branding block
M-170: Dick Lemen Collection of St. Louis Photographs
Dick Lemen, river enthusiast and historian, utilized his skills in photography to preserve the fading memory of America’s inland waterways. Both a collector of historic images, and a photographer himself, Mr. Lemen actively worked to document the boats and people of the river. To show the rich detail in images, he often enlarged sections of photographs, emphasizing an intricate ships rail, or a single child playing. His photography work was exhibited at several institutions, including the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and the St. Louis Mercantile Library. Richard Lemen, a life long resident of the Moline, IL area, died June 13, 2001 at the Illinois Veterans Home, in Quincy.
Originally the images were captured on glass plate negatives by photographer Charles Clements Holt (1866-1925) and his staff in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Negatives of these images were collected in the later part of the century by Dr. William G. Swekosky, as part of his work to document St. Louis’ historic houses facing demolition. In the early 1960s, a friend and fellow photographer, Dick Lemen arraigned with Dr. Swekosky to borrow the glass plates to make prints, later purchasing the negatives. While Dr. Swekosky had obtained the images as documents of structures, Mr. Lemen focused on the residents and details of everyday life of St. Louis, and brought the streets to life. In the 1980s Mr. Lemen donated the images he printed from these negatives to the St. Louis Mercantile Library. Other portions of Mr. Lemen’s personal papers and photograph collections are located to the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, Iowa. www.rivermuseum.com
St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis
draggable directories
Pages
-
- Lucas Gardens Park Construction
- Photograph of construction taking place in Lucas Gardens Park. This construction is probably the renovation of the site back to being a park after the demolition of the Exposition and Music Hall. Prior to the Exposition Hall the site was Missouri Park. The St. Louis Public Library building now occupies the other part of the site. The rear of 1300 Washington Avenue is visible behind the park., This photograph was probably taken 1907.
-
- Lunch Room
- Men working with pick axes at the side of the Lunch Room restaurant. Advertisement for Coca-Cola on the side of the restaurant.
-
- Lunch Stand and Whiskey Establishment
- Four men standing outside an establishment that serves lunch and whiskey, as well as Coca-Cola and The St. Louis Ice Cream. Lunch board can be viewed behind one man. Open day and night.
-
- MacArthur Bridge
- Elevated roadway above 6th Street with streetcar tracks in process of being laid, approach to Free Bridge (now MacArthur Bridge). The elevated rail bed is to the left.
-
- Market Street Lunch Room
- Photograph of lunch room and store at 1310 Market Street. A menu board is visible in front of the lunch room, a man is looking out of the doorway. The store advertises a "patent medicine" and multiple cigar brands.
-
- Market and Centre Streets
- Market and Centre Streets, corner of J. G. Canepa's Bar. Site of Municipal Courts Building.
-
- Mengel And Vogt Druggists
- Photograph of the Mengel & Vogt pharmacy at Taylor and Page Avenues. A woman is standing next to a pole in front of the building. The building still exists and appears to be vacant.
-
- Mercantile Library
- Two men, one smoking a pipe, standing on the street next to the Mercantile Library building, Locust Street.
-
- Mielke's Lunch Stand and Hotel Francis
- Photograph of Mielke's Lunch Stand, the Hotel Francis and Walter J. Noble Whiskey and Wine store. People are standing in front of the stores looking at the photographer. Many business signs and a menu for the lunch stand are visible.
-
- Missouri Portland Cement Docks
- Photograph of the Missouri Portland Cement Company factory and loading docks on the Mississippi River. A steamboat (the Belle of Calhoun) is visible in the background at one of the docks., This is the full image of a duplicate photograph in the collection, which identifies the steamboat.
-
- Model T
- Smashed front end of a Ford Model T automobile. The car bears an emblem from Dorris Motor Car Co., located at 1211 to 1217 N. Vandeventer Av.
