Rain or shine, St. Louis has plenty of options for a good time this weekend.
St. Louis was founded by a Frenchman, named after a sainted French king, and nicknamed “the Paris of the West” during pioneering days. Today, St. Louis’ French Heritage is very much on view in its architecture, historic sites, fleur de lis images and by hosting one of the largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the nation.
Founded in 1699 in nearby Cahokia, Illinois, the Church of the Holy Family is the oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic parish in the United States and the oldest church west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was established by French priest Father St. Cosme who worked with two French laborers to build a log rectory and chapel. The original log church was destroyed by fire in 1783 and the first Mass was offered in the current log church in 1799. Constructed of black walnut timbers in the traditional French Colonial vertical log style, the Log Church is only one of five built in this style that still exists in North America.
Drive through St. Louis’ historic Laclede’s Landing entertainment district. Named for Pierre Laclede, St. Louis’ French founder, The Landing (as locals call it) is a nine squareblock area of restored warehouses on the Mississippi River where Lewis & Clark departed to explore the Louisiana Purchase territory and steamboats once transported their cargoes of cotton, tobacco and trade goods. Today, the warehouses have been converted into clubs, bars, restaurants and offices.
Arc de Triomphe, indeed! No group trip to St. Louis is complete without viewing the Gateway Arch, which sits high atop the “Left Bank” of the mighty Mississippi. French explorers Louis Joliet and Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette began mapping the “Big River” in 1673.
Fun Facts regarding the architectural symbols of St. Louis and Paris:
Count your blessings at the church known to St. Louisans as the Old Cathedral. When the city was founded by Pierre Laclede in 1764, the land on which the Old Cathedral sits was reserved for Roman Catholic worship and a log church was built. A larger log church replaced the original on the same site in 1776. This was the only church of any denomination for St. Louisans until about 1816. The 1834 Greek Revival structure that stands today was the first Cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the fourth Catholic church to grace the site. The title “basilica” is given by papal decree to a historically significant sacred space.
The Old Courthouse is temporarily closed and undergoing renovations as part of the final component of the $380 million CityArchRiver project, the largest public-private partnership in the history of the National Park Service.
Stroll from the Arch to the Old Courthouse to view a remarkable set of dioramas depicting French Colonial architecture in Old St. Louis and galleries filled with objects that were important to daily life in Old St. Louis. Built from 1839-1862, the Old Courthouse features restored court rooms, exhibit rooms on St. Louis’ history and its beautifully decorated dome.
Like the sculpture garden of Paris’ Musee Rodin, St. Louis’ Citygarden is an artistic Eden in the heart of a major city. The outdoor attraction blends lush plantings and internationally renowned sculpture with the delights of water, stone, architecture and landscape design. Citygarden is completely open and accessible to the public 365 daysa-year. On display are twenty-five pieces of sculpture by internationally renowned artists.
Opened in 1846, the Shrine of St. Joseph was noted as the site of a miracle that saved the life of a dying man who was healed after kissing a relic of St. Peter Claver. The miracle was authenticated as one of two miracles needed to canonize the saint, known for his work among the African people of the Americas. The central altar, called the Altar of Answered Prayers, was installed in 1867 after the parishioners asked St. Joseph to intercede and save them from a deadly cholera epidemic that swept the city. The Italian Renaissance-style altar was designed to replicate the Altar of St. Ignatius at the Jesuit Gesu Church in Rome. Every third Sunday of the month, the choir sings the Mass in Latin in the Baroque-style church accompanied by one of the largest handmade Pfeffer tracker organs in existence.
While driving by, groups can take note of St. Louis’ City Hall (1873) which is modeled after the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) in Paris. A statue of the city’s French founder, Pierre Laclede, stands west of the Market Street entry to the building.
A few blocks further west of City Hall is St. Louis Union Station (1894), which was modeled after the design of the French fortress of Carcassonne and was once the world’s busiest rail station. In the evening, watch a free, panoramic light show projected on the massive ceiling.
The Marquis de Lafayette, France’s leadership contribution to the American Revolutionary War effort, visited St. Louis in 1825. He made such an impression on the citizens that they named the city’s first designated park in his honor. Lafayette Park in St. Louis, founded in 1836, is the oldest public park west of the Mississippi. The elegant neighborhood surrounding the “squared park” is known as Lafayette Square. The area’s circa 1870 –1880 “painted ladies” have been called the finest and largest collection of Victorian-era architecture in the country.
A driving tour of Soulard, St. Louis’ oldest neighborhood, showcases brick row houses, blues music clubs, corner taverns and the oldest operating farmers market in America. Soulard celebrates its French heritage each year by hosting one of the nation’s biggest Mardi Gras celebrations. There’s always a “bon temps” vibe in this lively, friendly neighborhood.
Stop and shop any Wednesday – Saturday where St. Louisans have shopped since 1779 – Soulard Farmers Market. Owned and operated by the City of St. Louis, it is the oldest farmers market in the country.
After lunch, allow free time for groups to stroll and shop along the tree-and-sidewalk café-lined streets of the Central West End neighborhood. Antique shops, boutiques and even a store named Left Bank Books add a Parisian flare to the streetscape. Note the beautiful cast iron street lamps, from the early 1900s, that illuminate major intersections. A decidedly French stop in the West End is Bissinger’s.
The life of Saint Louis IX, crusader King of France (1214-1270) and the city’s namesake and patron saint, is vividly portrayed in the vestibule of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Built in 1907, this incredible structure combines Byzantine and Romanesque architecture styles with one of the largest collection of mosaics in the world. Pope Paul VI called the church “the outstanding cathedral of the Americas.” More than 41 million pieces of tesserae in 8,000 colors fill more than 83,000 sq. ft.
The Missouri History Museum’s permanent (and free) Currents Gallery includes remnants of the city’s French fur trading past, Parisian fashions and ephemera of the original settlers’ French cultural customs.
A sculpture of the city’s namesake and patron saint, Louis IX, titled “Apotheosis of St. Louis” greets visitors outside the main entrance to the Saint Louis Art Museum. Prior to the creation of the Gateway Arch, this statue, which graced the main plaza at the 1904 “Meet Me in St. Louis” World’s Fair, was the symbol of the city. Groups can experience the museum’s extensive collection of French Impressionist works and French Empire furnishings and decorative arts. The Saint Louis Art Museum’s permanent collection is open to the public free of charge.
Groups can stretch their legs and learn about St. Louis’ famous citizens in The Loop neighborhood – home to the St. Louis Walk of Fame. At 6501 Delmar, look for “Jazz Cleopatra” Josephine Baker’s star. Also “starring” along the Walk of Fame are St. Louis’ French founders Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau, William Clark who explored the Louisiana Purchase territory, music legends including Chuck Berry, Scott Joplin, Miles Davis and Tina Turner and more than 100 other significant St. Louisans from all fields of endeavor.
