September 3 1856 Architect Louis Sullivan was born in Boston. Considered the dean of American architects, Sullivan believed that form should always follow function. The Father of the Skyscraper designed the Wainwright Building, constructed here in 1890-91 and now used for state offices. 1900 Sally Benson was born in St. Louis. She wrote a series of autobiographical short stories in The New Yorker under the title “5135 Kensington” in 1941-42. Benson compiled them into a book. In 1944, those stories about the Smith Family (Benson’s maiden name) became the basis for the movie Meet Me in St. Louis. She went on to pen screenplays such as National Velvet, Bus Stop and Anna and the King of Siam. 1903 The contract to construct the bird cage at the St. Louis World’s Fair was awarded to the St. Paul Foundry Company for $14,634. Frank Baker of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo designed the cage. The cage is 228 feet long, 84 feet wide and 50 feet high. After the fair, the Smithsonian made an effort to send the cage to Washington, D.C. But the city purchased it for $3,500. The purchase led to the establishment of the St. Louis Zoo in 1916. 1959 Plans were unveiled for three, 36-story apartment buildings. St. Louis Architects Schwarz and Van Hoefen would design the towers to compliment the proposed Gateway Arch, but they would not reach 36-stories. The Mansion House Redevelopment Project called for $45 million in construction in a five-block area bounded by Chestnut, Washington, Fourth Street and the Third Street Highway. (I-70) 1975 Bob Gibson made his last career appearance on the mound. He entered the game in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium, walked three and gave up five runs, including a grand slam by pinch hitter Pete LaCock of the Cubs. Bob said “I knew it was time to go when Pete LaCock hit a grand slam against me.” 2001 Cards rookie Bud Smith tossed a no hitter against the Padres in San Diego. It was just Smith’s 11th big league start. The 4-0 win made Smith the 16th rookie in Major League history to throw a no-hitter. He once threw two no-hitters within a month in the minor leagues.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:10:00 +0000