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bySTEVEN DIETZ
Adapted from the book by
DAN GUTMAN
Metro Theater Company and Edisonare pleased to join forces once again to bring
great theater to St. Louis audiences. Our first collaborative venture in 2007 was the
U.S. Premiere of Hanas Suitcase by Emil Sher. Two years later, we produced Harper
Lees monumental To Kill a Mockingbird. In 2011 we brought you Lois Lowrys The Giver,
adapted for the stage so beautifully by Eric Coble.
> Insight into the
production
> Discussion ideas to
stimulate interest
and reflection
> Classroom activities
linked to Grade Level
Expectations for core
subjects
> Resources for
further inquiry
IN THIS GUIDE
YOULL FIND
A GREETING FROM ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, CAROL NORTH
1
AND
PRESENT
www.metroplays.org
In this 40th anniversary season for both Metro
Theater Company and Edison we invite you to
celebrate with us as we bring you a story steeped in
real history and laced with wonderfully magical fiction
Dan Gutmans novel, now adapted for the stage by
Steven Dietz, is an exciting story about Americas
favorite pastime, a man of enormous courage and a
kid whos struggling to make sense of his life.
We hope you find this Production Guide useful. Tell
us about the great conversations you have with your
children and your students. What sparked especially
meaningful learning or surprising connections?
We want to hear your stories and share them with
others. Letters, e-mail, phone calls, tweets, and
Facebook postingswe love them all!Reginald Pierre plays Jackie Robinson inMetro Theater Companys production.
JeremyKeltner
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CLASSROOM DISCUSSION:Jackie Robinson felt like an outsider when he joined the
Dodgers baseball team. Have you ever been in a situation
that made you feel that way? How did you work through it?
MISSOURI COMMUNICATION ARTS GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
L1B K-8 Develop and apply effective listening skills andstrategies
L2A K-8 Develop and apply effective speaking skills andstrategies
ElliotErwitt,1950
JACKIE ROBINSONS WORLD
Separate but equal made its way onto the baseball field as well. The Negro
Leagues were an important institution in African-American culture. When
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball by joining the Brooklyn
Dodgers, the Negro League teams quickly dissolved.
Jackie Robinson didnt change baseball on his own. Branch Rickey, the
general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, saw Jackies enormous potential
both as an athlete and a man of characterand saw the opportunity to make
a big move. From a business perspective, Rickey had a lot at stake. When he
signed Jackie Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rickey exacted a
promise from Jackie that no matter what kind of abuse he sufferedon or
off the fieldJackie would not fight back.
After Jackie joined the Major Leagues, he took verbal abuse from team-
mates and players on other teams. He received hate mail and death threats
from the public. In the face of all this, Jackie could not fight back. He was
held to a different standard, and everyone was watching him. After estab-
lishing himself as one of the most outstanding players in baseball history,
Jackie broke his silence and became a vocal advocate for integration. He
joined with other ballplayers in driving baseball to use its economic power
to desegregate southern towns, hotels and ballparks.
EXAMPLES OF JIM CROW LAWSRestaurants: All persons licensed to conduct a
restaurant shall serve either white people exclu-
sively or colored people exclusively and shall not
sell to the two races within the same room or
serve the two races anywhere under the same
license. (Georgia)
Restrooms:Every employer of white or negro
males shall provide for such white or negro males
reasonably accessible and separate toilet facili-
ties. (Alabama)
Education: Separate schools shall be maintained
for the children of the white and colored races.
(Mississippi)
Libraries:The state librarian is directed to fit up
and maintain a separate place for the use of the
colored people who may come to the library for
the purpose of reading books or periodicals.
(North Carolina)
The Jim Crow laws were federal, state and
local laws in the United States (1876-1965)
that mandated racial segregation in all
public facilities.
SEGREGATION is the act ofisolating a race or class from
the rest of the population.
Supposedly, these laws created a separate
but equal experience for African Americans.
