Meet Me In St. Louis Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds have led the Cardinals to baseball's playoffs. But, there is more to St. Louis than a winning baseball team. There are more than 100 major visitor attractions, historic neighborhoods and entertainment choices to visit. Before you enjoy present-day St. Louis, here is a brief look at the history of "The Gateway City." History French fur traders from New Orleans founded the city named for Louis IX the Crusader King of France in 1764. France regained rights to St. Louis in 1800, but Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to President Thomas Jefferson without taking possession. Explorers Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis to chart the Louisiana Territory in 1804. More than 1,000 people lived in the city which was the center of fur trade in America. When Lewis and Clark returned from their journey two years later, St. Louis became the last stop for pioneers, mountain men, trappers and travelers heading to the frontier. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition as 20 million visitors and exhibits from 43 countries took part. Popular foods such as the ice cream cone and iced tea were invented at the fair. The first International Balloon Race was held in St. Louis in 1908, and less than 20 years later Charles Lindbergh flew non-stop across the Atlantic. His 1927 solo flight from New York to Paris took place in an airplane named Spirit of St. Louis. In 1965, the Gateway Arch opened as a monument to the important role St. Louis played in America's westward expansion. St. Louis Zoo Located in Forest Park the zoo has more than 6,000 animals, many of them rare and endangered, from the major continents and habitats of the world. Natural habitat areas in the zoo include Big Cat Country, Jungle of the Apes and the new Children's Zoo. The zoo also has a new 10-acre exhibit, the River's Edge that features elephants, cheetahs, mongooses and hyenas. The area includes a waterfall, streams and hills. You can get up close and personal with bugs at the zoo's new Monsanto Insectarium. In the Living World Center, hands-on, interactive exhibits teach lessons on man's relationship to the animal world. If you get hungry while at the zoo visit the Painted Giraffe Cafe in the Living World exhibit. Zoo admission is free! St. Louis Walk of Fame Bronze stars and biographies honoring famous St. Louisans such as Josephine Baker, Maya Angelou, Bob Costas, Tennessee Williams and Charles Lindbergh are set in the sidewalks of the University City Loop. The Walk of Fame is on Delmar Boulevard just northwest of Forest Park and the campus of Washington University. Aside from seeing stars from St. Louis, you can also visit the Tivoli-a restored movie theatre specializing in international and limited release films. The Walk of Fame induction ceremony takes place each May. Gateway Arch This stainless steel Arch stands 630-feet above St. Louis' Mississippi River bank. Dedicated to Thomas Jefferson and his dream of a continental United States, the Arch also honors the pioneers and Native Americans who helped open the American West. The Museum of Westward Expansion, located beneath the Arch, is filled with 100 years of history related to the American westward movement. A 40-passenger tram system of eight five-passenger capsules in each leg takes visitors on a four-minute trip to the top. Two new hands-on exhibits keep visitors busy while waiting to ride the tram to the top. When Riverboats Ruled at the north leg recreates St. Louis' Mississippi River levee in the mid-1800s. Visitors see steamboats unloading their cargo on cobblestones, explore the new Eads Bridge or have a conversation with Mark Twain. At the south leg, Fitting the Final Piece puts visitors on top of the monument in October 1965 as the last piece of the Arch is raised into place. Admission to the Museum of Westward Expansion underneath the arch is free. The ride to the top of the Arch is $6. Sports Football: St. Louis Rams Win the Super Bowl XXXIV Baseball: McGwire breaks the homerun record Rams Quarterback Kurt Warner, who only a few years ago was bagging groceries in a supermarket, captured the attention of the sports world when he led the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl championship. It was the first time in history that a St. Louis team played in the NFL championship event. The Rams clinched the title with a 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. According to a CNNSI.com poll, football fans voted that game as the "best Super Bowl ever." Although St. Louis' football history pre-Rams was not that great, with the football Cardinals skipping town in the 1990s, the future of professional football looks bright with the explosive offense of the Rams. Blues Some of hockey's greatest players have donned the "Blue note" of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues, with Brett Hull, Doug Gilmour and Wayne Gretzky having represented the "Gateway City." The Blues are the only NHL team to appear in the playoffs every year in the 1980s and 1990s. Since joining the NHL in 1967, the Blues have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs only three times. In 1999-2000 the Blues were awarded the President's Trophy for the best record in the league and Head Coach Joel Quenneville was named Coach of the Year. The Blues boast some of the best players in the league, led by