AJF

St Louis Arch and Me

We Departed Chicago around Midnight for St. Louis.  I tried to sleep on the bus, a technique I have almost perfected due to my massive amounts of public transportation use.  But on this trip, I was unable to force my body into a sleepy slumber.  Prior to departure, I was working one of my side construction jobs out west and didn’t get back until 10:00pm.  I had to eat real fast, slammed a beer,  and walked to the bus stop, all in hopes that all this might calm me down and make me drowsy…didn’t work.

We got to St Louis a little earlier than planned, 4:45am to be exact.  Just when I was starting to get comfy and falling into a sleepy state, We got to the St. Louis train station.  I was told about the train station prior to arrival but the doors were locked and we were stuck outside until a nice security guard let us in around 5:15.  We proceded to walk around the station.  Aside from the few other passengers, we had the station all to our selves.  It really was a beautiful space.  As you walk around there are historical spaces dedicated to preserving the history of the old depot with artifacts, photographs and literature.  The most impressive room is the Main room for the hotel.  Its as grand a room as I have seen in any building before.  The whispering arch is an amazing architectural addition to the space also.  A must if you visit the city.  We had the benefit of a very quiet 6am crowd so we had the arch all to our selves.  The audio illusion was very surreal.

St Louis, walking toward the arch

We decided to leave the train station and start making our way toward the arch.  The sun was on its way up and I really wanted to see the sunrise over the arch.  Walking down MAIN STREET? We were greeted with a line of public parks that housed various sculptures and installations.  The buildings that flanked the sides of the park were very impressive and I was very surprised how beautiful the city was.  I looked up Breakfast ion my iphone and was lead to ChiliMacs diner.  With its location around the corner from the arch, it was the perfect place to go and eat.  After some eggs, hash, sausage, a short stack of pancakes and lots of coffee.  We were off to the Arch.

St Louis Arch on the steps of the Mississippi River

We walked a few blocks and crossed the highway, which has a very narrow comfort zone between you and the passing cars, and were greeted by the massive arch.  I was blown away by the monument.  It is such a thing of beauty and a real treat to see it with westward sun.  Coming from cold Chicago we decided to sit on the steps facing the Mississippi river and take in some rays as we gazed up at the arc where we soon would be.   I laid there thinking I will soon be up there looking out the window at the west expanse beyond that the arch stands for.  My mind went afloat as the sun drenched my cold body and warmed me into a cozy little state of unconsciousness and I slept on the steps of the arch for almost half an hour.  What a site to wake up to, this grand proud arch.

In the Arch, me looking out West.

St Louis East View

It started to warm up and the jacket came off.  We walked into the building, past a security checkpoint then over to the bathroom for a quick tooth brushing.  Bought our tickets, walked by the information displays, and made our way to the elevators.  I read about the pods that take you to the top of the arch but nothing can prepare you for the actual experience of taking one of these.  As the lady who guided us to pod #4 said, “get ready for a trip back to the 60’s.”  It was pretty awesome to sit in these JFK era inspired designs.  Glad they didn’t gut them out for some new ugly replacement because its more practical or comfortable.  Its all about the experience.  We got to the top and I was surprised how small it was and how small the windows were.  The views were amazing and I got an odd kick out of leaning on the ledge and getting the feeling of looking down directly underneath me and seeing both legs of the arch.  I took my photographs, lingered at the windows for a bit, maybe an hour and we were off on our way back down.  Pod #4 was our pod again on our return trip down.  We walked around the lobby for a bit.  Checked out the exhibit of early American and Indian history that was in the exhibition space.  Then left for outside and the anticipated warm day ahead.

St Louis Arch through the arch of a bridge

Well, It was gorgeous out.  We walked the river from one end of the park to the other.  Talked to some boat guy who was fishing for guys that might fall off the bridge.  Walked back up into the park and decided to sit at a bench for a minute that turned into an hour.  People were in shorts and t-shirts, and everybody seemed really happy.  We asked if this is normal weather for this time of year, her response “no.”  It was 66 degrees.  Back in Chicago it was 36.  I laid on the bench and just gazed at the arch and watched the shadows move on the surface and ground as the sun moved through the sky.  Such a beautiful day.

St Louis Arch And the Mississippi River

It was 4:00 and we had to start making our way back to the train station.  We said our goodbyes to the arch, snapped a few more pics then it became a backdrop to the city.  We stopped by the beautiful courthouse on the way back.   Walked up WASHINGTON? Street, which has amazing early 20^th century high-rise buildings throughout most of the downtown area.  Got back to the park area, took a picture of my red wings nemesis Blues flag to send to my brother and hurried to to train station to use the bathroom.  We got on board the bus, but was warned that one of the hydraulic lines are broke and the bus cant drive without it being replaced.  Oh no.  we still got on board and took our seats but I was skeptical we would be leaving any time soon.  My knee was acting up so it felt good to sit, and then eventually fall asleep and two hours later, we were given notice that we would be departing in 5 minutes.  Aside from the bus malfunction, thank you mega bus for you February promotion ticket give away.