But in reality, these laws led to facilities that
were inferior to those provided for the sole
use of white Americans.
2
DID YOU KNOWThat the Negro Leagues Baseball
Museum is right here in Missouri?
Next time youre in Kansas City,go check it out! www.nlbm.com
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In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers called Ebbets Field home.
This is where Joey Stoshack witnesses Jackie Robinsons
first game. Ebbets Field opened in 1913 and closed in 1957.
A group of St. Louis Cardinals said that they would rather go on
strike than play against the Dodgers if Jackie Robinson was in the
lineup. The Cardinals own manager, Eddie Dyer, wanted to disas-
sociate himself from the hateful attitudes and words of his play-
ers, and he made a point of wishing Jackie well the first time he
saw him. Ford Frick, the president of the National League, also
responded to the Cardinals threats to strike. He said, I do not
care if half the league strikes. Those who do will encounter quick
retribution. All will be suspended and I do not care if it wrecks the
national league for five years. This is the United States of
America and one citizen has as much right to play as another.
Following Fricks statement, four other black players were signed
by major league teams in the 1947 season.
Nope, thats not Busch Stadium! This is Sportsmans Park, where Jackie
Robinson would have played against the Cardinals in 1947.
Photo source: schools.nyc.gov/schoolportals/17/k352/default.htm
legendsrevealed.com
MISSOURI THEATRE GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS:
1CPP 6-8 Design and use technical elements of theatre to represent
time and place, establish character, and create environment
ACTIVITY IDEA! In small groups, have studentsbrainstorm a list of sounds one might hear at a ballpark. Use objects
found in your classroom or house to create a soundscape. Dont
forget about the instrument you always have with you: your voice!
JACKIE ROBINSONS
CONNECTION TO ST. LOUISWHERE DID JACKIE ROBINSON
PLAY IN 1947?
When Jackie took the field, something
reminded us of our birthright to be free.
Rev. Jesse Jackson
He led America by example. He reminded
our people of what was right and he remind-ed them of what was wrong. I think it can
be safely said today that Jackie Robinson
made the United States a better nation.
American League President Gene Budig
He knew he had to do well. He knew that
the future of blacks in baseball depended on
it. The pressure was enormous, overwhelm-
ing, and unbearable at times. I dont know
how he held up. I know I never could have.
Duke Snider
Thinking about the things that happened, I
dont know any other ball player who could have
done what he did. To be able to hit with every-
body yelling at him. He had to block all that out,
block out everything but this ball that is coming
in at a hundred miles an hour. To do what he did
has got to be the most tremendous thing Ive
ever seen in sports.
Pee Wee Reese, Jackies teammate
Back in the days when integration wasnt fash-
ionable, he underwent the trauma and humilia-
tion and the loneliness which comes with being
a pilgrim walking the lonesome byways toward
the high road of freedom. He was a sit-inner
before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the
Freedom Rides.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.LOC,LC-DIG-ppmsc-00048
GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT JACKIE ROBINSONS LEGACY
3
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Branch Rickey
A year before the Mayflower, the first twenty African slaves
are sold to settlers in Virginia as indentured servants.
A slave named Dred Scott sues for his freedom claiming that living
on free soil liberates him. The Supreme Court rules against him, say-
ing African-American people are regarded as so far inferior. that
they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.
Jackie Robinson is born in Georgia.
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. buys the St. Louis
Cardinals, and the teams Sportsmans
Park is renamed Busch Stadium.
William Cammeyer, known as the father of the enclosed ballpark,
opens The Union Grounds in Brooklyn on the site of an ice skating rink.
The Cardinals beat the St. Louis Browns in the only all-St. Louis World
Series. This Series was called the Streetcar Series after the mode
of transport most used to travel to and from the ballpark.
The Brooklyn Dodgers move to
the west coast and became the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
1619
1789
1857
1861-1865
1862
1869
1870
1919
1942
1944
1947
1953
1955
1958
1960
1962
1963
1964
1965
The Constitution is adopted. Slaves are counted as three
fifths of a person for means of representation.
