Museums and Landmarks of St. Louis

Entries on This Tour

The St. Louis Walk of Fame was conceived by local entrepreneur Joe Edwards in 1988. It is located in the Delmar Loop, which is situated partly in the city of St. Louis and partly in the suburb of University City. Each honoree gets a star and a plaque identifying his or her achievements and connection to St. Louis. The purpose of the Walk is to draw people to the Loop and its shopping district and to encourage people to learn more about St. Louis and its famous sons and daughters. So far, 140 persons have been inducted. The St. Louis Walk of Fame is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

2. Brookings Hall

Brookings Hall is located on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Construction for Brookings (originally University) Hall began in 1900 and took roughly two years to complete. The historic building was leased to the Louisiana Expedition Company for the 1904 World's Fair as an Administration Building. Currently, the building is used for Washington University administration offices, financial services, and the graduate school for the College of Arts and Sciences.

3. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis is one of the country's leading university art museums. It was established as the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts in 1881, making it one of the oldest teaching museums in the nation. The museum was originally located in downtown St. Louis and is presently located in Washington University's West Campus near beautiful Forest Park. The collection is comprised of 19th, 20th, and 21st-century art, and includes some ancient Greek and Egyptian artifacts and over 100 Old Master paintings. The museum is named after Mildred Lane Kemper, who was a lifelong resident of Kansas City, Missouri, and supporter of the arts.

4. Edward Bates Statue

The Edward Bates Statue was dedicated in 1876 at the same time Forest Park was established. Bates was an important figure in Missouri history, but also a controversial one. He was active in Missouri and national politics in the antebellum era as a member of the Whig Party and then of the Republican Party.

5. Apotheosis of St. Louis

The Apotheosis of St. Louis is a statue of the city's namesake (King Louis IX of France) and a replica of a plaster statue that served as one of the landmarks at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. This bronze version of the statue was designed after the fair and quickly became one of the symbols of the city. The statue has been located in front of the Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park since 1906. Prior to the completion of the Gateway Arch, the statue was the principal symbol of the city. Although supplanted by the Arch, this statue continues to serve the iconography of St. Louis for more than a century after the World's Fair.

6. Saint Louis Art Museum

The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) houses an impressive collection of 33,000 works that spans all of human history; nearly every culture from around the world is represented. As such, the SLAM is one of the leading comprehensive museums in the country. The collection includes paintings, sculptures, photography prints, ancient artifacts, weaponry, textiles, and other forms of art. It is possible to see 3,000 (and counting) of these items on the museum's website. The museum puts on exhibitions throughout the year to complement the permanent exhibition galleries. Education and outreach are also important goals of the museum. To this end, it offers classes for people of all ages, concerts, performances, films, and lectures.

7. Missouri History Museum

Established in 1892, the Missouri History Museum preserves and promotes the state's history through its collection, exhibitions, and public programming. It is operated by the Missouri Historical Society. The museum boasts a large collection of 175,000 artifacts, some of which have national significance. These include items associated with aviator Charles Lindbergh and his trans-Atlantic flight and many artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Other items in the collection include Colonial and Native American artifacts, artifacts from the 1904 World's Fair held in St. Louis, and state and city artifacts. It is possible to view and learn more of these items on the museum's website, which features an online collection.

8. Forest Park's Pagoda Circle and Nathan Frank Bandstand

Located on a small island within Pagoda Lake, the original wooden bandstand that existed at this site was built for the grand opening of Forest Park in 1876. Designed in a Syrian style, it soon became one of the park's most photographed structures, as spectators gathered around the lake to listen to musical concerts during the 1904 World's Fair. In 1911, however, the pagoda was damaged in a storm and then lost to a fire. It was not until the early 1920s, when the St. Louis philanthropist Nathan Frank donated $50,000, that a new bandstand could be constructed on the picturesque island known as Pagoda Circle. Designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Heffensteller, Hirsch, and Watson, this new pagoda was built from white marble and concrete, with a copper roof and bronze railings. Although it remains accessible only by boat, it is still one of the most popular and recognizable landmarks in Forest Park.

9. World Chess Hall of Fame

For chess enthusiasts, the World Chess Hall of Fame is a must visit. It houses the U.S. and World Hall of Fames and a museum that showcases the history of chess and its impact on the arts and culture. It was founded in 1986 by the U.S. Chess Federation, which is now U.S. Chess. Inside, visitors will find numerous chess sets, trophies, photographs, scoresheets, and periodicals. Interesting items include the Paul Morphy silver set, which he used to win the First American Chess Congress tournament in 1857. Another highlight is the perpetual trophy for the Piatigorsky Cup, which commemorates one of the best American chess tournaments. Chess sets are available for visitors to play on. The museum also offers various public programming such as lectures, panel discussions, and activities for children.

