Destination: St. Louis. This Mississippi River locale has something for everyone: music lovers, sports fans, history buffs, people who like Budweiser beer, and an urban park that is wayyy bigger than even Central Park.
The Arch
St. Louis is perhaps best known as the location of the massive national monument best known to most as simply “The Arch” — our 45th National Park — and Finn’s 12th since she joined our family in late 2021!
Because of it’s massive height, you can’t really go anywhere in downtown STL without seeing it from all angles. It’s a stunning 630 feet high — 75 feet taller than the Washington Monument and over twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. In the world, the Arch is second only to Paris’ Eiffel Tower (1,083′) in the tally of the tallest monuments.
The Arch’s formal name is “Gateway to the West National Park,” (but nobody really calls it that), because of its location on the west bank of the Mississippi, the jumping off point for explorers heading west during the 19th century. Nevertheless, a most-excellent free museum underneath the arch explores all aspects of U.S. westward expansion — the Native Americans, explorers, pioneers, and rebels who made America possible.
But enough about what’s below — what’s really interesting is what’s above! And that something could be you! That’s right — shockingly, there’s a tram that goes up inside the arch, all the way to the top, where views can reach as far as 30 miles on a clear day. First, you descend underground and line up for one of eight pods (each holding up to 5 people) that are hooked together like a train. It’s kinda like climbing into the drum of a washing machine, and just about as spacious.
The doors close and you are whisked inside the Arch to the top. Seeing as it’s arched and all, how do you stay upright? The secret lies in the fact that each of the pods is separately dangling, kinda like on a ferris wheel. This model makes it somewhat clear how it works.
As you make your way up, they each tilt slightly, thereby keeping your head out of your podmates lap. This is a good thing since it’s entirely possible you’re crammed in with up to 4 other strangers on the four-minute ride to the top. Hopefully everyone has popped a breath mint prior.
At the top, you and your new best friends emerge, relieved to be released from halfhearted attempts at small talk, making your way to the 16 shallow windows on each side at the top of the arch. Wearing a short dress for this activity is ill-advised, for obvious reasons.
You’ll have ten minutes to peer out at the Mississippi River view on one side, and St. Louis cityscape on the other side. Note the shadow of the arch in the cityscape below … it’s just THAT big!
It was a super-fun thing to do, but we also loved the 25-minute documentary, showing how the Arch was built in 1965, a time when workmen walked around up 600 feet aboveground with zero safety gear except a hard hat, smoking cigarettes at all times.
Since they started building on the two ends, the most epic moment was the one where they jacked the legs apart to slip in the final 4-foot piece at the top, with the American flag along for the ride. The Arch is truly an unbelievable tribute to man’s ingenuity and determination!
The design of the Arch was courtesy of a contest with more than 100 entries. A few of the losing entries were in the museum, and it’s not even close. Imagine a length of chain hanging down, and then flip it over. That’s the angle the Finnish architect who won the contest was going for, fittingly reflected in the park lagoons.
Click this link for a super-cool animation about the Arch! Fascinating!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBG2S8FW5KM
The Arch is set in a lovely green park along the Mississippi, including views of The Old Courthouse (currently closed for renovations) where the enslaved Dred Scott famously sued for his freedom in 1847, not once but twice, leading to perhaps one of the wrong-est Supreme Court decisions in history, ruling that African-Americans were not citizens and had no right to sue. However, it brought great attention to the fight for voting rights not only for blacks, but also for women.
Beyond the Arch park itself and the nearby Busch Stadium where the Cardinals play, downtown St. Louis is pretty gross. Just a few blocks off in all directions, it’s abandoned and dirty. Homeless are everywhere, and not just the sad kind — the scary kind. One black dude yelled at Philip,” “MAN, WHATCHU DOIN OUT HERE WIDOUT YA GUN!!!” (We were less than 1/2 mile from the Arch.) I alerted Philip to dog poop in the middle of the sidewalk and he said, “Um, I don’t think that’s from a dog, honey.”
Forest Park/Delmar Loop
But out in the St. Louis suburbs, life is better at Forest Park, an enormous city park that’s 500 acres bigger than Central Park in New York. Home to the 1904 World’s Fair which drew 19 million visitors from around the world, it’s home to world-class attractions including an art museum, science center, Jewel Box greenhouse, history museum, skating rink, walking paths, America’s oldest/largest outdoor musical theatre, and this fabulous zoo entrance.
