When we stepped outside the hotel this morning it was already very hot, so it’s lucky we only had a short walk down to the Jefferson Memorial Park and the Gateway Arch. I’m afraid that we really didn’t get to see the memorial at its best. When I’d looked at pictures of the site before our trip they showed the arch rising up from a vast green lawn, but the lawn has been ripped up and is currently a building site. They are creating a vast new parkland, visitor centre and museum under the arch and it won’t be finished for several months. The route to the North leg of the arch ( where our tram would depart) was around the southern and of the arch and along the riverfront.
I wish my photos could really convey the scale of the arch , it is ENORMOUS! In one of these pics you can just make out the viewing windows at the very top.
You can just see the viewing windows at the left.
The arch is covered with 1/4 inch of stainless steel. It really shines in the sunlight!
Stairs lead down underneath the memorial to the security checkpoint, gift shop, theatre and tram area and fortunately the whole thing is air conditioned. They are very careful about security and we had to go through an airport style screening to get into the place. Inside there were a few displays and here we learned that the arch was designed by Eero Saarinen , a Finnish-American architect. There was also a substantial gift shop selling everything they could think of with a picture of the arch on it!
We’d planned our arrival so we could watch the movie “Memorial to a Dream” before our ride. It showcased the construction of the arch in the 1960s and really helped us to understand what an incredible work of engineering it was. I have to say that in the present days of OH&S it was appalling to see the workmen wandering around 600 feet up with no safety harnesses etc. In the movie they mentioned that they had estimated that they would “lose” 13 people during the construction, but fortunately, in the end there were no deaths. In hindsight I don’t think it was a great idea to watch the movie first, it gave Neil a minor case of the heebie jeebies before he even set foot on the elevator tram!
Finally it was out turn to ride and we walked down the stairs to the departure area. The “tram” consists of 8 tiny capsules ecah of whcih had 5 seats in a very cozy arrangement. We’d been asked when buying the tickets if we had any claustraphobia problems and now I could understand why. Fortunately for the trip up Neil and I were the only people in our capsule.
Open the Pod Bay doors, Hal!
Neil, smiling or grimacing?
The glass doors closed and we started to ascend, watching the innards of the leg go past as we rose. Our chairs moved and the whole capsule wobbled as the angle changed on the ascent. Neil was really not very comfortable but was doing his best.
Finally we stopped and climbed out of our eggs ( that’s what they felt like!) to climb the last few steps to the viewing room at the top. There were a row of narrow windows on either side and you needed to lie on the carpeted sills to look down properly. Neil decided he’d be happier in the middle of the structure, thank you very much!
The views were fantastic. On one side we looked down on the river and on the other we could see St Louis stretched about below, nearby was the Old Courthouse, the roof of our hotel and the huge Busch Stadium, the home of the St Louis Cardinals baseball team.
We took lots of photos and then joined the queue for the ride down. This time we shared with another couple, it was cosy enough with four, can’t imagine it with 5 and Neil had to duck his head to fit.
After a short rest stop in back in the hotel ( to cool off!) we set out in the car for the short drive to the other “Must see” in St Louis, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, the home of Budweiser. We knew they run free tours and hadn’t expected much but it turned out to be excellent! The tour guide led us first to see the famous Clydesdale horses that have been a symbol of the company for over 100 years in their gorgeous stable. Then we were taken to several areas where the brew process takes place, some of which are in gorgeous old Victorian style spaces, a bit like grand old train stations!
We had arrived in hot sunshine but at one stage storm clouds rolled over and we were pelted with rain. Neil and I were frantically trying to cover our cameras but luckily we weren’t outside in it for too long and we all dried off very fast in the “mashing” room where the temperature was over 50 degrees!
During the tour we were offered a small sample of either Bud or Bud Light, and to my surprise I really quite liked the Bud light. I’m not really a huge fan of beer but this one was very nice. At the end of the tour we were also given a ticket each that we could exchange for a free beer in their huge Beirgarten restaurant. I tried the Bud Light Lime which was even nicer and we decided to stay and have some lunch – we shard a very tasty cheese & meats platter followed by a yummy chicken burger.
A bit bedraggled after being caught in the rain…but the Beer was good!
Afterwards we had some time to fill so we decided to head to Costco. We really enjoy visiting Costco in the USA, they make the Australian stores look like midgets and we nearly always find some bargains. This time was no exception 🙂