10. Sumner High School

When Sumner High School opened in 1875 in St. Louis, Missouri, it was the first high school for African Americans anywhere west of the Mississippi River. Since then, the school has been moved twice, with the location it is housed in now being the location it was moved to in 1908. The school was established following the adoption of the Constitution of 1865 in Missouri, which required that regional school boards support the education of Black children in their districts. Even though the African American population grew steadily from the early 1860s to the 1920s, Sumner High School was the only high school for African Americans until 1927 when Vashon High School opened its doors. Today, Sumner High School is still functioning as a predominantly African American high school.

11. Griot Museum of Black HIstory and Culture

The Griot Museum of Black History and Culture opened in 1997, and was first named the Black World History Wax Museum. The name of the museum was changed in 2007 to emphasize its mission as the caretaker of the stories, culture, and history of African Americans. In order to increase their community outreach, the museum sponsors community education projects, gallery discussions, and cultural celebrations. The museum hosts traveling exhibits led by local and national artists as well. The museums’ goal is to create a community of lifelong learners who explore and embrace the African-American heritage.

12. Fox Theatre

The Fox Theatre of St. Louis, located at 527 N. Grand Boulevard, was one of five spectacular Fox Film Corporation "picture palaces," designed for both film exhibition and stage shows, that the Corporation built at the end of the 1920s (the others were in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Detroit, and San Francisco). Opening for the first time on January 31, 1929, the theatre, nicknamed "The Fabulous Fox," was constructed by architect C. Howard Crane in a style incongruously known as "Siamese Byzantine," consisting of a mishmash of various exotic motifs. Seating 5060, it was reportedly the second largest theatre in America at that time. However, the Fox Film Corporation fell on hard times during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Changing owners, the Fabulous Fox carried on with a combination of movies and concerts until forced to close in 1978, one year shy of its 50th anniversary. In 1981, an organization to restore the theatre, Fox Associates, began a one-year multi-million-dollar overhaul of the structure, restoring it as closely as possible to its original 1929 grandeur, but with modern sound, lighting and dressing rooms. It reopened on September 7, 1982, and remains in operation today as a venue for concerts and Broadway shows. In 1976, the Fox Theatre was included in the National Register of Historic Places.

13. Saint Louis University Museum of Art

Ranked the fourth best college museum in the country in 2015, the Saint Louis University Museum of Art boasts an impressive collection of art. The collection consists of modern and contemporary art, American-west Jesuit mission art, and Asian decorative art. The first floor of the museum is used for temporary exhibitions. Modern and contemporary artists represented include Andy Warhol, Serge Poliakoff, Richard Serra, Jasper Johns, and Chuck Close. The Jesuit collection features art and artifacts that shed light on Jesuit frontier life. As of May 2017, the Asian collection, which is on the fourth floor, is closed for renovation. It consists of artifacts dating from 3,500 years ago to today. Items include jade and ivory artifacts, figurines, and prints.

14. Moto Museum

Located next to Triumph Grill (and near the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum) is a small but impressive museum dedicated to motorcycles. The Moto Museum was founded in 2007 by bike enthusiast Steve Smith. The collection consists of motorcycles primarily from Europe dating from 1900-1975. Countries of origin include Hungary, Germany (and east Germany), Sweden, and England. Motorcycles from non-European countries include the former Soviet Union and Mexico.

15. International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum

Founded in 1965, the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates the pioneers of photography and preserves historic photographs and equipment. Over 500 artists are represented here, including Ansel Adams, Sebastiao Salgado, and Dorothea Lange. The museum houses 30,000 photographs and 5,000 cameras, including a basic brownie box camera, press cameras, and 19th century studio cameras. These items are rotated in and out of exhibits throughout the year. The museum is located in the vibrant Garden Center Arts District.

16. Scott Joplin House State Historic Site

The Scott Joplin House is one of the few remaining structures related to the life and career of Scott Joplin (1868-1917), one of America's most significant composers. The writer of such popular and enduring songs as "The Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer" (the latter prominently featured in the popular 1973 film, The Sting), Joplin lived in the house on Delmar Boulevard, then known as Morgan Street, with his wife Belle between 1900 and 1903. Designated both a National Historic Landmark and part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, America's bicentennial year, the house was saved from demolition largely through the efforts of the late local housing advocate Macler Shepard, on behalf of the African-American community of St. Louis.

