John Shearer: Visiting St. Louis, Part 2 – Enjoying Washington University, Union Station, Barbecue, And Top Of The Arch

As I had chronicled in my first installment on my recent trip to St. Louis with my wife, Laura, we had visited during the first two days the Forest Park area of museums, the famous St. Louis Zoo, and the area around the Arch. I also went to the new Busch Stadium to see the Cardinals play.

After I woke up on the morning of Wednesday, July 31, and took another jog around the big national park land surrounding the Arch, I went up to a small bakery about three or four blocks away to pick up some breakfast. I got a cream-cheese Danish, and a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit and something for Laura.

I walked back to our Hyatt Regency Hotel, ready to enjoy it, although I did have to walk past an area where the sidewalk was blocked off for construction – a seemingly constant obstacle in a big city. But that was not the only hindrance, as I unfortunately spilt part of Laura’s coffee trying to open the hotel front door with my electronic key.

Once up in my room, but with a smaller amount of coffee for Laura, I heartily enjoyed the seemingly fresh food. We then got ready to return to the area around the pretty Forest Park. But this time we were going on the outskirts of the park to visit Washington University.

Washington University is somewhat unique in ways for a college founded in the 1800s in that it was not started by a religious organization, a single wealthy donor, or some earmarked government funds.

It was started by a variety of citizens – including a Unitarian minister who was the grandfather of poet T.S. Eliot – due to a desire and perceived need for a top college of higher learning in that part of the country.

As many know, it has a very top academic ranking and has been called by some the Harvard of the Midwest. It also has some nice Gothic architecture, and that is what I enjoyed. Some of its buildings were used during the 1904 World’s Fair, and its stadium was used in the 1904 Summer Olympics, which I understand did not attract as large a cross section of the world’s athletes as the Olympics normally does.

On the way over there, we found some more simply gorgeous and large old homes from the early 20^th century, making me realize I would have been content traveling all the way to St. Louis just to tour two or three houses or maybe just drive by them, as I did.

Laura and I found a parking place in a basement garage by the Danforth University Center and walked up through the building and outside to a patio area to plan a strategy. As we did, continuous groups of high school students and parents led by current students kept walking by.

But it gave us a flavor for all the people wanting to attend here, even though it does not have major college sports for those who choose SEC schools predominantly for that very reason.

Laura was needing to take care of some important texts regarding a matter she was involved with and could not walk far with her knee, so she was comfortable sitting there while I began walking around the campus.

I initially saw a giant recreation and gathering field, which was nice, even though it had a sign telling passersby to keep off. I did not completely follow those orders, however, and enjoyed the soft grass.

I then walked over to a pretty and historic-looking building, and it said Anheuser-Busch Hall. At most schools, including those in the SEC, I would have imagined a beer keg located just inside the front door. I know when I was a beer-loving student at the University of Georgia several years before stopping drinking, my mouth would have watered a little going into such a building during the day.

But, of course, the Anheuser-Busch brewing family is based in St. Louis, and they must have been philanthropic toward the college. And the hall was actually part of the law school, so you know some serious studying and academic work takes place here.

I then walked along the other side of the field past the open space and other pretty buildings toward the also-interesting Brookings Hall on the other end of the main part of campus. The campus was overall nice looking simply from an aesthetics point of view from the outside looking in, and this probably perfectly complements the good academics looking inside out. The school is also probably fortunate it has such room for greenspace in a big city.

That night, I emailed an old Baylor School classmate, Bill Dedman, who went there, and he later shared some of his positive memories of attending there and maturing, just as I did at the University of Georgia. Bill, who also mentioned some other good students from Chattanooga who went there about that time, said he left the school early to begin his journalism career, a career that resulted in him being one of the 11 Pulitzer Prize winners the school claims.

I always try to imagine what it would have been like to have attended a college I visit, and the same occurred during my visit to Washington University, which was named, of course, for the nation’s first president. I am sure I would have enjoyed Washington U. I would have probably missed following a high-level sports program, though.

After I walked back up to where Laura was, we spent some more time sitting, but this time inside the Danforth University Center. The place reminded me a little of both the interior of the old Carter Hall at Covenant College and a newer Baylor School building, the latter due to some brickwork around a giant fireplace. We got a small snack and drink at the coffee shop in the building, although I ended up saving my pastry. I did do something worthwhile to larger humanity while there, though, as I pointed out to an appreciative custodian where someone no longer sitting in the dining hall had spilled water or some drink on the nice hardwood.

