In Mission: Wanderlust, I write and podcast about our family’s travel adventures and the things that we have learned along the way.
The first time our family visited the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the entire complex was under construction.
It was 2015 and we were on the first leg of our move from Fort Wayne to Houston. We decided to take a night to hang out in St. Louis and visit the Arch, making for a slightly more relaxing evening before two more long days of travel down south.
We made our first stop at the Old Courthouse, a block away from the Arch. This National Historic Site is where the Dred Scott case originated, before it worked its way to the Supreme Court and their infamous 1857 decision denying the legality of black citizenship in the United States and upholding slavery in the United States territories. Our kids may have been too young, at four and six, to understand the significance of the stop, but I was still glad we took the time to walk around.
Then we went to the Arch, which was under a total renovation. Fences surrounded the beautiful grounds that I had visited a few times as a teenager, and the museum was undergoing a complete reconstruction. But for the first time ever, I was able to get tickets to the top, so our family enjoyed our trip to the small space at the top of the Gateway Arch, watching the sunset over the city.
For years our kids had asked if we could go back and see the Arch once all of the construction was complete. The problem was, we never drove through, or even near, St. Louis with enough time to visit downtown.
When we decided that the whole family was going to be present to watch me complete the St. Louis Half-Marathon at the end of our Spring Break, we found ourselves with a day in town to relax before I would run 13.1 miles the following day. I didn’t want to do too much walking, so after meeting Jeff’s cousin and wife for lunch, we walked over to the Arch to see the completed renovations.
We weren’t able to take the tram to the top, which was fine. We were really there to see the finished changes to the interior and the new museum that attempts to fully capture the history of St. Louis and westward expansion.
United States history is complicated and so is the history of the National Park Service, but I was impressed with the scope and diversity of the new museum in the lower level of the Arch. It covers the history of the region’s Indigenous tribes, the diverse culture of St. Louis before the Louisiana Purchase, and the impact of the Louisiana Purchase on race relations and the role of slavery in the region. It challenges the foundational principles of Manifest Destiny and complicates the role of the Lewis and Clark expedition. I also learned a lot about the history of St. Louis itself, which I believe is enough to make it a must-visit for people who live in the St. Louis region. Even if we didn’t make it to the top of the Arch for a second time, I felt like the visit was worth it.
As we walked back to the car, we passed the Old Courthouse. The fencing around the entire block made it clear that this was the next big renovation project, one which promises to bring more necessary depth to our understanding of American history.
Both the Arch and the renovations currently underway at the Old Courthouse continue to show the National Park Service working to manage its uneasy relationship with both public lands and our country’s often-troubling past regarding land ownership, race relations, cultural understanding, and personal autonomy. As a National Parks lover, I am encouraged by the agency’s determination to fight back against much of the illiberal ideology that seems to be spreading like a cancer across state legislatures and school systems. While our short weekend in the city gave us a long bucket list of items we would like to see on a return trip, I was glad that we prioritized this stop before I would run a half-marathon the following day.
We just have to keep reminding ourselves that we’re only four hours away if we want to see more.
For further information about the history, sights, and sounds of St. Louis, check out Unseen St. Louis .
Order my new book!
I’ve written a memoir collection of essays based on several of my blog posts from the past seven years. It is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
And if you do purchase, please give it a favorable review on Amazon and Goodreads, or any other book tracking app that you might use.
Please “like” by clicking on the ❤ and share this post with your friends so that others can join me on the journey.
Oh how I loved reading this!! I was thinking that I wanted to do something about St Louis this summer and will definitely want to share your post when I do!! I loved hearing your perspective about the way history is shared at the Arch!!!