I have a day to spend next Friday and I’m looking for recommendations:
I’ve already been to the Dred Scott courthouse and the site in Illinois where Lewis and Clark wintered before starting their trip. I’ve also been to the museum under the arch.
Any other suggestions? Is Grant’s Farm very historic?
I’ll be dropping my daughter off at Washington University so that area would be particularly handy.
Here is a starting site… Explore St Louis
Near WashU…The St. Louis Art Museum, I was executive chef in late 80’s early 90’s…St Louis History Museum…and St Louis Zoo…remember Marlin Perkins Wild Kingdom he was curator during his reign on that show. He set up an endowment which is the reason the zoo will always be free…and world class too!
All three are basically right across the Boulivard from WashU…
If you go a bit North you can hit the “Loop” area, home of Blueberry Hill and the St Louis Walk of Fame…lots of shops, cafe’s and good music.
A must see if it is still on is the Glass in the Garden exibit at the Missouri Botanical gardens …
Good Luck,
Email is in my profil…email if you want specific recomendations for places to eat.
I would suggest the City Museum. While it’s mainly for kids, it was built in an old shoe factory (and has an “enchanted cave” system built into the old spiral conveyor belts and basement of the factory), the main attraction for adults is a pretty awesome look at some old St. Louis architecture and artifacts. They have a bunch of facades and other salvaged parts of old buildings, and also a collection of stuff found in cisterns and outhouses (the museum says they were the garbage dumps before there were garbage dumps…they have everything from marbles, keys and small figurines to old dishes). You can see a couple photos from the architecture hall here, but there’s tons more.
The museum also has a pretty cool old 1960s-ish cafe-type-thing filled with a bunch of crazy stuff from that era, including a few awesome old pinball machines and arcade games if you’re into that sort of thing.
The whole thing costs $12 to get into, but it’s worth it, IMO.
It’s more prehistorical than historical, but what the hey. I’ve never been there, but if I were in St. Louis I’d check out the Cahokia mound complex just across the river in Illinois. Apparently it’s not in the town of Cahokia, but in nearby Collinsville.
If you are into “ancient” history Cahokia Mounds is about twenty minutes east of St. Louis in Illinois.
Damn!
If only I hadn’t been checking out the gift shop.
Since you’re looking for informed opinions, let’s move this to IMHO.
samclem
If your coming this way (Cahokia Mounds)…check out this
The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle I’m close enough to hit it w/ a rock…almost.
tsfr
Grant’s Farm is a pleasant way to spend some time, but I wouldn’t call it historic. OTOH, if the Clydesdales are there that day, getting nose to nose with one makes the entire visit worthwhile by itself. The beer is just a plus.
If you’re happy with walking and soaking up the atmosphere, I’d wander down to the Soulard neighborhood (just north of the A-B brewery complex.) It’s one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and has undergone a lot of renovation. Plenty of historic architecture there.
You can also take a tour of the A-B brewery if that sort of thing interests you.
Closer to Washington U. is the Science Center. Not all that historic, but I’ve always been entertained every time I’ve been there. Just south of the area is The Hill, the historic Italian neighborhood. Not museum-type historic, but full of shops and bakeries loaded with good eats.
And if you’re in the mood for real history, you’re only 90 minutes from Springfield, Illinois and more places an stuff about Lincoln than you could ever imagine.
Man, you have made me so homesick with this post!
Yes, the zoo is world-class, indeed. Not to mention that it also contains a bit of history in the 1904 World’s Fair Flight Cage
From there, you aren’t too far from the Central West End, where you’ll find several historic landmarks, including Eliot House, built by the son of the founder of Washington University and father of T.S. Eliot, who also lived there occasionally.
Then there’s also historic Soulard, where one of my favorite historic homes is; the Lemp Mansion, now a restaurant and inn, where you can get a guided tour and, if you have dinner there on Friday night, participate in their Murder Mystery Dinner Theater (several family members committed suicide in the house. We used to go for their “family dinners” on Sunday nights and eat in “the suicide room”. Creepy fun!).
If you manage to drive south (towards highway 40 from Wash U) on Skinker, wave to my first apartment ever, at 6221 Northwood, which is the first 3-story building behind the multi-story apartment building that faces Skinker from that corner. 
You’ll also pass by my former family synagogue, which, as the oldest synagogue west of the Mississippi, was purchased by the Missouri Historical Society to renovate it into a state-of-the-art library, collections and conservation facility. . . where “today, the Missouri History Museum Library and Research Center serves over 10,000 researchers annually.”
Have fun! (I’m so envious.)
Grant’s Farm is kind of a free mini-zoo maintained by the AB family (so their mansion can be used as a write-off IMHO). You used to be able to walk through Grant’s house (cottage) but the last time we went, a couple of years ago, they only stopped the tram and pointed out the cottage, no more walking through.
They have bird and elephant shows, giant turtles, tiny and huge horses, and other assorted animals. It’s kind of cool to walk thru the Clydesdale’s barns. And you get two free beers per person. 
One of the cool things is the fence made out of guns from the civil war.
Although it’s free it costs $8.00 to park. More info here:
Right across the road from Grant’s Farm is Grant’s White Haven , a relatively new local historic site which even many locals aren’t aware of. It is still being worked on, but there’s enough there to see. It would make a good combined visit with Grant’s Farm.
Not too far away is Hawken House , another little-known local historical treasure.
Also interesting to visit are Bellefontaine and Calvary cemetaries , if you’re in to that kind of thing. Lots of famous people buried between the two (Bellefountaine is Protestant, Calvary Catholic), including Tennessee Williams and others.
Enjoy!
William Clark’s grave in in town: http://www.greatriverroad.com/lewclark/clarksgrave.htm
It’s not that big a deal in one sense, but you’re not far from the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi.
There is also the Daniel Boone home in Defiance (about a half hour west).
As a former employee of the Missouri Historical Society, I second or third or so the suggestion that you check out the museum in Forest Park at the corner of DeBaliviere and Lindell and perhaps the Library and Research Center at 225 S. Skinker, just a bit south of Washington University. The MHS Press has put out a book called Where We Live that is a guidebook to historical neighborhoods in the St. Louis Metro area. You might take a look at that in the giftshop at the museum. At the back of the Wash. U. campus is the field that served as the center of the 1904 Olympics. Forest Park, itself, was the site of the 1904 World’s Fair.
Question for someone local: Is Dressel’s pub still going strong in the Central West End? If so, What the … !!! , I suggest that as a great place to go out to dinner with your daughter.
Tabby
Not quite St. Louis, but Main Street in downtown St. Charles is a nice walk with lots of interesting little shops.
Down near the arch are the old cathedral and old courthouse. They’re worth a visit.
Dressel’s is still going strong, although depending on how old What the…!!!'s daughter is, it could be a little smoky.
That was my next reply… except the daughter part…and yesin is smokey…What would you expect for a Welsch Bar in St. Louis?
I could give you 50 good pubs to eat at, some real close to WashU…try Pat’s…on Tamm and Oakland in Dog Town… try the ruben or fried chicken.
peace my friend,
dsw
I knew I shouldn’t have read this thread…I wanna go home!
Forest Park is one of my favorite places in STL.
True; I just felt if her daughter is very young she might not want to go to a smoky bar. On the other hand, she’s dropping her off at Wash U, which makes me think she may be looking at it, and would be near college age.
There’s also the Scottish Arms in the West End, which has (perhaps surprisingly) very good haggis fritters. Also something like 67 single malts if you’re into that sort of thing.
Or Culpeppers, known for their buffalo wings and ceasar salads. Yum!