Everything is Big in St. Louis

Arriving in St. Louis reminded me how new this part of the country was for me. I had never actually seen the Mississippi River before. To get a better view I stopped at the most iconic monument in St. Louis, the Arch. The Arch is much newer than most think, as it only completed construction in 1965. The plan to build “Gateway to the West” had been in motion for a long time though. The initial design was chosen in the 40s when a design competition was held to determine what to put along the Mississippi waterfront. A Finnish architect, Eero Saarinen, won the competition and was one of the youngest architects to throw their hat in the ring. He is also known for designing the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport.

Standing at 630ft the Arch provides unique views of the St. Louis skyline and the vast plains west of the Mississippi. It takes a 3-minute ride in a little cramped capsule to reach the top. There were a number of proposed designs for the Arch’s elevator. A sort of pulley system with a gyro-capsule was chosen, and I’d be lying if I said the ride wasn’t smooth. I would definitely want to be there with a big group. I got lucky and was placed in a capsule with a dad and his son, so we had more room than others. The windows at the top of the Arch are a bit difficult to see through as the slits are very small, but the view is worth the cramped capsule and small space at the top.

After seeing the Arch I went to East St. Louis to an old diner/deli that has been around for over 100 years. The place was called Crown Candy Kitchen. A couple of locals recommended that I go and get the BLT. On the menu, it was listed as the “Heart-Stopping BLT.” When the sandwich came out I found out that the name was very apt. There were layers upon layers of bacon. With each bite, I was convinced the next would be my last. That BLT was bigger, unhealthier, and tastier than anything you could find on the East Coast.

The trend of “bigger” continued at the ballpark. Busch Stadium had more pregame pageantries than any other ballparks by a country mile. It started with the ceremonial opening pitch… This tends to be one person throwing out one ceremonial pitch. In St. Louis, it started with a brother and sister coming out and each throwing a pitch. I thought this was a cute thing for the siblings to get to do together. But then another group came out to throw ceremonial pitches, and then another, and another. In total six different groups threw out ceremonial pitches and I lost count of the amount of people who got to throw out a pitch. While I understand the team is trying to entertain guests before the game starts and reach out to the community this felt very drawn out and a bit too much. And then we got to when the stadium would usually play the national anthem ahead of the game starting. Some stadiums will also throw in God Bless America before the start of the game. St. Louis wound up having three different groups perform God Bless America, America the Beautiful, and the national anthem before the start of the game. In all the pre-game ceremonies lasted nearly an hour. I’m not necessarily writing this as a complaint. It was just interesting to note that St. Louis’ pre-game routines differed so greatly from other stadiums.

I did not pay much attention to the game itself. I went into it slightly frustrated because former Red Sox pitcher and 2017 Cy Young Winner, Chris Sale, was supposed to start for the Atlanta Braves. The game the night before was rained out so Sale’s start got moved and I did not get to see him pitch. I was hoping to be enamored by Atlanta’s offense, which was an absolute powerhouse last year but has underperformed in 2024. Power hitters like Austin Riley and Matt Olsen have been hitting the ball well but the offense overall has been unlucky to start the year. To say the least, neither team’s offense really showed up in this game. And the pitching was not anything to write home about either. I was struck more by how well the ballpark is integrated with the city. There is almost a seamless transition from the outfield gate to the surrounding bars, restaurants, and thriving businesses. From the stadium, some of the areas outside the stadium look like they should be in it. And unlike so many ballparks there seemed to be a well-designed parking infrastructure around the stadium. Busch Stadium as a whole maintains the feeling of a classic ballpark like Wrigley or Fenway while integrating modern amenities. The Cardinals win 4-1.