Since it was getting close to the noontime hour, and I had worked up a sweat once again walking a few hundred yards around a good part of the campus, Laura and I drove two or three miles back toward our hotel and the river and stopped at the giant Union Station. Opened in 1894 as the largest train station building in the world, it is in the Richardsonian Romanesque style like the U.S. Customs House and old post office on 11^th Street in Chattanooga. However, it is about three or four times bigger with a tall tower.

It was designed by German-born architect Theodore Link of St. Louis, while the train shed coming out of the back of it in a southerly direction was designed by civil engineer George Pegram.

This time, Laura and I had parked our car in a nearby paid parking lot instead of trying hard to find a free spot in this area that was not overrun with people, although there was a regular stream of visitors.

As we walked in through the covered train shed area that was like the back of the old Chattanooga Choo-Choo with a few coverings and train cars, we realized it was hot here, too, in the places not under any roof or not in the shade.

While the place had a vibe somewhat like the Choo-Choo, it still seemed a little different, too. There was a Ferris wheel, which I was tempted to ride to get me ready for the trip to the top of the Arch the next day. But then I thought about getting stuck, even though that was highly unlikely, so I did not go up in it.

We then walked into the heart of the entertainment area under the shed after passing a number of eating places and restaurants. Inside the main area were also the St. Louis Aquarium, which might have been fun to visit to compare to the one in Chattanooga, and the St. Louis Ropes Course.

In the latter, which was high above us, it looked like people were tethered in but trying to do all kinds of crazy activities like move up or across places and pretend they were at least auditioning for the circus. While I might have enjoyed trying that as a teenager, or at least felt then like I needed to do it to show some kind of manliness, I declined this time. That was partly because I envisioned getting stuck while also suffering an anxiety attack, and that would not have been a pretty sight seeing me get rescued.

It would have probably been just harmless fun, but I tend to let my imagination get the best of me.

Instead, Laura and I decided to do a more carefree activity – eat. After looking around at different dining options, we chose to eat at the 1894 Café, so named as a nod to when the station opened.

We both ended up getting cheeseburgers and fries, and they were actually pretty good and hot. Although, of course, I could not eat all of my food. The burger had a unique taste with the cheese-covered meat grilled to almost a pleasant crunch. Maybe they should have called the place Crunchies.

After I once again felt full, we looked around a little more at the pleasant and relaxing surroundings – although the Ropes Course still did not look relaxing -- and then began to walk back to our car. I realized that since maybe the Hilton-connected hotel’s entrance in the Richardsonian Romanesque part could not be entered from the train shed side for non-guests, I told Laura I would still like to see it.

As a lover of historic architecture, I was not going to be so easily defeated simply because I did not have a guest key. So, as she said she was going to go back to the car, I told her I was going to try to at least walk up in front of the Union Station, which was actually about a couple hundred yards away. I also told her I would return to our vehicle hopefully in a short time.

I felt like I was doing my own obstacle course like we had watched the people doing above us as I hurriedly went up toward Market Street -- and on a full stomach and in the scorching heat.

As I went around the corner and tried to find a place to peer my head inside, it looked like part of the station was closed and under renovation. Frustrated, I kept walking in the direction of the station tower and the river, and fortunately discovered that much of the rest of it was open.

I walked in the hotel guest entrance as if I were staying there, and what did I find inside but some simply beautiful and ornately painted and decorated large rooms and halls that harkened back to the old train station days. It was a beautiful place to look around, and I realized the truth in the old preservationists’ adage that to fully appreciate an ornate and historic building, you have to see the inside as well as the outside. It was definitely more massive than the also expansive dome terminal of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo complex.

Standing there for a few minutes taking it all in and being thankful I had found a place to peer inside, I felt almost as much accomplishment as I likely would have successfully navigating the Ropes Course.

I then walked down another north-south street and tried to enter the train shed area from the other side than we had entered before lunch. Along the way to eventually and successfully getting back to the car , I also noticed yet another pretty and historic building: the post office across from the eastern side of the station.

We then went back to the Hyatt Regency to catch our breaths, while I also looked out the hotel room window at all the cars passing on the streets below our room as many were leaving the Cardinals’ afternoon game. For me, it was also a time to dry up from some of my additional sweating.

After swearing we were full at lunch and maybe did not want anything heavy for supper, guess what we had? That’s right, a heavy supper. But this time we were doing it in the name of being good tourists and sampling a food item for which St. Louis was slightly famous – barbecue.

