Anyone from / familiar with St Louis?

[G27]

I'll be traveling with one of my boys to St Louis later this month for a Roger Waters concert at the ScottTrade Center. I've never been to St Louis before so I'm hoping someone here is familiar enough with the city to recommend the safest area to stay. We're coming from the south so would prefer a hotel in that direction, but am open to staying anywhere if it's a safer area.

Any and all help appreciated.

[Farman]

Don't go east of the river near East St.Louis. It's a war zone over there!

[mikegideon]

You rang? It's a big area. The Union Station area is good, and close to the venue. You can stay at the Union Station Hotel, the Drury Inn next door, or the Hampton Inn a few blocks away. Book the room as soon as you can. I have stayed in Hampton more than the others. The Drury is a little nicer.

BTW... lots of stuff to do in that area within walking distance. Soulard is a short ride.

Edited October 13, 2010 by mikegideon

[G27]

Awesome, that's perfect, mike. I was hoping there was something nearby so we can do some sightseeing while we're there...

[mikegideon]

Forest Park rocks. Due west of Union Station. The Arch sucks. Take an ice pick, so you can stab yourself in the face on the way up.

[Warbird]

I go there quite often and usually stay in Ballwin or Chesterfield. It isn't right downtown, a good 20 min drive dues west. It is probably as good an area as you will find in St. Louis. Staying downtown is much more expensive and while it can be neat to stay down there, I am not crazy about having to be confined to where I should and should not go, only blocks away.

Be sure to visit Cabela's while you're there.

[mikegideon]

Cabela's is a pretty good huff from downtown, but worth it. I agree with Warbird... West county is nice, but about 20 miles from downtown. It's 20 minutes when traffic is flowing. When it isn't, get out the ice pick

[G27]

Yah, we'll only be there one night, then do a little bit of sight-seeing before heading back home. Probably do the arch just because it's such a monument and enjoy some of the local food. Just booked a room at the Marroitt right near the Scotttrade Center, thanks for the help!

[mikegideon]

Cool. You'll know what I meant by the time you get to the top. Nice view.

[kb4ns]

You'll have to check and make sure it hasn't changed, but one thing I remember liking about MO's laws was that if you carried past a "posting" and were otherwise legal (i.e. - had a HCP), it was not a criminal act and all they can do is ask you to leave the property. Of course, if you don't leave you have new problems. I wish we could get some laws like that here!

[mikegideon]

Missouri laws in general are less goofy than Tennessee laws, especially liquor laws.

[MacGyver]

So, I have a friend that is an engineer like me. He is one of the quietest guys I know, and just completely laid back.

He recently came back from St. Louis raving about the City Museum. Apparently it sits in a 600,000 sq/ft old shoe factory and is kind of half museum/half playground. He said it would be worth the drive to St. Louis just to go there. I wouldn't discredit the recommendation coming from someone else, but because this guy is so laid back about everything, this got my attention.

Have fun. Roger Waters should be a good show.

Here's a link - http://www.citymuseum.org/planning.html

[G27]

So, I have a friend that is an engineer like me. He is one of the quietest guys I know, and just completely laid back.

He recently came back from St. Louis raving about the City Museum. Apparently it sits in a 600,000 sq/ft old shoe factory and is kind of half museum/half playground. He said it would be worth the drive to St. Louis just to go there. I wouldn't discredit the recommendation coming from someone else, but because this guy is so laid back about everything, this got my attention.

Have fun. Roger Waters should be a good show.

Here's a link - CITY MUSEUM- Planning A Visit

Killer, that looks awesome. We can hit the arch then head over there, make a nice day of it.

Thanks!

[MacGyver]

Let me know what you think of it.

I'm thinking about taking my girls up there to check it out, and would love some imput from someone who isn't overly influenced by a seven story slide. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you.

[G27]

Let me know what you think of it.

I'm thinking about taking my girls up there to check it out, and would love some imput from someone who isn't overly influenced by a seven story slide. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you.

I'll do it.

But I'm not going to promise you that I won't be influenced by a seven story slide...

[G27]

Let me know what you think of it.

I'm thinking about taking my girls up there to check it out, and would love some imput from someone who isn't overly influenced by a seven story slide. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you.

City Museum - BIG time win. Thank you for the tip.

Spent the day there yesterday with my oldest, it's unbelievable. Truly an amazing place for kids (and adults, frankly). Did the 10 story slide a couple of times (along with the rest of them) and the roof top access is incredible.

Highly recommended - I'll be taking the whole family to St Louis in the near future just to visit CM.

[Guest tnxdshooter]

Passed through there once. From what I could see from the interstate project houses on both sides with a bridge going over the interstate from one projects to the other and crack heads, gang bangers, and whores, walkin back and forth from one projects to the other. It aint somewhere I wanted to stop for gas so we waited until columbia ms to stop. Was passing through on my way to hiawatha kansas with a friend. Looked like a real war zone. This is back before I had me an HCP. If I had had an hcp at the time I would have been ready to pull my gat and bust a cap on some gang bangers with a quickness LOL.

Edited October 31, 2010 by tnxdshooter

[MacGyver]

City Museum - BIG time win. Thank you for the tip.

Spent the day there yesterday with my oldest, it's unbelievable. Truly an amazing place for kids (and adults, frankly). Did the 10 story slide a couple of times (along with the rest of them) and the roof top access is incredible.

Highly recommended - I'll be taking the whole family to St Louis in the near future just to visit CM.

Good to hear!

We're planning a quick weekend trip in the next month or so just for that. With the Westin next door at $89/night, I figure that is a huge win from my kids' perspectives.

[G27]

Passed through there once. From what I could see from the interstate project houses on both sides with a bridge going over the interstate from one projects to the other and crack heads, gang bangers, and whores, walkin back and forth from one projects to the other. It aint somewhere I wanted to stop for gas so we waited until columbia ms to stop. Was passing through on my way to hiawatha kansas with a friend. Looked like a real war zone. This is back before I had me an HCP. If I had had an hcp at the time I would have been ready to pull my gat and bust a cap on some gang bangers with a quickness LOL.

Interesting, shows the difference in where people are from, I suppose. We were downtown the whole time, but basically the entire day Sat I was completely unarmed (not even a pocket knife as nothing - NOTHING - is allowed in the Arch) and even though I saw a ton of homeless folks, I never once felt uneasy about being unarmed.

Maybe because it was the weekend, maybe because of the places I've lived in my lifetime, but St Louis just felt like any other decent-sized city I've ever lived in or visited. I def feel less safe in downtown Memphdishu...