Day 3 - St. Louis

 March 13, 2024

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Day 1 Toronto to Fort Wayne

Day 2  Fort Wayne to St. Louis

Weekly Recap Casey Coffee Co.

A lovely warm spring day. Temperature was 12C/54F and by mid-afternoon it was 25C/77F.

Steps 13,375

Once we had breakfast we headed to Union Station. Loosely headed, as John said a 20 minute walk took us an hour, because I couldn't stop taking photos of the architecture. Sadly many are in disrepair. 

Hotel Saint Louis revitalized this 1893 historic landmark. This jewel, designed by famed architect Louis Sullivan and worked on by his lead architect Frank Lloyd Wright went through many changes in its lifetime.

 

Hotel Saint Louis revitalizes an 1893 historic landmark designed by the famed architect Louis Sullivan along with his team at Adler & Sullivan and constructed as the St. Louis Union Trust Company. Sullivan, considered the creator of the modern skyscraper, is credited with the modernist credo, "form ever follows function."


Hotel Saint Louis is an homage to Sullivan and his legacy. The rooftop bar, FORM Skybar, reflects Sullivan’s famous philosophy while the street-level restaurant is named “Union 30” after the building’s original name and its placement on the city's landmark list. The original two-story lobby has been restored along with a recreation of the stained-glass roof. In addition, the top three floors have been converted into 14 luxury apartments.

Walking Figure by Donald Baechler
Posing motionless, stuck forever in a walking stance but never gaining any ground. The form reminds the viewer of a child’s drawing of a human, striding purposefully toward some unknown end. Bonus: Walk about a half-mile east to see a little sculpture called the Gateway Arch. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

A downtown, underground, cocktail lounge. Thaxton Speakeasy is located in the swanky lower level of a historic 1920s Art Deco building.

Christ Church Cathedral is an Episcopal church which was constructed at its present location beginning in 1859, with the opening service held in 1867. (The eight-year delay was primarily due to the Civil War.)

 

The first train pulled into Union Station on September 1, 1894 at 1:45pm, ushering in a new and exciting time for St. Louis. The city known for being the gateway to the West suddenly became a gateway to all of America. Over the next several years, Union Station would become one of the largest and busiest passenger rail terminals in the world.

The station saw some of its highest traffic during the World’s Fair of 1904 and World War II. Travelers moved in droves through the station, where a regular day’s capacity of more than 100,000 people was normal, and the midway became the most popular spot to see and be seen. People like President Harry Truman, Joe DiMaggio, Joan Crawford and St. Louis baseball teams the Browns and the Cardinals all made appearances at Union Station.

The gorgeous Grand Hall was the main waiting room. Its 65-foot barrel vaulted ceiling featured an elegant two-ton wrought-iron chandelier with 350 light bulbs. Inspired by the walled city of Carcassone in southern France, architect Theodore C. Link designed an elegant and modern version of a feudal passageway. And the midway was the real place to see. The platform, surrounded by a highly admired steel and glass wall decorated with ornamental wrought iron gates, held an exciting view of the trains coming and going. When America entered WWII, both the chandelier and the midway wall were sacrificed to the war efforts.

Today, Union Station is a balance of nostalgia and renovation. The stylish and sophisticated Grand Hall features elegant historic touches like the original terrazzo floor, green glazed terracotta bricks, stained glass windows and wooden carpentry detailing. Among the carefully restored details, you’ll stare in awe at the Allegorical Window, a hand-crafted design of stained glass. Three women are depicted in Tiffany glass representing the expanse of train travel in the 1890s from New York to San Francisco with St. Louis in the middle, linking it all together.

The final passenger train departed on October 31, 1978 at 11:38pm, closing the first chapter in the station’s history. While St. Louis Union Station lay dormant for a time, St. Louis itself continued to grow, bringing Busch Stadium, the Enterprise Center and City Museum right around the corner.

Rather than let the grand architecture of Union Station go to waste, the building found new life. In August 1985, Union Station was reopened as a mixed-use complex featuring retail shops, event spaces and restaurants where tourists and locals alike could come and spend the day enjoying downtown St. Louis.

 

Time to stroll back towards Ballpark Village for lunch.

This lovely historic building was founded as the Kiel Opera House and opened in 1934 with a production of Aida. So it celebrated its 80th year during the St Louis 250 years celebration. But it’s had quite a history.

One of the spin-offs of the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair was the development of the City Beautiful Movement, which advocated beautification and monumental grandeur in cities to promote moral and civic pride among urban populations. The design for the Municipal Auditorium and its Opera House was inspired by this movement, and succeeded in being very splendid. The classic architecture has 8 massive Corinthian columns along the expansive front of the building. The entrance is guarded by 2 enormous 10-ton limestone Missouri bears on pedestals. The bears are also the icon for the Opera House.

The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, NCAA hockey, concerts, professional wrestling and more.

The Carnahan Courthouse, originally the U.S. Court House and Custom House, is a former federal courthouse. Its namesake is former Missouri governor Mel Carnahan. The architectural partnership of Mauran, Russell & Crowell designed the building which was completed in 1935.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri met at this building until 2001, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit met here until 2000. The building now provides office space and facilities for the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri, the City of St. Louis Sheriff's Department, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, the St. Louis Circuit Clerk, the St. Louis Public Defender, and other city departments. The Carnahan Courthouse is featured on many of Saint Louis's Architectural tours, because of its notable columns.

Ballpark Village, a partnership between the St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Companies, represents a groundbreaking approach to urban development, the first time a professional sports venue was master planned and fully integrated into a broader mixed-use development. Recognized for its quality, scale, creative design and impact on the community, Ballpark Village has played a pivotal role in the revitalization of downtown St. Louis. 

The $100 million retail and entertainment district totals 150,000 square feet and features three one-of-a-kind unique anchors: Budweiser Brewhouse; Cardinals Nation; and Bally Sports Live!, as well as several other venues. Producing over 120 free annual events and welcoming over 10 million guests in its first three years, Ballpark Village is home for all St. Louis sports teams and a true living room for the City of St. Louis.

Lunch! At noon, and we've already walked over 10,000 steps.

We had sat down at Katie's Pizza Pasta, but nothing appealed to either of us so we left.

We found a great Mexican place! Condado's. It was a not a problem to get anything gluten-free.

After lunch we went to the Cardinals gift shop and John got a t-shirt. We then walked around to the front of the stadium before heading back to the hotel.

 

Outside the under renovation Court House.
On June 8th, 2012, the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation, the National Parks Service, and master sculptor Harry Weber were incredibly proud to unveil a statue of Dred and Harriet Scott on the south lawn of the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. The Scotts are depicted standing close, holding their heads high, their eyes directed not only Arch-ward and across the Mississippi River, but toward a horizon of freedom in which they believed enough to one day finally see.

Dred and Harriet Scott filed suit for their freedom at this courthouse in 1846. Their case reached the United States Supreme Court and Was decided in 1857. The court ruled that the Scotts and all African Americans were not citizens of the United States. Opposition to the decision was one of the causes of the Civil War and led to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Scotts' struggle for freedom stands as a defining moment in the history of the Civil Rights Movements.

We got back to the hotel around 2:30 at 13,200 steps! John changed and was picked up at 4:30 by his daughter and SIL to go see his grandson play hockey and then go to dinner with them at PF Chang's.