Downtown St. Louis is not only a great place to visit—or hold a meeting—it’s a great place to live as well. At least that’s the opinion of Tom Bolman, CAE, executive vice president of St. Louis-headquartered International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), who has called the city home since 1983.
“There have been a lot of positive changes since I first came to St. Louis,” says Bolman, one of a growing number of professionals who have opted for downtown loft living. “Downtown was pretty empty when I moved here. We’ve got new hotels downtown, they’ve expanded the convention center, a lot of old buildings have been transformed into lofts and office space.”
Along with downtown, Bolman enjoys other St. Louis neighborhoods such as The Hill, which is especially known for its old-school Italian restaurants. Among his favorites is Giovanni’s on the Hill, where diners can enjoy Pappardelle all Bella Oprah, a pasta dish named for a famous patron. Giovanni’s offers private dining areas for up to 120 people.
St. Louis has been headquarters for IACC since 1986 and has a half dozen conference center members in the area. Bolman believes the city is a good location for IACC as well as for conferences and other types of meetings. A big reason is air service.
“We’re right in the center of the country, and you can’t beat the accessibility,” he says. “There are direct flights from most major cities, even now that TWA is gone. Other airlines such as American have taken over a lot of the service, so we’re more fortunate than a lot of other destinations now.”
Bolman also likes the fact that St. Louis offers an abundance of historic buildings that have been restored and adapted for use as event venues. Among his favorites is Windows on Washington, a circa-1920 building designed for the Roberts, Johnson and Rand Shoe Company as a manufacturing and warehouse facility for its shoe production, which is now a popular place for events.
Another example of how a vintage St. Louis building has been reinvented is the Mad Art Gallery, a circa-1930 police station that local artist Ron Buechele restored and transformed into a gallery, which is available for events. The largest space is the former squad car garage, which is now a 3,800-square-foot industrial gallery that accommodates up to 250 for a sit-down dinner or up to 500 for a reception.
“What’s great is that the original jail cells are still there, so you can set up a bar in one cell and have a character artist in another cell,” says Julie Krull, marketing manager for Destination St. Louis, a DMC. “It lends itself to a lot of themes, and there are plenty of rooms for people to roam around in.”
Another versatile venue from the Art Deco era is Lumen, a former automobile showroom with 20-foot ceilings and dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows that once showcased cars. Accommodating up to 600 guests, Lumen offers such updated features as a customizable LED lighting system and built-in audiovisual capabilities that include a house sound system and flat-screen TVs.
“It showcases the city’s past and yet allows you to do really cool stuff with the lighting,” Krull says.
