Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Behind iron gates on the most exclusive private street west of the Mississippi, St. Louis built a small walled kingdom of Gilded Age mansions, 50 of them, designed by H.H. Richardson, George Barnett, Peabody and Stearns, and Fuller and Wheeler. It housed oil barons, tobacco kings, chemical magnates, and the great-grandfather of a future U.S. president. Henry Clay Pierce's mansion alone cost what would today be 30 million dollars to build, with silk-upholstered walls, Tiffany stained glass, and a third-floor ballroom reached by elevator.

How we make our videos:
Camera: Sony a6400
Microphone: Shure SM7B
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
XLR Cable: Mogami Gold XLR Cable
Green Screen: Neewer Green Screen
Teleprompter: Neewer Teleprompter

Production Credits:
Scripts: Ken Weiss
Storyboard: Ken Weiss
Video Editor: Dalton Sturm

Location: St. Louis, MO

Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress
CC BY 2.0 Photos from: Flickr User: Paul Sableman
Assets from: Envato Elements
Music from Epidemic Sound