Getting to St. Louis:

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (IATA code STL) has non-stop flights from many major cities in the “lower 48”, and from Toronto, ON, CA, and Frankfurt, DE.

From the airport, it’s about a half hour ride on MetroLink (light rail) to roughly two blocks from the venue.  A one-way ticket good for two hours costs $4.00 at the airport, $2.50 at other stations.  A taxi will likely cost between $35 and $50 and will take about 20 minutes (but it’ll get you right to the front door, which might be interesting while lugging luggage).

If you take MetroLink, get off the train at the Union Station station.  The stairway and elevator on the west end of the MetroLink platform will get you just under the train shed near Clark Avenue and 18^th Street.  Walk north on 18^th to Market Street, turn left.  (The only entrance until you get a room key is through the hotel’s front door.)

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MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, IL (IATA code BLV), which shares a runway with Scott Air Force Base, serves one carrier, the low-cost Allegiant Airlines, which has non-stop flights from several airports, mostly in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, but also from Las Vegas and Phoenix.

It’s a 20-minute bus ride, $3.00 one-way cash only, to the nearest MetroLink station, then another $2.50 and 45 minutes to Union Station.  A taxi will likely cost between $60 and $75.

You can rent a car from Enterprise if you make arrangements in advance.
The Google map:

The drive takes about half an hour.

Our current Amtrak station, the St. Louis Gateway Transportation Center (also serves Greyhound intercity busses), is about a five minute walk from the venue.

Day trips are possible from a handful of cities in the northern Midwest; it’s an overnight trip from most places in the area from New England down to D.C. and out to the Rocky Mountains; you’d spend two nights on the train from the West Coast or the Southeast.  Your host is a train-riding geek.  Contact him privately for help with planning a trip.

From the station (under highway 40 in the lower right corner), walk west on Poplar Street to 18^th Street, then north to Market Street, turn left.  You could also cross the Civic Center MetroLink station and the St. Louis bus terminal to 14^th Street, turn left and walk north about four blocks to Market Street and west about six blocks to Union Station.  (“Block” here is a distance, ca. 1/20 of a mile.  There won’t always be cross streets to count.)

It’s also just one stop away on MetroLink, but you’d spend almost all of your time waiting for the train.  The ride itself takes only about one minute; and you’d still have half of the hike remaining once you got to the Union Station station.

By Car:

St. Louis is at the intersection of I-44, I-55, I-64, and I-70.  Contact the host privately for driving tips around town.

Likely Weather in June:

Making Reservations:

Our group rate will be $215.00 + 18.929% tax ($259.70) per night and includes complimentary WiFi.  The room rate does not include breakfast, so the host will provide a breakfast buffet Monday through Saturday.  You’ll be on your own for lunch and supper.

We will have a reserved block of 100 rooms for Sunday through Friday nights, and 50 rooms for Saturday night for those who want to stay an extra night.  You can make reservations at the group rate for up to three days before and after the meeting if rooms are available.

The reserved block will dissappear after Friday, 2024-05-24, a month before the meeting.  Reservations made after that time will be subject to availablility and might not get the group rate.

Reservations at the group rate can be made at the meeting’s reservation page.

You can also make reservations by calling +1 800 581 7151.  Say that you’re attending the WG21 meeting to get the group rate.  (The hotel doesn’t provide any way to make reservations via e-mail.)

From the hotel’s front door, ascend the Grand Staircase to the Grand Hall.  You’ll see the hotel’s front desk to your right behind a couple of arches. For an accesible entrance, there’s a door in the corner to the left of the hotel’s front doors.  Go through that door, turn right, turn left (signs give good directions).  After a short walk, you’ll see an elevator on your left that you’ll take to the second floor.  Go through a door on your left and turn right and you’ll be in the northeast corner of the Grand Hall (lower right in the diagram).  It’s easier than it sounds.

Other Hotels Nearby:

Drury Inn

A short walk south on 20^th Street, just across the street from the Ferris wheel.

OYO Hotel St. Louis

Across 14^th Street from the city bus terminal, which is connected to the Civic Center MetroLink station, which in turn is connected to the Amtrak Station.  An easier walk is north to Market Street, then west to Union Station.

Three more to the west:

Fairfield Inn & Suites

Courtyard by Marriott

Just west of the Fairfield Inn (not shown by Google on their map for some reason).

Pear Tree Inn

If you stay at the Pear Tree, cross Market Street at 20^th.  There’s not another pedestrian crosswalk until Jefferson Avenue (effectively 26^th Street).

