Report by the General Assembly of the State of Illinois to incorporate the Springfield and Alton Turnpike Road Company and construct a turnpike (rail-road) from Springfield to a point on the Mississippi in St. Clair County
business. Several steamboats of various sizes traversed the river and traveled north under the Eads Bridge. In the distance the city of St. Louis was shrouded in a thick cloud of coal smoke. Coal was the primary source of energy used in the city during the 19th century. The image was Drawn by Schell and Hogan, taken from a sketch by C.A. Vanderhoof and published in Harper's Weekly.
Page from Scientific American Supplement, No. 399, from July 1, 1882. The page details the ventilation of a railroad tunnel under the city of St. Louis by a large vertical shaft.
Elevated railroad tracks leading the Free Bridge (now named the MacArthur Bridge). Teamsters parked on the streets below the tracks. A bar or wholesaler named Whiskies can be seen in the background.