John Shearer: Visiting St. Louis, Part 1 -- Enjoying Parks, History, The Zoo, And Baseball

For the third time in the last four years, I visited a major American city that perhaps gave a hint or vibe that it had once been an even grander metropolis.

But that to me is not a bad trait, as I found some beautiful architecture of old and other fascinating homages to the past in my recent visit to St. Louis, just as I previously had in Cincinnati and Baltimore.

St. Louis came up as a travel destination when my wife, Laura, and I were trying to find a place to visit. She had once lived in that area just across the Mississippi River in Illinois, and I like to go to towns in the summer that have Major League Baseball teams. I had also been to St. Louis before, but only once. It was way back in 1972 when I was 12 years old and I went with my family to an American Optometric Association national convention related to the work of my late father, Dr. C. Wayne Shearer.

So, when Laura and I hopped in our rental car and headed west on Interstate 24 on Monday morning, July 29, I certainly had a “Go West, Young Man” mentality – except for the young part! After about 75 miles on the road, though, we realized we needed to stop around Murfreesboro to buy a phone cord charger. And while we were at it, we decided to eat lunch, too.

We were going to stop at a Wendy’s but we noticed a Whataburger restaurant next to it. Since the Texas-based chain was one of those highly publicized ones we had never visited, we decided to go there. I got the large Whataburger and fries, and while the fries were not super hot – which is one of my pet peeves – the burger was tasty. That is except for the fact it was probably almost double the size of what I needed. Maybe that is why they call it a Whataburger!

A unique restaurant feature, other than the orange color found everywhere, is that the woman who brought our food also had a tray of ketchup packs and other condiments. You get them from her and don’t have to pump ketchup out of a container over by the drink stand or ask for packs. She reminded me of a roller skater at a drive-in restaurant bringing the food on a tray.

After eating, we continued heading on past Clarksville, Tn., and into Kentucky, thinking we were making good time. At 8 or slightly more total hours in a car counting various stops, it was about as far as I like to drive somewhere before instead opting to fly. But I tried to keep thinking about getting delayed in an airport, so I was happy.

Unfortunately, we got delayed in our car, too, due to a shut-down interstate in Northwestern Kentucky that resulted in a detour and added another 30 to 45 minutes to the trip. But on the side roads we got an even better view of TVA’s Kentucky Dam and the Tennessee River.

Within a few moments we were also crossing the wide Ohio River into Illinois, and I realized this part of the country is unique in that it is within a short drive of three or four major rivers, with the mighty Mississippi soon to be seen next to St. Louis.

I must admit that I – a geography major in college – was not even sure if we were getting ready to go into Indiana or Illinois, but I soon learned it was Illinois. I was depending on my wife manning the GPS or maps system, so I had not even taken a look at an old-fashioned map as used to be so second nature.

I was quite surprised at how the landscape seemed to change almost immediately from slightly rolling and somewhat wooded Kentucky to flat and more open Illinois. But I found it interesting, despite my love of Chattanooga due to the low mountains around me. In fact, after following all the development projects and urban sprawl in Ooltewah, Hixson, Soddy-Daisy, etc., it was nice to see miles of farmland and minimal signs of homes and asphalt.

Of course, that seemed to change after we were within about 10 to 15 miles of the Mississippi River and downtown St. Louis after switching from Interstate 24 to I-57 North and then I-64-West.

We had stopped at an Illinois rest stop just across the line, and I was impressed at how a friendly woman quickly greeted us in her Midwestern accent and asked if we needed any advice on getting anywhere. It was a nice change from many rest stops, where the only employee you see is often someone cleaning a restroom – and putting up a sign saying that it is closed due to the cleaning.

As we continued and began seeing more development and were within three or four miles of the river, I suddenly saw a pretty and unique sight jump out in front of me across the horizon. It was the Gateway Arch amid some skyscrapers also becoming noticeable.

I must admit that it was a little bit of an emotional moment for me seeing it, including for the first time in 52 years.

Arriving as the dinnertime hour had come, we pulled into the Hyatt Regency that sits right by the Arch, found the adjacent self-parking garage next to it with the help of an attendant, and were able to get checked in. A friendly hotel clerk gave us a list of possibly good restaurants in the area, so we decided to walk to a Thai-themed one.

