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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Donna Andrews
St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission
(314) 421-1023 or pr@explorestlouis.com
Your readers should call 1-800-916-0040 (USA and Canada) or 1-314-421-1023 for a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitors Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis online at www.explorestlouis.com
WHAT'S NEW IN ST. LOUIS FOR VISITORS DURING 2008
Fun and Exciting Options are All Within Reach
If you haven't been to St. Louis lately, you don't know what you've been missing. St. Louis is brimming with new attractions and upgrades to existing favorites, plus a full slate of special events and exhibits that will fill-up your 2008 visit.
The Missouri Botanical Garden continues its popular tradition of bringing unique artwork to the garden each year. The 2008 exhibition, "Niki," includes the works of French artist Niki de Saint Phalle. The prolific self-taught artist's work features playful, larger-than-life sculptures ranging in size from four to 18 feet tall, with some weighing as much as a ton or more. Forty colorful mosaic and painted sculptures of animals, dancing women, heroes and totems are on display throughout the 79-acre botanical garden through October.
The newly opened $495 million Lumière Place casino complex makes a dramatic presence along the St. Louis riverfront, as the 75,000-square-foot casino complex features more than 2,000 slot machines, 40 table games, and two hotels. In addition to Missouri's first Four Seasons Hotel, the all-suites property HoteLumiere has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation and the two combine for nearly 500 hotel rooms. There's also a 10,000-square-foot luxury spa, business center, nightclub, and a number of unique dining options. A total of seven eateries are onsite, including: SleeK, a steakhouse and ultra lounge featuring premium Kobe beef steaks, signature chicken and seafood dishes; Burger Bar, which offers gourmet burgers; Asia, a contemporary restaurant serving up authentic Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese fare; and House of Savoy, a Tuscan-style restaurant with a menu of rich and hearty pastas, savory sauces, fresh salads and grilled entrees in a modern atmosphere.
The Lumière Place Promenade features four new boutiques, including MensRoom, an upscale clothier that features brands such as Lacoste, Tommy Bahama, DKNY jeans and Cutter & Buck, and contemporary collections of hats, polos, t-shirts, pants, belts, and Johnston & Murphy shoes. In mid-2008, the store will add another element that is sure to appeal to the modern male - a humidor stocked with fine cigars. For the ladies, there's Blush of Lumière Place, and L'ove, a boutique specializing in intimate apparel and brand name lingerie. Blush offers an array of fashions from top designers including Steve Madden, Kensie, Lucky Brand Jeans, Jessica Simpson shoes and Rioni handbags. There's a fine selection of casual, evening or business attire, as well as an assortment of jewelry to compliment any outfit.
There's a new hotspot on Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis - Flamingo Bowl, a combination martini lounge/bowling alley. Festooned with hot pink colors and plenty of flamingo-related décor, the hip hangout also offers a diverse menu of specialty cocktails and a food menu that includes pizza, Cuban sandwiches, wraps, veggie Paninis and more.
Family Fun
Continuing its tradition of providing guests with new and even more exciting thrills each season, Six Flags St. Louis debuts the "Evel Knievel" rollercoaster in 2008. This thrill ride is a daredevil's dream, as the 2,700-foot ride experience begins with an 80-foot drop at a 90-degree left turn, which is followed with a 55-foot double-down drop, 16 hills with camelbacks, and a 40-foot fan curve and multiple high-banked turns at up to 67-degree angles. Evel Knievel boasts two 24-passenger trains of GCI's own Millennium Flyer cars specially designed to maneuver the ride's sharp turns and high banks on a dime while providing an exceptionally smooth ride. This $7 million wooden wonder is unlike any of the park's eight existing coasters and is named for the legendary daredevil Evel Knievel.
In 2008, The Magic House will perform its greatest feat - doubling in size with a $12 million expansion that creates more programs, exhibits, learning opportunities and hands-on fun. This addition will include improvements to all aspects of the museum experience, including a Welcome Center, new galleries and permanent exhibits, an Education Center, and the Star-Spangled Center, designed to help students grow into proud and informed citizens. There will also be an imaginative and interactive Play Garden that will invite and enable all to explore, discover and play outdoors, as well as additional free parking, large restrooms, and a café. Topping things off - literally - will be a Rooftop Garden and a grand spiral staircase that leads to a Fairy Tale Tower - the perfect spot for imagination to take flight. The Magic House has more than 100 interactive exhibits and is the region's first and most successful interactive children's museum.
