Beware!!! Google maps will take you to the wrong location! I'm on your side Apple Maps, you never…read moredo me wrong! From the Vandalia State House, take 185/40 (N. Kennedy Blvd) north, turn left/west on W. Randolph Street, then right/north on N. Perkin's Street one block to W. St Clair Street. Turn left and it's up on the little hill on your right/north side. I absolutely love state capitals, which would lead me to enjoy past state capitals. I had been in rural Illinois a few times and always wondered what Vandalia had to offer being that it was second Illinois Capitol City (an oldest one still existing, unlike Kaskaskia which is now under water). I followed Vandalia's tourist page to the few landmarks that existed. One was what is called "Little Brick House". It's an n example of simple Italianate architecture that has been preserved by the Vandalia Historical Society. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and is thought to have been constructed in the mid 1800's. According to the website, "Josephine Burtschi, local artist and historian, was born in this house. In 1956 she purchased the house and started restoring it to its original appearance. Over the years, the Little Brick House has been renovated and furnished with period pieces, antiques, and early Vandalia artifacts. Contained within the six rooms are furniture, china, engravings and books acquired from descendants of state officers, legislators and the Ferdinand Ernst Colony who lived in Vandalia when it served as capital. The library, called the Berry-Hall room, pays tribute to James William Berry, the first talented artist of Illinois, and to Judge James Hall who established Vandalia as the first literary center west of Cincinnati. (http://www.vandaliaillinois.com/littlebrickhouse.html)" There's a little history for ya!

We enjoyed a visit to the largest archaeological site in the U.S…read more Quick visit advice: Park at the visitor center or across the street at Monk's Mound (if there are any spots in this smaller lot). Walk to and up Monk's Mound, which is the largest. I recommend reading the signs about the history of the mounds. Background: I visited just after finishing a book called "America Before" by Graham Hancock. He extensively covers the geoglyphs (mounds) across the Americas and describes their site-line survey complexity. They are basically dirt mound versions of Stonehenge, and line up with solar events during the equinoxes. The amount of precision from an ancient hunter-gatherer society is absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend a read before visiting.

We were in the area so we had to go check this place out, right? The history along should garner…read moreinterest. Pulling up, my kids were not amused. "What's with the big hill dad?" Oh kids... I mean it does look like just a big hill but... As a history buff, I thought it was kind of cool. We climbed the stairs to the top (great work out, a couple folks were doing just that) to get a view of the area. Not much at all is built up around this area, the small town that it is located in is barely a blip before you enter the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is actually pretty remarkable how rural this area is being only miles outside of St. Louis. Anyways, I tried to get my kids to understand that the people that built these mounds did not have Bobcats, dump trucks, or any huge equipment. We are talking woven baskets and such. Still not impressed. At least we stood on the top and say we have been there. I suggest you do the same. Check it off the list and say you once stood on one of the tallest pre-Columbian structures in North America. Can't say that every day!

This is such an amazing architectural accomplishment that everyone needs to experience it. Even if…read moreyou aren't willing to go up to the top there is a free museum on the ground level that is very interesting, as well as a historical movie and a virtual reality experience. This is the smallest national park, and you will need to park in a parking garage, private lot, or use street parking. But it is just a short walk of a few blocks to get to the Arch. It is recommended to purchase tickets online because they often sell out. But today, a Monday morning, I just walked in a purchased a ticket for the next tram to the top. If you are claustrophobic you might not be able to ride the tram to the top. The cars are very, very small. There are five seats in each. But if you handle the tight space it is totally worth it to ride to the top. Once at the top you are allowed to stay for ten minutes, then you board the tram for the return trip down. The gift shop is worth a look, my favorite is the large collection of exploration history books. Many books about Lewis & Clark, of course, also other many other books about exploration and early history of St. Louis and the West. Books on pioneering women too, and Sacagawea. The tram ride was a bargain at only $17. While I didn't have time to view the movie today I have seen it before, on my last trip, and it is definitely interesting.