We had great ambitions about pounding the pavement going to many of our destinations, but Laura was still recovering from knee replacement surgery a few months earlier. So, we felt as tired after walking about three quarters of a mile on foot in some respects as we did eight or nine hours in a car.

As a result, we ordered a broccoli chicken-like dish with rice, a couple of spring rolls, and – yes -- an Uber. This technology wizard – I -- had never ordered an Uber before, and neither had my wife, but with the help of the kind waiter who told us about downloading the app and signing up, we ordered one when we finished our meal.

The meal had certainly been enjoyable but no better or worse or more unique than perhaps three or four Asian restaurants near our home in Hixson. And you could not order sweet tea, so I spent about two or three minutes giving my right arm a workout while stirring!

Within about five or 10 minutes after we finished and got on the app, the Uber driver showed up and took us the short drive back to the hotel. He was nice – except when I told him I was a Braves fan and not a diehard Cardinals supporter.

As we pulled into the hotel pull-off area, I asked him how we leave a tip, showing my obvious inexperience and naivety. He said I could simply leave it on the app, and, sure enough, just seconds after we got out of the car and he was probably laughing at me while driving off, I saw an alert on my phone wondering if I wanted to leave him a tip. I clicked on the one for $3 and with the roughly $8 or $9 regular cost, it ended up being about $12 to go less than a mile. Oh well, at least we did not sweat too much!

After enjoying our fifth-floor hotel room, despite being awakened briefly by a siren going by, I got up early the next morning – especially for central time – and went jogging. One reason I chose the Hyatt, which was competitively priced with most of the other hotels there at slightly over $200 a night, was that it sat in a giant grassy and tree-lined park space around the Arch and on land operated by the National Park Service.

As one who loves to run on grass to prevent shin splits and other sore bones – even though my shoes get wet from the dew – I was in heaven. In fact, I envisioned the Pearly Gates maybe looking a little like the Arch. Yes, the metal of the engineering wonder caught my eye more than the expansive layout of soft grass this time.

I quickly realized that the neatest view of the Arch was from right underneath it looking straight up. In fact, it looked more eye catching from that vantage point than it did from miles away the previous day.

I definitely envisioned it seeming like an old friend to someone from St. Louis who sees it regularly, and part of the appeal of it was that flat land surrounded it. It probably would not have had the same draw if it was located near the Great Smoky Mountains, unless it was on top of a place like Mt. LeConte.

Perhaps because Chattanooga sits on the Tennessee River, the Arch was much more interesting to me to look at than the Mississippi River. The river actually seemed only a little wider there than the Tennessee River, even though the Missouri River comes into it in that area.

I believe the MIssissippi is much wider down near Memphis, after the Ohio River goes into it.

I was also able to see from the park the circular hotel with a long glassy wing where I remember staying when we visited in 1972. Now closed and vacant, it was originally a Stouffer Hotel but has been closed in recent years. I have still not forgotten standing there and seeing the San Diego Padres players walk through on their way to their hotel rooms while in town for a series with St. Louis.

I enjoyed running for 40 or 45 minutes and had topped off my jog with a short wind sprint to get breathing heavily. I saw someone on a bench near the area where I finished, but he was not cheering for me. He was actually asleep.

He was the only homeless-like person I saw in the whole park that morning, and I certainly wish him well at finding adequate housing or getting any other needs. There were actually several younger women jogging just after the sun had come up, so it must seem like a safe place.

Knowing this trip was designed for relaxation rather than trying to visit as many places as possible in a whirlwind manner, we had scheduled just two sights to visit that Tuesday in addition to going to the Cardinals’ game that night.

After eating some expensive pancakes and French toast in the hotel restaurant – and tasting some sausage that was a little blander than the Southern variety – we got in our car and headed out to Forest Park about five to seven miles from the river. It was a nice grass-covered area of around 1,300 acres and features the St. Louis Zoo, some nice museums, golf course land, and some basic greenspace.

And it is lined on one side with some simply beautiful old homes that look like they are 120 years old or more. Most of the homes looked like some of those in Fort Wood in Chattanooga, but most were about double the size.

