An iconic site for any St Louis visitor No visit to St…read more Louis would really be complete without taking the tram ride to the top of the Gateway Arch. We purchased a package deal that included tickets for the tram ride to the top. This begins at the base of the Arch next to the museum exit inside the Gateway Arch Visitor Center. When purchasing your tickets, you'll choose whether to depart from the north or south tram. Both reach the same observation area, but each serves one half of the top, so you'll only have access to the viewing windows on your assigned side. Before boarding, visitors walk through an interesting preshow area along the concrete walls of the Arch, where displays explain its construction and history. When your departure time arrives, attendants organize everyone into groups of five before leading you to the small tram cars. The ride to the top takes about four minutes in a compact capsule that seats five people. The cars are clean and fascinating from an engineering standpoint, but they are definitely small. Anyone who is claustrophobic, uncomfortable in tight spaces, or particularly tall or large should keep this in mind before purchasing tickets. Once at the top, you'll find an observation area with a sloping floor that follows the curve of the Arch. The unique windows provide beautiful views of downtown St. Louis on one side and the Muddy Mississippi River and Illinois on the other. After spending time enjoying the scenery and taking photographs, you simply board the tram for the ride back down. Overall, this was a very unique experience and one that I would recommend to fellow travelers visiting St. Louis. It offers great views, interesting engineering, and the opportunity to stand inside one of America's most famous monuments that has really withstood the test of time well. Enjoy!

An underground station on the Blue Line of the Saint Louis Metrolink, Skinker is located at the…read morenorthwest corner of Forest Park. If you're coming from the Shrewsbury end of the Blue Line, this is a convenient stop for accessing Delmar Loop without going to Forest Park station and waiting for a Red Line train. It's just a few blocks. Skinker takes its name from Skinker Boulevard which in turn is named for Adam L. Skinker, a prominent early 20th-century Saint Louis civic figure and real‑estate developer. He was involved in subdivision development and land assembly on the western edge of the city at a time when Saint Louis was expanding toward Forest Park and the county line. The station is located between Forest Park-DeBaliviere (inbound) and University City-Big Bend (outbound). The trains run down the center of the station, which means the doors will open on the right side of the train. There is a mezzanine level with a bridge inside the station for transferring from one side to the other. The station is located in the Skinker Tunnel which itself is well below the ground with both stairs and elevator to reach the surface level. Beyond the station in both directions, the train returns to teh surface. The station seemed decently lit this afternoon. There are ticket vending kiosks and while no one was checking tickets today, I'm sure that they do that occasionally. Don't get caught! [Review 418 of 2026 - 502 in Missouri - 25601 overall]

It is just an ordinary narrow box with dull advertising posters/boxes on grimy tiled walls. But the…read moreartwork at the west entrance does add some aesthetic value to this infrastructure. The tunnel bridge over the tracks serves as a pedestrian underpass that connects the university to the other side of the road, which is Very convenient. It is not the most decrepit or dirtiest station in STL but I've seen mold on the wall, especially on rainy days. I often couldn't refrain from wondering how deep these inhaled spores can reach in our trachea and bronchial tubes before being trapped in mucus though.

The Court of Honor, completed in 1948, is the World War II companion to the Soldier's Memorial,…read morewhich is a monument to victims of World War I. Eugene Mackey, Jr. was the architect for the court and Hillis Arnold designed the forty-foot limestone pillar in the shape of a broken blade with low-relief figures of soldiers in battle. The Court of Honor was a gift to the city from the St. Louis War Memorial Committee. In 1979, sidewalk-level granite and stone monument tablets were added to the court to commemorate victims of the Korean and Vietnam wars. Names of St. Louisans who served and lost their lives are on display. [Review 14467 overall, 1793 of 2020, number 99 in Missouri.]

There's a awesome plaza I would definitely recommend visiting when you're in St. Louis. Do you have…read morea cousin Nate sites in statues things to do?

Sadly, drained for the winter but the sculptures are still here. It is located across from the…read moreentrance to Union Station and aligned with the famous Gateway Arch. The caption reads, "The meeting of the waters. This fountain by the sculptor Carl Milles symbolizes the union of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The two central figures represent the two great rivers while the lesser water creatures suggest the many tributaries and streams. Milles conceived the sculpture as embodiment of the freedom and primeval force of the waterways of the Great Mississippi Valley and he thought of the grouping as a marriage or festival celebrating the coming together of these great waters. The sculptor, Swedish born and a pupil of Rodin, was conscious that the fountain and plaza are a memorial to Louis P. Aloe (1669-1929), a civic figure and long time president of the board of Alderman whose vision established the Gateway Mall." Stop. Enjoy. Appreciate. [Review 14455 overall, 1781 of 2020, number 88 in Missouri.]

