20 Things You Can’t Do in St. Louis Anymore

Order your McNuggets on a Mississippi riverboat.

A McDonald’s can be found just about anywhere these days, but it’s still rather unique that St. Louis had one that floated. For twenty years, a McDonald’s built on top of a floating barge gave visitors and tourists the chance to gobble down burgers and fries in front of a spectacular view of the Gateway Arch. The idea was so successful that McDonald’s rival Burger King opened a restaurant next door. Burger wars raged on the riverfront until Burger King bowed out after the 1993 flood. The McDonald’s lasted until 2000 when it was determined the barge required significant repairs.

Photo courtesy of Cameron Collins.

Eat clam chowder amid the fiberglass animals at Noah's Ark Family Restaurant.

For more than 30 years, Noah’s Ark Family Restaurant in St. Charles beckoned hungry travelers to a setting that included a giant boat, towering fiberglass animals, and of course, delicious clam chowder. A unique roadside attraction and haven for children, Noah’s Ark was opened in 1967 by a man named David Flavan. The restaurant closed in 2000, and the boat was soon destroyed along with many of the larger-than life animals.

Photo courtesy of Cameron Collins.

Pretend to tempt your fate on the oblong Ferris wheel at Chain of Rocks Amusement Park.

From 1927 until its closing in 1978, the Chain of Rocks Amusement Park offered amusement and fun in north St. Louis along the former path of Route 66 at the western entrance to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Along with swimming pools and a roller skating rink, Chain of Rocks offered a multitude of classic amusement park rides, including a roller coaster (the Comet), a haunted house, a Whip, a Tilt-O-Whirl, and a Sky-Lift, which offered a wonderful view of the mighty Mississippi. Its most curious ride was the Swooper, an oblong Ferris wheel designed to make riders feel like they’d be plunked into the Mississippi River each time their car swooped down. The park thrived in north St. Louis until the late 1960's, when a declining school population began to affect attendance. With a Six Flags newly constructed far to the west, Chain of Rocks closed for good in 1978.

Photo courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis.

Escape humid St. Louis summers at the Fairground Park swimming pool.

Built in 1912, the swimming pool at Fairground Park has quite a history. It was the first municipal pool in the city of St. Louis and, when it opened, had the claim of being the largest swimming pool in the world. At 440 feet in diameter, the circular pool provided thousands each day with a reprieve from humid St. Louis summers. Memories of swimming for the “Big Tower” are special for many, but the pool’s history wasn’t always so idyllic. The pool was the scene of a race riot when it was integrated in 1949. The massive pool was replaced with a smaller version in 1958.

Photo courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis.

Use the Standard Red Crown sign as a landmark.

Anyone who has driven west from downtown St. Louis on Highway 40 or east on Clayton Road knows the “big Amoco sign." Sitting atop Stevenson’s Hi-Point Service & Wash, the Amoco sign has been directing St. Louis drivers for more than fifty years. But many can still recall the original “big sign” that once stood tall at that intersection. Erected in 1932, the Standard Red Crown sign weighed more than forty tons and contained 5,800 light bulbs. Dismantled in 1959 when Standard Oil built a new station and a new forty-foot sign on the site. Later renamed an Amoco station, the sign was modified to its current state.

Photo courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis.

Catch a movie at North Drive-In Theatre.

The second Wehrenberg drive-in to open in the St. Louis area was the North Drive-In, which opened in 1948 at 9425 Lewis and Clark Boulevard. Serving north St. Louis County, the North started as a single screen until it was expanded to a twin-screen in 1974. With a capacity of 1,200 cars, it was the largest drive-in theatre in the St. Louis area. Like other Wehrenberg drive-ins, the North featured a large playground at the base of the screen. Along with a fire wagon ride, the North Drive-In featured a merry-go-round. The North Drive-In was the last of its kind in St. Louis County when it closed in 2001.

Photo courtesy of Greg Rhomberg.

See a show aboard The Goldenrod Showboat.

The last showboat to work the Mississippi, the Goldenrod was once one of the largest and most elaborately decorated showboats ever built. Built in 1909, the Goldenrod was a mainstay on the St. Louis riverfront from 1937 until it was renovated and moved to the St. Charles riverfront in 1989. A true entertainment venue, the Goldenrod entertained for decades with minstrel shows, vaudeville acts, and lavish theater performances. With an auditorium that could seat 1,400 people, entertainers such as Red Skelton, Cab Calloway, and Bob Hope graced its stage. Starting in the early 1960’s, it hosted the National Ragtime Festival for nearly twenty-five years.

Photo courtesy of Cameron Collins.

Watch a movie at New Grand Central Theatre.

“The Great White Way” is how the theater district on Grand Avenue was referred to when theaters such as the Fox, The St. Louis Theater (now Powell Symphony Hall) and the New Grand Central Theater all made it shine brightly. Opening in April 1913, the New Grand Central at 702 North Grand was the first movie palace built in what would be known as St. Louis' movie theater district. With that claim to fame, it’s only appropriate that it’s where the first talkie, “The Jazz Singer” premiered in St. Louis. Success for the New Grand Central continued through the 1920’s, but theater goers began showing a preference for larger capacity theaters such as the St. Louis. The New Grand Central closed in the 1930’s and was demolished in 1948.

Photo courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis.

Ride the fancy wooden escalators at Famous-Barr.

Known simply as “Famous,” Famous-Barr was the grandest department store in St. Louis for nearly 100 years. From the extravagant Christmas window displays, to sipping tea with your grandmother in the St. Louis Room, or riding up and down those beautiful wood escalators, memories of Famous-Barr recall a time when downtown St. Louis was urban, crowded, and dynamic. Famous built other stores in St. Louis, including the Southtown location (complete with a tunnel that traveled under Chippewa Street) and the modern, curving Clayton store, it was the flagship store in downtown’s Railway Exchange Building that offered St. Louis the pinnacle of shopping.

Photo courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis.

Scream down the Comet roller coaster at Forest Park Highlands.

With memorable rides such as the Comet, the Racer Dips, Little Toot, the Cuddle Up, and the Aero Jets, Forest Park Highlands was the premier amusement park in St. Louis for nearly seventy years. Known as “The Big Place on the Hill”, Forest Park Highlands was located on Oakland Avenue just south of Forest Park. Along with dozens of spine-tingling rides, the park boasted a swimming pool, a dance hall, and a decidedly unique ride named “The Flying Turns”. Also known as the Curves, this bobsled-like ride spun cars around in circles as they descended a path of high-walled curves. Despite years of success in the 1940's and 1950's, the end came quickly for the Highlands when a fire engulfed the park in July 1963. With more than 250 firefighters needed to put out the blaze, only the roller coaster and carousel survived. Today, the site is occupied by Forest Park Community College.

Photo courtesy of Greg Rhomberg.