We ended up going to the Missouri History Museum on the grounds because I had seen a PBS “News Hour” feature on an exhibit on the 1904 World’s Fair. As someone who went to the New York World’s Fair as a 5-year-old in 1965 and attended the Knoxville World’s Fair in 1982 as a college student, I have always been interested in world’s fairs.

We were surprised when we went in there and no charge existed. And to boot, we were greeted by a friendly retired-age man.

It was fascinating seeing a giant scale model of the buildings and grounds as they were during the fair, with the current St. Louis Art Museum – which had been the Palace of Fine Arts – the only building remaining along with a giant metal bird cage at the zoo.

Scheduled to be open until at least 2030, the exhibit includes in addition to the model layout several pieces of memorabilia. Featured are a shovel used in the groundbreaking and a large set of commemorative ruby crystal glasses from the fair.

And in what is an update from a previous exhibit, it also touches on some of the harsher and more racist issues with the 1904 fair at that time of imperialism. That included some Filipino Igorot people, Apaches, and a Congolese pygmy man highlighted as primitive. Also, a later-scrutinized baby incubator area with live premature babies, some of whom died, was also featured.

Among the other connections found is that one of the model buildings – which I found from a number key in the souvenir program -- represents the recreated Hermitage house of Andrew Jackson. This was Tennessee’s main contribution to the fair, and Rachel Jackson Lawrence, the granddaughter of President Jackson, served as the hostess and was assisted by two other women.

The daughter of Jackson’s adopted son, she had spent the president’s entire second term living in the White House as a young girl and later lived with the widowed president in his retirement years at the Hermitage. In her early 70s during the fair, she likely had quite a few stories to tell visitors, including President Teddy Roosevelt, whom she also greeted.

Among the other highlights at that 1904 fair – which was officially called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and was designed to honor the centennial of the 1803 Purchase one year later than initially scheduled – included the display of technology. Some early – but new -- models of automobiles were featured, the first dirigible flight was witnessed, and x-ray machines, a wireless telephone, and early fax-like equipment were exhibited.

Among the other unique displays or happenings, according to the current exhibit, were a large pyramid of asbestos made by Canada, free coffee handed out by Brazil, 25 rare Moroccan stallions, a 500-foot-long fence around the grounds, and a 40-foot-tall bottle of sherry constructed by Italy.

A lot of food items already invented became better known to the masses in St. Louis. One vendor began handing out buns instead of gloves to customers to eat sizzling long sausages, and thus hot dogs became a little better known. And one vendor making waffles decided to make them into cones to help the ice cream vendor next door, who had run out of plates. Thus, the ice cream cone was better popularized.

After touring that exhibit and seeing a hanging replica of Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” plane from his famous 1927 trans-Atlantic flight, we toured an exhibit related to the LGBTQ culture around the St. Louis area.

It was fascinating in certain respects looking at the exhibit and learning about an early, mid-century motel around St. Louis popularized by the LGBTQ community on an apparently hourly basis, and the story of 1936 Olympic gold medalist sprinter Helen Stephens, who was from that area. She later in life came out as identifying as lesbian.

As one who has become supportive of the LGBTQ community in my adult years without prejudice and one who realizes we are all who we are, it was still a serious matter to examine this once-hidden topic so up close. I also realized that going through the exhibit likely affects people in different ways, but it does affect you.

After that, Laura and I were ready to take a mid-day break in the café in the museum. We ordered quiche, a side vegetable, and – unfortunately -- unsweet tea. An additional treat – at least for the eyes -- was a great second-floor view out the glass windows toward all the grass and trees surrounding the streets and museums.

I realized St. Louis likes grass for a large city, and I was happy about that. The community must also like another kind of grass, as I understand that Missouri recently legalized recreational marijuana, a move that is maybe a little unusual for a red Republican state.

We sat there 20-25 minutes enjoying the view and setting, but there was still no sign of the food in what I thought was a simple quick-order type café. But we were not alone in that realm. We were maybe the third table seated and then saw 5 to 7 other tables fill up with people. People’s orders were being taken in a friendly manner, but no food was being brought out, other than maybe one person’s salad.