We decided to go to Sugarfire Smokehouse a few blocks from our hotel. After our first Uber driver mentioned it as a popular place after saying he was not even familiar with the Thai restaurant where we had eaten, we realized we needed to go there.

It uniquely advertises itself as being open a certain number of hours – or until the food runs out.

As the Uber driver gave us a quick 5-minute drive there and told me I needed to go up to the top of the Arch at dusk – and I told him I was going to go in it the next morning, apparently the wrong time to go – we were let off by the front door and walked inside Sugarfire’s.

We were not sure how the restaurant worked, but then realized you go through a line to order. We got in the short line, and I realized it was a unique kind of place like the Varsity in the Atlanta area. You do not simply order, but you also almost have to speak the restaurant’s language.

A man was taking our orders, and I realized we were not really spitting out what we wanted fast enough, and he was in his own unique cadence telling us to keep telling him what we wanted, that he understood us.

Since I am known as Mr. Indecisive and did not want to take up his time, I ordered a plate with both sliced beef brisket and slightly chopped barbecue pork. I figured that since we were slightly west of the Mississippi River, I needed to try some brisket.

The place also offered various sides and seemed in that regard like a Southern restaurant. I ordered baked beans and cole slaw, while being tempted to get some fried okra. I saw that the man right behind me ordered fried okra, and I jokingly told him I had thought about ordering the okra.

He one upped me by pulling his plate back toward himself and with a sly smile joked that I could not have any of his.

He seemed like a regular, and this place apparently was patronized by a mixture of regulars and tourists – perhaps a somewhat rare combination for a restaurant.

It was all tasty as I poured on the sauces, but the best part to me was that they offered sweet tea! For once I could enjoy a meal without having to break a sweat stirring in sugar.

We enjoyed it all in the restaurant’s unique atmosphere that reminded me of an old downtown Chattanooga eatery like the long-closed George’s hamburger place, where everything is not so polished and trendy. There was definitely an old school feel to it.

They also had desserts, so I got a piece of chocolate fudge pie to take back and eat later. We also took some of our main meal back to the hotel room, and believe it or not, it made it all the way back to Chattanooga in our cooler and we enjoyed the leftovers after we got back home!

We then stood out in front of the restaurant on the hot sidewalk after ordering another Uber – and seemingly becoming experts at the ride-sharing service by now. The driver came about 10 minutes later and took us back. He was the only one of our three Uber drivers who did not seem to want to overly engage with us in conversation. And he was not busily eating some Sugarfire food, either!

The meal was good and adequate – and, yes, we were full again as we went to bed that night.

So, the next morning, I was definitely ready for another good jog through the expansive grassy parkland around the Gateway Arch and tried to cover in part a little different area than I had the day before. But I still looked straight up at the Arch from underneath it as I was enjoying doing, although this time with a little trepidation knowing I would be someone going up it.

After eating breakfast again from the warming bakery and coffee shop down the street, I somewhat nervously walked over to get ready to go up to the top of the Arch, with Laura coming along to wait on me. She did not care to go up it due to a fear of heights, and maybe I was feeling a little that way, too, knowing I get claustrophobia in tight places or from standing in long and crowded lines.

I vaguely remembered riding up the Arch in 1972 when I was 12, but since it had been so long ago, this was almost like a first-time visit. Although, I did take some comfort in knowing I had survived it then before anxieties began getting the best of me as an adult.

In the ground under the Arch where you entered, there was a large museum and waiting area and souvenir shop, so Laura spent some time in there while I was gone for just 20 or 30 minutes and spending $17 to ride to the top.

They have two sides of the Arch you go up and down, and I went on the North tram. There was no really long line, since the tickets had been purchased online beforehand, unless there was still some availability.

We then went to another area, where people were directed to stand on circular numbers in groups of up to five. I thought I might get to ride by myself, but at the last minute, some grandparents and their two grandchildren were directed to my circle.

We then went a few feet more on some steps, and then we climbed into some tight Ferris-wheel-like and tightly enclosed cars to ride to the top after the previous passengers had disembarked. I always think that is an unusual experience at an amusement park when you are getting ready to get on a ride and don’t have a clue what is coming up, while the others getting off have just experienced it. But the one or two smiles I saw seemed to be a good sign.

As we got ready to go up, I talked a little with the fellow passengers, learning they liked to visit aquariums and were familiar with the Tennessee Aquarium. We then began moving up, and I suddenly started feeling like an astronaut blasting off, although in a much slower manner. Knowing it was only a four-minute ride up, I figured I could handle it, though.