17. People's Hospital

Established in 1903, the People's Hospital was the only privatized institution in St. Louis that treated African American patients during segregation. This clinic is one of the many buildings that once made up the, now, forgotten Mill Creek Valley neighborhood of St. Louis. Currently, the People's Hospital building remains at 2219 Locust St. but has since been abandoned.

18. Booker T. Washington Theatre

The Booker T. Washington Theatre was one of the first theaters in the United States operated by African-Americans for African-Americans. In its operating years between 1912 and 1930, audiences came to see vaudeville performances, motion pictures, and musical acts. Charles Udell Turpin, the theater's owner and manager, was the first African-American St. Louisan elected to a political office in 1910. The theater was host to many prominent African-American artists throughout its history. Ethel Waters and Bill Robinson were among the stars featured at Booker T. Washington Theatre. As a child, entertainer Josephine Baker performed outside the theater with other neighborhood children hoping to get noticed.

19. Union Station (St. Louis)

Union Station in St. Louis, built in 1894, was once the largest railroad terminal in the world that contained tracks and passenger service areas all on one level. Theodore Link, referred to as "one of the city's greatest architects," was selected out of a closed competition to design the structure. Constructed of Indiana limestone in the then-modern Richardson Romanesque style, it was completed at the staggering cost (for the time) of $6.5 million. It was particularly praised for the beauty of its Grand Hall, with its Romanesque arches, gold leaf embellishment and stained glass windows. For 50 years, the terminal was the transportation nucleus of St. Louis, and reached its height during the 1940s, but thereafter its use sharply declined, due partly to the increasing popularity of air travel. However, by the mid-1960s, the Terminal Railroad Association began to study possible uses for the property. In 1968, it was decided to adapt it into a convention center and in the early 1980s, the station was restored at a cost of $150 million. Union Station now serves St. Louis as a tourist attraction, hotel and food court.

20. Meeting of the Waters Fountain, St. Louis

Designed in 1937 by artist Carl Milles, this fountain celebrates the meeting of the Missouri River with the Mississippi River. The fountain and its fourteen bronze sculptures that celebrate the river delta were dedicated in 1940 and they have been an official city landmark since 1971. At the time, and at several moments during the next three decades, the statue has been a subject of controversy and discussion about the nature of art owing to the nudity of the sculpture's two central figures, a man and a woman, who face one another with outstretched and arms.

21. City Museum

Established in 1997, St. Louis's City Museum was built by internationally acclaimed artist, Bob Cassilly. The museum was constructed largely from repurposed architectural and industrial objects and is housed in the former International Shoe building in the Washington Avenue Loft District of St. Louis. The 600,000 square-foot museum is an eclectic mixture of children's playground and museum with fantastical caves, funhouse exhibits, rides, and surrealistic architectural wonders. The museum attracts about 740,000 visitors each year, more than double of St. Louis's population.

22. Campbell House Museum

Since opening in 1943, the Campbell House Museum has served the greater St. Louis area as one of the nation’s premier historic property museums. The house served as a family home of Robert Campbell from 1851 to 1938. The Museum preserves not only the Campbell’s house, the family home of Robert Campbell—a prominent figure in the history of St. Louis and of the American West— but also the family’s collection of original furniture, fixtures, paintings, letters, objects , thousands of pages of family documents, and unique album of 60 interior photographs taken in the mid-1880s. In 2000, the Museum began a meticulous restoration project that returned the building to its opulent 1880s appearance, when the house was one of the centers of St. Louis society. The museum is considered to be one of the best preserved mid-Victorian house museums in the United States.

23. Soldiers Memorial Military Museum

The Soldiers’ Memorial, located between Market and Pine and 13th and 14th Streets, is the first of the two war memorials in St. Louis completed in honor of World War I veterans. Soldiers' Memorial Military Museum was dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, as a memorial for veterans and as a museum for preserving a historic collection of military artifacts, on October 14th, 1936. Two museum galleries contain a collection of military-related objects of both local and national historical significance, such as photographs, posters and printed materials, uniforms, flags, medals, firearms, edged weapons, and a range of war-time memorabilia from the battlefront and the homefront. The building was designed by St. Louis architectural firm Mauran, Russell & Crowell in a stripped Classical style, with a severely simplified form and limited ornament. Notable features include the massive stone columnns with carved stone panels between the columnns that bear the faces of war veterans. On the north and south sides of the building are large stone statues of winged horses and martial looking men and women, representing courage, loyalty, vision, and sacrifice.