Beware!!! Google maps will take you to the wrong location! I'm on your side Apple Maps, you never…read moredo me wrong! From the Vandalia State House, take 185/40 (N. Kennedy Blvd) north, turn left/west on W. Randolph Street, then right/north on N. Perkin's Street one block to W. St Clair Street. Turn left and it's up on the little hill on your right/north side. I absolutely love state capitals, which would lead me to enjoy past state capitals. I had been in rural Illinois a few times and always wondered what Vandalia had to offer being that it was second Illinois Capitol City (an oldest one still existing, unlike Kaskaskia which is now under water). I followed Vandalia's tourist page to the few landmarks that existed. One was what is called "Little Brick House". It's an n example of simple Italianate architecture that has been preserved by the Vandalia Historical Society. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and is thought to have been constructed in the mid 1800's. According to the website, "Josephine Burtschi, local artist and historian, was born in this house. In 1956 she purchased the house and started restoring it to its original appearance. Over the years, the Little Brick House has been renovated and furnished with period pieces, antiques, and early Vandalia artifacts. Contained within the six rooms are furniture, china, engravings and books acquired from descendants of state officers, legislators and the Ferdinand Ernst Colony who lived in Vandalia when it served as capital. The library, called the Berry-Hall room, pays tribute to James William Berry, the first talented artist of Illinois, and to Judge James Hall who established Vandalia as the first literary center west of Cincinnati. (http://www.vandaliaillinois.com/littlebrickhouse.html)" There's a little history for ya!

The MacArthur Bridge is a truss bridge which spans the Mississippi River. It was known as the Free…read moreBridge because it did not initially charge tolls. It was also along the famous Route 66 at one time. Get a different view by going under the bridge on a National Park Service guided riverboat cruise.

The MacArthur Bridge is a truss bridge that connects St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis,…read moreIllinois. It has a total length of 18,261 feet with the longest span being 677 feet and having 108 feet above the Mississippi River. When completed in 1917, it was the largest double-deck steel bridge in the world. You can see the bridge from the air, of course, or on foot from the Graffiti Mural Mile nearby. From 1929 through 1955, the MacArthur Bridge carried U.S. Highway 66 until the completion of the nearby Poplar Street Bridge. In 1981 the bridge was closed to vehicles because of pavement deterioration and the eastern ramp approaches were torn out. The bridge is now in use only by railroads and is one of the busiest railroad bridges in the United States. The disused vehicle deck has been removed. [Review 17236 overall - 143 in Missouri - 753 of 2022.]

Carrying nine lanes of Interstate 55 and Interstate 64 and US 40 across the Mississippi River…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/mississippi-river-saint-louis?hrid=Il9iAmGAowEzkkTU9eEcdQ, the Poplar Street Bridge is officially the Congressman William L. Clay Sr. Bridge. It joins the communities of Saint Louis, Missouri with East Saint Louis, Illinois. William "Bill" Clay represented Saint Louis in the US House of Representatives from 1969 to 2001. The bridge was completed in 1967 and is a 647 foot long deck girder bridge. The bridge is heavily utilized, carrying approximately 100,000 vehicles daily. It is the second-most heavily used bridge on the river, after the I-94 Dartmouth Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today's crossing was easy enough as there was very light traffic on a Sunday afternoon. There is no toll to cross the bridge in either direction. [Review 17252 overall - 157 in Missouri - 769 of 2022.]

Commonly known as the Poplar Street Bridge the 2165-foot Bill Clay Bridge has carried I-55/64…read moreacross the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri since its completion in 1967. It is rumored to have been in a constant state of disrepair ever since. Until I-70 was shifted with the opening of the Stan Musial bridge in 2014 PSB had the distinction of being the onliest river bridge in the United States to carry three interstate highways (I-55, -64, and -70) Ongoing realignment projects have greatly improved the west end, reducing the cluster-something of ramps and interchanges considerably since the late 20th century, a feat that many people thought could only be achieved by plate tectonics.

Located on the East Saint Louis side of the river next to the Eads Bridge and underneath the East…read moreRiverfront Metro Station, this small spot has a stone garden and some signs pointing out the camp site of the famous explorers. The first marker reads, "Lewis and Clark in Illinois. On December 10, 1803 Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their party camped at this place opposite Saint Louis. The next morning, Clark left Lewis in Saint Louis before beading upstream towards a winter campsite. They would spend five months in Illinois before heading west on their famous expedition. Erected 2003 by the State of Illinois and the Illinois Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission." The second marker reads, "Lewis & Clark Expedition, 1803-1806". York, as Clark's Body Slave, was an active voting emmber of the expedition. Described as big, very dark, strong, agile, athletic and playful, York was known as "Big Medison" to Native Americans. From near this site he often paddled Lewis and Clark by canoe to Saint Louis for meetings and supplies. York was a hunter, nurse, poled the keelboat, made fires and put his life at risk for the safety of Clark. He may have been freed by Clark between 1811 & 1815." [Review 17221 overall - 117 in Illinois - 738 of 2022.]