In considering the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, I was scratching my head as to the number of stars I…read moreshould assign. I'm going to go with 4 stars since I would not feel compelled to visit it each time in St. Louis, which is infrequent to begin with. That said, these are 4 very strong stars. The Gateway Arch is highly symbolic. It represents the critical mass of westward movement in the United States to lands on the other side of the Mississippi River. It's interesting to note that the center point of America's population inches west and south with each passing year, but is still in the Midwest and not excessively far from this national park and monument. The Gateway Arch is the work of architect Eero Saarinen. It's debatable if this, a stainless steel arch over 600 feet high, is his most famous work ... or if it's the soaring reinforced concrete TWA Terminal at New York JFK Airport resembling the outstretched wings of a large bird. Less known is his design of Terminal 1 at nearby Saint Louis Airport, with its series of connected cross vaults. That someone would envision such a project is almost dizzying. The Gateway Arch manages to look both spindly and stout. Standing at its base, one sees just how massive the base of the legs on each side of the arch are. This then explains how it's possible for the legs to taper as the structure continues upward. The arch was designed to be large enough to have some visitors at the top and steady enough but flexible for forces such as wind. There was a lot of planning and detailing involved. The overarching feature - no pun intended - is that the monument is the reciprocal of a catenary curve, meaning the shape of a necklace or chain held by each hand and allowed to dangle downward. If you let a chain hang, it wouldn't be a circle. It would form the catenary shape we are all accustomed to because all the vectors of the forces are in balance at that point. While the arch is the main event, a lot of planning went into its site, its plaza, its building podium, the inclusion of many spaces such as a theater, and, of course, the little train of funicular bubbles in each leg of the arch allowing tourists to ride to the top. Going to the top of the arch is the high point of the experience. (I unintentionally keep backing into puns.) Note that the individual glass compartments for the ride up are small and those prone to claustrophobia might have difficulty with this. The lobby has restauration, gift shops, articles from the arch's construction, and a theater. Visiting the theater is very informative since a short movie chronicles the conceptualization, design, construction, opening, and operation of the arch. The biggest "ah" moment in the film is when the keystone of the arch is slid into place, over 600 feet up in the air, and fits snugly and with the small tolerances intended! Clearly, the small observation leg at the top of the arch is narrow and people's visits need not be that long. There is a small ribbon of windows on each side. On the eastern side, one sees the endless prairie-like land of Illinois across the Mississippi River. On the western side, one sees the city of St. Louis and its suburbs. The arch was thought of after significant parts of St. Louis's city center had been developed. One could only wish that they could have foreseen this monument and left a vast mall type lawn open to its west. That's not the case. The arch is something one needs to see at least once. I've seen it twice over several decades. It's also amazing how, depending on where you are in St. Louis or if across the river, each vantage point on this unique monument is slight different owing to its dynamic design. The Gateway Arch is part of the national park system. There is a fee to visit it, but it's fairly priced. It is, without a doubt, money well spent to experience it at least once.

I went here for a Friday night concert over the summer. It was very relaxing and entertaining all…read morein one. I forgot the name of the artist, but her performance along with the live band was so captivating. This place gives date night, solo date, and family trip all at the same time. I love events such as these. Also, I know downtown parking usually isn't the best. However, because of the time and people getting off work to head home, parking was quite easy to find. I was able to park within reasonable walking distance near the Hooters across the street.

Tours met here but we came over to get a picture of the old City Hall through the Arch. There's a…read morevisitor center here and a sculpture of a runner. The very interesting shrubbery caught my attention as well as the intricate playground here. There were people working in the garden that was very informative about the types of trees & told me the exotic Pagoda Tree is from Japan.

You will find this nice sculpture on the Mississippi Riverfront, in St Louis, just behind the…read moreGateway Arch. It is the work of Harry Weber who completed the piece, which is made of bronze and sits 22 feet tall, in 2006 The 3.5 ton sculpture depicts explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their Newfoundland dog, Seaman. It is owned by the city of St Louis and was commissioned by the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation to commemorate the bicentennial of the explorers' return September 1806. According to Weber, it "took seven months of long hours to complete the structure in clay, make molds and reassemble it like a giant jigsaw puzzle. It is a nice sculpture and Weber does a great job encapsulating Lewis and Clark's feeling of accomplishment, sacrifice and pride. It is very detailed and well done. The viewer can really connect to the piece. The sculpture is designated a national Lewis and Clark site by the US Park Service and spending on how high the Mississippi River gets, sometimes the statue is submerged in the river. In 2014, the statue was removed and restored to repair damage it had received from the flood. In 2016, the statue was returned to the riverfront to a location slightly south and about 17 feet higher than before. Before it was moved, during a flood situation, it would look like the duo were sailing into shore Anyway, as with most sculptures that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. I would recommend checking out the Gateway Arch and Park while visiting this sculpture.

