One of our ‘must sees’ on our St. Louis to-do list was to visit all the attractions in Forest Park. The park became famous in 1904 after hosting both the Summer Olympics AND the 1904 World’s Fair (aka: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition).
Most of the World’s Fair buildings no longer exist anymore (it would have been too expensive to build them for long-term use). But you can still feel the history there.
This pavilion was built decades after the World’s Fair, but it commemorates the big event. That 1904 exposition was the first time the world had seen an ice cream cone, hamburgers, hot dogs, cotton candy, Dr. Pepper, peanut butter and iced tea. <—all my favorite things!
Look! A map of the Louisiana Purchase!
More history! We were in nerd heaven!
Also in the park is the Saint Louis Art Museum.
Oh, hey Mr. Saint Louis!
We only had a little bit of time, so we grabbed a map at the front desk and set off to find all the important pieces. We got to see some Van Gogh, Picasso, Pollock and Matisse.
I also saw this piece again. I think this is my 3rd time seeing this one (unless there are multiple versions of it?) It’s by El Anatsui. I like it, it’s made out of liquor bottle tops.
After our quick jaunt around the museum, we hopped back in the car to drive over to the Jewel Box. It’s an art deco greenhouse in the park.
And the last thing we did in the park was visit the Zoo! It’s free, why not! It was really hot and we were getting hungry, so we only did a quick loop around. It was a really great zoo, someday, i’ll have to go back with Adele!
Forest Park gets an A+ in my book. It’s bigger than Central Park and so beautiful and clean!
Kelocity.com 