defenseman Chris Pronger, savvy forward Pavol Demitra and goaltender Roman Turek. Anchoring the team is the veteran leadership of Pierre Turgeon and All-Star defenseman Al MacInnis, who has a slap shot that can reach speeds of over 100 miles-per-hour. The Blues will be at home Oct. 27 when they face former teammate Brett Hull and the Dallas Stars. Cardinals Baseball may be what St. Louis is most passionate about. Boasting the 2000 national League Central Division Championship and great players like Stan Musial, Mark McGwire and Lou Brock the history of the sport in this town is long and illustrious. In 1998, McGwire broke the single season home run record, previously held for 37 years by Roger Maris. McGwire electrified Busch Stadium when he cracked 70 homers during that season. Musial played his entire career for the Cards and ended his career with a .331 batting average, 3,630 hits and was named National League MVP three times and was an All-Star 19 times. Brock who played 16 seasons in St. Louis held the National League record for stolen bases in a career (938) for many years. Thirty seven Cardinals plus broadcaster Jack Buck and former broadcaster Harry Caray have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sports Illustrated recently named St. Louis "America's best baseball city" and in 1998 Baseball America magazine also named St. Louis as America's Best Baseball City. Missouri Botanical Garden The 80-acre Garden has been a St. Louis institution since 1859, the Garden was praised in National Geographic for its unparalleled efforts to catalog plants from the world's rain forests. In the attached interpretive center, visitors are reminded of the current destruction of the rainforests and how it affects the rest of the world. The Garden also opened a Home Gardening Center in 1991. Thematic gardens illustrate ways home gardeners can utilize their land effectively. A "plant doctor" service is also available at the Center. Explore the rainforest inside the garden's Climatron greenhouse. The Climatron, built in 1960, was the world's first climate-controlled geodesic dome designed as a greenhouse. The Climatron now uses new E-feron glass to help it use solar energy more efficiently. A Chinese scholar's garden opened in 1996, complimenting the tranquil Japanese Garden, the largest Japanese garden in North America. Guests can feed the exotic fish in the pond in the Japanese Garden. Dozens of brightly-colored fish vie for fish food thrown by visitors. Bring plenty of dimes! Tower Grove Park This rare Victorian walking park is filled with ornate gazebos, fountains and statuary. Missouri Botanical Garden founder Henry Shaw created this park in 1868 and it is now a National Historical Landmark. The renovated Palm House is celebrating its 120th birthday in Tower Grove Park. It is the oldest surviving greenhouse west of the Mississippi. For sports fans, the St. Louis Blues will be in action on Saturday, October 28 as they take on former Blue Brett Hull and the 1998-99 Stanley Cup Champion Dallas Stars at the Savvis Center. The defending Super Bowl Champion Rams will take the field in San Francisco against the 49ers on the 29th. These are just a few of the places to visit in the St. Louis area. If you want more information on things to do or places to dine you can contact the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission at 1-800-916-0040 or visit them on the web at www.explorestlouis.com. You can also get a TourBook from AAA. This is just a small sample of the many things to do while staying in the "Gateway to the West." Gateway Fountain Located in East St. Louis, Illinois, the fountain is the contrivance of St. Louis attorney, Malcolm Martin, who first proposed its construction in the late 1960s as part of an extension of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Federal Park from the St. Louis riverfront to East St. Louis. His dream was realized when the fountain began operation in 1995. The structure features four fountains that continuously shoot water 100 feet into the air, while the center fountain goes 600-feet high, about the height of the Gateway Arch across the Mississippi River. The fountains are set in a 600-foot-wide pool of water. The geyser cost approximately $3 million to construct and was built by Svedrup Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri. Anheuser-Busch Brewery In 1860, Eberhard Anheuser purchased a small brewery on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis. The next year, Eberhard's daughter, Lilly, married a young brewery supplier named Adolphus Busch. Busch joined in the management of the brewery in 1864 and began brewing a variety of beers to satisfy the tastes of the nation. This tour offers a behind the scenes look at one of the world's most famous breweries. Tours include the historic Brewhouse, large cellar, packaging plant, and a look at the famous Budweiser Clydesdale stables. At the historic Brewhouse, a multimedia presentation tells the story of the all-natural Budweiser brewing process. Turn-of-the century elegance is evident in the Brew House's copper kettles, wall murals, ornate wrought-iron railings and hop vine chandeliers. In the Bevo packaging Plant, visitors view the high-speed bottling and canning lines. At the end of the tour visitors can relax over complimentary samples of Anheuser-Busch beers. Soft drinks are also available. Route 66 The asphalt version of the "Gateway to the West" allows visitors to travel along the St. Louis stretch of the road and take in some of the sites that sprung up along the highway. