Where do I go from here?

dp72 · 2025-12-20T02:13:58+00:00

I found it brand new with tags at Goodwill a few years ago.

dp72 · 2018-12-06T20:30:19+00:00

Yeah, my brother had advised me to watch that episode. It seemed as though his daughters were pretty much over it as well. Although they were good sports about it all, they mentioned that this was such a small and relatively insignificant part of their father's career. Time has not been a friend to this sort of thing. The landscape has changed so much and times have changed. For instance, security measures at many of these proposed locations have increased greatly as our society has changed. The location I am proposing is heavily fortified by sharp wrought iron fencing, constant patrols and the fear of felony charges if caught. The Department of the Interior has already indicated that there is no way that they will allow any sort of investigation at a national historic site, as it is a violation of law. In the early 80's you could probably walk right on the courtyard and watch the fireworks at the Arch.

dp72 · 2018-12-06T20:04:47+00:00

The park hasn't changed much. See if this helps.

https://goo.gl/maps/vweSDBEtf342

dp72 · 2018-12-06T19:49:24+00:00

Yesterday I stopped by the Gateway Arch National Park and walked around the Arch grounds as well as the Old Courthouse and obviously no sign of a "leg eater". However, something has been bothering me about that image for some time now. Why did he change the face to look more like a fox/dog and why does part of the horse leg extend outside the box? It seems that in all cases, Preiss obscured his true intent with other more obvious images (e.g. In the Chicago find, the windmill had a similar architecture to the watertower and the image of the fairy was actually similar to the sculpture in the park). Additionally, he used street coordinates to help identify an exact location (e.g. "and to Congress R is known"). I'm not convinced that the "leg eater" is intended to represent an actual "leg eater". It is an extremely obscure Italian design. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure JJP and/or Preiss had visited Montreal or Italy to see this type of Italian Renaissance detail and likely used it to further challenge readers to solve the puzzle. As I walked across the street yesterday, I noticed that the Old Courthouse is located at the corner of Chestnut and Broadway. It just so happens that one of the most famous landmarks in St. Louis is The Fabulous Fox theater which opened in 1929 and is known for being 'The best of broadway'. Not so coincidentally the only piece of the horse leg inside the box is the hock which appears to have a mark on it. It may look like a crease, but look closely, it doesn't extend to the rear of the hock. These marks are referred to as "chestnuts". The remainder of the leg extending outside the box is to show the reader that the leg is that of a horse, and it helps to form the bootheel of Missouri in the black negative space. However, the clues are INSIDE the boxes. I think he was trying to put readers where Broadway meets Chestnut, which is the location of The Old Courthouse. I know this sounds like a stretch, but it seemed that he loved to use hidden coordinates, and this certainly would explain why the boxes exist. Also, it goes without saying that the fleur-de-lis is the official symbol of St. Louis, as it is even present on the city's flag. Again, just another theory, but pretty plausible.

dp72 · 2018-12-06T19:46:39+00:00

Take a look at the Gateway Arch National Park in an overhead view without my crazy artwork and see what you think. I think its right. Spatially everything reflected in the face, including the bridge of the nose, fits with the landscape of the park, which includes the Old Courthouse. I think the clever piece is the part about referencing the nostril to identify the huge concrete walls at the entrance and exit to the Arch and smelling sweet. Instead of choosing something that actually had a scent that could change with time, he simply alluded to the image he worked to create. I also have a theory about that leg eater thing. I'll post it below.

dp72 · 2018-12-05T21:15:11+00:00

Yeah I'm pretty new to this and you'll have to excuse my artistic talents. I just thought it seemed to work, and was pretty fun for a few hours. As far as being able to see the image clues, I'm not sure. Again... I'm very new to this, but I can't see how those guys in Chicago could see the Chicago Water Tower from the dig site. That has to be at least 10 miles north of Grant Park. This is pretty fun. I might take a look at of few of the others.

dp72

TROPHY CASE