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Travel: Like Tina, Chuck and Miles… Find your thrill in St. Louis

© iStockPost Thumbnail

It’s not often one can say a particular trip was nearly 40 years in the planning.

However, as I stood underneath the Gateway Arch in St Louis, Missouri recently, my mind wandered back to childhood, because when I wasn’t engrossed in an Oor Wullie or Broons annual, I read through a series of “World Books” my parents had invested in. For younger readers, this was long before the advent of google, or even the internet, so we relied on such books to learn about the world!

The Gateway Arch was classed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world and my young mind was intrigued by the structure and setting. Thinking back, it wasn’t due to a desire to be a structural engineer or architect, but it did help instil that sense off wanderlust that has pervaded my thought processes so far.

The Arch is a strange being. It has been part of the St Louis cityscape since 1968 and until 2018 was separated from the downtown area of the city by a six-lane freeway. The opening, last year, of the Gateway Arch Park has removed that separation. Now visitors can wander from the Arch and its fascinating underground museum, to the old Courthouse and the very photogenic Keiner Plaza in a few minutes. Due to its stainless steel construction, the Arch appears to change constantly. At first light, it seems to awaken with the city, at night, the lighting creates an ethereal effect as it reflects in the nearby Mississippi River.

The Mississippi played a huge role in the development of St Louis, which was once a major trading post along the river. A huge tableau on the floor of the Gateway Arch Museum shows how St. Louis is at the epicentre of river routes that connect the entire United States. The Illinois and Missouri rivers converge with the Mississippi just a few miles upstream. The historic expansion west, led by explorers Lewis and Clark, ensured St Louis was central to the development of the USA. This is marked by a waterfall and statues which creates quite a talking point in the foyer of the Drury Plaza Hotel at the Arch, which was our base in the city.

St Louis became the crossroads of the country which meant a huge mix of people travelled through or settled there.

The National Blues Museum tells the story of the early migrants who brought the Blues with them to the growing city. When mixed with the ragtime styles that already existed, and Jazz brought upriver from New Orleans, St Louis Blues was born. Musicians such as Chuck Berry, Miles Davis and Tina Turner all honed their craft in the city and today, venues like BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soup are national institutions for aficionados and tourists alike.

St Louis spans over a huge area and whilst there is a defined “downtown” area, it is remarkably quiet. Life in the city appears to centre around the Delmar Loop and West End areas. This is where the historic university, the ornate homes of Millionaires Row and the huge expanse of Forest Park are found. Delmar Loop comes to life at night, with venues like Blueberry Hill, where Chuck Berry performed until only a few years ago. His statue overlooks the restaurant and bar now.

The more sedate Chase Park Plaza Hotel once welcomed Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and every US President since 1922. On the night we called in for dinner, I found it hard to pull myself away from the ornate foyer which must have history coming out off its walls. It really felt like walking back in time.

Route 66 is another facet of history in the St Louis region. The famous road makes its way in from Chicago through outlying towns like Hamel, where you can dine in Weezy’s a real small town diner, or Staunton where you can visit Henrys Rabbit Ranch or the nearby Pink Elephant Mall which has an eclectic collection of Route 66 memorabilia including a spaceship, giant statues and, obviously, a huge Pink elephant.

The Scots diaspora is represented in this part of the region too. The stunning and historic village of Elsah, which is built in between the bluffs along the Great River Road, was founded by a Scottish family. They named the village after the last piece of Scotland they saw as they began their long journey, Alisa Craig, the huge piece of granite that sits between Scotland and Ireland.Visiting the local store, the village museum and staying at the Green Tree Inn bring that history to life.

Route 66 enters St Louis at the Chain of Rocks Bridge and there are a number of well-known places to stop along the route before heading into rural Missouri. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard is one, they have been serving their ice cream on the same site for over 60 years.

St Louis is a city with much to offer the visitor, and as an added bonus many attractions are totally free. It was my first visit there, but most definitely will not be my last.

It’s not often one can say a trip was nearly 40 years in the planning. However, as I stood underneath the Gateway Arch in St Louis, the city where Chuck Berry, Miles Davis and Tina Turner all honed their craft, my mind wandered back to childhood.

When I wasn’t engrossed in an Oor Wullie or Broons annual, I read through a series of World Books. For younger readers, this was long before the advent of Google, or even the internet, so we relied on such books to learn about the world!

The Gateway Arch was classed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world and my young mind was intrigued by the structure and setting.

The arch has been part of the St Louis cityscape since 1968 and, until 2018, was separated from the downtown area of the city by a six-lane freeway. The opening, last year, of the Gateway Arch Park has removed that separation.

Now visitors can wander from the Arch and its fascinating underground museum, to the old Courthouse and the Keiner Plaza in a few minutes.

Due to its stainless steel construction, the Arch appears to change constantly. At first light, it seems to awaken with the city. At night, the lighting creates an ethereal effect as it reflects in the nearby river.

The Mississippi played a huge role in the development of St Louis and a huge tableau on the floor of the Gateway Arch Museum shows how St Louis is at the epicentre of river routes that connect the United States. The Illinois and Missouri rivers converge with the Mississippi just a few miles upstream.

The historic expansion west, led by explorers Lewis and Clark, ensured St Louis was central to the development of the US.

This is marked by a waterfall and statues that create a talking point in the foyer of the Drury Plaza Hotel at the Arch, our base in the city.

St Louis became the crossroads of the country, with a huge mix of people travelling through or settling there.

The National Blues Museum tells the story of the early migrants who brought the genre to the growing city. When mixed with the ragtime styles that already existed, and jazz brought upriver from New Orleans, St Louis Blues was born. Today, venues like BB’s Jazz and Blues & Soup are national institutions.

Life in the city appears to centre around the Delmar Loop and West End areas.

This is where the historic university, the ornate homes of Millionaires Row and the huge expanse of Forest Park are found.

Delmar Loop comes to life at night, with venues like Blueberry Hill, where Chuck Berry performed until only a few years ago.

The more sedate Chase Park Plaza Hotel once welcomed Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and every US president since 1922.

Route 66 is another facet of history in the St Louis region. The famous road makes its way from Chicago through outlying towns like Hamel, where you can dine in Weezy’s, a real smalltown diner, or Staunton, where you can visit Henrys Rabbit Ranch or the nearby Pink Elephant Mall, which has an eclectic collection of Route 66 memorabilia.

The Scots diaspora is also represented. The historic village of Elsah, built between the bluffs along the Great River Road, was founded by a Scottish family.

They named the village after the last piece of Scotland they saw as they began their journey, Ailsa Craig, the granite outcrop in the Firth of Clyde.

Visiting the local store, the village museum and staying at the Green Tree Inn bring that history to life.

Route 66 enters St Louis at the Chain of Rocks Bridge and there are well-known places to stop before heading into rural Missouri.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard is one. They have been serving their ice cream for more than 60 years.

St Louis is a city with much to offer the visitor and, as an added bonus, many attractions are free. It was my first visit, but most definitely not my last.


Factbox:

United fly from Glasgow and Edinburgh to St Louis (via Newark or Chicago)

We stayed at the Drury Plaza at the Arch in St Louis and at the Green Tree Inn in Elsah.

St Louis takes the crown when it comes to FREE attractions, making it very tourist and budget friendly. St Louis Zoo, Missouri History Museum, Cahokia State Mounds and the St Louis Science Centre are just some of the places to go.

See www.explorestlouis.com for the full list.