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard has served "concrete" milk shakes to travelers since the 1920s. Some of Ted's specialties include: The Dutchman which contains fresh roasted pecans, hot fudge and butterscotch; the Hawaiian, inspired by Ted's first trip to Hawaii, includes macadamia nuts coconut and bananas; the Dottie, a combination of light chocolate, macadamias and mint, is named for Ted's wife; the All Shook Up Concrete, was inspired by Elvis Presley's favorite snack-peanut butter and bananas. About an hour outside St. Louis is Meremec Caverns, the oldest tourist attraction on Route 66. Legend has it that outlaw Jesse James hid men, loot and horses in the massive caverns. French colonial miners and Civil War soldiers used the Cavern's natural minerals to manufacture gun powder. Bellefontaine & Calvary Cemeteries The Bellefontaine Cemetery is the final resting place for some of St. Louis' most illustrious citizens. The 330-acre cemetery features the Wainwright tomb and many other architecturally significant monuments as well as the resting places of Explorer William Clark, artist Thomas Hart Benton, beer king Adolphus Busch and bridge builder James Eads. The Calvary Cemetery is the burial place of many notable St. Louisans such as freed slave Dred Scott, Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman and playwright Tennessee Williams. The Calvary Cemetery is adjacent to the Bellefontaine. International Bowling & St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum Sports fans get two sports for the price of one at this unique attraction. It is an odd combination but 5,000 years of bowling history and more than a century of St. Louis baseball can be viewed here, and if that is not enough, you also get four free frames of bowling. This three-level museum, described as "The Cooperstown of Bowling," documents the history of bowling from caveman to modern league play and pays homage to the greats of the sport with the ABC, BPAA, PBA, WIBC and the Bowling Writers Hall of Fames. You can also step back in time to a 1950s era living room with a television on which the visitor can watch "TV Goes Bowling," the story of how bowling became a TV sport. The Cardinals Hall of Fame includes the 1962 Corvette the Cardinals gave to Mark McGwire when he hit his record breaking home run as well as many awards, uniforms and other items owned by Stan Musial. There is also a reconstructed 1950s child's bedroom complete with posters, baseball cards and other baseball items. Admission to the museum is $6. Bigfoot 4x4 Bigfoot 4x4 Inc.-In 1975 Bob Chandler, a St. Louis construction Contractor who owned a Ford 4x4 pickup truck, found there was no place in the Midwest to get parts and service for such vehicles. Chandler started Midwest Four Wheel Drive to help fill that void. He made his truck bigger and better. Soon the truck itself became an attraction. Monster truck fans can visit the home of the original monster truck as well as see the world's largest collection of memorabilia tracing the 20-plus year history of the Bigfoot phenomenon. Also on display is Bigfoot 1, Bigfoot Fastrax, Bigfoot 5 (the world's biggest pickup) and a monster truck factory. If you dare, you can take a ride in a Bigfoot truck. There is a charge for rides. The Old Courthouse The Old Courthouse has been the scene of many important events in St. Louis and national history. It is best known as the place the Dred Scott slavery trials began. Although Missouri was a part of the Union, the Civil War divided St. Louis as it divided the nation. Abolitionists shared the streets with slaveholders and the Dred Scott trials led the nation to Civil War through their eventual outcome denying citizenship and rights to slaves. Other significant trials also took place here including that of Suffragist Virginal Minor who in 1872 unsuccessfully sued for the right to vote. Also notable was the story of Caroline Williams, an African-American who attempted to board a horse-drawn streetcar in St. Louis. The conductor pushed Williams, who was pregnant, onto the pavement. She and her husband sued the company. Although the jury found in their favor, the Williamses were awarded a token sum of one cent in damages. The building was constructed in 1859 from a design by William Rumbold. The cast and wrought iron dome and a larger iron dome designed by Thomas Walter and built around the same time in Washington D.C. were the first of their kind in the U.S. Today the Old Courthouse is a museum documenting the history of the St. Louis area. The National Park Service often conducts mock trials at the Old Courthouse with visitors from the audience playing key roles in the re-enactment. The Rotunda was the center of the Old Courthouse and the hub of activity during its early years. Great orators debated issues of the day as citizens filled the balconies. Admission to the Courthouse is free. Bill Boyce is a free-lance photographer living in St. Louis. He shoots primarily travel and sports photography. His clients include Associated Press, St. Louis Post Dispatch, St. Louis Suburban Journal, Sports Stats, St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, Missouri Division of Tourism and other travel publications. Mr. Boyce can be reached via his pager at 314-908-0232.