The Civil War divides the country over the legality of slavery.
The 15th Amendment gives African Americans the right to vote.
Branch Rickey becomes president and general
manager of the Brooklyn Dodger organization.
Branch Rickey signs Jackie Robinson to
the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the
color barrier in American baseball.
The first Jim Crow segregation law
is passed in Tennessee mandating the
separation of African Americans fromwhites on trains, depots and wharves.
The rest of the South follows this
pattern. African Americans are
banned from white hotels, barber-
shops, restaurants, theaters, and
other public accommodations. By
1885, most southern states have laws
requiring separate schools.
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her
seat on a bus to a white man.
Jackie Robinson is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Civil Rights Act allows greater protection
of the right to vote for African Americans.
Demolition of Brooklyns Ebbets Field begins,
breaking the hearts of millions of fans.
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his I Have a
Dream speech at the March on Washington.
The first indoor ballpark
(The Astrodome) opens.
Rosa Parks
Segregation signs
Martin Luther King, Jr
MAJOR EVENTS IN:
> THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT> THE LIFE OF JACKIE ROBINSON> BASEBALL HISTORY
ACTIVITY IDEA! Allow students to choose a famousperson from the Civil Rights Movement, a legendary baseball player or
an important figure from the time period you are currently studying.
Have each student research this person and then give an oral report to
the class on the persons biggest accomplishments and contributions.
MISSOURI COMMUNICATION ARTS GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS:
L2A K-8 Develop and apply effective speaking skills and strategies forvarious audiences and purposes
L3A K-8 Develop and apply skills and strategies to comprehend, analyzeand evaluate nonfiction from a variety of cultures and times
4
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OpeningDayTicketM
useum
ofth
eC
ityo
fN
ew
Y o r k
Television
Transistor inventor photo
TRAVEL BACK IN TIME!
Chutes and Ladders
LOTS OF FAMOUS PEOPLEWERE BORN IN 1947!
Elton John, musician
Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and politician
Hilary Clinton, current Secretary of State
Deepok Chopra, doctor and journalist
Billy Crystal, actor and comedian
Paula Dean, TV personality and chef
Richard Dreyfuss, actor
Stephen King, author
DO ANY OF THESE POPULAR
1947 GAMES LOOK FAMILIAR?
INVENTIONS IN 1947
earlytelevision.org
parkcirclediscgolf.com
cedmagic.com
Polaroidcamera
ACTIVITY IDEA! Imagine it is the year 2075, and timetravel has been invented. Have students create a travel brochure to
advertise the year 2012 as a great year to visit. Make sure to include
photos and travel information about the years major events,
technology, food, daily life, arts, and popular culture.
MISSOURI COMMUNICATION ARTS GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS:W2 K-8 Compose well-developed textW3 K-8 Write effectively in various forms and types of writing
MISSOURI VISUAL ARTS GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS:
PP3C K-8 Communicate ideas about subject matter and themes inartworks created for various purposes
Monopoly
5
ROLLBACK PRICES: 1947
Get a load of these prices!
Talk about deep discounts
Average cost of a new house = $6,600
1 loaf of bread = 13
1 gallon of gas = 15
Postage stamp = 3
Movie ticket = 15
Ticket to a Brooklyn Dodgers game = $1.25
wir
ed
.com
Lil Abner Frisbee
from 1947
Candyland
WHOWAS
BORNIN
1947?
WHATTOYSDIDKIDS
HAVE?
WHATW
A
SINVENTED1947?HO
WMUC
HDID
THING
SCOST?
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1
3
21
MEET THE MAJOR LEAGUERS BEHIND JACKIE AND ME
FROM SCRIPT TO STAGE!Once a play has been written, the directors
job is to work with the actors and designers
to put the story up on its feet and bring
it to life!
THE NOVELBECOMES A PLAY!Playwright Steven Dietz read Gutmans
book and was immediately captivated by
the magic and responsibility of having
history come to life on stage.
