St. Louis through Local Eyes

In the last few years, we have developed a way of getting to know an area we are visiting. We look online to see the local attractions. We build a list of places we want to see and restaurants we want to try. And then, we check the list each night and make our plans for the next day! This will generally include a trip to a local museum. Occasionally, we meet up with friends or family in the area, and they will show us around. This week, we were able to rely on the latter plan. Brad and BJ allowed us to see the St. Lois area through their eyes. And it made for a great week of wandering!

Nathan Boone's Home

We started the week on our own on Sunday with a drive to the Daniel Boone House near Defiance, MO. This was the home of Nathan Boone, Daniel's youngest son, who built a farm in this rolling, forested countryside. Daniel built a shop and, when staying with them, would use it to repair traps and guns. Daniel and Rebecca lived with Nathan, off and on, for the last 16 years of their lives. After reading the exhibits and doing a little online search, I realized that Daniel is a very real person. He was more than the character on a TV show from my childhood. The guide for our tour has been doing these tours of the house for 16 years, and I could see his love for the story and the man through his eyes. Daniel Boone was an aging adventurer/frontiersman who had little to show for his lifetime other than his children. During those last years, he lived with Nathan and at his Daughter Jemina's House, puttering around the farms and receiving old friends at their beautiful homes. He died at the age of 86. This home pays tribute to a life well-lived. The site includes many historical buildings that have been moved from the surrounding area.

 

Uncle Squire Boone's Cabin

Horse Tread Wheel

The General Store

The Spring

Through These Doors Passed Missouri's Finest Before Statehood

The Formal Parlour

Rough Hewn Ceiling

The Room Where Daniel Boone Died

The Girl's Room Upstairs

The Boy's Room

View from the Sleeping Porch

The House with Kitchen Below

The School House

Peace Church

 

 

Covered Bridge

 

Similar to Structure in the Indiana Bridges

 

On Monday, we took a rest day and invited Brad and BJ over for ribs that evening after a quiet day around Koko. Marlene spent much of the day on the "fixings” while I smoked the ribs. Yes! She did most of the work! But then, if you have ever tasted her potato salad and beans, you would understand this division of labor. It was an enjoyable evening sitting out in the cool Missouri air with good conversation with friends.

 

Forest Park, St. Louis

After a day of chores on Tuesday, we set out on Wednesday to explore St. Louis with Brad. Brad and BJ have lived here for over 20 years and love this City. It was evident in the places Brad took us and the stories he shared. The only thing on my list was the rebuilt museum under the Arch. But Brad drove us to Forest Park, the site of the 1904 World's Fair. This beautiful park is built over a river that was an open sewer line at the time of the Fair. The City of St. Louis built an Urban park that is larger than Central Park in NYC and filled it with people spaces. We ate lunch at the Boathouse as Brad told us about the park's concerts, plays, festivals, museums, and many other attractions. It would take a month just to enjoy Forest Park. 

Saint Louis (Louis the IX of France)

One of the Last Buildings from the World's FAir

Art Museum

 

Fur Trading Building

Our next stop was the Arch on the river. Along the way, Brad pointed to nationally known schools and other notable sights and spoke of neighborhoods built for families that lived on union wages. These families had the money to build beautiful brick homes. When the union plants started closing, many families followed their jobs into the suburbs. Many of these neighborhoods have fallen into hard times and we saw mile after mile of houses in disrepair. He also showed us some of the “old Money” neighborhoods with their mansions and a few “new money” neighborhoods where people are trickling back in, lured by a huge inventory of magnificent fixer-uppers. Brad explained that the City has been unable to attract sustainable growth in many of these areas.

 

Old Courthouse

When we reached the Arch, we walked from the garage at Busch Stadium to the Old Courthouse. Since we were here in the '90s, the City has buried the expressway, and a beautiful greenway connects the courthouse to the gateway park. The Arch stands along the river, inviting people to come Downtown. Like the outer parts of the Downtown, the City has been unable to attract people back to live in the Downtown. Apart from large hotels, sports, and entertainment venues, and government buildings, this area is bereft of people. Like so many of the Midwest cities we have visited, the Downtown is a shell that comes to life during the day. But few want to live here for a lack of day-to-day shopping and safe walking venues.

