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Friday, February 12, 2010

101 Places to See Before You're 12 - A Gateway to the New World


A GATEWAY TO THE NEW WORLD
We had a lot of fun on a short trip to St. Louis last year.  We were all excited about seeing the Arch!

From our hotel room, David took this photo.  Look at that moon!

The next morning we toured the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  The Memorial is actually the Arch itself and the museum inside the base of the Arch.


From the National Parks Service website:
The Gateway Arch reflects St. Louis’ role in the Westward Expansion of the United States during the nineteenth century. The park is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson’s role in opening the West, to the pioneers who helped shape its history, and to Dred Scott who sued for his freedom in the Old Courthouse.



View of Downtown St. Louis from the top of the Arch.  The ride up is really fun in strange little elevators.  See the Old Courthouse on the left side of the photo?

The museum is quite informative.  We watched a video on the building of the Arch and on the families who left the eastern half of the U.S. in search of prosperity in The West.  We also posed for a bunch of pictures.  Here is Brennan in front of a large photo of Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis.

From the Book:
#48 - A Gateway to the New World
They came from China, Poland, Ireland, the Ukraine, Sweden, or Italy.  They left everything they knew behind looking for a better life in "the New World".  Every immigrant has a unique story, and you can learn about those stories in the places where they first arrived in North America.  Get an idea of what they experienced, see their pictures, and maybe even discover something about your own family.  No matter where your ancestors came from, the immigrants' story is part of your story, because every group that came to North America affected the others as they forged new nations together.

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