Old Man River’s City RevisitedMain MenuOld Man River's City RevisitedAbout the siteEast St. Louis BackgroundBuckminster Fuller and His Utopian VisionBackground info on why he was chosen to helpThe Design PathwayA brief look at how the design and description of the Old Man River's City Project shifted from 1971 to 1976Media Coverage of Old Man RiverInterview with the Old Man River's City DesignersDavid Thompson sat down to talk to four individuals involved in the design work of the Old Man River's City project. Thank you to Tom Thomson, Bill Wischmeye, Carl Safe, and Dennis Cope for taking time out of their schedules to answer these questions and being candid about their opinions on the project itself.When Hope and Skepticism CollideAcknowledgements and BibliographyExhibit FeedbackPlease feel free to complete our feedback page and leave comments letting us know what you thought.Stephanie Cuvarf72d31241e6d8c3b45c4337cb676688e83dea0e0Cathy McNeese6a0d33e14329dcb08a2c74d126ca47588f4fd3c2David Thompsonf9dd88556180b38187c27d862fc17e8c454d3fa5
Event at the Mary Brown Center
12020-05-01T00:10:18+00:00David Thompsonf9dd88556180b38187c27d862fc17e8c454d3fa55118On February 25, 1971 the designers of the Old Man River and community members from East St. Louis gathered at the Mary Brown Center to discuss the projected idea of a domed city.plain2020-05-06T02:30:00+00:00David Thompsonf9dd88556180b38187c27d862fc17e8c454d3fa5Buckminster Fuller's utopian vision of the Old Man River's City Project collided with the proagmatic realism of the East St. Louis community at the Mary Brown Center on February 25, 1971. The Mary Brown Center, located in East St. Louis, is one of Fuller’s many successful geodesic domes. Residents and concerned citizens of the community gathered to observe the unveiling of the proposed housing solution which included a panel presentation, photos, drawings and models of the inovative design developed by Fuller and Fitzgibbon, assisted by several students and faculty members at Wahington University.The presentation panel started with Fuller speaking to the community on regarding the background and aspirations of the project. He then answered questions from the residents of the city. Various community members voiced concerns with the project as they perceived the design of the dome as prison-like. Many citizens of East St. Louis at the event were anxious that if the project moved forward, they would lose their homes. According to interviews with some of the students and faculty who were present at the event, the project’s ambitious concepts did not represent the solution the community felt were needed. In retrospect, the domed city was an overarching answer that did not correspond to a more focused question. The city required dedicated funds from the state to help rebuild and restructure from the ground up, not encompass the community in a dome. The event at the Mary Brown Center stood as a test for the ideas of the Old Man River's City project, the feedback the designer team recieved forced them to make drastic design changes to the model. One of those design changes was to raise the dome off the ground, thus negating the desired use of the dome as an energy-efficient means of sustaining the community. The event was an example of what happens when idealism and theory meet real-world problems.
1media/Bucky Speaking_thumb.jpg2020-04-27T23:31:48+00:00Fuller Speaking at the Mary Brown Center Event3Buckminster Fuller presents to the community at the Mary Brown Center. Around him in the room is a small diorama of the Old Man River's City project design, the large panel with the photograph of the diorama, and a photo of Fuller's dymaxion map. Credit to Dennis Cope for providing this photographmedia/Bucky Speaking.jpgplain2020-05-06T02:30:48+00:00
1media/Community and Fuller talk_thumb.jpg2020-04-27T23:33:10+00:00Members of the East St. Louis Community ask Fuller Questions3Fuller cups his ear to listen intently to a member of the East St. Louis community comment on the Old Man River's City Project. Credit to Dennis Cope for providing this photographmedia/Community and Fuller talk.jpgplain2020-05-06T02:31:33+00:00
1media/Community Members at MBC_thumb.jpg2020-05-04T18:21:49+00:00Members of the East St. Louis Community at the Mary Brown Center Event3Two men stand in front of the large paneled image of the Old Man River's City Project at the Mary Brown Center for the February 1971 event. Photo lent to the SIUE University Museum by Dennis Cope.media/Community Members at MBC.jpgplain2020-05-06T02:32:48+00:00
1media/Old Man River crew_thumb.jpeg2020-04-27T23:23:26+00:00Photo of Design Team at the Mary Brown Center2Members of the design team gather for a candid photograph at the Mary Brown Center event. From left to right: Jaturapat Israngkul, Chris Grubbs, Bill Wischmeyer, James Fitzgibbon, Buckminster Fuller, Margaret Fitzgibbon, Tom Thomson, Marge Miller (Brownstein), Carl Safe, Gordon Wittenberg. (Credit to Bill Wischmeyer and John Guenther for the image)media/Old Man River crew.jpegplain2020-05-04T17:36:36+00:00