ACTIVITY IDEA!
MISSOURI COMMUNICATION ARTS GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS:
L1B K-8 Develop and apply effective listening skills and strategies
HISTORY BECOMES A NOVELDan Gutmans book Jackie and Me is based on
Jackie Robinsons life. This means that Dan made
some things up to make his story work. In addition
to the time travel and Joeys skin changing color,
the order of the events in Dans book is different
from how it happened in real life, and thats okay!
Its the writers job to craft a good story for readers
to enjoy.
STATS
> National League Rookie of the Year in 1947
> 1949 batting average: 0.342 earned him
National League MVP
> Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962
FIRST JOB:enlisting in the U.S. Army
FIRST BASEBALL TEAM:Kansas City Monarchs
in the Negro Leagues
OTHER SPORTS: track, basketball, football
FAMILY: wife, Rachel; and three children,
Jackie Jr., Sharon and David
IN HIS OWN WORDS:
A life is not important except for the impact it
has on other lives.JACKIE
ROBINSON
STATS
HOMETOWN:Hoboken, New JerseyPlayed Little League in elementary school
EDUCATION: Rutgers University,
psychology major
FIRST JOB: writing a video games magazine,
Video Games Player.
FAMILY: wife, Nina; and two children,
Sam and Emma
IN HIS OWN WORDS:
I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to
take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD. For
the first time, I felt that I was doing something I
was good at, something that was fun, creatively
rewarding, and appreciated by an audience.
DAN
GUTMANAUTHOR
STATS
NUMBER OF PLAYS WRITTEN: 30+
HOMETOWNS: Seattle, WA and Austin, TX
In addition to writing plays, Steven alsoteaches directing and playwriting at the
University of Texas at Austin.
IN HIS OWN WORDS:
I try to never take for granted that my
work does not vanish at day's end, but
instead accumulates. I like the small
steps that add up to great journeys.
STEVEN
DIETZ PLAYWRIGHT
6
Joe Stoshack and his dad value baseball cards a lot. Have
students think (and maybe write) about a collection or a
single object that is special to them personally. Pair students
up; one is A, the other is B. Partner A has one minute to tell
B everything they can about their special object. Partner As
job is to give B a vivid mental picture of the object; Bs job is
to listen closely. After one minute, B has thirty seconds to ask
as many questions about the object as possible. A then has
one minute to answer as many of the questions as possible.
Switch roles and repeat the process.
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What first grabbed your attention
about the play, Jackie and Me?
What are you most excited about?I was hooked when our hero, 12-year-old
white kid Joey Stoshack, having travelled
back in time to meet Jackie Robinson,
discovers that he is now black and will
experience life in 1947 as Jackie Robinson
and the black community actually lived
it. Regardless of race, it is impossible not
to lean in and wonder what Joey is going to
do. To step into the shoes of others is an
amazing, frightening, and often liberating
event, and coincidentally, it's what the
theater does best. Theater enables actors
to experience others by stepping into their
skins, their lives, and in the audience we
get to watch them live it. We care because
it's our lives, our history, our possibility
being told. I like a story that is filled with
possibility.
What are some of the challenges that
this play presents for a director?The play jumps time periods from 2012 to
1947 and back again. It also has many
locations and a large cast of characters.
So it takes some planning to stage a
physical production (sets, costumes, lights,
sound) that can do all the things that need
to be accomplished. All of that is challeng-
ing and takes coordination. But I'm not so
intimidated about putting baseball onstage
because in the theater anything is possible!
What do you hope audience members
will take away from this production?That's always a tricky question because it
assumes that an audience has a collective
point-of-view while watching a play, and
they don't. At the same time, audiences
do have a collective experience when
watching a play togetherat least I hope
they do. I hope that encountering together
what this play determines to be right and
wrong and identifying with that determina-
tion, will somehow bind us as a community
for a brief period of time and possibly
longer. I want all of us to know, collectively,
that Joey is a better human being for his
experience with Jackie. I want us to
understand the injustices Jackie and
Rachel Robinson were standing up to when
they said yes to Branch Rickey, and the
valor they showed when they did so. I
want us to know that a few courageous
individuals can change the world for the
better when they believe that all men are
created equal.
