St. Louis, Missouri
My Visit to St. Louis
I had a great visit to St. Louis. I could see for miles from atop the gateway Arch, I had a wonderfull experience visiting the Old Courthouse, and the St. Louis Zoo was one of my favorite zoo's that I haave ever visited.
Old Courthouse
For 150 years the Courthouse has remained as one of St. Louis' most prominent architectural landmarks. There have been many important trials held in the Courthouse including the Dred Scott Case and Virginia Minor's case for women's right to vote. The Dred Scott case was one of the most important trials in U.S. history. The first two trials of the case were held in the Old Courthouse in 1847 and 1850. When Dred Scott filed suit for his freedom, there were four trials, and after the fourth, the case was brought to the Supreme Court. They ruled that he should remain a slave, and this rulling hastened the begining of the Civil War. The Virginia Minor case, which is the second most important case held at the Old Courthouse was a case for women's right to vote. She never won the right to vote, but in 1920 with the 19th amendment all women won the right to vote.
The St. Louis Zoo
The St. Louis Zoo is quite possibly the best zoo I have ever visited. I had a great time. You can see elephants, bears, monkeys, and many more wonderful animals. One of the newest exhibits, and probablly the most fun is River's Edge. River's Edge is an exhibit which houses many species of animals. You encounter the Habitats of animals from South America, Africa, and Asia. The idea for this exhibit was formed when Raja the elephant was born. The elephant house they had when she was first born was too small to support her when she grew full size. It is a wonderful exhibit and lots of fun.
The Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch is obviously the symbol of St. Louis and its most popular site. At the top you can see for miles over the city of St. Louis. It is a wonderfull site to see. The Arch was designed by Eero Saarenen in 1947. The Arch is 630 feeet tall, and 630 feet wide. That makes it the tallest monument in the National Park System. Each leg of the Arch is an equilateral triangle and is 54 feet wide at the widest point. At the very top of the Arch it is only 17 feet wide. The Arch is built to bend up to 18 inches in 150 mph winds. The Gateway Arch is trully an architectural feat, and a very fun place to visit.