NOTE: This tour is currently sold out – click HERE to be added to the waitlist.

Historic St Louis Tour is Tuesday; 8:45 am until 4:00 pm, departing from the Convention Center. Transportation, entry fees, and lunch included in the $70 fee. 

On Tuesday join us for a day-long tour of Historic St Louis. Begin the tour in Forest Park, site of the 1904 World’s Fair and home to the Missouri History Museum. Operated by the Missouri Historical Society, founded in 1866, this museum provides nearly 200,000 digitized items. Collections include photos, documents, objects and media representing Missouri’s rich history.

Tour will include a stop at Saint Louis Cathedral Basilica, begun in 1907 as a replacement for the “Old” St Louis Cathedral located on the Mississippi Riverfront downtown. This mother-church for the Catholic Archdiocese of St Louis is known for its large mosaic installation, one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere.

After the Basilica, the tour will pass Saint Louis University, the arts district, Union Station and enter into downtown. Here participants will see the Peabody Auditorium, court buildings, Old Courthouse and the Gateway Arch National Park. Time will not allow a visit to the Arch and museum. If you plan to visit the Arch at a later time a reservation to the top is required. The new museum is free and includes a movie detailing the building of the Arch. See www.nps.gov/jeff/index.htm.

1904 World’s Fair Flight Cage. Postcard from the St Louis Zoo Archives.
(https://www. stlzoo.org/about/history#&gid=1&pid=2).

Gateway arch, courtesy of the National Park Service

Mid-day lunch will be enjoyed at the Anheuser Busch Biergarten. Time will be available to visit the world-famous Clydesdales, stabled here.

Following lunch the tour will drive through the Lafayette Square neighborhood, one of the oldest and most fashionable neighborhoods of St. Louis. Declining after a devastating tornado in 1896, the area has undergone a restoration since the 1970’s during which most homes have been restored.

Finally, wind through the historic Soulard neighborhood.  Home to the oldest farmers’ market west of the Mississippi with more than 100 vendors. Soulard also hosts a Mardi Gras festival second only to New Orleans.