Outside the car with a window only on one side was not an overly pretty sight, as I saw a lot of stairways – which was a comforting sight in case the ride broke down – and some other support frames. It was a dull contrast to the handsome view of the Arch from the outside.

Once we reached the top, we all excitedly climbed out – making sure not to bump our heads – and headed toward the enclosed rectangular observation deck with windows. We had about 10 minutes to look around, so I quickly tried to look out several windows in this area that was not too crowded due to obvious limits in ticket sales, etc.

And it was a simply beautiful sight from every window, particularly when looking straight down, but also in all directions, including toward the Mississippi River and the downtown St. Louis buildings. It almost felt like a reward for showing enough courage to get to the top, even though that is not exactly Medal of Honor-like courage.

After our time had ended and I had even sent a quick text to Laura and maybe others with a photograph proudly saying I had reached the top, we went back down. The ride going down took more like only three minutes, and I was full of excitement and pride as I found Laura in the waiting area of what almost looked like a small airport.

I wanted to look a little more at the walk-through museum in this complex that had a mid-20^th century feel to it, and after Laura agreed, we walked in the part that talked about the building of the Arch. There, I learned a somewhat interesting story to match the inspiring views I had just experienced.

Although the Arch has somewhat a 1960s look to it to me, it was actually designed during a competition from 1947-48 to create a monument to commemorate the westward expansion of the 19^th century from St. Louis. A lot of top architects entered the competition to design what was officially called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

While a lot of them gained the respect of the judges, a lesser-known architect named Eero Saarinen, who was less than 40, captured their imagination with his unique, arch-like design that looked like a gate or gateway to the West. He said he simply did not want the typical box, dome or obelisk shape.

His idea won over the judges, and his creation has since become one of the landmark monuments in America.

Sadly, this man who had moved to Michigan from Finland at the age of 12 with his fine arts-trained parents, including an architect father, would die of complications from a brain tumor in 1961, four years before the Arch was completed. But his Arch that came from the same mind still lives on.

Although Mr. Saarinen had designed the tram cars, which look a little like space capsules, too, and had envisioned visitors going to the top, the tram system was designed by Dick Bowser, whose family business had been building parking garage elevators for cars. He had met Mr. Saarinen through an old friend, and he designed the tram system on a two-week deadline. He lived until 2003, when he was 82.

The tram systems, which added an additional positive wrinkle to the already impressive monument that featured deep engineering planning, were completed at different times on each side a few months after the Arch was finished.

The visit to the museums helped me additionally appreciate the Arch, which, like Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, always seems to have a futuristic look to it, despite the passage of time.

Laura and I then left the Arch area and got in our rental car. We were not going to visit any sights related to St. Louis’ past, but instead to some of Laura’s. She had lived in and spent time with her three young sons in the nearby Belleville and O’Fallon areas of Illinois less than 10 miles or so across the Mississippi River while her late first husband, Bob Whitelaw, was serving as an orthopedist at Scott Air Force Base.

So, we decided to go visit some of her familiar sights dating to her time living there in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She remembered the address where they lived in Belleville, and we found the two-story home that was probably only 5 or 10 years old when she lived there. We sat in the running car outside for a minute or two and took some pictures of it.

The stop was one of those visits when you can absorb everything in 10 seconds, although you would like to stay longer. But we just took a picture or two and went down the street and came back by it once or twice more and took some additional photos, hoping no one would come angrily running out. I am sure Laura would have loved to tour the inside of it, but we obviously did not know who lived there now, so we went on about our way, but still happy to have found it.

We also went and saw the Belle Valley School where her sons attended, although it had apparently been enlarged.

We had also hoped to find a Presbyterian church where at least one of them had attended preschool, but we were unsuccessful.

Knowing it was getting a little past time for lunch, we stopped in a Belleville meat and vegetables-type diner. A waitress who had grown up in the area, although she had also served in the military, was kind and helpful not only with the menu items, but also in helping Laura try to remember the possible location of the church where the preschool was.

We both got fish, with Laura getting the broiled variety, which, we later learned, took a little longer to cook than the fried fish I got. Although different from Southern food, everything on our plates was somewhat interesting and enjoyable, including the cole slaw. Also neat was seeing the retired types and hungry manual laborer types who were just the Illinois versions of people I might find in a similar style restaurant in Chattanooga.

