St. Louis Historic Hotels Part II

We had lunch at the Coronado Hotel on Lindell which was designed by Preston J. Bradshaw who also designed the Chase Park Plaza and the Mayfair Hotel which we also visited.

The company of St. Mark friends made lunch even more special.
Although it is no longer a hotel but apartments for students at St. Louis University (studio starts at $999 a month), the ballroom is used for weddings and other functions.
This fireplace had been in a wall which probably preserved it during the time the hotel was abandoned and used by the homeless. Brides often have their photos taken by this fireplace where some of their grandparents had their bridal photos also made.
The Ballroom is magnificent with its lights in the original floor.
We learned that the ballroom was built for a reception for Charles Lindbergh. The lights were in the floor to make the ladies' dresses shimmer when they danced in the 1920's. This room was a disco in the 1960's with a wooden floor placed on top. During the 1990's some of the roof had caved in damaging the wooden floor which had protected the unique floor.

Our next stop was the Drury Plaza which had been the fur exchange and a hat factory so technically not a historic hotel, but rather a hotel in a historic building. Our tour guide told us the Drurys walked by as the wrecking ball was tearing part of this down. They thought it was a shame to lose such a historic structure, so they bought it the next day.
One wall of the lobby has sculptures of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The Statler Hotel is now part of the Renaissance Hotel which has been beautifully restored. This hotel was the site of the first air conditioning and the "gentleman's bar" below. . .

Was the site of the first woman to publicly light a cigarette (a suffragette). I loved the crystal light fixture above. The "gentleman's bar" is very modern and welcomes all genders today, but no one can smoke there.
The ballroom has Wedgwood china panels throughout the ceiling.
The Mayfair Hotel (home of the yummy Mayfair salad dressing and the Prosperity sandwich) is undergoing renovations so we didn't see too much of it.
Apparently all of the downtown hotels had a German-themed restaurant including the Mayfair.

Another Drury Hotel renovation is next door to Union Station. This one was once a residential YMCA frequently visited by railroad executives who enjoyed its exercise rooms and indoor pool.

I'd wanted to visit it ever since I'd heard about its renovations. They have a wonderful (static) collection of model trains through out the lobby, but none of my photos turned out.
Of course the Grand Dame is the Union Station Hotel. Although I've been there often attending dances in 1970's, touring it and attending conferences, I'm always in awe of its grandeur. If you can't stay there, be sure to include it on your visit to see the magnificent Tiffany window representing the three major railroad cities of San Francisco, St. Louis and New York City.

Historic St. Louis Hotels

While on a tour of historic hotels in St. Louis, our first stop was the Seven Gables in Clayton, Mo. The photo above is in the courtyard and was actually a street/alley at one time.
Several of the rooms have doors to the courtyard with "house numbers" which helped give the hotel historic status.
Inside is also a Molly Darcy's Irish Pub where we enjoyed delicious cookies, tea and lemonade.
The photo below is of the "breakfast room". I really felt like I was in Europe rather than in St. Louis County.
We also learned a lot about hotels that are long gone (to read about the fire at one of the hotels click here): Southern Hotel, Planter's Hotel (home of two famous drinks Planter's Punch, Tom Collins ) and the Lindell Hotel which was the largest and grandest hotel west of the Mississippi.

Reading, Writing, 'Rithmetic

Last weekend, the Twenter family came to visit after Libby had been to the school Book Fair.
She had bought the book Fancy Nancy which she read to her cousin Anna.


Grandpa tried to read The Little Engine That Could to the Girls.


Sunday, Davis and Libby circled toys they wanted for Christmas while Brett. . .
had hot chocolate and did some math work.
We had a rip-roaring time, but wished Roman could have joined us. We will ALL be together soon.

Grandma's Birthday

We started out with my two favorite girls letting me read Fancy Nancy which Libby had just bought at her school book fair.
The boys loved the candles being lit. . . .

They all liked the singing and blowing out the candles. . .
But, Anna knows the best part is eating the cake. . .Anna, in a few weeks you'll get more cake for your birthday.

My First Birthday

My first birthday party was well-documented by my mother in my baby book. I think this is probably in our flat at 4616 A Arsenal St. because I don't remember anyone else having a fireplace mantel like that.
Although I may not have too many of the presents from my first birthday, I do have a card that my Grandpa and Grandma Long gave me. One of the dolls may be one of these.

Below is a photo of me at ONE---Leah, note the hair and compare it to Anna's.

Although I'm not sure when the photo above was taken, I did recognize the outfit in the photo below:I'm guessing the photo above (one of Aunt Norma's photos)was Steve or Bob's birthday (3 weeks after mine and 5 weeks before mine). In the front are Norma, Steve and Bob (with his mouth open). In the back are two women I don't know, me jabbering to my Uncle Ron, followed by my Grandma Long, Aunt Maxine and a woman I don't know.

Fort Leonard Wood

A few weeks ago, we went on a Parkway tour of Ft. Leonard Wood, about 2 1/2 hours south of St. Louis near Rolla. Sgt. Ortez met us at the gate and gave us our guided tour.
Ft. Leonard Wood consists of 60,000 acres, is the largest training facility in the United States and has 34,000 people living there at any one time. I was surprised at the many new buildings, including the 4 elementary schools we saw on the base. Our over-sized bus limited some of the areas we went to.

In and Around Boston

We packed quite a bit in our 3 day trip to Boston. We stayed in the Custom House which is the lit clock tower above. As you can see it's in easy walking distance to Quincy Market (the pillars).
(From Tom and Donna's room) The white steepled building and domed building with the long buildings attached and across the way are Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.
We took a bus tour where we saw Cheers (the bar the TV series was based on).
Boston has that wonderful juxtaposition of historic buildings and modern skyscrapers which actually intensifies and reflects the history that's Boston.
Fenway Park---didn't looks so much traditional and historic as run-down. Don't tell the Red Sox fans about the new stadiums with padded seats, buffets, elevators. . .they'd rather rough it. . .but, then we always suspected they were masochists.
I got to visit my cousin Bob in his new "digs" at Brigham House.
He has a view of an elementary school baseball field right outside his window. He said, "It's not Fenway Park, but . . ." I didn't want to hurt his Red Sox feelings by telling him it looks more comfortable than Fenway.
Within walking distance of Custom House was also the IMAX theater (we saw "3D Hubble") and the New England Aquarium. They featured a penguin exhibit. . .
And a huge tank rising several stories that is the core of the museum.
We even saw divers feeding the fish.Our trip ended with an excursion to the country-side south of Boston (seen in the distance) to see some color. We were still a little early, but. . .

Thanks ,Tom and Donna for hosting our visit!