St. Louis, Missouri, Gateway to the West, Part 1 - Tuesday, July 6, 2021

On the way home from AVA: America's Walking Club convention, we planned to do the 10k downtown Volksmarch in St. Louis, Missouri. Driving into the downtown core, we saw a gorgeous fountain and the fabulous former Union Station. We hoped those were on the walk so we could see them up close and personal. 

The temperature at 8 a.m. was 74 degrees with a predicted high of 94! Early morning temps were going up five degrees per hour.

We had confidence that DeAnne and Gordon Brown, who laid out the route, would show us the best sites downtown. They met us at the start point and were our "tour guides" during the 15k (10-mile) walk. It took us seven hours!

St. Louis City Stadium (soccer): Next door to where we began the walk, we saw the new St. Louis City Stadium being constructed. The land was originally going to be used by the city as feeder on-and-off ramps for I-64, but they never were built.

St. Louis City Stadium construction.

This $457.8 million, soccer-specific arena, home to the St. Louis City SC (the city's expansion Major League Soccer [MLS] franchise) is quite impressive. The new stadium will feature a grass pitch 40 feet below street level. Two tiers of seating totaling 22,500 seats will be topped with a clear plastic awning to keep out the weather and to help avoid disrupting shadows on the pitch.

The next two points of interest were the gorgeous "Meeting of the Waters" fountain and the Union Station, now a hotel. 

"Meeting of the Waters" fountain is a figurative, allegorical depiction of the Mississippi River, represented by the male figure, and the Missouri River, represented by the female figure. The water sprites, mermaids, and fish represent the 17 main tributaries that enter the two rivers. Materials: bronze and granite. The sculpture was created from 1931-1939. The artist, Carl Milles, was born in Sweden and studied sculpture at the Technical School in Stockholm. In 1929, he accepted a commission in Chicago which brought him to the United States. [The sun was not in an optimal position to take good photos this morning.]

"Meeting of the Waters," by Carl Milles.

"Meeting of the Waters," by Carl Milles.

"Meeting of the Waters," by Carl Milles.

St. Louis Union Station Hotel: Across Market Street from the fountain is the magnificent St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton. We will explore the hotel interior at the end of the walk.

St. Louis Union Station Hotel - 
Curio Collection by Hilton.

St. Louis was known as the Gateway to the West. In 1804, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out to explore and chart the Louisiana Purchase.   

During the 1800s, St. Louis was the starting point for the westward expansion of settlers, hunters, and others migrating west in the United States. St. Louis was the last big city that many settlers encountered. It was in St. Louis that they could stock up on supplies for their journeys.

United States Postal Service edifice.

As with other major American cities, St. Louis has its share of granite, sandstone, and cement buildings. This is the result of previous downtowns, which had been constructed primarily of wood, burning to the ground. They learned from their earlier costly mistakes to use more solid materials to rebuild. It worked!

The Stifel Theatre, formerly known as
the Kiel Opera House. 

Close-up of the faces on Stifel Theatre.

Two bears flank the front doors of
the Stifel Theatre.

Front view of the Stifel Theatre.

I don't remember what this building is; 
the county building, maybe?

The St. Louis City Hall was inspired by Hotel de Ville or City Hall of Paris with architectural elements incorporated from the Chateau de Chambord on the Loire River in France.

St. Louis City Hall.

Soldiers Memorial Military Museum
in St. Louis.

Soldiers Memorial Military Museum: Per the Missouri Historical Society (MHS) web page, the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum is a state-of-the-art facility honoring local military service members, veterans, and their families. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. The MHS assumed operation of Soldiers Memorial in 2015 and began a $30 million revitalization of the site in 2016.

With the help of Mackey Mitchell Architects, every effort was made to retain the architectural and historic integrity of this beautiful, classical-style building with art deco flourishes while also bringing it up to contemporary museum standards. The entire Soldiers Memorial building received a facelift. 

The gorgeous carved eagle in front
of the Soldiers Memorial Museum.

Outside, years of embedded dirt and coal dust were removed from the outstanding Walker Hancock limestone sculptures framing the entrances.

Walker Hancock sculptures: 
"Vision" and "Courage."

"Vision" by Walker Hancock.

Walker Hancock sculptures:
"Loyalty" and "Sacrifice."

Outside the building is also a reflecting pool with more veteran memorials.

By this time, I was getting way behind on the walk because I was taking so many photos. Thankfully, Bob, DeAnne, and Gordon graciously waited for me to catch up. 

But then, my attention was diverted by the St. Louis Public Library and the Christ Church Cathedral, not to mention more art and flowers! Sigh, what's a girl to do? Our walk instructions said we should look inside the library, but it didn't open until 10 a.m. (We were there about 8:45 a.m.)

St. Louis Public Libary - front.

I found a katydid!

Intricate artwork on the base
of this light fixture.

Such interesting buildings!

Corner view of the St. Louis Public Library.

Turtles are holding up this planter.

"Mariposas Butterflies," by Manolo Valdes,
aluminum, 2015.

