NiNi Harris, a life-long St. Louisan, has researched and written about St. Louis' architecture, ethnic heritage, neighborhood history, and the Civil War in St. Louis. For thirty years she has been giving tours of Downtown St. Louis that explore the frontier history of St. Louis, the evolution of the Skyscraper As Told in the Architecture of Downtown, and Downtown's dramatic Art Deco Architecture. During the 1980's and 1990's, she used to lead tour groups down the middle of Washington Avenue enabling people to look up at the magnificent cornices as she emphasized the significance of the then vacant buildings. Harris is delighted that today the activity and traffic on Washington Avenue has… forced her tour groups onto the sidewalks. "Downtown St. Louis" is her 12th book about St. Louis.