Camera Obscura Image of Saint Louis Looking East in Building Under Construction

Abelardo Morell made this photograph of the St. Louis skyline from the then-new Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse, located on the downtown Gateway Mall. Based on the principles of the camera obscura (Latin for “dark chamber”), he transformed a room on the 26th floor of the building into a giant camera. By covering the windows and creating a small opening, an image of the outside was projected upside-down onto the opposing wall. He placed his view camera in the prepared room, then recorded its contents and the camera obscura projection simultaneously over an eight-hour exposure. The most prominent building in the view was Busch Memorial Stadium. Its distinctive roof of concrete arches, designed by Edward Durell Stone, resonated with Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch nearby. The stadium was demolished in 2005 to make way for the current Busch Stadium.