As previously mentioned, I've been pretty busy laying around the pool lately, but the CC&G Posse/Krewe will be back on the road shortly. In the meantime, here are some awesome places to take visiting family/friends in the St Louis area on Labor Day Weekend, none of which are the City Museum. The City Museum is awesome, of course, but I get so tired of people recommending nothing but that and Ted Drewes every time someone asks for suggestions on where to take Aunt Susie and the kids. All links will open in a new tab/window depending on your browser.
1. The Newman Money Museum, in the basement of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. It's practically like a secret museum, so few people know about it. And they have the Ben Franklin SpokesMannequin. Free.
2. The Nuclear Waste Adventure Trail and Museum. You have to see it to believe it. Also free.
3. Backstage Tour of the Fox Theater - I already checked for you, there is a tour on Saturday. It will include the backstage area and organ performance on one of the two Wurlizters. Tour at 10:30, $8.
4. Faust Park Carousel, Historic Village, and Sophia M Sachs Butterfly House. That's a whole lot of entertainment for just $7 per adult and $5 per kid ($1 carousel rides, $4-6 Butterfly House admission).
5. Suson Park - I'm going to tell you a secret: If you have kids under 6, they are just as happy seeing a cow as they are a polar bear or a Clydesdale. Skip the insane crowds at the Zoo and Grants Farm (both of which are top notch, but save them for a non-holiday weekend) and have a picnic at Suson instead.
Of course, I am leaving out a ton of options for people of all ages, so don't forget to dig around in the archives for more ideas! Or if you're at a loss as to how to entertain Uncle Bob the military buff, or your 16 year old niece who is going through that black lipstick phase, leave me a comment and I'll give you more suggestions.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Jerseyville Victorian Festival
So here's a kind of unusual situation this week. I'm really busy with end of summer laziness right now, so it's time for me to dig in the Vault of Things I Forgot to Blog About Last Year. Perfect timing, because the Jerseyville Victorian Festival takes place every Labor Day weekend.
This was the first time either of us had been to any kind of Civil War battle reenactment. If memory serves, there were about a dozen people on the field and half a dozen cannons. I believe Keith called it "more of a skirmish." Dudes just want to show off their cannons, amiright?
Other activities at the Victorian Festival include stage coach rides, crafting demonstrations, a kind of flea market, and tours of the Hazel Dell Mansion, which is a private residence only open for special events such as this.
Hazel Dell was built by Colonel William J Fulkerson in 1866, and the Victorian Festival takes place on the Fulkerson farm. Guess who stayed on the farm once? FRANK AND JESSE JAMES. We just run into them everywhere, don't we?
In all seriousness, you can read more about the history of the property here. The whole reason I'm digging this out of the vault is to show you the pictures Keith took of the front doors. He missed half of the tour for this.
Marvelous, yes? A few other highlights from the mansion:
I have to say, my favorite part of this trip was driving up the Great River Road from St Louis, and I highly recommend taking that route if you decide to visit the Victorian Festival this year. The festival runs September 4-6 and admission to the grounds is $8 for adults and $2 for children.
This was the first time either of us had been to any kind of Civil War battle reenactment. If memory serves, there were about a dozen people on the field and half a dozen cannons. I believe Keith called it "more of a skirmish." Dudes just want to show off their cannons, amiright?
Other activities at the Victorian Festival include stage coach rides, crafting demonstrations, a kind of flea market, and tours of the Hazel Dell Mansion, which is a private residence only open for special events such as this.
Hazel Dell was built by Colonel William J Fulkerson in 1866, and the Victorian Festival takes place on the Fulkerson farm. Guess who stayed on the farm once? FRANK AND JESSE JAMES. We just run into them everywhere, don't we?
In all seriousness, you can read more about the history of the property here. The whole reason I'm digging this out of the vault is to show you the pictures Keith took of the front doors. He missed half of the tour for this.
Marvelous, yes? A few other highlights from the mansion:
I have to say, my favorite part of this trip was driving up the Great River Road from St Louis, and I highly recommend taking that route if you decide to visit the Victorian Festival this year. The festival runs September 4-6 and admission to the grounds is $8 for adults and $2 for children.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Another Obscure Statue, and Some Less Obscure Monuments
OK, so things didn't quite go according to plan with the live jury duty blogging since they made me check my camera (and then I left my SD card in my work laptop over the weekend). I was able to check my camera out for the lunch break, though, so here are some pictures from around the court buildings. You can't throw a rock without hitting a statue or monument in the area of City Hall.
My primary mission was to find this statue, a special request by my neighbor Mary. We live on Schiller Place and she mentioned that there was a statue near Market and Chestnut of a guy named Schiller and she wanted to know who he was and why we have a statue. This is Friedrich Schiller, a noted German poet and playwright. He never lived in St Louis, but according to various websites, his son Johann Wilhelm Engau, who also never lived in St Louis, "started the line of descendants who now live in St Louis, MO." The statue was donated by Colonel Charles Stifel, a local brewer (everyone was a brewer), and apparently there was a huge parade and party the day the statue was dedicated in 1898. And yes, Schiller Place in the Bevo neighborhood is named for Friedrich Schiller.
