Council Plaza (Pt. II)

In this episode, we explore the long significance of the Flying Saucer building, a singular piece of St. Louis’s Council Plaza. Locals might remember efforts to “Save the Saucer” in 2009 and 2010––a grassroots preservation campaign whose activists focused on the building's status as an icon and a sentimental favorite amongst those who remembered it as a gas station, a diner, and a Del Taco drive-thru. While a subject of relatively recent nostalgia, the Saucer can also be viewed as a remnant of an older (mostly forgotten) set of urban planning and architectural ideals. In this, the second in a two-part episode on Council Plaza, we’ll probe how these ideals began with the destruction of a thriving African American community, outline the radical re-configuration of the Mill Creek Valley district, and consider how these decisions continue to haunt those who wish to see the area improved today.

[2023 drone photograph of the Saucer and other surviving elements of Council Plaza, with Saint Louis University's Chaifetz Arena and downtown St. Louis in the background. Image Courtesy of Ian Lanius, Washington University.]