Do you have a personal connection
to the game of baseball?My personal connection to this story is
deeply rooted in my memories of my Dad,
and playing Little League baseball, and the
fact that I associate my love of the sport
in so many ways with my love of him.
We adopted our son from Ethiopia in 2006
and introduced him to baseballwhich he
loves. My Dad never lived to meet his
grandson, but I can't help but think that
baseball, in some way, has connected them
across time and distanceand in some
ways allowed them to meet each other in
the same way that Joey is allowed to meet
Jackie Robinson.
How did you discover Dan Gutmans
work, and what inspired you to bring
this particular story to the stage?I was given Dans first baseball card
adventure, Honus and Me, ... As a baseball
fan, and as a parent, I responded to it
immediately. It captures both the magic
and the responsibilities of having history
come to life. I adapted the play and enjoyed
the process tremendously. After Dan saw a
production of that adaptation, he offered me
any of his other books to adapt. I chose
Jackie and Me.
What is the most exciting part of
being a playwright?I find playwriting exciting in several ways.
I'm so grateful for the way it allows me to
travel out of my known world, my comfort
zone, my personal history, and into the lives
of other people and other times. This has
broadened my thinking and hopefully
deepened my view of this world we all share.
I also find it extremely rewarding to work in a
profession where I can make a little progress
every daysome tangible words on a page,
some tangible moments in rehearsal with my
collaborators. As simple as this may sound, I
try to never take for granted that my work
does not vanish at days end, but instead
accumulates. I like the small steps that add
up to great journeys.
AN INTERVIEW WITH PLAYRIGHT STEVEN DIETZ
7
TIM
OCELDIRECTOR
AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR TIM OCEL
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UCLA.edu
THIS IS WHY WE STUDY SCIENCE!
CRUNCH THE BASEBALL NUMBERS!
Joey Stoshack watches Jackie Robinson steal home base, even though it
should be scientifically impossible. Understanding baseball is not the only
reason for studying science, but along with math, it can help us know
whats going on in the game.
baseball basics:TEST YOUR REACTION TIME!
A baseball travels about 55 feet from thepitchers mound to the batter, and it only
takes the baseball four tenths of a second to
reach home plate! The batter has even less
time to decide whether or not to swing at
the pitch.
Test your reaction time: www.exploratorium.
edu/baseball/reactiontime.html
WHY DOESNT THE BEST TEAM HAVETHE BEST RECORD?
The 162 games in each season arent enough
to ensure that the best team in the league
ends the season with the best record. For
that to happen, the 16 teams in the National
League would have to play 256 games per
season. Playing fewer games, of course,
gives underdogs more of a chance to
reach the playoffs and sometimes win
the World Series!
WHY DO HITTERS SWING AT SO FEWPITCHES?
Players will watch a pitch or two pass over
home plate and into the catchers mitt. The
batter allows the ball to go by so he can cali-
brate it and figure out if the pitch is travel-
ing at the speed and in the pattern he antici-
pated. The next time the same type of pitch
is thrown, the batter now has an advantage
and just may knock it out to the cheap seats.
IS IT FASTER TO SLIDE INTO HOME BASEHEAD FIRST OR FEET FIRST?
According to David Peters, a physicist at
Washington University in St. Louis, sliding
into home plate head first has the edge.
Arms weigh less than legs, so as the body
rotates, the players arms can reach farther
than the legs. The players feet also give an
extra push. Even though a head-first slide is
faster, many players still prefer a foot first
slide. They can pop up easier, instead of
sliding by the bag.
BATTING AVERAGE:How often the player successfully hits the ball
at bat. A 0.300 hitter is a traditional standard
of excellence in batting.