-
- Mogul Sprinkling Truck
- Photograph of Mogul Sprinkling Truck. The city contracted with private companies like F. A. Stiers to sprinkle water on the city streets on a regular basis to keep down the dirt., St. Louis was the first city in the United States to use auto-sprinkling trucks like this. One of these Mogul trucks could sprinkle 22 miles of street from curb to curb in 11 hours.
-
- North Euclid Avenue and McPherson Avenue
- Photograph of the intersection of North Euclid and McPherson Avenues, looking west along McPherson Avenue. The Euclid Hall building is visible at the intersection. A man is leaning against a pole at the intersection, automobiles are visible in the background., Euclid Hall, 387 North Euclid, is currently occupied by Left Bank Books. It was constructed in 1905.
-
- North Tucker And Washington Avenue
- Photograph of the intersection of North Tucker Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Automobiles, pedestrians and horse-drawn wagons are visible, there are many pedestrians along Washington Avenue. The Ferguson McKinney Dry Goods Company building is visible on the left. The Carleton Dry Goods Company building is visible on the right., The photograph is looking north along North Tucker Boulevard. The Ferguson McKinney Dry Goods Company is now the Bogen Lofts. The Third Liberty Bonds poster dates the photograph to 1918.
-
- Old Courthouse
- Cars lined up in front of the Old Courthouse entrance.
-
- Olive and 7th
- Olive and 7th Street, looking east. Hanover and Regal shoes in the right foreground. Many pedestrians crossing the street. Photograph taken from the second story or higher.
-
- Outdoor Advertising
- Photograph of city street intersection with theater posters and building billboards visible. The posters advertise The Chinatown Trunk Mystery at the Havlins Theater. An advertisement on a building is for May Stern And Company. A horse-drawn wagon is visible to the left., This is probably the intersection of South Broadway with a street near Chouteau Avenue looking west.
-
- Painted Sign on Brick Above Sidewalk
- Street scene of St. Louis after during or after 1904. Two women on sidewalk. Trolley car on rails in the cobblestone street. Buildings with mansard roofs.
-
- Pierce Pennant Oil Corporation
- Photograph of a Pennant Pierce Oil Corporation filling station. Three cars are visible in front. A man appears to be putting air into the tire of one of the cars.
-
- Plan for the Development of the Kingshighway and Lindell Entrance to Forest Park
- Conceptual design for the northeast corner of Forest Park in St. Louis by the T. P. Barnett Company. Includes a colonnade behind a pool with a central fountain. The entrances on West Pine include statues on top of tall pillars. The image was prepared for the Division of Parks and Recreation under the administration of commissioner Nelson Cunliff.
-
- Produce Sale at the Grand Water Tower
- This photograph shows a crowd of people surrounding a street-side produce market. The market took place at the base of the Grand Water Tower, on the corner of Grand Blvd. and 20th Street. The view in this photograph faces South and provides a broad view of several store fronts, houses, a church steeple and the wide street. The street is filled not only with people, but also with streetcars, motor cars, and horse-drawn wagons. Street car and power wires stretch overhead.
-
- Produce Vendors
- Photograph of row of produce vendors along North Fourth Street. Horse-drawn carts are visible in front of the businesses.
-
- Railway Construction Site
- Photograph of construction site at railway interchange. Tunnels are being dug under existing railroad tracks. A steam shovel is loading dirt onto rail cars. Men with teams of horses are visible in the trench.
-
- Railway Locomotive With Trainmen
- Photograph of rear of a railway locomotive travelling away from the camera. Trainmen and an engineer are on the back of the Tender.
-
- Rerouting the River Des Peres
- Rerouting of the River Des Peres by the Missouri History Museum, River Des Peres Sewerage and Drainage Project.
-
- Restaurant Menu Sign Board
- Photograph of menu sign board on sidewalk in front of restaurant. Menu items with prices are visible.
-
- River Des Peres
- Woman by the water, River Des Peres, south St. Louis.
Pages
Mercantile Library Collections Directory
Mercantile Special Collections Directory
Barriger Library Collections Directory
Barriger Special Collections Directory