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By
Sandy Katz
The
Hyatt Regency St. Louis, located in historic Union Station, provides an
excellent accommodation while experiencing
St. Louis
’ rich history and culture. It is located in the heart of downtown
St. Louis
. This hotel is in the 100 year-old restored train station, where it has
been magnificently restored to its former elegance and contemporary style
.Each room is elegantly appointed with period-inspired furnishings and
modern conveniences.
The
hotel lobby’s Grand Hall reflects an ambience of a bygone era. Its
65-feet, barrel-vaulted 14 K gold-trimmed ceiling rises majestically above
priceless architectural treasures, original priceless Tiffany stained
glass and artwork.
Theodore
C. Link, architect and former railroader from
St. Louis
was a very superstitious individual. Every entryway and window is in the
shape of an arch to ward off evil. Everything is in sevens for luck; seven
ladies with torches, seven windows and seven arches. This National
Landmark is an ornate example of Romanesque architecture.
Hyatt
Regency
St.
Louis at Union Station is a member of Historic Hotels of America National
Trust for Historic Preservation. For reservations call: 800-233-1234
website: www.hyatt.com
; www.stlouishyatt.com
Built
in 1894 at a cost of $6.5 million, St. Louis Union Station was the largest
single-level passenger rail terminal in the world and a dramatic gateway
to the West. It welcomed visitors from around the world to 1904 World’s
Fair. Unfortunately in 1978, the last train pulled away from
St. Louis
. It deteriorated and was scheduled to be torn down when it was rescued by
Eugene Levee for the Oppenheimer Properties.
Union Station has been transformed into an 11-acre complex of 85
unique specialty shops, restaurants, memories museum, entertainment venues
and a man-made lake complete with paddleboats. Walking
tours and guided tours are available.
It had its Grand opening 1985.
Presidential
trivia: “This is one for
the books.” So said
Missouri
’s-own PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN when presented with infamous newspaper
bearing the headline, “Dewey Defeats Truman.”
The celebrated photograph of a victorious TRUMAN raising the
erroneous Chicago Daily Tribune was taken on the back of a train car at
St. Louis Station on November 3, 1948
www.stlouisunionstation.com
TravelSmart,
the nation’s oldest consumer travel newsletter, named
St. Louis
as one of the safest, culturally most fascinating cities in the country.
The
Gateway Arch was built in 1965 as a monument to THOMAS JEFFERSON.
PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON’S
dream of a continental
United States
became closer to reality when he purchased the
Louisiana
Territory
, which included
St. Louis
from
France
for $125 million in 1803.Today;
JEFFERSON
’S vision is commemorated with the
tallest monument in the country,
symbolizing
America
’s adventurous spirit. It sours 630 feet high above the
Mississippi River
as the focal point of
St. Louis
skyline. A tram takes visitors to top of arch observation deck.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER was the only president to take the tram
ride. www.gatewayarch.com
ULYSSES
S. GRANT National Historic Site features White Haven, the Victorian-style
house and grounds where GRANT resided.
At the site, you will learn about LIEUTENANT Grant’s assignment
to St. Louis ’ nearby Jefferson Barracks following his graduation from
West Point in1843. Soon after he arrived in the city, he visited the
family of his former roommate, Frederick Dent, at their plantation. Here
he met Fred’s sister Julia, whom he married in 1848.The White Haven
property was a focal point in the GRANT’S life for decades.
On
March 1, 1872
, PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT established
Yellowstone
as the country’s first National Park. Grant could not have imagined that
117 years and some 360 park units later, PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH would sign
legislation authorizing his home, White Haven, as Ulysses S. Grant
Historic Site. This site consists of five historic structures(
a two-story residence, a stone Summer Kitchen, a barn, an ice house and a
chicken house) on 9.65 acres of land. The
ground features several hundreds of trees and are a haven for a variety of
wildlife such as raccoons, woodchuck, rabbit, red fox and
an assortment of birds. www.nps.gov/ulsg
Forest
Park
, one of the largest urban parks in
United States
, was restored and renovated to its former glory as site of Louisiana
Purchase Exposition in
St. Louis
, 1904 World’s Fair. PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT visited the St. Louis
Fair on
November 26, 1904
to be greeted by more than 200,000 cheering fairgoers. It’s now
the home to St. Louis’ major cultural institutions, which are
open free of general admission charge including the St. Louis Zoo, Science
Center, Missouri History Museum and St. Louis Art Museum.
