Saint Louis: the Lou and You

When most folks think of St. Louis, Missouri they immediately of the impressive gateway arch monument. The symbolic "gateway to the west." was completed in the 1960s. It is impressive and significant to St. Louis, yet it is merely an entry way to all St. Louis has to offer visitors, whether cultural, historical, sporting, educational or just plain fun.

There's much more than meets the arch in St. Louis. Get comfy while St. Louis natives introduce you to...

the Gateway to the BEST in St. Lou.

1) Toasted Ravioli (How old was I when I learned that other folks don't even KNOW about these? In the Lou they are just a fact of life.)
2) Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (ya won't scream for ice cream once you've had some Ted Drewes Frozen Custard) ...by the way, know where the ice cream cone was 1st invented? St. Louis World's Fair, 1904
3) Soda We call it soda, you call it pop. Coca-Cola or Pepsi...whatever...gimme a soda.
4) Beer n Brats OK, so other places have beer and maybe bratworsts, but in the LOU? Best at Busch Stadium during a Cardinals game!

About our airport: Lambert Field and St. Louis International Airport really are the same place, so do not be confused by all of the various highway signs that might indicate otherwise. The East Terminal, however, is a different place. The East Terminal is a modern pimple of an annex that grew off of Lambert awhile back. Flights out of the East Terminal are a piece of cake compared to the main terminal. Southwest flights and the charters all come and go from the East Terminal, much smaller and having its own parking lot - making it a helluva lot easier to navigate than the main terminal. Yet if airports like O'Hare don't scare you, then either of them will be a piece of cake.

There is another tiny airport out in West County, called the Spirit of St. Louis airport. If you have your own small plane, that 'Spirit of St. Louis Airport' landing field would be the best place to land it, but commercial passenger planes do not use that airport. By car you just grab I-64 west past I-270 to 'the valley' area (Chesterfield Valley) and the best exit is Long Road.

Highways and By-Ways in St. Louis: St. Louis natives commonly give directions to strangers based on neighborhoods which aren't marked on any maps, and only known to natives of 'the Lou' so get used to it if ya come to St. Louis. Just a few of these neighborhoods would be: Dogtown, the Hill, the Loop, the Central West End (CWE) and Soulard.

*About Hwy 64/40: St. Louisans were aghast when the federal government required them to redo the highway signs to say that our very own 'Highway 40' actually went to cities in other states instead of just local St. Louis municipalities and hangouts. WHAT???

So ... what locals call 'Highway 40' or simply '40' is referred to on road signs as I-64. Very few natives will call it I-64, regardless of signs or times. Worst of all, many locals pronounce 40 as 'farty' so ... be prepared for that if you ask for directions....like you might hear something like .... " well... ya grab 'farty' on past Dogtown and then go south past the Hill". St. Louis natives GET this, and for some reason it doesn't occur to many of them why YOU don't also. Welcome to the Lou!

*The two year long construction project that closed down Hwy 40 (I-64) was finally complete as of December of 2009, so smooth sailing.
*You can go all four directions on Highway 270: North and South in West County, East and West in South County, and East and West in North County. Think of it as a big horseshoe sitting open to the Arch. Got that? Good. Hwy 270 is important, as it circles the city.
*Never EVER try to cross any river bridge in the St. Louis area during rush hour unless you have a port-a-potty in the car.
*The outer belt is Highway 270, which turns into Highway 255 in South County. The 'inner belt' is Highway 170 and if it's 370 it's an outer outer belt.
*O'Fallon and Wentzville area residents complain of no good north/south routes out there, so an outer outer outer belt is a possibility in the future in far west county. Since we already have 170, 270 and 370 then I suppose a 470 belt may appear at some time in the future.

*Many of our roads will mysteriously changes names as you cross intersections: Hanley Road is a good example, which changes to Laclede Station Road to the south, and Hanley will be known as Graham Road up north in the Florissant area, then you go around a curve and it changes again to St. Ferdinand! Roads like Hanley can be confusing to out-of-towners. Ditto for Lindbergh/Kirkwood, Midland/Dorsett, Olive/Clarkson. Gravois Road STILL confuses me after a lifetime here, where (in the city) it curves around in all directions and even lanes change here and there, however Gravois transforms a more uniform street and west of the city and even similar to a small highway out west of 270.
*ALL old ladies with blue hair in Cadillacs driving on Olive west of 270 have the right of way, ALWAYS!!! :-)
*Lindbergh belongs to every neighborhood except Kirkwood, who had the nerve to creatively change the name to Kirkwood Road.
*Traveling west from the arch, you can take I-70 to the north, I-64 central, or I-44 south. All will eventually intersect with 270 which is a loop all the way around town. Good non-highway routes include Olive Blvd, Clayton Road or Gravois - ALL of them stretch on forever all the way to far west county and beyond (gravois goes even further and is also known as Hwy 30).
*Any vehicle publicly parked in the city for over 4 hours is known as a free auto parts store. Ditto for East St. Louis and areas of north St. Louis, where that time frame is reduced to about 30 minutes...or less.

Some streets and areas in the Lou can only be pronounced only by a native. Some of those appear below. French-speaking people, be prepared for the St. Louis version of how to pronounce Creve Couer.

*Creve Couer (Creev CORE)
*Spoede (SPADE-ee)
*Gravois (GRAV-oi) (the s is silent, yet some say GRAV-oiz)
*Chouteau (SHOTE-oh)
*I-64 (FAR-ty)

Here's a not very well known fact about St. Louis that even many natives are not aware of, yet is significant. Over a century ago, city officials decided to separate St. Louis City from the County, and mandated this by law. Sometimes referred to as 'the great divorce' this was a very controversial action in 1876, resulting in two separate city centers (downtown and Clayton) and remains so today.

