St. Louis
The National Park Service built St. Louis’ famous Gateway Arch on the edge of the Mississippi River in the 1960s as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States. Now, more than 50 years later, Gateway Arch National Park is putting the final touches on a multiyear, $380 million renovation and reimagining “that completely changed the visitor experience to St. Louis,” said Tony Paraino, director of communications for Explore St. Louis.
The massive project redid about 100 acres of parkland — and added 11 more — at the arch’s base, built an outdoor natural amphitheater and improved pedestrian connections, including a land bridge over Interstate 44, so visitors can walk from the river’s edge into downtown without having to cross a single street.
On July 3, officials will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completely revamped museum beneath the arch, now known as Museum at the Gateway Arch. The expanded museum features new exhibits, including one dedicated to the riverfront, a diorama that depicts St. Louis’ steamboat-era, when the city was a jumping-off point for settlers headed west. The project also included a new west entrance, a visitor center, ticketing, security, loading zones and parking.
“It’s basically an overhaul,” said Renee Eichelberger, director of leisure travel sales for Explore St. Louis. “They did not change the exterior structure of the arch, but everything else.”
Riverboats at Gateway Arch offers views of the arch and downtown skyline from the water during one-hour sightseeing tours, skyline dinner cruises and special-event excursions.
In downtown, the Soldiers Memorial is undergoing a $30 million renovation that will be complete in November. At Union Station, visitors can sip a cocktail in the Grand Hall beneath a laser light show. The historic train station also houses a hotel and will house the new St. Louis Aquarium when it opens next year.
Local and visitors alike go crazy for the City Museum, which is part experimental art museum, part playhouse. The City Museum features a 10-story slide, re-created Missouri caves, a rooftop Ferris wheel and a yellow school bus hanging from the side of the building.
Memphis, Tennessee
Everyone knows Memphis for blues, barbecue and Beale Street. But the city is a major metropolitan destination on the Mississippi, and the city is embracing its riverfront with new development and attractions.
Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid is one of the newest and most unusual riverfront options. The former 20,000-seat arena is now Bass Pro’s 535,000-square-foot retail and entertainment superstore. In addition to Bass Pro Shops, the Pyramid houses a bowling alley, pistol and archery ranges, an interactive wetlands education museum and Big Cypress Lodge, a 103-room wilderness hotel.
One of the signature features is the 28-story freestanding elevator that zooms to the Lookout, a restaurant and bar at the apex, with a central aquarium and glass observation decks that “offer the most amazing, sweeping panoramic views of the Mississippi and three states,” said Kevin Kern, vice president of communications for Memphis Tourism.
“Memphis had been blues and barbecue, but this has broadened our identity to the Great Outdoors,” he said.
The Big River Crossing is a new feature on one of the Mississippi River’s oldest bridges. The new pedestrian and bike path opened in 2016 using what was originally the carriage lane of the Harahan railroad truss bridge. Now, visitors can walk or bike across the river and stop in the middle to straddle the Tennessee-Arkansas state line.
Just a short stroll from the blues clubs of Beale Street, Beale Street Landing sits on the Mississippi riverfront and offers a modern transition from land to water. The Landing, which opened in 2014, features a grass roof that connects to Tom Lee Park, a riverside restaurant and the dock where Memphis Riverboats departs for 90-minute sightseeing tours and dinner cruises.
In April, the city held a ribbon-cutting for the relaunch of the historic Main Street trolley line, which has been closed for an overhaul of the entire trolley system.
