St. Louis: Rome of the West

Saint Louis is arguably one of America's most historically Catholic cities. Long called "The Rome of the West," St. Louis boasts a vast array of soaring gothic churches piercing the skyline, with the stunningly beautiful and heavily byzantine-influenced Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis serving as the crown jewel of the archdiocese.

When I first arrived here, I was informed that if one is a native to the city, he is typically asked two questions by locals: First, "What high school did you attend?" and second, "What parish are you from?" The a priori position is that you are Catholic. How nice! The city is generously saturated with rich shades of culture from the old-world. As already noted, St. Louis has some incredibly beautiful churches, not to mention diverse ethnic communities from Europe that are still largely intact and, of course, great restaurants, pubs, wine bars, etc. The various pockets of superb places to pass the time with friends over a bottle of pinot noir are situated in quaint districts that show off beautiful architecture, rich history and character, again much like European cities and in stark, refreshing contrast to newer cities and suburbs spanning the US, where spit-polished, sparkling new and thoroughly culture-less strip malls sport their kitschy, faux ethnic chain restaurants. Spare me! I avoid these places like the plague.

I am told that Forest Park, St. Louis' enormous backyard, is larger than New York's Central Park. Forest Park has an impressive network of paths and trials for walking or running, tennis courts, an art gallery, a man-made river, fountains, a zoo, an outdoor theatre and a boat house restaurant. Shakespeare is performed for free in the balmy summer months. Locals turn out in the hundreds, bringing with them lawn chairs, wine and cheese, sandwiches, etc., and, just as they finish snacking and the sun begins to set, the timeless play commences. Marvelous!

St. Louis has its drawbacks: crime in certain isolated parts is alarmingly high, development in some historic areas is lagging, leaving many buildings to decay. Geographically speaking, although the city is sliced by the Mississippi River, it nevertheless feels landlocked, which can leave me a little claustrophobic at times. Milwaukee is tucked on the shore of a Great Lake and Rome was close to the ocean. It's hard to make up for this deficit. But all in all, St. Louis is a great city.

Rome of the West is a unique blog by St. Louis native Mark Scott Abeln. He gives the visitor a unique overview of St. Louis' Catholic heritage, with exceptional pictures of its churches.

http://www.romeofthewest.com/