Back then the city was wealthy and the county tended to be very poor. County people were in desperate need of things like roads and schools. City owners grew weary of constant requests from the poorer county and so decided to separate the city from the county, making the city of St. Louis its own county. That forced the poor to fend for themselves.

Currently the situation is just the opposite in that the county is generally where wealth is found in St. Louis, and the city tends to house the very poor. Yet published statistics about St. Louis will reflect the city only, whether with regard to crime and unemployment rates, schools, housing...you name it. St. Louis gets reported as being way beyond the 'national average' when compared to other cities in many ways.

However these comparisons are based on the area within the city limits only, making them invalid in comparison to areas that include both city and surrounding counties. I know of no other city besides St. Louis who ever 'divorced' their counties and stayed divorced for well over a century regardless of many negative impacts. Makes one wonder why the city and county do not just remarry and be done with it. Likely the county now does not wish to merge with the city and then be forced to share their problems, a complete reverse of 1876.

Read more on this story at St. Louis Gets Divorced in 1876 and also library records here.

*Reported statistics about St. Louis are skewed heavily by this variable. For example, St. Louis repeatedly gets rated as a city with an extremely high crime rate. However, those stats reflect crime rates only within the city limits while crime rates for other cities reflect both city and county areas combined. So this is not a valid comparison, especially considering that inner cities do tend to have higher crime rates nation-wide.

Four very distinct season changes can be enjoyed here, and most people would likely prefer the springtime and fall. The funny thing about our weather in St. Louis is that you might experience so many 'seasons' within just a few days, as weather tends to change quite drastically. That's why people around here sometimes say, 'If ya don't like the weather in St. Louis, then just wait a day or two.'

In the summer and winter, the high humidity can be a BIG weather challenge to those not accustomed to it. Summers can be hot as a firecracker, and when you factor in the humidity it can feel like walking into a moist furnace when you walk outside. Be prepared to sweat. In the wintertime, the moisture from humidity in the air creates a wet cold sometimes that can be bone chilling if you are out in it for very long.

Update: Summer 2011 Heavy storms and even tornadoes were plentiful, the biggest being the New Years Eve tornado that hit the Sunset Hills area in South County and the Good Friday tornado that wreaked havoc over a big stretch of North County, including a direct hit on Lambert airport.

Of the St. Louis locations mentioned in the poll above, those which still exist today are:
Chuck-a-Burger, Blueberry Hill, Crown Candy, the Pageant, Grant's Farm and the Casa Loma Ballroom.
Therefore the correct answer was B) Blueberry Hill, Crown Candy & Casa Loma

The City Museum
Whether you love or hate museums, there's simply NO museum ANYwhere quite like the St. Louis City Museum. 'Kids' of all ages will love it and want to return again and again, since it tends to be ever-changing and growing. A MUST to visit in the Lou.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
Some say you haven't experienced St. Louis until you have been to Ted Drewes. This frozen custard shop has served frosty "concrete" weight custard to travelers along Route 66 and in St. Louis since 1929 and is a local favorite. It really is true - you can turn your cup upside down and the frozen custard will stay put - it's THAT thick.

St. Louis Zoo
Unlike just about any zoo in the country, the St. Louis Zoo is FREE! This world-class zoo has new exhibits and expansions every year. Some attractions, like the Zoo train and others, do have a fee. Make sure you stop in the butterfly house.

Six Flags
If amusement parks amuse you, head out to 6 Flags over Mid-America for the day. The Hurricane Harbor Water Park is free with the theme park admission. You'll find several roller coasters including the newer additions of "The Boss" and "Batman" also the original "Screaming Eagle".

The Magic House
Got kids? Then don't miss this Children's Museum, offering more than 100 hands-on educational exhibits for kids from "1 to 101."

The Science Center
Highly recommended, with or without kids, the Science Center now has America's newest space attraction at its James S. McDonnell Planetarium. Inside the Planetarium's Boeing Space Station, visitors can learn about space sciences, astronomy, aviation and the environment through a "living future" picture of space not found in any other science center in the nation.

Busch Brewery Tour
St. Louis became a major industrial center in the late 1800s, with more than 100 breweries operating in the city, and the largest one was Anheuser-Busch, which still maintains its headquarters there today. You can tour the historic complex for free, Mondays-Saturdays. See the Clydesdale stables, the lager cellar, the Bud World gift shop, and have some free beer.

The Missouri Botanical Garden
This garden in St. Louis offers the largest traditional Japanese garden in North America and is a real treat year-round. See the Kemper Center for Home Gardening, the Climatron rain forest and more. The Great Garden Adventure tours are offered here since 2003. The self-guided tours around the world-famous oasis include a Kid's quest and a Fitness Foray. Their free outdoor concerts in summertime are awesome!

Book a place to stay anywhere in the St. Louis area right here. Just click St. Louis Hotels and find whatever you need, wherever in St. Louis you want to stay.

Late night rabble-rowsers will find fun and action into the wee hours in many areas of St. Louis. The top five choices for live music, dancing, and late night socializing would surely include the following areas of town: the Loop, the Landing, the Central West End, Soulard, and Washington Avenue.
...and the REALLY bold and hard-core late nighters? They go to the east side. That means cross the bridge into Illinois and be careful over there.
Pick up a copy of River Front Times - that is the most popular local free rag mag to discover what's going on where in town. Click the link above or pick one up around town - it can be found in most restaurants and stores - just look for it on a rack near the doorway.