The Gothic Revival Christ Church Cathedral (photo below) was designed by Leopold Eidlitz and was built between 1859 and 1867. It is made primarily of Illinois sandstone and its roof is purple and green slate. 

Christ Church Cathedral.

DeAnne identified this Rose of Sharon
hibiscus. It's lovely.

Garment and Shoe District: From the cathedral, we walked a few blocks to Washington Ave. This 20-block section was, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, St. Louis' garment and shoe district. The street used to swarm with buyers and workers wheeling garment racks through the street. Washington Avenue's sturdy, architecturally distinct buildings, which served in that era as factories, showrooms, and depots, were rediscovered in the 1990s and are being renovated into chic business addresses, artists' studios, and loft condominiums. Here is a selection of photos of the unique buildings on Washington Avenue.

The detail is wonderful.

Fashion Square Building.

International Shoe Company.

Detail of a shoemaker at work.

More detail of shoemakers.

Art Deco building.

Monkey Building: The building we took a detour to see is called "Monkey Building." The monkey frieze on the front of the building was amusing enough, but the rumors about the building are even better. Here is the "story" directly from The Monkey Building Facebook page...

"Built circa 1879 in the historic St. Louis Garment District, the building received its nickname "Monkey Building" after City Museum's Bob Cassilly mounted a monkey frieze just above the building's Washington Ave. storefront.

"Unconfirmed neighborhood rumors describe a late-90s Cassilly, disgruntled with Monkey Building's prior owner because the owne chose not to upkeep the property and instead let it fall into complete disrepair. So, as rumors have it, Cassilly crafted a series of monkeys acting in typical monkey fashion: eating bananas, holding onto each others [sic] tails...and so Cassilly mounted the frieze on the building to symbolize the 'slum lord' as a monkey...involved in monkey business, bringing down a street full of architectural jewels, new residents, new businesse...and new life.

"When asked about the rumors Cassilly only smirked as if to like the story whether it is true or not.

"Cassilly's famous creation, City Museum, lies just to the north of Monkey Building, across Washington Ave. and behind one of Cassilly's earlier acquisitions: the International Shoe Company at 1509 Washington Ave. 

"Since 1879, Monkey Building has been home to a late 1800s saloon, an underwear manufacturer, a modern day lounge, a wind energy company and various 'creative firms' and businesses. Monkey Building was completely gut-renovated during the Washington Ave. loft boom..."

Monkey Building

City Museum: Speaking of Bob Cassilly, his City Museum was our next stop. What can I say, this guy created a massive play space with his collection of odds and ends. First, I fell in love with the serpent fence around the parking lot. I've never seen any other fence like it. 

A newspaper writer described Cassilly as a "resident quixotic artist" who opened "a museum of art and whimsy." The museum did not open until 10 a.m. tod, so we walked around the outside play space with castles and elevated walkways. DeAnne sweet-talked the employees inside the door of the museum and explained they had guests visiting from San Antonio. They allowed us into the lobby to see some of the incredible detail contained within. I HAVE to go back and spend a few hours exploring the tunnels, slides, caves, treehouse, giant whale, maze, "aquarium," and rooftop of this amazing place.

Serpent fence.

Bob, DeAnne, and Gordon 
next to the serpent fence at 
City Museum.

Serpent fence at City Museum in 
St. Louis, Missouri.

Bob Cassilly not only had an unimpeded imagination, but he also collected cast-off architectural details from old buildings. Even in the International Shoe Company building that houses his museum, he turned a 10-story chute for sending shoes from the 10th to the first floor, into a spiral slide! Amazing. 

City Museum entrance sign.

City Museum parking lot 
gatehouse.

MonstroCity

A school bus on the roof and 
MonstroCity.

MonstroCity.

MonstroCity.

A castle in MonstroCity.

A sculpture in the lobby at City Museum.

Two-headed rattlesnake skeleton
sculpture.

The customer service windows salvaged
from St. Louis Title.

That was as far as we could go into the still-closed museum. We thanked the employees for letting us have a sneak peek at the lobby area.

An outdoor bas relief at
City Museum.

Once we finished looking at City Museum, we retu the original 10k walk route. Next, we passed by America's Center Convention Complex, the National Blues Museum, and The Dome at America's Center, the former home of the now-departed St. Louis Rams football team.

America's Center.

America's Center - St. Louis
Convention Center.

 A modern, downtown skyscraper.

The Drury Hotel Chain renovated
the old Greyhound Bus Terminal.

This is the sign we've been 
anticipating. It's time go into the 
air-conditioned tunnel to the casino!!

I chose escalator, DeAnne and Bob 
chose the stairs.

Artwork greets us as we
come into the casino from
the tunnel.

DeAnne was so excited to take us into the nice, air-conditioned tunnel. The coolness welcomed us as we dragged ourselves in out of the heat. Pure genius to use available building resources to cool walkers down on a hot day! Thanks for that.

As we did a lap around the interior of the casino, we stopped for a refreshing drink at the soda machine. Mmm, instantly energized.

[Note: This is a good stopping point for the first part of our walk; to be continued in Part 2.]