Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch National Park is an American national park located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a national memorial, it was established in 1935 to commemorate: the Louisiana Purchase and subsequent westward movement of American explorers and pioneers; the first civil government west of the Mississippi River; and the debate over slavery raised by the Dred Scott case.The national park consists of the Gateway Arch, a steel catenary arch that has become the definitive icon of St. Louis; a park along the Mississippi River on the site of the earliest buildings of the city; the Old Courthouse, a former state and federal courthouse where the Dred Scott case originated; and the 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) museum at the Gateway Arch. It is the smallest national park in the United States at 91 acres (37 ha), less than 2% the size of the next-smallest, Hot Springs National Park. The immediate surroundings of the Gateway Arch were initially designated the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (a national memorial) by executive order on December 21, 1935. The Gateway Arch was completed on October 28, 1965. The park is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS). The area surrounding the arch was redesignated as the "Gateway Arch National Park" (a national park) in 2018. This change has been highly controversial due to the nature of the site ("national parks" typically involve significant natural landscapes and significant opportunities for nature recreation, whereas sites that have primarily historical and architectural significance are usually given other NPS designations). Several publications noted that the addition of Gateway Arch as a national park eroded the significance associated with the "national park" designation, and some suggested that the change was made in order to promote tourism rather than to conserve a nature area.

Fair St. Louis is an annual festival held during the United States Independence Day holiday in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, at the Gateway Arch National Park. It is funded by the Veiled Prophet Organization.

Barnum's St. Louis Hotel was a historic 6-floor hotel built in 1854. The Barnums were a family of hotel keepers who had run the famous Barnum's Hotel in Baltimore. This building was located at the 2nd and Walnut Streets in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been considered to be St. Louis' first high-rise building. The hotel was designed by architect George I. Barnett. The famous former slave Dred Scott worked as a porter here from 1857 until his death. Dred Scott's new owners had freed him two months after the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Scott became a local celebrity, greeting visitors at the hotel until he died of tuberculosis on September 17, 1858.Famous guests included Henry Clay and Illinois Governor Richard Yates.The hotel was demolished in 1890.

The Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France (French: Cathédrale Saint-Louis-Roi-de-France de Saint-Louis), formerly the Cathedral of Saint Louis, and colloquially the Old Cathedral, was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1845 the only parish church in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of two Catholic basilicas in St. Louis, and it is named for King Louis IX of France, also the namesake for the city of St. Louis.The current structure (built 1831–1834) is located near the historic riverfront of St. Louis. It is surrounded by Gateway Arch National Park. However, the church is not part of the park. Because of the historical significance of the church, it was left intact while all neighboring buildings were demolished to make way for the Gateway Arch and related park. Rev. Nicholas Smith serves as Rector. The basilica serves as a personal parish church rather than a territorial parish church. It ranks 177th of 196 churches in number of Catholics per church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. However, because of its historical significance (and its location along the Mississippi River near the iconic Arch), the basilica remains a popular church for marriage ceremonies in the archdiocese (ranking second of 196 churches) and a popular tourist destination.

The National Hotel was a historic hotel located at the southwest corner of 3rd and Market Streets in St. Louis, Missouri. The hotel originally opened in 1832 as Scott's Hotel, but this building was destroyed with a new hotel building built in 1847. Other names for this hotel included the New Scott's Hotel, United States Hotel, Germania House, Atlantic Hotel, St. Clair Hotel, and Rice Hotel. The hotel was five stories high and was known as the St. Louis's most luxurious hotel at the time. The hotel was included in the federal Historic American Buildings Survey, but this did not prevent it from being demolished in 1948. Notable guests at this hotel included Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Webster, and Jefferson Davis.The first public transit omnibus line for St. Louis was established in 1843. It ran from the old National Hotel to the North St. Louis ferry landing at Madison Street.

