the __earthinc

St. Louis is a great city. It is not as large as New York or as dark as Detroit. The city is simply pleasant.I stayed at Washington University, crashing in Teddy’s place for three or four days. Teddy was a great host and yeah, his name is really Teddy as in teddy bear.

Before I describe the city, I would like to say a few words about the structures in Washington University, better known as Wash U. Some of the buildings are new but the focus here is the old ones. In the middle of the University, there’s a huge field and the University’s buildings concentrated around this open space. The architecture of the old buildings is impressive – it’s sort of like University of Michigan own Law Quad – castle-like – though the feeling of being in Europe is essentially expanded throughout the whole academic campus. One particular work of art is the arch on the hill, facing a long avenue with trees on both side of the space. Again, it’s like Michigan Engineering Arch down in West Hall though the size is doubled or at most tripled.

In contrast, St. Louis has a modern skyline.

Typical of American cities, St. Louis uses the grid system instead of a centralized one to plan out its city. Thus, walking around the cities street is actually a pleasant experience. There weren’t many vehicles on the road though I must admit that I wandered around St. Louis a day after Thanksgiving. Therefore, my description about the traffic might be misleading.

St. Louis is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, facing the state of Illinois of which is situated directly across the river. There’s a city called East St. Louis on the Illinois’ side though it is no as high profile as Missouri’s.

Traveling around the city is pretty easy. The city’s satellites are connected to the downtown by a rail transit system. The rail transit is reliable. There’s also a bus system but I didn’t use it. However, judging from the frequency of the bus, I am sure it is efficient. The city is well connected by road. There are several long bridges crossing the Mississippi River. To sum it up, St. Louis has a pretty good transportation system. Important to note however, new visitors might want to avoid shitty cabs because they do charge more that usual. David and I experienced that first hand.

Like every main cities that I’ve visited so far, St. Louis has its own Union Station. Compared to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, St. Louis has a rather unique structure for its Union Station. From my travels to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the Union Station has the reputation of being a grand old building with the primary function to serve the respective city’s transportation needs. St. Louis’ on the other hand is a recognizable metal structure. It’s almost like a huge warehouse or hangar minus the walls. It’s more like a really big gazebo.

From far, the Union Station looked like the city of Detroit – rusty and poorly lit. Inside however, its rocking like it’s 1999. About half or a quarter, of the Union Station is occupied by a shopping complex. The term shopping complex might be an exaggeration but the complex is full of shops selling various souvenirs. Also, there’s an interesting bakery. The bakery is unique because not only you could buy its tasteful product, entertainment is also provided.

Typical Union Stations like I said earlier is a grand old structure. Perhaps St. Louis’ had undergone renovation as inside, there’s the Hyatt Hotel. The hotel is adorned with impressive work of art. I was further informed by Teddy that St. Louis Union Station used to be the busiest railways station in the world.

And of course, St. Louis is famous for its Gateway Arch. The Arch itself stands normally aligned to the east-west line. It’s to symbolize the west as St. Louis is closely related to Lewis and Clack’s famous expedition to the west immediately after the Louisiana Purchase. The Mississippi is about 50 meters away from the Arch’s base.

Nearby, an old building is erected facing the Arch. A park is also present. The only disappointing thing about it is the fact that an ugly factory exists directly on the other side of the river.

The city itself is very open. Among the tall buildings, there is a sort of boulevard starting from the Arch and almost all the way across the city. The city prominent old public structure all aligned to face this boulevard.

Finally, the city skyline is pretty normal from the west. Nothing impressive but the Union Station and a stadium of which I can’t recall its name stands out. From the east, the Arch is the eye catcher.

The nightlife is somewhat happening. I gave a place called the Loop a visit and there were many people there even a few days after Thanksgiving. I would imagine the place is packed with people during normal weekends. The Loop however is not the city itself but rather, a hangout place for college students, much like Ann Arbor’s South U St. For food, St. Louis does offer great choices. I ate dinner with some friends at a Siamese restaurant and damn the food is good. It also has teh tarik! Additionally, I was told that a must try in St. Louis is its root beer. I tasted it but unfortunately, there was nothing great about it though at the price it was sold, it was definitely a huge glass.

Anyway, I hope that wrap up my review of St. Louis. To cut things short, I would like St. Louis if I had grown up there. It’s not too big and it’s too small. It’s just nice for person who wants a quiet life without leaving civilization.

All photos will be made available once somebody get his ass to work. :)

And before I make love with my bed, I would like to say thank you to Teddy for a warm treatment in St. Louis, to Ray for thinking that I could speak Chinese and finally to David for giving me a choice to have fun in St. Louis or to rot in the overrated Annarbour (pardon for the spelling. AAIO has a bad influence on me).