Illinois Sojourn Day One

Doreen and I made a trip to Illinois to trace her roots in light of her father going to his great reward last week. We thought this would be a good way to reflect on where she came from, and meet family that I have never seen, and whom she has not seen for many years.

We started in St Louis, as all good journeys do: 

 The Mississippi was still in flood stage, and you could see that from the air:

We like to stay in interesting small hotels and properties, so Doreen found out that the old Union Station in St Louis was converted to a hotel.

The lobby was fantastic:

With lots of Art Deco glass and statues. The building was built in 1904, or there about.

Every evening they perform several light shows (on the hour, from 6:00 until 11:00). We saw two of them. One was a tribute to Queen. The other was a tribute to the station.

The front desk at the hotel was terrible. They could not be bothered to answer any questions, or be useful in any way, shape, or form. But one of the doormen was great. We asked about someplace interesting to have lunch, and he sent us to The White Knight a couple of blocks away. He said he ate there almost every day for 30 years. (The front desk told us to eat in the hotel).

On the way, we passed the World Chess Hall of Fame. We didn't stop in, though, as we had an appointment at the Arch later.

Here we are at the White Knight. It was tiny. We got great service when we said "Randy sent us". It's good to know someone.

The movie The White Palace was filmed (partly) in this restaurant. Susan Sarandon and James Spader were the stars. It was filmed in 1990, and they still have memorabilia on the walls. 

Then we walked back to the Hotel/Train Station. This is it:

We then walked down to the Arch, passing some classic early skyscrapers (some by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright)

The City of St Louis has a surprising amount of what I would classify as Fascist Art. None of these would feel out of place in 1930s Milan.

We passed by a big Richard Sera installation. You can see why he is not loved by the locals who use the space.

And an installation where we were participants.

The Wainwright Building.

And the Arch. It is always fabulous.

 Always.

Those light poles are on the river side of the riverfront road. Now underwater.

The PR guy for the Arch Park met us and gave us a tour - Tom Nagle. A great guy, very knowledgeable about the part and St Louis.

Then we met one of Doreen's fellow alumni. This is a view from his office: