Attention to Detail - Downtown Saint Louis

It is unfortunate that Saint Louisans rarely visit the inner core of downtown, but they have little reason to do so (I'll define this area as the city blocks bounded by Chestnut to the south, 14th Street to the west, the Dome and Convention Center to the north, and Interstate 70 to the east).  Newer hotels bring much needed commerce to this area, many restaurants are beginning to take hold, the Washington Avenue loft district has been slowly blooming since the early 2000s, and the City Museum has quickly become one of, if not the most, popular destinations for downtown visitors.  Last summer I ventured through the steel, glass, and concrete canyons of Downtown Saint Louis to show you the stunning architectural beauty and surprisingly cosmopolitan detail of Saint Louis's civic heart.

The Old Courthouse and Metropolitan Square skyscraper reflected in the windows of another Saint Louis skyscraper.  The Old Courthouse dome is modeled after Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican - the United States Capitol dome is modeled after both the Old Courthouse and Saint Peter's Basilica.

The Mississippi Valley Bank & Trust building.

Fleurs-de-lis can be found everywhere in Eastern Missouri, reflecting the long history of French heritage and influence in the area.

A look down a street at some well decorated buildings - very early skyscrapers.

Lions are a common theme among the decorative arts of downtown's architecture.

Sculpture at the entrance to One US Bank Plaza skyscraper.

A fountain tucked away deep inside downtown's core.

A door to a vacant building.

Railway Exchange Building - Gleaming white terra cotta–182,978 pieces of it–covers all 21 stories of the magnificent Railway Exchange Building. Containing more than 1,200,000 square feet (111,000 m2) of office and retail space, it was the world’s largest office building for many years - the former headquarters of the May Company (Famous-Barr Department Stores), now the downtown home of Macy's.

More detail on the Railway Exchange Building.

The Old Post Office - construction began in 1872 and was completed in 1884 for over $6 million.

The Shell Building in the background and Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in the foreground. I love how these two buildings complement each other - the traditional gothic of the catherdal and the (I'm guessing here) mix of 1920-30s art deco and neo-gothic. Beautiful.