Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the Fair

Don’t tell me the lights are shining

Anyplace but there

We will dance the “Hoochie-Koochie”

I will be your “Tootsie-Wootsie”

If you will meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the Fair.

Monday evening, Anne and I went to the Muny to see, Meet me in St. Louis.  Meet Me in St. Louis, was originally a popular song from 1904 which celebrated the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, i.e., the Saint Louis World’s Fair.  People are most familiar with the 1944 movie, starring Judy Garland, by the same name.  The movie was based upon a series of articles in the New Yorker and later in the novel 5135 Kensington.  5135 Kensington is a real address, it is just north of the Park, although the original building has been torn down.  What we saw Monday night was the Broadway musical based on the film.  It was originally produced in 1989.

Another famous song from Meet Me in St. Louis, is the Trolley Song.  You know the one that starts with, Clang ,clang, clang went the trolley.  At the beginning of the twentieth century most Saint Louisians got around by trolley.  Soon there will be a trolley line returning to Saint Louis.  It will run from the Delmar Loop to Forest Park.  This Loop Trolley is just the latest project of Joe Edwards, “impresario extraordinaire”.

Joe Edwards is a Saint Louis, businessman and community figure notable for his contributions to the Delmar Loop area of University City.  He is the owner of the Blueberry Hill bar, the Tivoli Theater, the Pageant nightclub, the Pin-Up Bowl cocktail bar, the Moonrise Hotel and is the founder of the St. Louis Walk of Fame, honouring famous Saint Louisians.

Joe Edwards has placed two trolley cars on display.  The one below is at one end of the proposed trolley line’s terminus, in front of the History Museum in the Park.  Another car is on display in the Delmar Loop.  The Delmar Loop got its nickname, because it is where a trolley line turned or looped around.