St. Louis

St. Louis lies near the confluence of Mississippi and Missouri rivers and is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri. We visited this city in 2021 on a road trip across United States.

  • The Gateway Arch
  • Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park
  • Laumeier Sculpture Park
  • First Olympics in United States

The Gateway Arch – Built between 1963-1965, the 630ft-tall monument in stainless steel is the world’s tallest arch. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of United States and dedicated to the American people and is commonly referred to as The Gateway to the West. It is now a popular tourist destination, as well as an internationally recognized symbol of St. Louis.

The Arch was designed by the Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-American architect. The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967 and is located at the site of the founding of St. Louis on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

The Gateway Arch – Side View
The Gateway Arch – Front View
The Gateway Arch – Leaning on the arch
The Gateway Arch is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River

Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park – is a passive public space situated directly across from the Gateway Arch. The park offers unprecedented views of the Gateway Arch and downtown St. Louis. The stunning building with a green dome that you see in the center and behind the Gateway Arch is the Old St. Louis County Courthouse.

Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park – View of the Gateway Arch from the viewing platform

The park is named in the honor of Malcolm W. Martin, a St. Louis lawyer and philanthropist who played a significant role in the development of the Gateway Arch National Park and its expansion onto the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. He was instrumental in the creation of the park as it exists today, particularly the Gateway Geyser and the viewing platform that offers the best views of the Gateway Arch. 

Sculpture of Malcolm W. Martin in the park, looking at the Arch
Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park – View of the Gateway Arch from the viewing platform

Note: This park is in the east side of St. Louis and Mississippi river which is in the state of Illinois.

Laumeier Sculpture Park – is a 105-acre open-air museum and sculpture park located 15 miles from St Louis. It houses over 70 large-scale outdoor sculptures and features a 1.4-mile walking trail, an indoor gallery, the Aronson Art Center, and educational programs. A 1917 Tudor stone mansion, and the former residence of Henry and Matilda Laumeier, is now the Kranzberg Education Lab.

Former residence of Henry and Matilda Laumeier, is now the Kranzberg Education Lab.
Mix Americana by Alexandre de Cunha – Polished and painted in a patriotic red, white and blue, the sculpture has been stripped of its mixing duty on the back of a truck and staged instead as a functional sundial.
Bornibus by Mark di Suvero – Using these industrial materials he breaks down the urban infrastructure within our back garden as a commentary on the friction between the urban and the natural. The moments in the composition of Bornibus where shapes dangle in the wind, illustrate the fragility of manmade structures when opposed to the force of nature.
Ricardo Cat by Niki de Saint Phalle – Ricardo Cat almost purrs contentedly as it cuddles seated guests This sculpture draws on Egyptian, Greek and pre-Colombian tales about felis catus, encapsulating the role of playful kitten and sheltering mother by incorporating wild fantasies and everyday objects within its fur of mosaic shards.
House of the Minotaur by Tony Rosenthal – takes its name from the ancient Greek myth of King Minos of Crete, who built a tortuous labyrinth where the Minotaur, a creature half man and half beast, was held. Here, a series of prismatic steel panels are arranged to form a playful maze, creating a sculpture where public can participate. This work embodies the artist’s sentiment for human interaction with the built environment by way of endless visual variation.

First Olympics in United States – In 1904, St. Louis became the first city in United States to host Olympic Games. Some interesting facts about the 1904 Olympic Games –

  • Medals – It was the first time that gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded for first, second, and third place. 
  • Events – There were in all 95 events in 16 sports (18 disciplines). 
  • Participants – 651 athletes (642 men, 6 women), with a large majority of participants being from the United States and Canada due to travel difficulties. 
  • Debut of boxing, freestyle wrestling, decathlon, and a dumbbells event. 
  • Despite the unusual circumstances, the games helped introduce the Olympics to a wider American audience. 
First Olympics in United States – This display was in a Museum in Missouri (timeline of major events in USA)

Missouri