The Merchants Exchange Building was a building at Third Street at Chestnut and Pine in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1875 to 1958 that housed the St. Louis Merchants Exchange and hosted the 1876 Democratic National Convention. The building was designed by Francis Lee and Thomas Annan who placed second in a competition for the structure (the winner was George I. Barnett but his work was considered too expensive. The building was the second Merchants Exchange on the location. The first building was built in 1857. During the American Civil War members of the exchange split along North-South lines. The Exchange merged back together after the war. The $2 million venue measured 235 by 187 ft (72 by 57 m) by 187 feet (57 m) and was actually two separate buildings. The second and third floors of the western half of the building had an iron truss system that supported the roof and created the largest open indoor space in the United States at the time of its construction (235 feet long and 98 feet (30 m) wide and 65 feet (20 m) tall) and thus was chosen for the 1876 convention which was the first Democratic or Republican national convention west of the Mississippi River. At the same time of its construction the Merchants Exchange built the Eads Bridge across the Mississippi River.The building was torn down in 1958. Part of the Adam's Mark Hotel was built in its location. In 2008 the Adams Mark announced plans to become a Grand Hyatt. The Merchants Exchange founded in 1836 was the first commodity trading exchange in the United States—predating the Chicago Board of Trade. In its early years it was referred to as the Chamber of Commerce. Articles about the 1876 Convention referred to it as the Chamber of Commerce. After vacating its downtown location, it was evicted in 1995 from its new location by eminent domain when St. Louis expanded the St. Louis Science Center. The Exchange made a last gasp in 2000/2001 to conduct computerized trading of future trading of freight on the Mississippi River. It has quietly ceased operation.

The International Fur Exchange Building, at 2 S. Fourth St. in St. Louis, Missouri, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The original building is a seven-story commercial building, on a 125 by 150 feet (38 m × 46 m) plan, designed by architect George W. Hellmuth. It was built during 1919–20.It has also been known as the Fouke Fur Company Building. It was site of fur auctions. The Fouke Fur Company held all rights, by an exclusive contract with the United States Government, "for the processing and sale of all sealskins and foxskins taken from Government herds on the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. In addition, from 1920- 1925 and again from 1934-1956." Public auctions of its fur seal pelts were held here.A ten-story addition on the south, added in 1958, has compatible design. The building experienced some demolition in 1997, mostly on the building's interior, with removal of salvageable materials. However, some of the building maintained external damage during the demolition. In 1997, Drury Hotels acquired the International Fur Exchange Building property, and, along with the Thomas Jefferson Building and American Zinc building, saved them from being demolished and renovated all three into a single building, now called the Drury Plaza Hotel at the Arch. During renovation, all three buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Planter's House Hotel was the name of three hotels in St. Louis, Missouri. The first operated from 1817, the second from 1841 to 1891, and the third until 1922.

The Battle of St. Louis (Spanish: Batalla de San Luis), also known as the Battle of Fort San Carlos, was an unsuccessful attack by British-allied Indians on St. Louis (a French settlement in Spanish Louisiana, founded on the West Bank of the Mississippi River after the 1763 Treaty of Paris) on May 26, 1780, during the American Revolutionary War. A Loyalist fur trader led a large force of Indians and attacked the settlement. Fernando de Leyba, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana, led the local militia to fortify the town as best as they could and successfully withstood the attack. On the opposite bank of the Mississippi, a second simultaneous attack on the nearby Patriot outpost of Cahokia was also repulsed. The retreating Indians destroyed the crops and took captive civilians outside the protected area. The British failed to defend their side of the river and, thus, effectively ended any attempts to gain control of the Mississippi River during the war.

The Southern Hotel was a historic hotel located at the corner of 4th Street and Walnut Street and stretching between 4th and 5th Streets in St. Louis, Missouri. The building was built at the location of the Old Southern Hotel which burned in 1877. This 1877 hotel fire and the loss of life that occurred here made this the worst hotel disaster in St. Louis history. The new Southern Hotel had white marble, extensive fresco work, a rotunda, and a wide promenade. The hotel was owned by Robert G. Campbell who had a close friendship with President Grant. The hotel was closed in 1912 as newer and larger hotels were built further west. The hotel was torn down in 1933. The National Register of Historic Places, the official United States list of the historic places worthy of preservation, was not authorized until over 30 years later in 1966.

The Old St. Louis County Courthouse was built as a combination federal and state courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. Missouri's tallest habitable building from 1864 to 1894, it is now part of Gateway Arch National Park and operated by the National Park Service for historical exhibits and events.

The Millennium Hotel St. Louis, more commonly known simply as the Millennium Hotel, is a defunct hotel complex in downtown St. Louis, Missouri that closed in 2014. The lower complex consisted of a plaza and several recreational facilities. Two towers, Millennium Hotel Tower I and Millennium Hotel Tower II, made up the hotel space. Tower I is 28 stories tall and was constructed in 1968. Tower II is 11 stories tall and was constructed in 1974. The building is adjacent to the Gateway Arch. The hotel had 780 rooms and 19 suites. It also featured a revolving restaurant called "Top of the Riverfront" on the 28th floor of Tower I.