`The famous Gateway to the West, St. Louis is also a gateway to great culture. A combination of public efforts and private dedication have left the city with a bevy of arts, history, horticulture and other institutional treasures that make St. Louis a shining cultural beacon in the Midwest.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is one wealthy citizen’s gift to the city, and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis is an artistic splendor resulting from the cooperative efforts of thousands of locals. Plus, in Forest Park, visitors will find numerous world-class museums and other cultural institutions, all open to visit with no admission charge.
A blooming estate
The 79-acre Missouri Botanical Garden was once the private garden of a wealthy local man.
“The garden was opened in 1859 by an Englishman who owned a cutlery business here,” said Julie Bierach, public information officer at the gardens. “He got very rich and decided to open a garden here on the estate. When he died, he had no heirs, so he left the garden to a trust with instructions in his will.”
Today, the garden has a large and diverse collection of horticultural displays showcasing plants and gardening techniques from around the world. Depending on the season, visitors will find roses, camellias, azaleas and myriad other flowers in bloom. Two indoor conservatories — a historic greenhouse and the modern Climatron — contain re-creations of exotic ecosystems.
Among the highlights are a classical Chinese garden and a 14-acre Japanese garden.
“It looks best in snow, because the Japanese consider snow to be a flower,” Beirach said.
Mosaic masterpiece
Groups will find another magnificent display at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, a Romanesque church with extensive Byzantine-inspired mosaics on the inside.
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| Courtesy St. Louis CVA |
“They started work on this in 1909, and finished the mosaics in 1989,” said Nancy Milton, a representative of the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission.
Walking into the church, your eye is immediately drawn upward to the beautiful tile mosaics on the upper walls and ceilings. The artwork depicts biblical stories as well as important people and events from the history of St. Louis and the surrounding area.
Over the years, many different artists have worked on the mosaics, so the completed interior reflects numerous styles and artistic sensibilities.
Groups can arrange for a guided art tour of the church, which includes a visit to the mosaic museum in the basement. The museum features some original drawings of the artwork in the sanctuary, as well as examples of mosaic tiles and the process artists used to create the large-scale images.
More than a park
Although it is 50 percent larger than the famous Central Park in New York, St. Louis’ Forest Park is more than just urban green space. The 1,293-acre park is home to major cultural institutions, including a zoo, an art museum, a science museum, an opera house and a history museum, and in keeping with a long-standing St. Louis tradition, all of those institutions are open to the public free of charge.
The Missouri History Museum is one of the Forest Park institutions most appealing to groups. Like other buildings in the park, it was erected for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. After the fair ended, it was converted into a permanent museum, and it now houses artifacts related to state and national history.
Highlights include a number of items from Charles Lindbergh’s famous 1927 transatlantic flight, as well as the single-engine airplane used in the film “The Spirit of St. Louis.”
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