New Baden, Illinois super-resolution aerial panoramic photo

By DAN ROBINSON Editor/Photographer

In January 2025, I'll pass the 15-year mark as a Midwesterner living in the small town of New Baden, Illinois on the east side of the St. Louis metro area. After driving through here on dozens of Great Plains storm chasing trips since 2001 from my previous West Virginia home, I knew that this was the place I wanted to live. It's a quintessential small town, the surrounding terrain is Plains-flat and it's right off of I-64 with a straight shot into downtown St. Louis, then beyond into Kansas or Oklahoma. I have 360-degree open sky views a quarter-mile from my place. In this view, you can see the interstate leading to the Gateway Arch 29 miles in the distance - giving you an idea of all of the reasons I picked this as my new hometown in 2010.

This is the smaller version of a mega-panorama that you can explore (pan and zoom) by clicking either this image or this link: