STL 250 Cake Quest - Citygarden & Midtown

This cake quest was so much fun - the kids are begging us to take them back! It was a perfect St. Louis summer day.

Click here for a printable PDF map.

Scottrade Center

Scottrade Center opened in 1994 and rests on the former site of Kiel Auditorium. It serves as the home of the NHL St. Louis Blues hockey team.

Ava and Sidney were too busy watch a movie in the car to get out for the first few cakes.

Stinkers!

Peabody Opera House

Peabody Opera House originally opened 80 years ago in 1934 as the Kiel Opera House. The Opera House stage has welcomed some of entertainment's greatest performers, including Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.

Soldiers Memorial

Soldiers Memorial Museum officially opened on Memorial Day, May 30, 1938. The mission of Soldiers Memorial Museum is to honor the service and sacrifice of our military, our veterans, and their families and to facilitate learning and understanding about the military, veteran, and wartime (both battlefront and home front) experience.

Christ Church Cathedral

The construction of Christ Church Cathedral began in 1859 and the cathedral was dedicated Christmas Day 1867. On Sept. 19, 1901, the City of St. Louis gathered inside the Cathedral as the nation observed silence during the funeral of President William McKinley. A century later, on Sept. 11, 2001, the city came here once again to look for solace and God’s presence. The voices of Martin Luther King Jr. (50 years ago this March) and Desmond Tutu are just two of the power voices that have rung out from our pulpit.

St. Louis Public Library

St. Louis Public Library was built in 1912. Renovation and expansion of the building began in 2010 and finished in 2012 just in time for its 100th anniversary.

Campbell House

Campbell House, built in 1851, was the family home of Robert Campbell—a prominent figure in the history of St. Louis and of the American West Thousands of pages of family documents, including 60 photographs of the interior of the house taken around 1885, have been preserved.

St. Louis City Hall

Before "City Hall" existed, the town fathers met in private homes, banks, saloons, anywhere they could find a meeting place. Eventually a building was constructed for $13K on the Place D'Armes. The building was saved from the 1849 fire that destroyed much of downtown. However, the building was razed the following year. In 1851 another City Hall building was constructed using funds from a bond issue. Fire struck again in 1856, this time claiming the structure. A third "temporary" building was built in 1872 for $70K, known as "the barn". On Nov. 5, 1904, the current City Hall was officially completed costing $2M, double the original budget. The exterior was never fully completed due to lack of funds, however, it is praised for its "splendid architectural composition," and called "an impressive period piece of craftsmanship."

Old Post Office

Originally the U.S. Custom House and Post Office building in St. Louis, the Old Post Office is one of the most historically and architecturally significant buildings in America. The building was one of five grand U.S. Custom Houses built after the Civil War in America’s fastest growing cities: St. Louis, Boston, Cincinnati, New York and Philadelphia. These masterpieces of design and construction were built to last, but by 1942, all but ours had been demolished. Space in the Old Post Office is currently leased out to 10 tenants and is available for rental for special events.

I wish I could say that I took this picture. It's my favorite picture of the Old Post Office.  

Beautiful.

Citygarden

Citygarden was the highlight of our cake quest!  Sidney was so excited she couldn't even stay put long enough to be in the cake picture!

Citygarden opened in 2009. There are 23 contemporary and modern sculptures are currently on display. The plantings emphasize native Missouri trees, shrubs, grasses, ground covers and wildflowers and reflect our four distinct seasons.

You can also catch some live music performances at Citygarden.  
Here is a list of upcoming events:
August 15th –  Music by Root Diggers
August 20th – Music by Bottoms Up Blues Band
August 27th - Music by Miss Jubilee and the Humdingers
September 6th - Celebrate the anniversary of Citygarden at their Fabulous Flamingo Festival

Emmis Communications

We were pulling into the parking area at Union Station and I saw this cake. I thought it was the Union Station cake, which would have been odd considering the design. Turns out it the Emmis Communication cake. Emmis Communications owns several radio stations in the US and 4 in St. Louis. They are the presenting sponsor of the annual Moonlight Ramble, the longest running nighttime bike ride in the US. The ride that began with one rider has grown into an annual tradition with thousands of riders taking to the streets of St. Louis at midnight under the light of the moon.

Union Station

Finally we found the Union Station cake. You can tell from the picture that some of the kids are failing on us! Our plans to eat lunch at Union Station did not materialize.

Only the smiling kids are allowed on the cake. Sidney musters up a smile.

The following picture are courtesy of the Union Station website and Google images.

St. Louis Union Station opened on September 1, 1894 as the largest rail terminal in the United States.  The Station has three main areas:  The Headhouse, Midway and Train Shed.

Headhouse

The Headhouse originally contained the Terminal Hotel, railroad offices, ticket agencies waiting rooms and restaurants. The pinnacle of the Headhouse is the Grand Hall’s 65 foot barrel-vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows. Today, the Grand Hall’s original features are enhanced with comfortable seating areas and a Starbuck’s (ha!). 

Midway

The Midway is the large, roofed area connecting the Headhouse to the massive Train Shed.  During the 1940’s, more than 100,000 passengers a day crossed the tiled floor on the way to different destinations.

  

Train Shed

The great Train Shed covered 11.5 acres and 32 tracks and was the largest in the world at the time.

Today, Union Station is being re-energized as a unique destination; anchored by a conference center/exhibit hall and a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, along with retail and entertainment amenities.

One of the most famous places in Union Station is The Fudgery. 

We, of course, got suckered in to buying 3 slices of fudge! I recommend the Chocolate Caramel Nut fudge. Yum! We may not have time for lunch but certainly there is time for fudge!

PS - Click here to see some of our other STL 250 Cake Quests.