Saturday, March 30 2024

Road video and map

I wanted to visit St. Louis, Missouri as I stopped only a short time when passing through in 2015 and, I feel, that it provides a good addendum to many of the visits I made in Montana and Wyoming last year relating to pioneer trails west. The morning was spent driving the 215 miles (346 km) from a cold, windy Blytheville, AR but I was greeted with warm and sunny weather by the time I arrived in St. Louis around 1:30 PM.

St. Louis was considered the gateway to the west and decided to create a memorial to “those who made possible the westward territorial expansion of the United States” that was approved by congress in 1936. Following a design competition, lengthy legal, financial, union and property disputes and then awaiting the development of material and design advances to enable easier construction and improve its functionality, the Gateway Arch did not open until 1967.

The arch is the world’s tallest at 630 feet (192 m) and is incredibly impressive in person. Each leg contains a tramway to take visitors to look out from small observation windows at the top. There is a large underground visitor center that contains an extensive museum documenting the expansion and its effect on St. Louis, as well as a video theater, cafe, gift shop and tram boarding stations.

Unfortunately, being Easter weekend, all tram ride tickets sold out several days ago and so I had to settle for visiting the museum and cafe and enjoying the park surrounding the arch on the banks of the Mississippi River.

I focused on the section of the museum relating to the role of St. Louis in pioneer preparations. The city was well stocked with everything they would need for their journey and knowledgeable guides to help them prepare.

Jefferson encouraged the expansion by not only funding expeditions, such as Lewis and Clark, but also by promoting the west as a great place to settle.

Although I was not able to take a tram ride to the top this time (I did it about 35 years ago) there was a live video feed of the view in the museum.

The Gateway Arch is beautiful and impressive. The video below shows a view from near the base. The people can be used to judge the scale.

The park surrounding the monument goes to the edge of the Mississippi where visitors can take riverboat cruises and helicopter or horse drawn carriage rides.

The Old Court House is one of only two legacy buildings that remain after the building of the monument and revitalization of the area.

I then made my way to my hotel and enjoyed this view from the window as I was leaving for dinner.