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Flashback Friday: A 1949 Public Service Car and the Beginning of Bi-State Development Agency
Return to BlogIt’s time for another edition of Flashback Friday! (Insert ‘Time Warp’ dance here)
1949 was a busy year for the United States of America. The first Volkswagen Beetle arrived in America, Rodgers and Hammerstein‘s South Pacific opened on Broadway, the first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, aired, and the United States was involved in the Cold War.
In the picture below taken on March 20, 1949, you can see St. Louis Public Service car #1691. It was headed eastbound on Manchester at Hampton.
St. Louis Public Service Car in 1949
This photo was taken just months before the Bi-State Development Agency (BSDA) was created on September 20, 1949. Bi-State was established through an interstate compact between Missouri and Illinois, ratified by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Harry S. Truman. The BSDA was created to serve the region on both sides of the Mississippi River- – to have a regional outlook not tied to any one municipality, county or state. It was given broad powers that enable it to cross local, county and state boundaries to enhance the development of the region.
Interested in a particular time period or property? Post your Flashback Friday ideas in the comment section below!
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How about some bus pics from the 70s, 80s, or 90s that were built by The Flxible Corporation?
I’ll see what I can find Richard!
Something I have been interested in for awhile is finding any pictures of the Wabash Railway right of way that the MetroLink runs on now. I would like to see any possible pictures of passenger or freight trains running on it perhaps near Wellston or by the Rock Road, and maybe even where UMSL is now. We could make a “guess the location” game out of it.
Interesting! I’ll start doing some digging!