St. Louis, Missouri

Spending every night of a Route 66 road trip in a different place can be draining, so we built a few “R&R” days into our trip with two-night stops. We wanted to stay at vintage hotels and motels as much as possible, and in St. Louis we decided to splurge on a stay the 1893 Hotel Saint Louis at 705 Olive Street.

Hotel Saint Louis (from stlmag.com)

The Hotel Saint Louis was originally the Union Trust Company, designed by Louis Sullivan, one of America’s most influential architects. The arched windows at the top of the building are one of his hallmarks. Sadly, the magnificent arched entrance and round windows were removed in a 1924 renovation.

Hotel Saint Louis before 1924 (from Missouri Historical Society)

One reason we were glad we chose the Hotel Saint Louis was its location: a 15-minute walk to the Gateway Arch. On a lovely, quiet Sunday morning, we walked down North 7^th Street to Kreiner Plaza Park, where we had a beautiful view of the Old Court House and the Gateway Arch behind it.

Gateway Arch framing the Old Court House of St. Louis

Just past the arch is a huge bank of steps, perfect for watching boats and barges on the Mississippi River.

Steps leading from the Mississippi River to the Gateway Arch

We then walked north of the Arch through Gateway Arch National Park, where we got a great side view of the Arch.

Gateway Arch viewed from the north

We continued to walk north to Laclede's Landing, a redeveloped warehouse district. It was, unfortunately, disappointing. There were a few restaurants but not much else of interest.

We’re big fans of music from the 1950s and 1960s, so in the afternoon we drove out to Chuck Berry’s tomb.

Chuck Berry's tomb in Bellerive Gardens Cemetery

It’s in Bellerive Gardens Cemetery at 740 North Mason Road in the Creve Coeur section of St. Louis. The tomb is easy to spot, in the northwest corner of the cemetery. A lot of fans have left guitar picks and coins at the door. 

Guitar picks and coins left at Chuck Berry's tomb

We’re enormous fans of true frozen custard (very different from soft serve that’s sometimes called “custard”). So our next stop was to be at a Route 66 icon: Ted Drewes Frozen Custard at 6726 Chippewa Street.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (from goodfoodstl.com)

Unfortunately, on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon in October 2021, there was a HUGE crowd out front. We were not comfortable mingling in such dense crowds during the pandemic, so we reluctantly passed.

There are tons of other great things to see and do in St. Louis, but this was an R&R day for us, so we took things easy the rest of the day before continuing on Route 66 further into Missouri.