Finally, though, ours came along with the food of others, and it all worked out well. The spinach quiche was adequate – although not super hot – and we enjoyed the meal overall thanks to the great setting that reminded me a little of the old views out the glass of the now-gone Fehn’s Restaurant on the North Shore.

I then walked the 150 yards or so to get the car, and Laura and I drove through Forest Park and saw the outside of the St. Louis Art Museum from the old fair and then parked by one of the zoo entrances in a free spot. I had actually nervously eyed another spot while dropping off Laura by the entrance as she finished an important text, but it was taken before I could get there.

But a free spot even closer opened up in the meantime, and I started feeling guilty trying to get Laura to more hastily get out of the car so I could grab that other free space and not have to pay $10 or $20 in the paid lot.

And this cheapskate was even more overjoyed to learn the St. Louis Zoo was free as well. Who would have expected that? I guess St. Louis somehow figured out or was able to secure funding to ensure even greater popularity of its attractions.

Laura and I briefly walked through the gate and saw an ice cream stand, so I had to take care of first things first. Keeping in the spirit of the World’s Fair’s history, we both ordered waffle cones, with mine featuring tasty strawberry Prairie Farms ice cream after the young teenager helping man the booth somewhat bluntly told me they were out of chocolate.

Laura and I found a shady spot and began heartily enjoying the ice cream that was a nice dessert to the only slightly above average lunch. Of course, eating an ice cream cone in the hot summer sun is quite a challenge and a race against time.

But it was still enjoyable, and I managed to survive with only some sticky hands and maybe one or two ice cream spots on my clothes. After I made a quick visit to the restroom to wash my hands, Laura and I decided to ride the miniature train through the zoo grounds. Since she did not want to walk a lot due to her knee, I figured it might give us a chance to see some of the expansive zoo.

I had also visited the St. Louis Zoo as a 12-year-old and remember enjoying it. I also recall someone mentioning that it was the largest zoo in the country at the time other than the one in San Diego. While I realized since in this internet age of 2024 that there are all kinds of ways to measure zoos, I believe it is still a very respected and popular one, knowing maybe other zoos have expanded in the years since as well.

We had hoped to get a good view of a couple of animals, but they were evidently not out along the train line when we passed. But we did get a good view of the overall zoo layout and saw the historic part, including the giant aviary cage from the World’s Fair. The latter was a gift from the Bronx Zoo, and perhaps the catalyst in its initial development.

The highlight of the train was actually the employee around 65 or 70 years old who rode in the caboose and enthusiastically pointed out the sites along the way and helped people get in and out of the compact train. Except for understandably having to remind the younger people to keep their arms in the train, he seemed to be a great ambassador for the zoo.

After Laura and I got off following about a 15-to-20-minute ride around the grounds, she decided to sit inside the entrance pavilion and take care of some other text communications while I walked around a little. I wanted to see some animals, and I had not really done that yet.

I first took a quick walk around where the polar bears and arctic-like birds like the penguins were. While the bears were hard to find – and who would want to be out in the hot sun on such a day, despite the pool of water -- I did see some penguins in a scene that reminded me a little of the Tennessee Aquarium. They were as noisy as a classroom full of misbehaving middle school students.

Still a little disappointed, I told Laura I was going to the River’s Edge area featuring large animals and do a quick circle route of hopefully no more than 30 minutes. I started walking in the hot sun from the North Entrance, despite all the shade, and was afraid I would not find much.

However, a few feet in, I found a rhinoceros just standing there in its large earth-like enclosure. But it was still quite a pretty sight. Around a couple more curves, I saw a hippopotamus just sitting briefly in the bottom of a pool visible through a glass window.

At least the animal knew what he or she was wanting to do, and I was craving a good cooling off as well. The hippo also reminded me of how I was feeling after a couple of full meals of simply wanting to sink to the bottom of a pool of water – at least briefly.

Excited at seeing a couple of large animals, I was even happier when I traveled on through while continuing to sweat and came upon several elephants magnificently standing in their also-large enclosures. They were beautiful, and I felt as if the pounding of the asphalt trail through this part of the zoo had now been worth it.

I then worked my way back to the North pavilion, and Laura and I left to head back to the hotel, with me covered in a little sweat.