 

The St. Louis Arch is 630 feet tall and has served as the "Gateway to the West" since it was built in the 1960's. It is the tallest Stainless Steel-Clad structure in the world and the tallest humanly accessible structure in the United States. The shape draws your attention beyond the horizon and speaks of optimism and hope on the edge of a new frontier. As such, it is the perfect ambassador for this City. It is built on the site of the original 1804 trading post. The new museum underneath the Arch offers insight to all who have passed through this small plot of land on the way to a new life. It continues to invite the City of St. Louis to explore ways to bring new life to the streets along the Mississippi River. We rode the small capsules to the top of the Arch many years ago and did not feel the need to do that on this trip. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

 

Entrance to Museum under the Arch

The Greenway over the Highway

Foyer of Museum

Jefferson

Replica of the Facade of Earlier Fur Trading Building

Mural of the Arch Showing Comparison to other Landmarks

Riverboat Wheel

Diorama of River Front in 1800s

The Eads Bridge

Brad and Marlene at the Arch

Brad and Marlene still at the Arch

Yep, they are still there!

 

Yep, it was that good!

After visiting the Arch, Brad showed us more of the Downtown and nearby neighborhoods. We drove by Soulard Market, the oldest and largest operating public market West of the Mississippi. It sits at the center of a neighborhood that is being redeveloped. Gentrification has included keeping the existing Brick neighborhoods and developing neighborhood shops, restaurants, and bars. It is a quaint neighborhood on the edge of Downtown. He also took us to The Hill to see the Italian community. Many of these homes, according to Brad, are still in the names of the families of the people who built them 75 or more years ago. It is an old community that has held on to its history and culture through decades of change. He said the best Italian food in the City is available in this neighborhood. It also boasts of being the home of "Toasted Ravioli." (If you have never had it, try it!) Many of these families included the people who literally built St. Louis with their own two hands. Brad then spoke of the highly diverse neighborhoods of the City as he celebrated the Eastern and Western influences that make life in St. Louis so rewarding. Before ending the day, we stopped by a St. Louis tradition Ted Drewes Frozen Custard for a concrete which we had for supper! I hate to say it, but it is better than a Dairy Queen Blizzard!

 

Bellefontaine Cemetery

On Thursday, we headed out to Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum on the City's north side. (Bellefontaine is locally pronounced Bell Fountain.)  It was founded in 1849 in rural St. Louis County but became the cemetery of choice by the wealthy of St. Louis. It and its Catholic companion across Calvary Avenue include the tombs and mausoleums of such notables as the Anheuser and Busch families, William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) Thomas Hart Benton, William S. Burroughs (who invented the analog calculator and his son, the author), Dred Scott, and General William Tecumseh Sherman. It also included countless US, Missouri, and St. Louis luminaries. Brad was part of a volunteer group that did a lot of research on many of the graves. He was a wealth of information. The cemetery also has excellent maps with notes for visiting the graves of notable people. The architecture alone is worth the time. Between it and Brad's stories, it was a fascinating morning. Here is a small selection of the pictures from the cemeteries.

 

Herman C. G. Luyties Grave

Daugther's Grave

Poppa's Grave

Wainwright Tomb designed by Architect Louis Sullivan

Anheuser Family Mausoleum

Brown Family Mausoleum of Buster Brown Shoe Fame

Top of Underground Crypt

Rush Limbaugh's Grave

A War of 1812 General's Grave

William Clark's Grave

Adolphus and Lilly Busch Mausoleum

Interior of the Busch Mausoleum

Dred Scott's Grave

General William Tecumseh Sherman's Grave

 