Also in this area, in front of the Civil Courts building, is the Fallen Officer Memorial, which says "In Memory of the St Louis Police Officers Who Have Given Their Lives in the Performance of Their Duty". A list of names engraved on the memorial can be found here.
Between Tucker and 13th Street is Poelker Park, and here you will find the Firefighters Memorial. There's an interesting article about the 15th anniversary of this statue here.
Between Olive, Pine, 13th, and 14th is Eternal Flame Park, where you will find the American Legion Founding Commemorative Monument. According to the Downtown Parks website, it was built by the Monument Builders of America after their convention here in 1942. Oddly, the real eternal flame did not replace the stone representation of an eternal flame until 1969.
Over at Memorial Plaza Park we have memorial walls for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The large building behind it, which houses the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum, was built in honor of WWI veterans.
I also toured the Military Museum, where I did not take pictures because it's all glass and they would have sucked, but I highly recommend checking it out next time you're downtown. The building is absolutely gorgeous. The museum is not air conditioned, but it is reasonably well ventilated. It was 101 degrees outside when I was there, and while I lingered near the fans, I was not terribly uncomfortable. The museum is open Monday-Friday from 9-4:30, and Saturday-Sunday from 10-3.
Finally, I leave you with a couple pictures from a project I'm very excited about, the renovation of the Kiel Opera House, which will become the Peabody Opera House. Construction is in full swing!
My primary mission was to find this statue, a special request by my neighbor Mary. We live on Schiller Place and she mentioned that there was a statue near Market and Chestnut of a guy named Schiller and she wanted to know who he was and why we have a statue. This is Friedrich Schiller, a noted German poet and playwright. He never lived in St Louis, but according to various websites, his son Johann Wilhelm Engau, who also never lived in St Louis, "started the line of descendants who now live in St Louis, MO." The statue was donated by Colonel Charles Stifel, a local brewer (everyone was a brewer), and apparently there was a huge parade and party the day the statue was dedicated in 1898. And yes, Schiller Place in the Bevo neighborhood is named for Friedrich Schiller.
Also in this area, in front of the Civil Courts building, is the Fallen Officer Memorial, which says "In Memory of the St Louis Police Officers Who Have Given Their Lives in the Performance of Their Duty". A list of names engraved on the memorial can be found here.
Between Tucker and 13th Street is Poelker Park, and here you will find the Firefighters Memorial. There's an interesting article about the 15th anniversary of this statue here.
Between Olive, Pine, 13th, and 14th is Eternal Flame Park, where you will find the American Legion Founding Commemorative Monument. According to the Downtown Parks website, it was built by the Monument Builders of America after their convention here in 1942. Oddly, the real eternal flame did not replace the stone representation of an eternal flame until 1969.
Over at Memorial Plaza Park we have memorial walls for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The large building behind it, which houses the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum, was built in honor of WWI veterans.
I also toured the Military Museum, where I did not take pictures because it's all glass and they would have sucked, but I highly recommend checking it out next time you're downtown. The building is absolutely gorgeous. The museum is not air conditioned, but it is reasonably well ventilated. It was 101 degrees outside when I was there, and while I lingered near the fans, I was not terribly uncomfortable. The museum is open Monday-Friday from 9-4:30, and Saturday-Sunday from 10-3.
Finally, I leave you with a couple pictures from a project I'm very excited about, the renovation of the Kiel Opera House, which will become the Peabody Opera House. Construction is in full swing!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
America's Best Restroom
For the second year in a row, a Missouri restroom is nominated in the Cintas America's Best Restroom contest. Last year's winner was the Shoji Tabuchi Theater in Branson, MO, which you may remember is famous for its billiards table in the mens lounge and daily fresh orchids in the ladies sinks.
This year's Missouri nominee is The Fountain on Locust in St Louis. I've been here before but had no idea their restrooms were so fancy! The food here is awesome and they are open until midnight on the weekends. I recommend stopping in for an ice cream martini after a show at the Fox Theater.
Speaking of The Fox, August will be a GREAT month to take the tour. There is very little on the calendar to prevent backstage access. Tours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 10:30am, with no tour Saturday August 28.
I know this is not the kind of post you expect on Sundays. I'll make it up to you with a mini-post later this week, live from city jury duty! Don't worry, it won't actually be ABOUT jury duty.
This year's Missouri nominee is The Fountain on Locust in St Louis. I've been here before but had no idea their restrooms were so fancy! The food here is awesome and they are open until midnight on the weekends. I recommend stopping in for an ice cream martini after a show at the Fox Theater.
Speaking of The Fox, August will be a GREAT month to take the tour. There is very little on the calendar to prevent backstage access. Tours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 10:30am, with no tour Saturday August 28.
I know this is not the kind of post you expect on Sundays. I'll make it up to you with a mini-post later this week, live from city jury duty! Don't worry, it won't actually be ABOUT jury duty.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)