24. Christ Church Cathedral (St. Louis)

Christ Church Cathedral is an Episcopal church which was constructed at its present location beginning in 1859, with the opening service held in 1867. (The eight-year delay was primarily due to the Civil War.) It was designed by New York-based architect Leopold Eidlitz in the Gothic Revival style, emulating the style of the English 14th Century. It is constructed in a cruciform (i.e., cross-shaped) plan and is made of Illinois sandstone; a tower and porch made of Indiana limestone were added by 1912. The interior of the cathedral is most renowned for four features: the steel church bells, dating from 1912; the large combination pipe and electronic organ, built in 1965; its imposing stained-glass windows; and the sculpted wall rising over 30 feet behind the main altar, called the reredos. The cathedral still functions as a local parish, as well as a diocesan seat. The structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

25. National Blues Museum

The National Blues Museum opened to the public in 2016 in what was once a downtown St. Louis department store for nearly a century. One of the goals of the museum is to educate those about music and its importance when speaking of America’s culture, race, and diversity. Blues is the foundation for nearly all music that became popular, such as jazz and rock and roll. The museum encourages even those who are not blues fans to visit in order to gain appreciation for the music. The Blues Museum holds various events, including live music, and visitors can sign up for a newsletter on the official website to find out more about them.

26. Laclede's Landing

Laclède's Landing is a small urban historic district in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It marks the northern part of the original settlement founded by the Frenchman Pierre Laclède, whose landing on the riverside the name commemorates.

27. Federal Reserve of St. Louis/Inside the Economy Museum

The Federal Reserve of St. Louis features the Inside the Economy Museum. Located near the Gateway Arch, the museum offers nearly 100 exhibits. With interactive exhibits, you will have the opportunity to experience how inflation is affected by expenses as well as have the opportunity, at one exhibit, to use your sense of smell to understand the economy! Learn the history of the Federal Reserve as well as other interesting information such as the changing economy during the history of the United States when you visit this fascinating new museum.

28. Old Courthouse - Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

The Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis is one of America’s most important historic sites. The courthouse used to be a combination of a federal and a state courthouse. The courthouse building was the tallest building in Missouri until 1896, when Union Station was built. Today it is one of the centerpieces in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, together with the mighty Gateway Arch. It features restored courtrooms, a decorated dome, Dioramas, the "Gateway To The West" film and galleries depicting the history of St. Louis. Over the past 150 years, Old Courthouse remained as one of the St. Louis’ most prominent architectural landmarks.

29. Dred and Harriet Scott Statue

On April 6, 1846, a slave named Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet, sued for their freedom from their slave owner Irene Emerson in the St. Louis’ Old Courthouse. The case itself spanned nine years, and at its conclusion saw the decision favor of Ms. Emerson by way of retaining the services of Dred and Harriet Scott. The Supreme Court decided the case in 1857; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney announced the decision in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. He stated that Americans of African ancestry were not eligible to be citizens, based on the historical claim that they "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." This meant that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. Furthermore, The Court also made clear its intentions to uphold slavery in the United States by ruling that Congress lacked power to ban slavery. Finally, the Court declared that the rights of slave owners were constitutionally protected by the Fifth Amendment because slaves were categorized as property. As a result, the issue of slavery further divided the North from the South and thus expediting the start of the Civil War. It is therefore believe that this case is one of the most important ever to be tried in the United States. On the south lawn of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, the Dred and Harriet Scott Statue depicts the pair as close, holding their heads high, hands held together for loving support. This was a trying time for the Scott's, a time which would test their character and resolve.

30. Gateway Arch, St. Louis

The Gateway Arch is a monument to western expansion and is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial which pays tribute to the Louisiana Purchase. Intended to revitalize the crumbling St. Louis riverfront, city boosters envisioned a memorial park and monument as early as 1933. Construction began in 1963 and the arch was completed in 1965. At 630 feet, the Gateway Arch is the tallest man-made monument in the United States. It is also the world's tallest arch.

31. Basilica of St. Louis, King of France - The Old Cathedral

The Basilica of St. Louis King of France, affectionately known as the Old Cathedral, was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1845 the first and only parish church in the city of St. Louis. The church was founded in 1770. It sits just west of the Gateway Arch and is surrounded by the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial grounds. It is the oldest building still standing in the city of St. Louis that remains in the hands of its original owner.