St Louis Arch

St. Lewis Journey 1
Reservation for 1 passenger
Price paid: $0.00

Reservation Number
8-7226-021511-M5A-2355-CHI-ST

Trip information:
Tue Feb 15, 2011
Depart Chicago, Union Station S Canal St south of Jackson Blvd. at February 15, 2011 11:55 PM arrive St Louis, Union Station at February 16, 2011 5:25 AM

Depart St. Lewis Journey 2
Reservation for 1 passenger
Price paid: $0.00

Reservation Number
5-4467-021611-M5A-1635-ST -CHI

Trip information:
Wed Feb 16, 2011
Depart St Louis, Union Station at February 16, 2011 4:35 PM arrive Chicago, Union Station S Canal St south of Jackson Blvd. at February 16, 2011 9:40 PM

Me in the State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument observation deck

Indianapolis was a make up trip from the storm of the century that went through the Midwest earlier in the month.  I was supposed to go through Kansas City the day before but increment weather closed both of the observation decks I was interested in going to.  So Indianapolis opened up and I decided to go and check out the city.  I left my studio when it was still dark out, and it was very cold.  Got to the bus a bit before departure at 7:00 am, climbed on board and immediately fell asleep.  I awoke three hours later in Indianapolis.  I mapped the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument on my iphone and was off to the site.  After walking a few blocks, one of the entry roads to the city center exposed the monument and it was a beautiful sit to see.  Blue skies set the backdrop and sun light draped all over the monument.  It was Great to see such a sculptural depicting American history in such great shape.

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

I quickly used the bathroom in the museum in the basement, took a quick funny pic, and was off to the observation deck.

Me in the State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Basement Museum

I get to the ticket counter and ask, “I’d like to go to the top.”  He says, “ok, elevator or stairs?”  Supposedly, from what I read on the internet, it’s a rite of passage to climb the stairs, and my legs were a bit stiff from the bus ride so my response with a smile was, “I’ll take the stairs.”  He says “Go right ahead, you’re the only one in the building today, all yours.”  Awesome! I think, I’ll have the whole deck all to myself.

So I turn to the stairs and begin my climb up the staircase that is ascends along the raw square interior of the monument.  At first, I attacked the stairs with some conviction and speed so I could get to the top quickly, but then I notice little plaques at the rise of each stair, so I slowed down and started to read who’s who on these plaques.  It was actually very inspirational to read some of the messages on them and interesting to see some of the famous people that donated to the monument.  VP Dan Quail, Michael Jackson and L. Ron Hubbard were some of the notable plaques I read.

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument stairway plaques

Up and up I went and narrower and narrower the stairs got as the monument narrowed toward the top to point where it was getting a little claustrophobic.  Finally I saw some daylight and I knew I was close.  A few more turns and I reached the last rung of steps that brought me to the monuments highest accessible point…the observation deck.

Me in the State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument observation deck

Before me was all of Indianapolis in its grandeur.  The sun shined hard and low and cast some beautiful shadows across the landscape.  Though the monument is not the tallest building in the city, it is the grandest and the most intimate of the observation decks the city has to offer so I paid my respect to the monument by using its perspective for my project.  You could see all directions at once from any where in the space.  You can see the city plan with the monument as the center point and the streets that radiate out from.  The New Glass skyscrapers blocked a lot of the radial plan but it made for an interesting mixture of old and new was very striking to me.  It left me both excited and confused as to how these captured images form the observation deck will shape up for future compositions of paintings of Indianapolis.

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument observation deck South view

I extended my stay to have lunch up there, which included a government cheese sandwich from my awesome Grandma Babi, a Clementine and a bottle of water.  I think I spent an hour up there.  It was an awesome and intimate experience to observe Indianapolis from the vantage point of the center of the city at that height.  Took a few more pictures and back down the stairs I went.  The stairs are honestly some of the most surreal stairs I have ever used before.  I’ll put the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument in the category of weird stairs, as La Familial sangria church, Barcelona, Notre Dame, Paris and El Duomo, Florence.

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument staircase

For the next 2 hours I walked around the city NSEW in order to get a walking perspective of the city for future reference.  I got to the bus stop at 5:00pm and got back on the bus to Chicago and was back by 7:15pm.  It was a very fun trip to Indianapolis, some very beautiful buildings in and around the city.  One such building was the Indiana War Memorial and the great lawn with all the attached sculptures, that alone was worth the trip to Indianapolis.

