Taylor and Archie Visit St. Louis!

Taylor and I had a busy weekend in St. Louis!  Taylor and her parents were visiting family in Florissant, MO. and decided to visit some of the STL 250 cakes before coming home.  We first visited the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant, just a few minutes from Taylor's aunt's house.  The shrine is at the site of the first church built in the village of Florissant in 1789.  The church and convent are two of the oldest buildings in the St. Louis area, and William Clark (of Lewis & Clark) even attended weddings and baptisms there!  This can be found at latitude 38.796728 and longitude -90.334093.

Next, we traveled to Forest Park, where Taylor spent lots of time with her family over the years.  Our first stop was the Jewel Box, which houses beautiful floral shows.  The Jewel Box was built in 1936 by the City of St. Louis and is listed on the National Historic Register.  It is an example of outstanding greenhouse design with unconventional, cantilevered, vertical glass walls.  This can be found at latitude 38.632147 and longitude -90.279462. 

We then visited the St. Louis Science Center.  The St. Louis Science Center is one of the top 20 science centers in the United States, welcoming more than 900,000 visitors annually.  The Science Center houses exhibits on dinosaurs, life science, and futuristic Cyberville among many others.  You can also watch movies in the Omnimax Theater which is displayed on the inside of the dome of the Science Center.  There's lots to do for all ages at the Science Center.  This can be found at latitude 38.628930 and longitude -90.270496. 

We visited The Muny next.  The Muny has been in Forest Park since 1917, and was completed in only 49 days, excluding 7 days that rain made construction impossible.  Since its opening, the Muny has housed many events including plays, musicals, and concerts.  This can be found at latitude 38.641020 and longitude -90.280672.

After that we visited the St. Louis Art Museum.  The museum was originally located downtown but was moved to Forest Park after the 1904 World's Fair.  The building was constructed in 1902-1903 and was built as the main building of the Palace of Fine Arts for the World's Fair.  It houses many beautiful works of art.  This can be found at latitude 38.639503 and longitude -90.294529.

Last, we visited the St. Louis Zoo.   The St. Louis Zoo was voted #1 zoo b Zagat Survey's U.S. Family Travel Guide in associated with Parenting Magazine.  The birth of the zoo is credited by the 1904 World's Fair, which brought attention to St. Louis and Forest Park.  A walk-through bird cage was constructed for the World's Fair which was bought rather than be dismantled and returned to Washington, D.C.  In 1910 the Zoological Society of St. Louis was formed from people interested in opening a zoo.  The St. Louis Zoo houses more than 19,000 exotic animals of 655 species and 3 million people visit the zoo each year which makes it one of the top attended zoos in the nation.  This can be found at latitude 38.635193 and longitude -90.290712.
We had so much fun visited St. Louis, and I can't wait to visit again!

Taylor and I traveled a total of 316.7 miles roundtrip.  Adding the miles I traveled with Sydney to the Veteran's Memorial Wall, I've traveled 330.3 miles!