St Louis Attractions and Activities
There are many things that you can do here in the Gateway to the West, and in this document, we shall be listing some of those things.
First off, we shall discuss about the many parks in St. Louis that you can visit, the city operates more than 100 parks, with amenities that include sports facilities, playgrounds, concert areas, picnic areas, and lakes. Forest Park, located on the western edge of city, is the largest, occupying 1,400 acres of land, making it almost twice as large as Central Park in New York City. The park is home to five major institutions, including the Saint Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Science Center, the Missouri History Museum, and the Muny amphitheater. Another significant park in the city is the Gateway Arch National Park, a National Memorial which was known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018 and is located on the riverfront in downtown St. Louis. The centerpiece of the park is the 630 feet (190 m) tall Gateway Arch, designed by noted architect Eero Saarinen and completed on October 28, 1965. Also, part of the historic park is the Old Courthouse, where the first two trials of Dred Scott v. Sandford were held in 1847 and 1850.
The Jewel Box, a greenhouse and event venue in Forest Park
Other notable parks in the city include the Missouri Botanical Garden, Tower Grove Park, Carondelet Park and Citygarden. The Missouri Botanical Garden, a private garden and botanical research facility, is a National Historic Landmark and one of the oldest botanical gardens in the United States. The Garden features 79 acres of horticultural displays from around the world. This includes a Japanese strolling garden, Henry Shaw’s original 1850 estate home and a geodesic dome called the Climatron. Immediately south of the Missouri Botanical Garden is Tower Grove Park, a gift to the city by Henry Shaw. Citygarden is an urban sculpture park located in downtown St. Louis, with art from Fernand Léger, Aristide Maillol, Julian Opie, Tom Otterness, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Mark di Suvero. The park is divided into three sections, each of which represent a different theme: river bluffs; flood plains; and urban gardens. The park also has a restaurant – Death in the Afternoon. Another downtown sculpture park is the Serra Sculpture Park, with the 1982 Richard Serra sculpture Twain.
There are also many landmarks that you can visit here in St. Louis. The one that we will talk about first is the world-famous Gateway Arch. At 630-foot (192 m), it is the world’s tallest arch and tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, it is the centerpiece of the Gateway Arch National Park which was known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018. There also is the Saint Louis Art Museum, which was built for the 1904 World’s Fair, with a building designed by Cass Gilbert. The museum houses paintings, sculptures, and cultural objects. The museum is located in Forest Park, and admission is free.