Near Forest Park is a really cool neighborhood called Delmar Loop, that has been designated one of the Top Ten Great Streets in America. It’s full of cute shops, a historic trolley car that makes it way up and down the street, and retro-style entertainment and restaurants, including one with a revolving booth, the Peacock Carousel of Love. Yes, please!
Here, you’ll find the St. Louis Walk of Fame — like the Hollywood Walk of Fame with its gold stars embedded in the sidewalk, but for St. Louis natives like Shelley Winters, Redd Foxx, Ulysses S. Grant, Tina Turner, Yogi Berry and of course the great Chuck Berry. The Chuck Berry statue plays homage to the musician whose innovation has influenced virtually every other artist who has come after him and changed music forever.
John Lennon once said, “If you tried to give Rock and Roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry” and he was in the very first group to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. In fact, his record Johnny B. Goode was launched into outer space in 1977 aboard Voyager; surely if aliens could talk, they’d say “send more Chuck Berry music!” The landmark Blueberry Hill restaurant (aboveground) and music club for touring acts (in the basement) hosted him more than 200 times.
City Museum
If you weren’t blown away by the Arch, then maybe the St. Louis City Museum is more your style. What’s that I see? A school bus hanging over the edge? Construction cranes, a fire engine and two old Saber 40 aircraft fuselages? Slides and towers and a giant praying mantis? Whaaaaat?
Built in a former shoe factory warehouse, City Museum is made mostly from found industrial remnants and discards — the most exciting junk available. Even the restrooms are cleverly built, made as they are from commercial catering food pans.
Part interactive museum, part playground, part fantasy of fun, it’s a crazy place to indulge your inner child.
That’s right: though lots of kids visit, it’s as much for adults as children, especially on Friday and Saturday nights when they serve boozy cocktails and let you climb rickety things precariously perched on top of the building until 10 PM. What could go wrong?
The whole place is basically a maze of walkways and tunnels and slides and crazy exhibits, with no maps — to encourage you to explore and discover. For a control freak like me, and a map freak like Philip, it was an exciting struggle. I can’t even being to tell you how unexpected everything was.
Inside, a giant skate park — no wheels needed. Ball pit filled with full-sized balls. A 10-story slide. Live circus. The world’s largest pencil. An enormous aquarium. But the real excitement is on the outside of the building!
On the rooftop, a Ferris wheel and a massive rope swing dangling from the center of the building’s domed roof. Crazy-long, or crazy-steep, slides. A hollowed-out school bus to hang out in, precariously perched.
I can’t even begin to describe this place. You just gotta see it to believe it! It was a marvel of fun and creativity!
Cathedral Basilica
If you like your attractions more on the quiet (or safe) side, the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis is for you.
Known for its breathtaking tile mosaics covering the majority of its 83,000 square feet, it’s the world’s largest collection of mosaics — artwork made of teeny tiny squares of tile — and absolutely stunning.
it’s also adorned with gorgeous marble, stained glass and more, a true architectural treasure, adorning every surface — walls, ceilings, everything, including the 225-feet tall dome. It is so beautiful you could safely assume you had time-traveled into the heart of Italy!
Certainly, there’s tons more to do in St. Louis — you could easily stay weeks or more. Many visitors tour the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser factory, try Fitz’ Root Bear and Ted Drewes frozen concrete (custard), and visit Soulard, a historic neighborhood with a high concentration of cool, award-winning restaurants and some of the best blues venues in town. For famous St. Louis BBQ, we tried Sugarfire and loved it.
We stayed across the Mississippi River from St. Louis in the Casino Queen RV Park, which is technically in in Illinois, but 5 short miles from the Arch. We got to gaze out the RV windows upon the magnificent Arch throughout our visit … this was the view of the lit-up lady from the window next to my bed.
And so, as the sun set on our St. Louis visit, we could only reflect on as an overARCHingly good time!!
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WOW you just shared places I have not been to!!! I have visited the famous Arch and traveled to the top – but now I must go to the City Museum.
Another fabulous post, Tessa, and I can see that our visit to St. Louis didn’t do the city justice. We were there before the new museum at the Arch opened, so maybe a return trip is overdue. The RV park at the Casino Queen was one of the few “parking lots” stops we truly appreciated. I do understand your concerns about the area around the Arch. We walked across the Eads Street Bridge from the casino, remained watchful and kept the kids between us. That being said, we had no trouble, but that was years ago. If you ever get back to St. Louis and the Courthouse is open, don’t miss it – it’s gorgeous!
I always think we do a lot when we travel, and then I read your blog. You put us to shame, LOL. We loved St. Louis! And now I’m regretting that we didn’t go to the City Museum. It looks like you had a blast!