After a couple of hours of sitting in the hotel and catching my breath and looking out the window at the under-renovation Old St. Louis County Courthouse building and an old bank structure – while knowing a view toward the Arch cost a little more – I got ready to go again.

This time I had bought tickets to see the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team play the defending world champion Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium only about four or five blocks away, so I began walking down there. With Laura’s knee bothering her and because she is not as big a baseball fan as I was, she decided not to go. But we did go down to the lobby to make sure she could get something to eat and take back to her room.

It had actually rained briefly right before I began walking over there, and when I arrived at the stadium less than 30 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, I learned the game had been slightly delayed. As I wrote about last year during my trip to Baltimore, a highly anticipated trip to Camden Yards to see the Orioles play resulted in a delay of probably two-plus hours, so we ended up leaving and I disappointedly did not get to see the game.

This time I was hopeful for better results, and that occurred with only about a 30-minute delay. Before going in, I had walked around the outside of the stadium. There, I saw the name of Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, who was also briefly a manager for the Chattanooga Lookouts, and I looked at the bar across the street. You also had to go through a metal detector there due to its upper-level and open-air view into the stadium.

I understand that this stadium, which has been around since 2006, was built on the southern edge of the previous stadium from the 1960s era.

To pass the time waiting on the game, I did what every good fan did. I went to the concession stand. I got a hot dog, and since it was slightly drizzling outside, ate it at a small standing area I found under the stands. I enjoyed it so much that I went and got a cheeseburger and ate it at the same spot.

These were fine, although it was a slightly lonely experience with not very great amenities standing just feet from a trash can. But the food was tasty enough and I was staying dry. They might have offered more St. Louis-centric cuisine at one of the other concession stands, but I was fine.

Finally, I went into the stadium, and the game started maybe just 30 or 40 minutes behind schedule. Compared to what had happened the year before at Baltimore, this was like five-star hotel treatment.

In the first few innings, each team hit a home run, but I have to admit I was not watching either one until catching the end of them after hearing the crowd reaction. It was because – yes – I was briefly looking at my phone.

Needless to say, I was ashamed of myself. But then in the fifth inning, I was paying attention when I noticed some rumbles of excitement after veteran Tommy Pham, who had just been traded back to the Cardinals, came to the plate with the bases loaded.

And in what was a storybook return for the Cardinals player, he hit a grand slam homer to break the game wide open as the Cardinals were on their way to a decisive 8-1 victory. The crowd went crazy, and I was briefly a big Cardinals fan cheering him on as well.

Although I just go to about one Major League game a year on average when I try to see my beloved Atlanta Braves, this might have been the first grand slam I had ever seen in person in the big leagues.

St. Louis has a great tradition, as they are usually competitive most years and have had a number of World Series appearances in their history, although they have not been an elite team for more than 10 years. And their fans seemed like knowledgeable and good baseball fans without the obnoxiousness and wide-ranging emotions of maybe those in New York or Philadelphia.

I enjoyed listening to those around me as I watched the game, which was just over a week after the Braves had played there. One man down on the end of the row was even keeping score on an old paper scoresheet. Unfortunately for him, as I was coming back from getting a Coca-Cola refill in the middle innings, I accidentally kicked his bag of popcorn below his seat, and some of the popcorn fell out. He did not initially look that happy with me, but I hurriedly apologized and patted him on the shoulder, while also quickly moving back to my seat.

Needless to say, I was not having as good a night in the stands as Tommy Pham was at the plate.

But overall, it was a great night, and I enjoyed the game, which actually went by quickly with the modern rule changes of a pitch clock, etc. I was stunned, however, in thinking how many of the modern baseball stadiums all look so much alike, with just a few buildings outside the stadium and the team colors mostly differentiating them.

I then walked back to the hotel – past someone playing some entertaining music – and got ready for the adventures that still lay ahead.

As I will cover in Part 2, I got to enjoy Washington University back near Forest Park as part of my ongoing interest in visiting colleges, I visited the old Union Station and compared it to the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, I built up my courage and went to the top of the Gateway Arch, and Laura and I got to see her old house and church in Illinois.

And we even got to enjoy some traditional St. Louis barbecue as well!

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Jcshearer2@comcast.net