Be sure to stop by one of St. Louis' newest attractions, the Moto Museum. View an extensive collection of motorcycles from more than 20 countries and dating back nearly 100 years. New to the Kemp Auto Museum is an educational program for the young and the young-at-heart. Car enthusiasts enjoy the high-quality audio tours designed to enrich and enhance a visit to the Museum through story-telling and docent tours.
In 2008, try out the new iPod tours of Laumeier Sculpture Park and take a self-guided tour and learn about the interesting sculptures. There are more than 80 contemporary figures throughout the lush 105-acres, and many of the works represent current or unique approaches to art in a natural environment.
Speaking of parks, the new River View Park at Laclede Power is situated on a hill at the downtown entrance to the Riverfront Trail. Visitors love the spectacular views of the Mississippi River, as well as a park that features an outdoor amphitheater, turtle sculpture by quirky local artist Bob Cassilly and water features evocative of our two great rivers - the Mississippi and the Missouri.
In 2008, the YMCA Trout Lodge opens its new Nature Center which will overlook the spring fed trout ponds. The Nature Center is part of the organization's "Pioneer Village," a living history village where guests can experience a taste of pioneer life. It will be home to many species of animals that enhance the varied educational programs including aquatic ecology, fly fishing, forest management, wildlife conservation and much more.
Look for something shiny and new at Lambert - St. Louis International Airport, as the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission has created a more efficient Visitor Center. The Main Terminal Visitor Center now has a highly visible location in the baggage claim area, which includes better lighting and presentation, plus a plasma screen for video displays. The new design showcases a mere sampling of the many things to see and do in St. Louis.
The Missouri History Museum will mark the centennial of dance legend Katherine Dunham's birth with Katherine Dunham: Beyond the Dance exhibit November 2, 2008 through February 28, 2010. Through objects, costumes, stage settings, recorded media, and live performance spaces, museum visitors will be surrounded with the energetic life and legacy of Katherine Dunham. The museum's Katherine Dunham online exhibition explores her research and work in anthropology, her revolutionary dance technique, film career, global activism, anthropological interest and enduring legacy. For more information on Katherine Dunham, click on www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/kdunham.
At the Saint Louis Zoo, kids can investigate, create, pretend and play at the Zoo's new ZOOmagination Station. The new play area is designed for young children ages 3-7 and their caregivers, though all ages are welcome. Located in classrooms in The Living World children can choose their own brand of fun at these stations: Backyard Wildlife Experience, Animal Care Corner, Animal Explorations, Build-A-Habitat, ZOOmagination Theater, Discovery Boxes, and Cubs & Pups Pad.
Also at the Zoo, an outdoor exhibit of 16 huge animatronic dinosaurs will be on display in Dinoroarus through September 1. The life-size animatronic dinosaurs will move, roar and spit in a one-of-a-kind walk-through exhibit near River's Edge. Some of the colorful dino mega-stars on hand will include Tyrannosaurus res, Triceratops, Dilophosaurus, Stegorsurus, and even some baby dinosaurs. Young paleontologists can unearth some Jurassic treasures in a hands-on fossil dig and thrill seekers can experience "Dino Land 2" in a 3-D motion simulator.
New for bikers in 2008 is the opening of the McKinley Bridge Bikeway in June, the region's first and only suspended bikeway over the Mississippi River. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross the new 3,000 foot long, 14 foot wide suspended lane to access the regional systems of greenways, parks and trails spanning both sides of the Mississippi River. On the St. Louis side, the McKinley Bridge Bikeway will connect to the new Branch Street Trestle Connector, as well as to on-street routes designated by Bike St. Louis and to the popular 11-mile long St. Louis Riverfront Trail. St. Louis will be only the third city in the world to have converted an elevated railroad viaduct into a linear urban recreation area.
Updated: June 2, 2008
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MEDIA NOTE: For more information or photography of St. Louis, send an e-mail to pr@explorestlouis.com. For up-to-date information about St. Louis, your readers should call the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission at 1-800-916-0040 or check out our website at wwwexplorestlouis.com.
