Day 6 St Louis

There was a big thunderstorm during the night and it was still raining this morning so we decided not to try and book a riverboat trip for today. Fortunately breakfast was included in the room deal at this hotel. You could also help yourself all day long to a free drinks machine which included diet coke, water as well as hot drinks. We spoke to a couple in the lift who were leaving today who gave us lots of ideas of places to go. They also explained that St Louis was made up of neighbourhoods rather than one main centre that helped us decide on a plan for today. 

Our first stop was a short walk to the Union Station Hotel which used to be the railway station. The station opened to passengers in Sept 1894 and the final train left from here in October 1978. The station has all been renovated and has a hotel, aquarium, restaurants and many other features.

The Grand Hall

Many features around the Grand Hall have been renovated. One of the restored details is a hand crafted design of stained glass. Three women are depicted in Tiffany Glass representing train travel in the 1890s from New York to San Francisco with St Louis in the middle.

Recently the massive steel train sheds have been renovated but today wasn't the weather to explore. We did quickly walk through to see that there were restaurants here, a carousel, large fish pond and the St Louis Big Wheel which we could see from our hotel window.

There was also an information desk there where we got all the info we needed about travelling around the city.

So armed with our $5 day travel pass we took to the Metro to go and have a look at Forest Park. This was where the 1904 World Fair took place. One of the only surviving buildings from the World Fair is the Palace of Art now known as the St Louis Art Museum.

Fortunately the rain had now stopped and we had a pleasant walk through the park to the art museum. 

The art museum has free entry and has pieces of art by world famous artists. Favourites for me were a Braque, Pissaro, Chagall, sculptures by Rodin and Andy Goldsworthy as well as glasswork by Chihuly.

Chihuly chandelier

We walked back through the park and picked up the Metro again to the Delmar Loop district. Here there was their hall of fame.

This was one I did recognise: T S Eliot

This was the Tivoli Theatre which opened in 1924 with silent films and vaudeville performances before the building fell into disrepair. It is now home to One Family Church.

We stopped at an old bottling factory for a floater.

I didn't quite realise what I was ordering!

Loved this statue of Chuck Berry.

The Delmar Loop trolley bus.

I can't see anyone wanting to steal this car.

We went back on the Metro to the arts district. The streets were empty. Not sure if that was because it was a Sunday or we were just in the wrong part of town. We saw the very decorative Fox Theatre but hadn't been able to book a tour of the inside which was a shame.

'The Fabulous Fox Theatre opened in 1929 as a movie palace, and was one of the first theatres in the nation to be built with full "talkie" equipment for the Movietone process. After shutting its doors in 1978, Fox Associates purchased the theatre in 1982 and restored it to its original glory. The theatre now features various concerts, comedy and dance performances as well as touring Broadway productions.' taken from its website.

We probably should have been here on a Saturday night and not a Sunday afternoon. 

By now we were getting tired. Looking at the map it seemed quicker to walk back to the hotel than to walk back to the Metro. It was still a long walk.

By chance on our walk back we came across one of the city's most decorative terra cotta buildings. Dating back to 1916 the building has had various additions over the years but the original terra cotta facade remains intact. It has been renovated recently and now houses a number of apartments as well as a restaurant and jazz club.