Indiana War Memorial

Indianapolis Journey 1
Reservation for 1 passenger
Price paid: $0.00

Reservation Number
11-4343-020211-M6A-0700-CHI-IND

Trip information:
Wed Feb 02, 2011
Depart Chicago, Union Station S Canal St south of Jackson Blvd. at February 2, 2011 7:00 AM arrive Indianapolis, 200 E. Washington St at February 2, 2011 11:15 AM

Journey 2
Reservation for 1 passenger
Price paid: $0.00

Reservation Number
10-9698-020211-M6B-1415-IND-CHI

Trip information:
Wed Feb 02, 2011
Depart Indianapolis, 200 E. Washington St at February 2, 2011 2:15 PM arrive Chicago, Union Station S Canal St south of Jackson Blvd. at February 2, 2011 4:30 PM

Additional Photographs:

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument North view

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument West view

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument South view

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument East view

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Detail

me atop the carew tower, cincinnati

Cincinnati was the first city to start my Midwest Painting project.  It was also one of the longer trips but a good introduction as to what I was getting myself into.  I left my studio at 6:20 am, It was cold and dark out, I was dressed in all black, I felt like a ninja on a mission.  I Walked to the Megabus stop bu Union Station, (I walked for two reasons 1: I don’t live that far away, about 4 miles and I could use the exercise before I sit on a bus for 6+ hours; 2: I can’t justify paying $2.25 for a bus when the round trip ticket cost me $.50.), and got there before the scheduled departure time of 7:00 am.  I got on the bus, sat in my favorite seat, reclined back and fell asleep.  I didn’t wake up until we were just outside Indianapolis, another city I was excited to take the trip to.  The bus did a drop off/pick up there and we continued our journey to Cincinnati, and back to sleep I went.

Carew Tower, Cincinnati

We got to Cincinnati around 2:00pm, and to my pleasure the drop off point was the Carew Tower, the building with the  observation deck where I was planning to take my photographs of Cincinnati.  Everything I read about the building prior to my arrival got me excited.  It was the people’s favorite, a throwback to old times with its open deck, odd entry to the roof, odd elevator, etc…  They were all true.  Being January 26, it was quite cold, and to my pleasure I was the only one visiting the observation deck…probably the only one the whole week.  It was cold and windy.  But the view was amazing.  Snow littered the landscape and shapes became apparent by the snow that accumulated on the rooftops.  Lines were drawn in the snow by cars that drove over it.  Baron trees exposed the architecture below and left the city development open to view from atop the Carew Tower.  The cities looked beautiful with its location on the river and bridges that connected Ohio to Kentucky.  Cincinnati was alive before me and I was there on that day to capture the scene.

view from carew tower looking East

I stuck around on the roof for almost an hour, only taking a brief break from the cold to warm my hands in the gift shop where a lady was watching some afternoon talk show on a small TV.  I wish they had a Carew building sticker for sale, I like collecting stickers.  After one last time out on the roof, I said bye to everybody below, bye to the lady in the gift shop at the top of Cincinnati and I traversed down the stairs, to the elevator.  There were some obscure rooms/offices at the top levels of the building that i noticed as i walked down the stairs and I thought to myself…this would be a neat place to have a studio for a short while.  And onward I went down until I landed back on the 1^st floor.

gift shop atop the Carew Tower, Cincinnati

I walked out into the city and walked in all directions to both see the city and look for a sticker as a memento of this travel.  I went North through a hip arts district that then lead to a run-down neighborhood and then turned back South toward toward the Carew Tower.  Went down past the contemporary museum, en route to the furthest point West that the sidewalk would take me  then went South to the river, Then walked East circumnavigating the princess tower, passing the baseball stadium and ended up at the pedestrian entrance to the John A. Roebing Suspension Bridge.  I walked up and went North back toward the city and went further East by Paul Brown Stadium for a few blocks to see that neighborhood then slowly made my way to The Carew Tower where the bus stop was.  I was picked up at 6:30 pm, and I arrived in Chicago at 11:15 pm.

Time spent in Cincinnati: 4hrs-35mins

Time spent traveling by bus:11hrs-40mins.

Cincinnati
Reservation number: 9-7986-012611-M6A-0700-CHI-CIN
Journey 1 :Chicago, Union Station S Canal St south of Jackson Blvd. to Cincinnati, W 4th St at Race St
Date: Wednesday January 26, 2011
Passengers: 1
Leaving: 700 AM
Arriving: 155 PM
Price: $0.00
Reservation number: 9-2119-012611-M6A-1830-CIN-CHI
Journey 2 :Cincinnati, W 4th St at Race St to Chicago, Union Station S Canal St south of Jackson Blvd.
Date: Wednesday January 26, 2011
Passengers: 1
Leaving: 630 PM
Arriving: 1115 PM
Price: $0.00

Carew Tower  # Address:441 Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
# Phone:(513) 241-9660
# Hours:Mon.-Thurs. 9-5:30, Fri. 9-6, weekends 10-7 Close
# Price:$2

Additional Photographs:

Carew Tower observation deck, Southwest

Carew Tower observation deck, South

Carew Tower observation deck, North

Carew Tower observation deck, West

Tower of Carew

Carew Tower Stairwell artwork

Carew Tower Stairwell

Carew Tower Elevator to get to to observation deck