Ever been to St. Louis? If you’re like me, you’ve longed to visit. Once I met a couple of beautiful ladies who were from St. Louis and who come to bask in the glories of Chicago every once in a while.  Now, with the grand opening of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch Park, St. Louis is making itself even more attractive as a destination.

The opening this year will be followed by the massive July 4 celebration of Fair Saint Louis. Hosted by the Gateway Arch Park Foundation and its partners, this party will include the grand opening of the Museum at the Gateway Arch, a newly expanded and renovated cultural hotspot that’s changing the narrative about westward expansion. Throughout history, the realities of the Lewis & Clark expeditions have been largely glorified – virtually ignorning the negative impact they had on people who already lived there, like Native Americans and Mexicans. The new museum will now tell the full story from several different perspectives. Some of the designers of the museum expansion include NYC-based Cooper Robertson and James Carpenter Design Associates, along with Seele, who manufactured the glass for the Visitor Center entrance (and also manufactures the glass for Apple stores).

The museum’s opening will mark the completion of a nearly 10-year $380 million public-private redevelopment project, used to reinvigorate St. Louis’ downtown and connect the St. Louis community back to the river that helped establish the city. A total of $250 million was raised from private donations for this project, which came almost entirely from the St. Louis community – the largest private investment ever made in a US National Park. To date, the park revitalization has had a nearly $2 billion economic impact, with major hotels, largescale real estate and trendy restaurants and bars moving into the surrounding area as a direct result of the project.

So if you’ve ever thought about visiting St. Louis, right now is a super time to do it. You can also try TripAdvisor’s 15 Best Things to Do in St. Louis. Though it doesn’t include this new stuff, it’ll give you some other ideas.