CRUNCH THE NUMBERS! To find the battingaverage, divide the number of base hits by the
total number of times at bat.
If David Freese had 400 at bats and has 157 hits,
what is his batting average?
EARNED RUN AVERAGE (ERA):The average number of earned runs a pitcher
gives up over the course of a nine-inning
game of baseball.
CRUNCH THE NUMBERS! Multiply the totalnumber of earned runs by nine, and divide the
results by the total innings pitched.
If Chris Carpenter allows 3 earned runs in
8 innings, what is the ERA?
WIN-LOSS PERCENTAGE:The percentage of wins a team has had in
a season.
CRUNCH THE NUMBERS! Divide the number ofgames won by the total number of games played
If the Cardinals win 20 out of their first 33
games, what is their win-loss percentage?MORE BASEBALL LESSON PLANS!http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mathline/lessonplans/pdf/msmp/fantasybaseball.pdf
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-3-4/All_Around_The_Baseball_Field.aspx
ssfu.edu
8
DID YOU KNOWMost batters do not see the ball hit the
bat. The human eye cant rotate fast
enough to keep up with the velocity of the
angular velocity of the baseball on the eye!
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RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND EDUCATORS:
MEMORABILIA
FOR EARLY READERS:
Jackie Robinson and the Big Game(Ready-to-Read, Level 2) by Dan Gutman
A Picture Book of Jackie Robinsonby David A. Adler, illustrated by Robert Casilla
FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLESCHOOL READERS:
More baseball card adventuresfrom Dan Gutman:
Honus and Me Ted and Me Roberto and Me Ray and Me Babe and Me And MANY more!
Who Was Jackie Robinson?by Gail Herman, Nancy Harrison and John OBrien
Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson(Scholastic Biography) by Barry Denenberg
Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson
Changed Americaby Sharon Robinson
Jackies Nine: Jackie Robinsons Valuesto Live Byby Sharon Robinson
FOR PARENTS AND EDUCATORS:
I Never Had it Made: An Autobiographyof Jackie Robinson
A Level Playing Field: African American
Athletes and the Republic of Sportsby Gerald L. Early
Interactive timeline of Black History milestoneshttp://www.history.com/topics/jackie-robinson/interactives/black-history-timeline
How Baseball Works:http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/baseball.htm
The Baseball Hall of Fame:http://baseballhall.org/
Jackie Robinsons letter to PresidentEisenhower (1958):http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/jackie_robinson_letter/
Baseball Scorecard & Instructions:http://www.baseballscorecard.com/scorecard.htm
AUDIO AND VISUAL:
FILM
Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns (PBS)
The Jackie Robinson Story(featuring Jackie Robinson!)
AUDIO
Jackie Robinson speaks about racial tauntshe experienced during his career:http://www.history.com/topics/jackie-robinson/audio#robinson-on-racial-taunts
Jackie Robinson steals homehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XY-XshGhM
VIDEOJackie Robinsons first career appearanceat Wrigley Fieldhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXvp8q0FTF
INTERACTIVE DISTANCE LEARNINGCheck out programming on HEC-TV Live!http://www.hectv.org
METRO THEATER COMPANYS MISSION
Inspired by the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young
people, we create professional theater, foster inclusive
community and nurture meaningful learning through the arts.
Funding for Jackie and Meis made possible in part by the late Fred Saigh, who through his foundation is helping area children have a better opportunity to achieve their goals.
W H I T A K E R F O U N D A T I O N
Metro Theater Company 2012
Content for this Guide was compiled and written by Meredyth Pederson, Metro Theater Companys 2011-12 Teaching Artist Fellow. Graphic Design by Britni Eggers.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: www.metroplays.org
OR WRITE TO: Metro Theater Company3311 Washington Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63103
p: 314.932.7414 f: 314.932.7434
9
Images from private collection of Dan Rosen, St. Louis, Missouri.
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