Five greatest landmarks of St Louis (Benton: theater, kitchen, park)

[orangefuscia]

what about five overlooked landmarks?

[1greatcity]

^such as...

[marigolds6]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

(Note: I didn't include the shell-shaped main terminal at Lambert because it's not located in the city of St Louis.)

Though it is wholly owned by the city of st louis, and administratively treated as st louis city land rather than st louis county, bridgeton, and berkeley (as an example, none of those three entities have police jurisdiction on airport land).

[orangefuscia]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

^such as...

you tell me, I'm from Pittsburgh...what are places that could be landmarks or are overlooked?

[1greatcity]

Well, I already mentioned the ruins at Tower Grove Park and the three water towers.
I would add: Milles Fountain near Union Station, the de Menil House, Lemp Mansion, the Scott Joplin House, Christ Church Cathedral, Soulard Market, the bandstand at TGP, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, St Francis Xavier, gates to some of the private neighborhoods of the West End, the Budweiser "A" and eagle sign, the Eugene Field House, and Sugar Loaf Mound (the last remaining Indian mound within the city limits.)
Anyone else have more to add?

[stlaptsearch]

My favorite local landmarks are Tower Grove Park, the Compton water tower and reservoir, Shaw's home, and his Botanical Gardens -- definite must-sees for St. Louis history lovers.

You can read about them and other treasured St. Louis sights in St. Louis (For The Record) by Towery Publishing, Inc., 1999. Great book loaded with photos and historical facts about our beloved city.

[tbell]

Took a college class on the history of architecture. It was a basic, introductory-level class taught by the dean of the architecture school, which he basically taught for fun. The class consisted of a study of seven historically great and important buildings. It was a long time ago, but I still remember all seven:

the Acropolis in Athens
the Pantheon in Rome
Chartres Cathedral
one of Palladio's villas
Versailles
the Wainright Building
the Robie House

When I moved to St Louis last year, I was shocked to discover that the people here don't know what they have. Even web sites focusing on St Louis architecture barely make mention of one of the greatest buildings in the world.

It's true that the Wainwright Building has been shamefully deformed with a grotesque annex. Nevertheless, to tear down the Wainright would be a greater loss to world architecture than to tear down every other structure in the St Louis area. Including the Arch (marvellous though that is).

And no one in St Louis seems to know it.

Originally Posted by CarrieNeno

TBell- you must be an architect! I worked in the Wainwright several years ago and didn't think anything of it. My brother-in-law, getting his Masters in Architecture at the time at KU, almost had a heart attack when he found out!

[1greatcity]

I had no idea that the Wainwright Building was regarded so highly by the architectural and historical preservation communities. Certainly it could and should be considered to be one of our greatest landmarks.

[aragx6]

^^ I really didn't either. I've always liked the building quite a bit -- it sort of draws your eye up in a way that I dig. It just screams St. Louis to me too.

[1greatcity]

I also appreciate Wainwright for it's stylish embellishments: Images of Wainwright Building, St. Louis, Missouri, 1890-91, by Louis Sullivan. Digital Imaging Project: Art historical images of European and North American architecture and sculpture from classical Greek to Post-modern. Scanned from slides taken on
Seems like back then (in the mid-to-late 19'th century and early 20th century), so much detailed ornamentation went into structures-- from grand public buildings down to modest homes. I'm guessing it just became to expensive to pay the craftsmen who create that sort of thing.