Today it is also a popular spot for picnicking, jogging and
bicycling. The 1,293-acre park also contains Steinberg memorial Skating
rink for ice and roller skating, Jewel Box Greenhouse and 27 hole
Community golf course. www.forestparkforever.org
The
Missouri History Museum had a special exhibit called First Ladies,
Political Role and Public Image until May 7,200. From the Smithsonian’s
First Ladies Collection, this traveling exhibition features over two
centuries of elegant inaugural and evening gowns, White House furnishings,
china, photographs, portraits and campaign and personal memorabilia
documenting the unique marks our first ladies have left upon American
history.
The
permanent exhibitions currently on view include: “Seeking St. Louis,”
an exciting, state-of-the-art, interactive, two gallery exhibition that
tells the history of the region from earliest time to present; Lindbergh
and 1904 World’s Fair.
www.mohistory.org
The
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis was called by POPE PAUL VI, “the
outstanding cathedral of the
America
.” It was built in 1907 and has a Romanesque exterior with brilliant
mosaic art inside. Tours by volunteers and docents call:
314-373-8242 www.cathedralstl.org
SPRINGFIELD
,
ILLINOIS
One
hundred miles from
St. Louis
is
Springfield
,
Illinois
, in the heart of
LINCOLN
country.
LINCOLN
moved from New Salem to
Springfield
in 1837 and left as president in 1861.
The new ABRAHAM LINCOLN Presidential Library and Museum are must
stops for history buffs. Combining scholarship and showmanship, the
ABRAHAM LINCOLN Presidential Library & Museum uses twenty-first
century technology to immerse visitors in a world of gas lamps and hoop
skirts-
LINCOLN
’S world.
Open
since April 2005, the museum has a reproduction of the White House as it
looked in 1861. Most fascinating was viewing the 1860 Presidential
Election as though it were happening today, complete with television news
coverage and campaign commercials. View an original hand-written copy of
the Gettysburg Address and the quill pen he used to sign the Emancipation
Proclamation.
The
Presidential Library is home to the world’s largest collection of
LINCOLN-related documents, artifacts and books.
www.alplm.org
800-610-2094
Operated
by the National Park Service, the
LINCOLN
home has been restored to its 1860s appearance, revealing
LINCOLN
as a father, politician, and President-elect. It stands in the midst of a
four block historic neighborhood. This is the only home that
LINCOLN
ever owned. He and his family lived here from 1844 until he left for
Washington
in 1861. The historic
neighborhood, which appears much as
LINCOLN
would have remembered it, includes several restored houses that provide
exhibits and a
Visitor
Center
with films and displays that further tell the story of the
Lincolns
in
Springfield
. 217-492-4241, ext.
221 (
Visitors
Center
)
The
LINCOLN Tomb is an exquisite monument, which marks the final resting place
of ABRAHAM, Mary, Todd, Tad, Eddie and Willie Lincoln. LINCOLN and Mary
often visited the
Oak Ridge
cemetery while they lived in
Springfield
. They were both impressed by the setting. Remembering that time, Mary
insisted that
LINCOLN
be buried at
Oak Ridge
. The magnificent and imposing tomb was designed by world-famous sculpture
Larkin Mead stands on a slight rise and provides a dramatic image as
visitors enter the cemetery. 217-782-2727
Before
leaving
Springfield
, a visit to The Dana-Thomas House, a spectacular Frank Lloyd Wright House
State Historic Site is recommended. It is the best preserved and most
complete of Wright’s early “prairie
homes”. It was constructed in 1902-1904 for
Springfield
socialite and woman’s activist Susan Lawrence Dana. It is one of the
largest and most elaborate of Wright’s residences in his 70-year career.
217-782-6776
ALTON
,
ILLINOIS
Founded
in 1818,
Alton
continues to be a bustling river town rich in culture and layered deep
with history. .Just north of
St. Louis
, neighboring
Alton
,
Illinois
was one of the places where future president ABRAHAM LINCOLN and Stephen
Douglas engages in a series of “Great Debates.” The primary topic:
slavery. Statuary and an historical marker note the site of this
senatorial debate in
Alton
’s
Lincoln Douglas Square
. Standing in bronze at the corner of Broadway and
Landmarks Blvd.
, ABRAHAM LINCOLN and Stephen Douglas can still be seen in heated debate.
Also
in
Alton
are some Civil War sites including Alton Prison,
Confederate
Cemetery
and Monument and
Lovejoy
Monument
. 800-258-6645 www.visitalton.com
IF
YOU GO
Accommodations:
Hyatt Regency St. Louis at Union Station: Reservations: 800-233-1234 www.hyatt.com
www.stlouishyatt.com
St.
Louis CVB: www.explorestlouis.com
800-916-0040
Springfield
CVB: www.visitspringfield.com
800-545-7300
Alton
Regional CVB: www.visitalton.com
800-258-6645
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