32. Busch Stadium

The most recent home to the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium opened on April 10, 2006 and replaced the city's former Major League Ballpark, Busch Memorial Stadium. One of the most storied franchises in baseball history, the Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships and became the first team in over a century to win a championship in the inaugural season of a new ballpark.

33. Anheuser-Busch Brewery

The brewery, opened in 1852, is a National Historic Landmark District, and includes three buildings listed as National Historic Landmarks. Free public tours of the brewery are given. The tour takes visitors through the complex, and those of the legal age can enjoy two free glasses of any Anheuser-Busch product in the Hospitality Room after the tour. Tourists can see beer being made and packaged in a working part of the brewery. The company keeps a rotation of its famous Budweiser Clydesdales at its headquarters, and visitors to the brewery can observe the Clydesdales in their exercise field and see their places in the carriage house. Some of the herd is kept at the company farm in St. Louis County. The farm, known as Grant's Farm (having been owned by former President Ulysses S. Grant at one time), is home to a menagerie of animals such as elephants, tortoises, and a variety of exotic hooved mammals. Since 2008, approximately half of the Budweiser Clydesdales are kept at the Warm Springs Ranch near Boonville Missouri. The brewery was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1966.

34. Compton Hill Water Tower

The Compton Hill Water Tower was designed by Harvey Harvey Ellis, a designer-draftsman in the employ of architect, George R. Mann in St. Louis. The tower was constructed in 1897-1899 and is preserved as a mid-19th century engineering masterpiece. The tower is centered on the western edge of Reservoir Park, an attractive urban park, in the "Near South Side" of St. Louis City. East of the tower is the roofed-over Compton Hill Reservoir which is still used for water storage. The Water Tower was built to disguise a standpipe in its interior. It was designed as part of the city's public water supply system. The standpipe helped to control the dangerous surges in the city's pipes caused by the reciprocating pumps and maintain an even water pressure. Occasionally, the observation deck at the top of the water tower is opened to the public, allowing visitors to see 360-degree panoramic views of the city. The tower exemplifies the work of Ellis, an inventive designer in the Richardsonian-Romanesque tradition of the late 19th century. It is a robust design in limestone, buff brick, and terra cotta.

35. Tower Grove House

This 300-acre urban park and botanical garden sits on land that belonged to businessman and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Shaw donated the land to build the park and botanical garden, as well as funds to care for its maintenance. The gardens and adjacent park contains Shaw's former estate, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, a dozen pavilions, a lily pond and numerous flower gardens, and several fountains and statues.

36. Missouri Botanical Garden

Established in 1859 by Henry Shaw, the Missouri Botanical Garden provides the public with access to horticultural displays and plant information, while also advancing scientific knowledge through research. As a museum of plants, the Botanical Garden maintains indoor and outdoor ornamental horticultural displays featuring plants from around the globe. Indoor collections include plants such as orchids, ferns, bromeliads, acacias, yuccas, and cacti. Outdoor collections feature trees such as willow, pine, magnolia, and oak. There is an Italian garden, a rose garden, and perennial gardens with pathways and decorative water features. The Linnean House, built in 1882, is the oldest continuously operated public greenhouse west of the Mississippi River. Designed by George Barnett, it is also the only greenhouse that remains standing from the institution's early decades. Today, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the leading botanical gardens worldwide. It was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. A major renovation is underway for the Visitors Center, which will update the facility for the 21st century.

37. St. Louis Science Center

The St. Louis Science Center, located near the southeast corner of Forest Park, combines what was originally two completely separate institutions: the Museum of Science and Natural History, founded by The Academy of Science of Saint Louis in 1959, and the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, which first opened in 1963. (The two institutions merged in the mid-1980s.) The center's primary mission has been to educate schoolchildren about the mysteries of the universe. Featuring 700 interactive exhibits, it has been called one of the top science centers in the country and one of only two that offers free admission. Around 1.2 million people visit the museum annually. In addition to the Planetarium, the center offers the OMNIMAX® Theatre, a large format, 70mm film projection system, and various permanent exhibitions.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Museums and Landmarks of St. Louis

Created by Ken White on May 7th 2018, 2:53:44 pm.

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This trail includes over three dozen iconic and historically significant landmarks in St. Louis. In addition to a variety of museums, the tour includes some of St. Louis' iconic cathedrals, historical landmarks, art museums and galleries, and classic sites such as the Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium. The trail was designed to help visitors discover the history behind some of the leading museums and landmarks, but it should also be useful for local residents as it provides background information for each site on the trail.

Entries on This Tour

Museums and Landmarks of St. Louis

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