"A person is smart, people are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."…read more-Tommy Lee Jones as Kay in Men in Black (1997) This marker is in the east entrance of Saint Johns Cemetery and points out a dark time in our history. And it's not the first one of these that I've seen. People suck. It reads, "On April 5, 1918, German immigrant Robert Prager was hanged by a mob at this site. Prager's lynching was the high-water mark of the anti-immigrant and anti-German hysteria that gripped the nation during World War I. Persecution in the guise of patriotism was especially severe in the southern Illinois coal fields. Eleven men accused of the murder were promptly acquitted. For generations there was remorse in Collinsville over the town's failure to stop the mob and the lynching. One witness later said: "Nowhere appeared a sober, clear-headed man to say 'no' and make it stick. And so came violence, death, tragedy, and shame."" The marker was erected 2020 by the Prager Memorial Committee and the Illinois State Historical Society. The lane into the cemetery is wide enough to stop to read the marker. [Review 19965 overall - 163 in Illinois - 939 of 2023.]

There's a awesome plaza I would definitely recommend visiting when you're in St. Louis. Do you have…read morea cousin Nate sites in statues things to do?

Sadly, drained for the winter but the sculptures are still here. It is located across from the…read moreentrance to Union Station and aligned with the famous Gateway Arch. The caption reads, "The meeting of the waters. This fountain by the sculptor Carl Milles symbolizes the union of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The two central figures represent the two great rivers while the lesser water creatures suggest the many tributaries and streams. Milles conceived the sculpture as embodiment of the freedom and primeval force of the waterways of the Great Mississippi Valley and he thought of the grouping as a marriage or festival celebrating the coming together of these great waters. The sculptor, Swedish born and a pupil of Rodin, was conscious that the fountain and plaza are a memorial to Louis P. Aloe (1669-1929), a civic figure and long time president of the board of Alderman whose vision established the Gateway Mall." Stop. Enjoy. Appreciate. [Review 14455 overall, 1781 of 2020, number 88 in Missouri.]

If you love all things dark, spooky, and STL, than St. Louis Paranormal Research Society's Lemp…read moreHaunted Neighborhood Walking tour. Despite being married at Lemp in 2021, almost everything I learned was completely new information. I especially appreciated the balance between history and legend and how the walking tour extended well beyond the Lemp. This made for a fun date night and I'd love to return in the future with friends!

This beautiful fall evening was perfect for a tour! We started the tour at the business and walked…read morejust shy of a mile. We visited major landmarks of Lemp Mansion, DeMenil Mansion, St.Agatha's church, and the Lemp Brewery. The guide structured the time the route to give us a great overview of the area and it's history. Make sure you check the weather before hand because the tour happens rain or shine. My favorite part was the excursion into the tunnels beneath the Lemp Brewery. We had special access to view the location serial killer victims were held in 1993. Turning off the light is not for the faint of heart. Storytelling and history 10/10 Route and sights 10/10

Visited on weekend celebrating the beginning of the expedition. The museum has a vast amount of…read moreinformation about the trip, supplies, people involved, readying for journey. This weekend had reenactors outside showing early 19th century crafts. Fun for all and great learning experience.

We stopped by on a whim when visiting the in-laws. It happened to be the anniversary & there were…read moreperiod actors interacting that were set up throughout, with assorted stations. This was both cool & informative. There was no entry fee, always a plus. The info desk had a guest book. It appeared most visitors who signed were from Illinois. The movie wasn't playing during our visit, I'm not sure if there was a mechanical issue or if it was because of the special celebration. So, I can't speak on it. It's smaller than I expected, yet very interesting & I did learn a few new details. We walked out to the cabins/fort & they were all locked with some of them having the roofs/walls collapsed. Perhaps an entry fee is in order for maintenance/upkeep. Overall, worth a stop, especially for those interested in the expedition.