What #1) Enjoy a
relaxing night's stay at the Casino Queen Hotel. The hotel is
conveniently located just steps from the casino floor and
offers the best views of the spectacular downtown St. Louis
skyline. The hotel also features amenities including an indoor
heated swimming pool, a fitness center, meeting and banquet
facilities, wireless internet and more! (1)
Where) 200 South Front Street
What #2)
The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the
Mississippi River connecting St. Louis, Missouri and East St.
Louis, Illinois. The bridge is named for its designer and
builder, James B. Eads. When completed in 1874, the Eads
Bridge was the longest arch bridge in the world, with an
overall length of 6,442 feet. The ribbed steel arch spans were
considered daring, as was the use of steel as a primary
structural material: it was the first such use of true steel
in a major bridge project.
The Eads Bridge was also the first bridge
to be built using cantilever support methods exclusively, and
one of the first to make use of pneumatic caissons. The Eads
Bridge caissons (a watertight retaining structure constructed
such that the water can be pumped out to keep the working
environment dry) are still among the deepest ever sunk and
they were responsible for one of the first major outbreaks of
"caisson disease" (also known as "the bends" or decompression
sickness). Fifteen workers died, two others were permanently
disabled and 77 were severely afflicted. (2)
Where #2)
200 South Front Street is close enough.
Why) When
we were on our Florida
trip, I made a point of driving through St. Louis just so we
could stop and visit the Gateway Arch. This time we
didn't visit the Arch but we were spending 10 days at a hotel
that featured great views of the Arch. This also allowed us to
choose between a leisurely walk on the Eads bridge across the
Mississippi River or
a much faster train ride across the Eads when we were on our
way to play bridge. 
Here is the fancy Casino Queen Casino (3) that was right next door to the ...
... I spent my time looking left out our hotel room window at the Arch and ...
... here is a picture from the Illinois side that I should have taken because it was Pam's favourite part of our commute. (6)
