Historical April 1984 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
In his story about the River Des Peres in the February issue of The Paper, Ray Breun tells us that if we live near Des Peres Avenue we are in a “flood plain” and this affects our homeowner’s insurance, requiring a “flood clause” or a higher premium.
The fact is, of course, that every homeowner’s policy excludes floods from the perils covered, no matter where the homeowner lives. Flood insurance can only be obtained from the federal government.
As to the efforts of the City of St. Louis to encase the river in concrete after the flood of 1896, nothing much of anything was done about that until 1929, when every bit of the river between what is now Skinker at Vernon and the vicinity of Manchester and Macklind was put into a huge tube (at the downstream end it was a pair of tubes) which I am sure has never overflowed.
The winding lagoons in the park which look like parts of a river are now just lagoons.
However, in 1902, the section of the river which flowed through what was to be the World’s Fair was straightened and put into a temporary conduit under the streets of the fair.
This was a 4,656-foot long tunnel, about forty feet wide, with wooden top, sides, and floor, with two partitions down the middle.
It cost only $125,000, including the excavation, but of course this was 1902 money.
For example, laborers were paid 25 cents an hour and skilled trades something less than 70 cents.
This conduit was removed about 1905 when the fair was dismantled, and the river was again free to flood low-lying areas of the park, such as backstage at the Muny Opera, for another 25 years. —H. S. Kennedy
Originally published in The Paper, April 1984.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1984_04.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
