Reproduction panorama map of the city known as St. Louis, Missouri, sketched and drawn on stone by Parsons & Atwater, and published by Currier & Ives in 1876. St. Louis was founded south of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The first road and railway bridge to cross the Mississippi River, Eads Bridge, was completed in 1874. The bridge, named after designer James B. Eads, was the longest arch bridge in the world at that time with a length of 1,964 meters. It was the first time true steel had been used in bridgework. The ribbed steel arch spans were supported by cantilever methods and used pneumatic caissons. The new technology was tested by a borrowed elephant before a cheering crowd on June 14, 1874 and two weeks later was running trains back and forth between St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois. The city was growing. Its city limits were expanded to include the nearby City of Carondelet. St. Louis' park system was expanding too. Shaw's Garden, named for Henry Shaw's nearby country estate, opened to the public. Lyon Park was handed over to the city by the War Department. Acts under the State Legislature in 1874 enabled St. Louis to purchase O'Fallon Park, Carondelet Park and Forest Parks. Forest Park was considered a distant park as the city wasn't built up much past Grand Avenue at the time.
The panorama features lively scenes of riverboat, railroad, carriage and pedestrian traffic, including illustrations of the steamboats: the "Richmond", the "Robt. E. Lee", the "Natchez", the "James Howard", the "Memphis", the "De Smet", the "Andy Johnson", the "Mississippi", the "Susie Silver" and the "Republic". The original image conserved by the Library of Congress had darkened considerably with age, this version has been lightened to reveal more detail.
Complete reference list below.
Features numbered references to the following locations:
1. Shaw's Botanical Garden
2. Compton Hill Reservoir
3. Market
4. Insane Asylum
5. Gas House
6. R. C. Convent
7. St. Louis & Iron Mt. RR. Depot
8. Pacific and Missouri RR. Depots
9. City Hall (Four Courts)
10. St. James Hotel
11. Southern Hotel
12. Masonic Temple
13. Washington Square
14. Jewish Synagogue
15. Laclede Hotel
16. Court House
17. Planters House
18. Missouri Republican Building
19. New Post Office
20. Missouri Park
21. St. Louis University
22. Odd Fellows Hall
23. St. Louis Life Ins. Co.
24. Union Market
25. New Reservoir
26. Mississippi Bridge
27. Fair Grounds
28. Hyde Park
29. St. Louis, Kansas & Northern RR.
30. Elevator
31. Northern Park
32. Water Works