, solicitor for the Department of State at Washington ; and Marcus Baker, United States Geographer of the Geological Survey.
DANIEL M. HOUSER, Vice-President, is the president of The Globe Printing Company, publishers of the
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