The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and Gateway Arch
The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial includes the Gateway Arch and Old Courthouse and is part of the National Park System.

Attracting over three million visitors annually, the Gateway Arch commemorates the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and pioneer settlement west of the Mississippi River. Rising 630 feet, the Arch is 75 feet taller than the Washington Monument. The design of the Arch is in the shape of a catenary curve. Architect Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) won an international competition for the Arch commission with his radical interpretation of commemorative architecture. Completed in 1965, the Arch features tram rides to the top where visitors can view stunning panoramas of the city and river. The Museum of Westward Expansion, located beneath the Arch, interprets the experience of the immigrants and Native Americans who populated the Louisiana Territory.



Construction on the Old Courthouse began in 1839 and was completed in 1862. It was the site of the Dred Scott trial, where the slaves Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom in 1846. The National Park Service Rangers conduct mock trials in a restored courtroom with visitors playing key roles in the re-enactment.

Laclede's Landing
Just north of the Arch, Laclede's Landing offers restaurants and club night life. Named after one of St. Louis' founders, French fur trader Pierre Laclede, the nine-block area offers a glimpse at the cobblestone streets and brick and cast iron building facades that dominated the St. Louis Riverfront during the steamboat era of the 19th Century.

The Eads Bridge
Spanning the Mississippi River, the Eads Bridge was completed in 1874. It is named for its Chief Engineer, the self-taught, James B. Eads (1820-1887). His innovative steel truss bridge consists of three spans totaling over 1,500 feet in length with piers set in bedrock 100 feet below the river surface. Today, the top deck handles vehicle and pedestrian traffic, while a light rail system travels on the lower level.

Riverboats
Passenger riverboat cruises recall the traditional form of mid-continent transportation. Like their forerunners, these modern boats cruise the Mississippi River from St. Paul, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana. The riverboats stop in St. Louis throughout the summer and fall where they dock at the foot of the Gateway Arch.

Professional Sports
“First in shoes, first in booze, last in the American League” was our city slogan at the turn of the 20th Century, when the St. Louis Browns played baseball in Sportsman’s Park. In the 21st Century, the St. Louis Cardinals have won more World Series championships than any baseball team other than the Yankees. The St. Louis Rams, 1999 Super Bowl winners, have been called the NFL’s “greatest show on turf,” and the St. Louis Blues have made it into the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs for 22 consecutive seasons.

Washington Avenue
Once the center of St. Louis garment manufacturing, Washington Avenue has found a renewed life as the city's center for arts and eclectic, urban living. Galleries, artist studios, cafes, nightclubs, and loft housing occupy the rows of brick warehouses. Catch favorite bands at the Galaxy or the Rocket Bar or sip drinks at one of the cosmopolitan lounges.

Union Station
A National Historic Landmark, Union Station was once the largest railroad station in the country. Designed by Theodore Link (1850-1923) and completed in 1896, the station served as the hub of rail transportation from St. Louis west to San Francisco until the mid-20th century when it fell into disrepair. After an extensive rehabilitation by Rouse ∧ Co. in the 1980s, the station came to life again as a hotel and festive marketplace. In the plaza in front of the station is an allegorical sculpture, "Meeting of the Waters," (1940) by Carl Milles, symbolizing the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers just north of St. Louis.

Grand Center
A center for performing and visual arts in St. Louis, Grand Center is home to the nation's second-oldest symphony orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The building now known as Powell Symphony Hall was acquired by the Saint Louis Symphony Society in 1966. Critics and musicians hail the acoustics and visual splendor of the renovated 1925 movie palace.

Across the street, the exotic Siamese-Byzantine style Fox Theatre hosts concerts and Broadway shows. Opened in 1929 as one of the crown jewels in William Fox's motion picture empire, the six million dollar, 5,060-seat theater boasts a 2,000-pound chandelier, 12 feet in diameter and glittering with 2,264 pieces of jeweled glass, and a giant four-manual Wurlitzer organ, one of only five of its type every built. After a two million dollar restoration in 1981, the Fabulous Fox reopened its doors to offer a variety of live theater and entertainment including the U.S. Bank Broadway Series.

"Grand" South Grand
Two miles south of Grand Center, the South Grand neighborhood boasts a variety of ethnic restaurants and groceries, Asian import centers, boutiques, and antique stores. Neighborhood restaurants serve Thai, French, Persian, Vietnamese, Italian, Chinese, and Nicaraguan cuisine. The area hosts festivals throughout the year that include a Chinese New Year celebration, house tours each spring, a Festival of Nations parade and fair in June, and a winter Holiday walk.

Missouri Botanical Garden
Founded in 1852, the Missouri Botanical Garden is an internationally renowned botanical research facility and one of the top three botanical gardens in the world. The Garden is a 79-acre urban oasis of indoor and outdoor gardens. The Climatron was the first geodesic domed structure to be used as a conservatory. It encloses a tropical rainforest microclimate complete with abundant plants, fish, reptiles, birds, and insects. In addition, the Garden's Herbarium holds over 5 million plant specimens and draws scientists worldwide to conduct research. The Garden is especially strong in tropical ecology research with its scientists stationed around the globe to collect and identify plants.

Grant's Farm
Grant's Farm is a 281-acre wildlife preserve and historical site operated by the Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. The farm is home to hundreds of animals from around the world and includes the famous Budweiser Clydesdale stables. Also located on the grounds is the Bavarian-styled Bauernhof, the country estate of the Busch family. The farm is named for the 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. He built a primitive log house called "Hardscrabble," which stands today, and farmed a portion of the land in the 1850s.