Advances in engineering saw the completion of the Gateway Arch, and by the end of the decade America had put a man on the moon.
by Brandie Piper
These stories were originally published on KSDK.com.
By the 1960s, KSD had cemented its role as the dominant news station in town. Part of that dominance was due to forward-thinking management always looking for ways to innovate. One of those innovations was providing St. Louis its first locally produced color television program in 1966. Because the technology was so new, it was tested on the “Corky the Clown” children’s show.
Innovation wasn’t limited to KSD. Advances in engineering saw the completion of the Gateway Arch, and by the end of the decade, America had put a man on the moon.
Take a walk through history with some of the defining stories of the 1960s below.
AMUSEMENT PARK DESTROYED
Forest Park Highlands burns down
Credit: KSDK
St. Louis Community College – Forest Park sits on land that once housed an amusement park that St. Louis families loved to visit. It originally opened in 1896 as a beer garden.
On July 19, 1963, a fire started in a kitchen at the park and quickly spread.
Watch the video below to hear part of KSD Radio reporter Harry Honig’s report from the scene that day.
Kay Quinn contributed to this story.
A NEW FLAG
St. Louis celebrates bicentennial with unveiling of city flag
Credit: KSDK
St. Louis Mayor Raymond Tucker declared the years 1964 through 1966 to be the city’s bicentennial.
To kick off the celebration, President Lyndon B. Johnson came to town. St. Louisans met him at the airport and gathered to see him at the Gateway Arch, which was still under construction.
Mayor Tucker also unveiled a new flag to mark the city’s birthday. According to the city’s municipal code, the flag was designed by Yale Professor Emeritus Theodore Sizer. The flag features blue and white wavy lines that represent the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. At the intersection of the line sits a gold circle topped with a fleur-de-lis. The gold circle represents the city and Louisiana Purchase, and the fleur-de-lis represents the city’s French roots. The background of the flag is red.
ARCH COMPLETED
Final piece of the Gateway Arch put in place
Credit: AP
When the final piece of the Gateway Arch was put in place, it was a day years in the making.
Architect Eero Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument for land designated in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt along the St. Louis riverfront called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
Construction began in 1963 on the unique stainless-steel design based on the catenary curve, which is the shape made if one were to hold a chain at both ends and let it hang freely in the middle. Construction took two years and eight months, and a ceremony planned for the placement of the final piece was delayed twice.
The unusual building design meant a variety of engineering techniques had to be implemented to create a one-of-a-kind people-moving system up and down the legs of the Arch.
On Oct. 28, 1965, the keystone was hoisted high above the Mississippi and finally put into place as people from the St. Louis region watched in-person and on television.
The ceremony to put the final piece in place was rescheduled twice because the team responsible for putting the piece in place was afraid it wouldn’t fit.
Kay Quinn contributed to this story.
HELICOPTER CRASH
News chopper crashes into the Mississippi River
Credit: KSDK
On Feb. 11, 1966, 10 barges broke loose from a towboat on the Mississippi River. They hit the pier and pilings supporting the Poplar Street Bridge, which was still under construction.
KSD photographer Dick Deeken was shooting aerial footage of the accident from a helicopter piloted by William Houska when the helicopter hit power lines and crashed into the Mississippi River. Deeken and Houska survived the crash and were picked up by a construction barge.
Watch Kay Quinn’s “Vintage KSDK” segment for the whole story.
Kay Quinn contributed to this story.
F4 TORNADO
One of the most powerful tornadoes hits St. Louis region
Credit: KSDK
Eight years after the F4 tornado that struck our area during winter 1959, another F4 tornado hit the St. Louis region during an off-season tornado outbreak.
On Jan. 24, 1967, a tornado touched down in western St. Louis County near Olive Street and the Howard Bend Pumping Station. The National Weather Service reported at the time the tornado moved northeast at 40 miles per hour through Maryland Heights, Bridgeton, St. Ann, Edmundson, Woodson Terrace, Berkley, Ferguson, Dellwood and Spanish Lake. The twister was on the ground for approximately 35 minutes.
Three people were killed and 216 suffered injuries.
This tornado was one of nine to hit Missouri that day. Thirty-two tornadoes in total hit the Midwest on Jan. 26.
MOON LANDING
St. Louisans react to America putting a man on the moon
Credit: KSDK
On July 20, 1969, the world watched as Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. After blast off on July 16, a KSD reporter talked to people on the streets about what they thought of the mission.
“I want to tell you, I had the biggest thrill I’ve ever experienced. I was just waiting for that moment, you know?” said one man. “And I thought, this is tremendous. This is something that, well, it’s so new that we don’t know the immensity of it.”
KSD also spoke with Washington University’s Robert M. Walker, PhD, professor of physics in arts and sciences and inaugural director of the university’s McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, about the samples Apollo 11 astronauts intended to collect after landing on the moon.
According to Washington University, Walker helped plan the return and study of moon rocks collected by the Apollo missions and continued to work on space research for more than 40 years.
Listen to him talk about the collection of samples in the 1969 interview.
5 AT 75
Anniversary celebration
Take a walk back in time with some of the biggest stories from each decade:
1940s: TV comes to St. Louis
1950s: Major moments captured on video
1960s: A decade of innovation
1970s: Fights, royalty and a big change
1980s: Lasting legacies and trailblazers
1990s: The stories that left a lasting impression
2000s: Making an impact for generations
2010s: Once-in-a-lifetime moments
Be sure to learn more about our banner show at locations throughout the Bi-state.
Find complete 5 On Your Side anniversary coverage, stories and videos at ksdk.com/75.
Brandie Kramer 