We then drove to the Audubon Riverlands Nature Center between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. After a picnic lunch, we did a little birding and drove down to the confluence of the two great rivers. The migration was in its early stages, so there were not many birds. We saw a few. But standing at the point where the Mighty Mississippi and the Big Muddy meet was a powerful moment. Lewis and Clark began and ended their exploration of the American Northwest in these waters. We have stood on the banks of the Columbia River, where it crosses the bar into the Pacific, and have seen many other Lewis and Clark sites across the US. But this place had a whole different feel. I could not imagine how it felt to put the paddles in the water as they began their journey up the Missouri or how it felt to return here after so much time in the wilderness. As we talked with one of the rangers, I also learned that the water flowing around us drained 60% of the lower 48 states. We have stood at the headwaters of the Mississippi and along the Snake River in Montana. It was incredible to think that the water at our feet began its flow thousands of miles away. Thanks, Brad, for suggesting this stop.

 

The Missouri River

The Mississippi River

The Confluence (Missouri on the right)

Distorted Panorama of the Confluence

Cahokia Mounds

On Friday, we joined Brad on a trip to the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Park across the river and the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. I have wanted to see Cahokia for many years. This area was first settled 1,500 years ago by the Late Woodland people who lived in small villages along Cahokia Creek. They were hunter-gatherers and grew crops, which made them permanent residents of the area. By 1000 CE, the Mississippian Culture developed from the older Hopewell Cultures we experienced in Ohio. This culture also built massive Ceremonial Mounds, but they gathered into larger cities with huge ceremonial centers that attracted thousands of people across a vast range. The area peaked within 200 years and covered 6 square miles and had 10-20 thousand inhabitants. Their mounds were built on both sides of the Mississippi. Each of these mounds was built one basket of soil at a time from “borrow pits” nearby and took decades to complete. After 1250, the people began to disperse due to typical urban problems such as food supply problems (much like Downtown St. Louis) and damage to their Mother, the ground beneath their feet. The native people separated into regional groups that eventually coalesced into the tribes of native people that filled the Midwest before the arrival of European Settlers who drove them from their land in the 1800s. The site also includes Woodhenge, a ceremonial circle of wooden poles built between 1100-1200 CE. While we were there, a man was doing an archeological survey of the circle with a rolling magnetometer, looking for new features in the ground. This bucket list item certainly lived up to my expectations. On the way back across the bridge, Brad suggested we stop by Jefferson Barracks. This 19^th and 20^th-century military fort now houses Missouri Air and Army National Guard units. It sits on the banks of the Mississippi and is part of one of St. Louis' fabulous parks. We toured a couple of former ammo storage buildings before ending our day.

 

Monk's Mound (Named after Christian Monks who built on it.)

The First Flight of Steps up the Mound

The First Level

Looking down  the Second Fight of Stairs.

The Spoil Pits

One of Dozens of Mounds in the Area

St. Louis in the Distance

Both Flights of Stairs to the Top

Replica of the Palisade that Surrounded the Ceremonial Site

Archeologist at work

Woodhenge

Marlene Standing in the center

So Long, Cahokia

Arsenal Building

Veteran's Tribute

Inside the arsenal with Ceiling designed to dampen and Explosion.

The Monarchs have started their journey South.

 

We spent our last day doing a few chores and packing up before we head East to Paducah, KY, for four days. We are officially leaving the Midwest with this next stop, and I am very grateful we made this trip. We have crisscrossed much of this area on the way to somewhere else and never took the time to stop and see the treasures it holds. The last five months have opened our eyes to its wonders, and we hope to return to parts of it for more exploring and wandering.

 

Thank you, Brad, for all the time who spent schlepping us around. You made our time in St Louis a memorable treat and fitting finale for our travels throughout the Midwest. Your time, stories, passion for the area, and eagerness to share your obvious love for St. Louis made this part of our trip very special. BJ, it was great to meet you as well, and we look forward to seeing you on our next trip through the Midwest. BJ, thanks for the cookies. We will think of our time here with every bite.

 

So, my friends, we journey to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas over the next three weeks. I hope you stay with us as we bring this year's journey to a close when we return to Texas in November. There is still much to see and do before we pull into Galveston in December for the winter.

 

Travel well, my friends.

 

Bob

A Sculpture at the Eureka Recycling Center