The Meeting Rooms:

The Monday and Saturday plenaries will be held in the combined Regency AB Ballroom on the west side of the first floor. Take the elevators that serve the guest rooms down to the first floor, turn left, walk almost as far as you can go, and turn left again down a ramp to Foyer A. We will have that room until whenever the plenary ends on Monday, but we will need to be out by 14:00 on Saturday.

The rest of the meeting will be in breakout rooms in the Midway East area, also on the first floor. Room assignments will be decided at the Monday plenary as usual. Take the elevators that serve the guest rooms down to the first floor, turn right, and walk to a door on your left that says that it’s the entrance to the “Grand Hall”.  This is the “Grand Staircase Prefunction” room. Another option when returning after lunch is to enter the Midway East area through the Aquarium. Walk north through the first floor until you can’t go any farther.  Your room key card will get you through a gate on your left. You can also enter through doors from the “Outdoor Courtyard” on the west side of the building. These doors will likely be locked but your room key card will get you in. We will initially have all of the Midway 5-11 rooms until 21:00, Monday through Friday; but we expect to release most of them after 17:30 once we know what we’ll need for evening sessions (if any).

If you’re not staying at the meeting hotel, descend the Grand Staircase to the first floor (the street level is called the mezzanine) and you’ll be in the Grand Staircase Prefunction room.  You can also take the elevator mentioned in the “Checking in” section down to the first floor, go through a door on your left, and turn right into a hallway behind the Midway 6 room.  Another option is entering through the “Outdoor Courtyard” doors on the west side of the building.  If the doors are locked, press an intercom button, tell the person who answers that you’re attending the WG21 meeting, and you’ll be buzzed in. These are the only ways to get to the meeting rooms if you don’t have a hotel room key card, including after lunch if you leave the hotel.

Breakfast:

The host will provide a breakfast buffet Monday through Saturday beginning one hour before the scheduled start of the meeting.  Monday and Saturday, the buffet will be in Foyer A in the ballroom area (near the plenary room); Tuesday through Friday, the buffet will be in Midway East’s Grand Staircase Prefunction room (near the breakout rooms).

Afternoon and Evening Meals:

There are several places inside the building or under the train shed.  In addition to those are:

Maggie O’Brien’s, an Irish restaurant and sports bar just across 20^th Street on Market Street;

Lombardo’s Tratoria, an Italian restaurant in the Drury Inn building across 20^th Street from the Ferris wheel.

Things to Do around St. Louis:

Downtown

The Old Courthouse

This is now a museum commemorating the numerous slaves, including Dred Scott, who sued for their freedom here.

Gateway Arch National Park

There’s a museum under the Arch and a ride inside the Arch to the top.

You can walk to both on Market Street from Union Station in 20 or 30 minutes; or you can take MetroLink three stops to the 8^th & Pine station and have another four- or six-block walk.

Forest Park

The site of the 1904 World’s Fair, four stops west on MetroLink.
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It was at the fair that the International Electrical Congress proposed what would become our IEC.
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Until 19:00 daily during the summer months, the Forest Park Trolley shuttles visitors around the park to various attractions including:

Missouri History Museum

St. Louis Art Museum

St. Louis Zoo

St. Louis Science Center and Planetarium

Not shown on the Google map.  The planetarium is in the southeast corner of the park; the rest of the science center is across Highway 40.  There’s a covered pedestrian walkway over the highway.  The schedule for planetarium shows will be known at least six weeks prior to our meeting.

Municipal Opera (a.k.a., the Muny)

An 11,000-seat open air amphitheater that stages Broadway musicals.  The 2024 schedule will be known by November 1^st.

Everything above except the Muny is free and open to the public, and the Muny has 1500 free seats.  There are fees for admission to particular shows at the zoo and the science center.

Only the Muny is open during the evening.  Google says it’s about a 25 minute walk from the Forest Park MetroLink station.

And for Baseball Fans:

This being St. Louis, I hope you’ll forgive me for not being able to stop writing without mentioning the Cardinals.😄  Busch Stadium is just two stops east on MetroLink; and it’s walkable, less than a mile, maybe 1km give or take.

The Cards will be in town the week of our meeting hosting the Atlanta Braves Monday-Wednesday, and the Cincinnati Reds Thursday-Sunday.  First pitch times aren’t known as I write this, but Wednesday and Sunday will likely be day games.