St. Louis is rich in aerospace history as reported by Gloria Lloyd in her article “Space and St. Louis”, found on the ISDC website. Follow along in your complimentary copy of the article as we tour some of the places described by Gloria. We will first travel to the Eads Bridge for a roadside view of the world’s first structural alloy steel arch bridge over the Mississippi River, the planet’s fourth longest river. The Eads Bridge opened for traffic in 1874.

Next we head to the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park (a 1371 acre urban park and civic center) to view a replica of the iconic airplane “Spirit of St. Louis” that Charles Lindbergh flew to traverse the Atlantic Ocean on his way from New York to Paris, France. The replica was built in 1928 by the Ryan Airlines Corporation, the company that built the original plane; it was featured in the movie The Spirit of St. Louis, starring Jimmy Stewart. The museum has a fine gift shop to browse in, as well as, exhibits on St. Louis history and the 1904 World’s Fair.

From the Museum we travel to the Delmar Loop, one of the 10 Great Streets in America according to the American Planning Association. The Delmar Loop, with more than 145 specialty shops, restaurants, entertainment venues, and galleries, boasts a Solar System walk. The Loop Planet Walk is one of about 50 Solar System walks on Earth and is a “must do.” We will take a quick look at the Moonrise Hotel which offers fine dining, a rooftop bar, and unique decor, all centered on the Moon. Outside the Moonrise we will find the Sun and head down the street towards Neptune. Along the way we will observe the planets, walk on the St. Louis Walk of Fame stars, eat lunch at Fitz’s while watching the bottling of Fitz’s Premium Sodas, and, finally, meet the bus at Neptune.

After lunch we head to the final stop on this Air and Space tour: the James S. McDonnell Prologue Room Air and Space Exhibit at The Boeing Company. The “Prologue Room” has full-size Mercury and Gemini capsules, a fine collection of airplane models, patches galore, photographs, historical documents, and a rare collection of fine art, including one of the largest collections of paintings by famed aviation artist R.G. Smith. As a special ISDC treat meet some of the engineers who worked on the Mercury and Gemini capsules. Photo Credits: Bill Kranz