Lee F. Mindel Visits the Architectural Landmarks of St. Louis

On a recent trip to the West Coast, with a connecting flight in Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (designed by World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki), I couldn’t get that old song “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” out of my head. Written in 1904 to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair, the tune was later made famous in a 1944 Judy Garland film of the same name.

As the lyrics kept rewinding in my mind, I found myself determined to discover the land that Lewis and Clark explored. Named for France’s King Louis IX in 1764, included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, and referred to since pioneer times as the “Gateway to the West,” this city of approximately 320,000 residents is a dynamic metropolis full of aesthetic delights.

The past is present everywhere in St. Louis. Steamboats still run up and down the Mississippi River, and the city’s business district is home to one of the world’s first skyscrapers, completed in 1891. The elaborate Beaux Arts Revival grounds of the World’s Fair remain wonderfully intact. And, of course, how could anyone ever forget that arch? Standing at 630 feet, clad in stainless steel, Eero Saarinen’s 1968 Gateway Arch is the tallest in the world and a sculptural frame that embraces the city where art and commerce meet.

“Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the fair,

Don’t tell me the lights are shining

any place but there,

We will dance the Hoochie-Koochie,

I will be your tootsie wootsie,

If you will meet in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the fair.”

Click here to take Lee F. Mindel’s architectural tour of St. Louis .

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