As we left, we felt like we had experienced some local culture that a typical tourist to the St. Louis area might not get to enjoy. We then drove a few miles down the road looking unsuccessfully for the old church. We did not find it, but we did find a nice local ice cream shop called the White Cottage. It had evidently been around as long as M. Saarinen’s design for the Arch had.

We enjoyed the frozen treats, with me getting a waffle cone with both chocolate and strawberry, and then enjoyed it in the cooler comforts of the store. It was certainly to the quality of Clumpie’s in Chattanooga. In addition, the employees seemed really nice. And you could see mostly mothers and children and others coming in to get ice cream, so we felt like we were feeling what it was like to be locals again.

After that, Laura and I had one more stop: seeing her old church that she and her family attended: O’Fallon First United Methodist Church. We quickly found it, and Laura seemed excited when we stopped. We also decided to knock on the door.

Luckily, the administrative assistant came to the door. Laura explained that she had formerly attended the church long before deciding to become a United Methodist minister and attend seminary, and the woman heartily welcomed us and showed us around.

Laura excitedly remembered the various rooms and halls, and we even went up and saw the nursery area where youngest son Ben had stayed during the services and Sunday school. The staff member said that room had probably changed as little as any of the other rooms.

We saw the A-framed sanctuary and other places and even met some of the other staff, who remembered some of Laura’s former friends who had stayed in that area longer.

It was overall a delightful visit, and Laura seemed to no doubt be full of warm memories of living in this community and revisiting it for the first time. I, meanwhile, was full of ice cream but also glad to have tagged along for Laura’s nostalgic journey.

Once back in the hotel after crossing back over the river, we rested a few minutes. But since it was only about 4 or 5 o’clock, I wanted to do something else, so I decided to walk a few blocks and look at the architecture of the downtown St. Louis buildings.

But it was so hot it almost felt more like a walk in the desert you used to see in the movies. I heard from several people how hot it is in St. Louis in the summer, and I am not sure exactly why, but they were definitely right!

As I moved along, though, from block to block, I was able to spend about half the time in shade due to the various trees. But while my skin was aching, my eyes were feasting, as there were some simply beautiful old buildings, including the Soldiers’ Memorial Military Museum and a Courts building.

And for some reason there were also about three different large blocks that were just grass and maybe eight or 10 trees. I loved that and glad to know there would be additional places to jog on grass if I lived there. And I really only saw about one or two homeless people, and I hope whatever needs those people might have had were getting met. It was all a great setting, despite the heat.

It made me wish that not only would Chattanooga save its remaining downtown historic buildings, but that it would also add in the heart of the city maybe another couple of blocks of grass like at Miller Park. Perhaps it could do this where a few surface parking lots are, although I know there is a big pull from developers wanting to build housing.

After I got back to the room renewed once again and began cooling off – once again – Laura and I opted to eat in a restaurant in the hotel, ordering some nachos that were tasty but about double what we needed. I had some spicy chicken ones, and this time we did not get a box to take our leftovers home.

We then got up the next morning, and after I took one last jog through the park around the Arch and said goodbye to the monument, which was starting to seem like a good friend by now, we got in our car and headed back to Chattanooga.

This trip, we made pretty good time overall and got home in time to return the rental car shortly before they closed on Friday. A “check tire” light had come on when we reached Marion County, but we got back OK, and the rental clerk did not seem alarmed when I told him. He also did not say anything like I had made a big boo-boo.

There was one other situation that needed to be resolved before I could call the trip a successful venture, though. While we were gone, a rainstorm had come and knocked out our power. The people who were to feed our cats ended up changing, however, and through no one’s fault, one of our cats, Harry, ended up getting out and could not be found.

Although we had seen him on the outside cameras on Laura’s phone as late as Wednesday night, we were still a little worried. And when we arrived home on that Friday, he was nowhere in sight. I suddenly had a sinking feeling that he had gotten tired of waiting for us to come home and left for good, even though the helpers were putting out food by the garage door.

But within an hour or so after we had taken the rental car, I was out picking up some fallen limbs in our yard and carrying them to the curb when I saw guess whom? That’s right, Harry. He came walking across the driveway to greet me, although with a little bit of a confused or frightened look on his face.

He had waited for us after all, and I gave him a big hug and was glad he was OK. Like us, Harry had simply enjoyed a few days of new experiences.

Also like us, he was glad to be back in his normal bed again!

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To see the first story on visiting St. Louis, read here.

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2024/8/21/491091/John-Shearer-Visiting-St.-Louis-Part.aspx

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Jcshearer2@comcast.net