Explore St. Louis

Gear up for Big League Fun in the Gateway City during the NLCS.

You’ll be seeing red in St. Louis this week as the National League Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals head home for the League Championship Series against Central Division rivals the Houston Astros.

Whether you’ve score coveted playoff tickets or not, you can still get in on the baseball action at the following red hot baseball sites:

1. At the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum, fans can explore more than a century of St. Louis baseball history in a unique sports museum shared with the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. The baseball galleries display artifacts, mementos and trophies depicting the proud story of the Cardinals, the most successful National League franchise in baseball history, and the team’s many star players. Museum highlights include items from Stan Musial’s personal collection, World Series memorabilia and historic photographs and uniforms from the St. Louis Stars Negro League team and the old St. Louis Browns.

2. St. Louis’ baseball greats are honored along Delmar Boulevard in The Loop neighborhood along the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Brass star-shaped plaques embedded in the sidewalks honor famous St. Louisans who have made their mark in baseball and the arts, science and history. Baseball is duly represented with markers and biographic plaques for Stan Musial, Yogi Berra, Joe Garagiola, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Cool Papa Bell, Dizzy Dean, Rogers Hornsby, Branch Rickey and Red Schoendienst. Honorees also include fabled baseball broadcasters known for their work in St. Louis: Jack Buck, Harry Caray and Bob Costas.

3. Baseball personalities Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola grew up on The Hill on the 5400 block of Elizabeth Avenue and Hall-of-Fame announcer Jack Buck lived there early in his radio career. The block’s street sign now bears the name “Hall of Fame Place” in their honor. The Hill is St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood that is filled with great Italian eateries, bakery shops, bocce clubs and even fireplugs painted in the Italian tri-color.

4. Watch history-in-the-making as the new Busch Stadium rises next to the vintage 1966 Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. The Redbirds’ new roost will open with the start of the 2006 baseball season. Sidewalk superintendents will see the design take shape that represents St. Louis’ rich baseball history, created with the unique red brick architecture synonymous with St. Louis.

5. The Cardinals have been sensational this season. Experience a baseball-inspired taste sensation at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. The iconic refreshment stand on the St. Louis stretch of Route 66 dishes up a Cardinal Sin – creamy vanilla custard topped with tart bing cherries and rich hot fudge. Or, purists may want to create their own Baseball Sundae served in a replica Cardinals baseball cap with the toppings of your choice.

6. With more than a thousand one-of-a-kind restaurants, is there any wonder some dining hot spots serve up a sports theme along with tempting morsels? Just a homerun-length from Busch Stadium, hungry baseball fans can find sustenance amidst baseball memorabilia at Mike Shannon’s Steaks and Seafood and Al Hrabosky’s Ballpark Saloon. Both restaurants are operated by former Cardinals players who now do play-by-play on Cardinals’ radio and television broadcasts. Former football Cardinal greats Jim Hart and Dan Dierdorf preside at Dierdorf & Hart’s for great steaks and seafood at a downtown and West Port Plaza locales. Two more trendy sports-themed dining experiences can be had at the two J. Buck’s sites – one in trendy Clayton and the other in the Westfield West County shopping mall. As the eponymous name implies, the restaurants are owned by the Jack Buck broadcasting clan - sports announcer Joe, his radio personality sister Julie and their late father, the great Hall-of-Famer, Jack Buck. A fun collection of Cardinals’ Mark McGwire memorabilia is on display on the pop-culture laden walls of Blueberry Hill in The Loop neighborhood.

7. You can come out on top just like the Cardinals did in the Central Division with a trip to the top of the magnificent Gateway Arch. Get a bird’s-eye view of the two Busch Stadiums – the old and the under-construction new – from 630-feet high above the Mighty Mississippi. The Arch, officially named the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, honors President Thomas Jefferson, his dream of a continental United States and the thousands of men and women who helped open the American West. Beneath the Arch, in the Museum of Westward Expansion, the opening of the American West comes alive through displays that tell the story of explorers Lewis & Clark, pioneers, Native Americans and Buffalo soldiers who shaped America as a nation “from sea to shining sea.” This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Gateway Arch.