From gondola skytours to plush orchards, here’s 7 hidden gems around southwest IL
St. Louis is home to landmarks such as the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium and the Old Courthouse, but there’s more to offer than just these popular sites.
Here’s a list of seven attractions in Belleville, St. Louis and the surrounding area you may not have visited before.
Skyview Drive-In
This theater has been a Belleville mainstay since 1949, and it continues to provide entertainment to locals and visitors through its two screens that often play family friendly features.
The April 29 to May 1 showings include two Fantastic Beasts movies on screen one, and The Bad Guys and Sing 2 on screen two. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. before showings, and a concession stand is available. You can keep up with current movie listings on the theater’s website.
Cost: Tickets are $13 per adult, and each adult ticket includes one free ticket for children ages 12 and younger. Each additional child’s ticket costs $3.
Location: 5700 North Belt West, Belleville, IL 62226
Labor & Industry Museum
This Belleville museum is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment. It showcases exhibits such as an industrial hall dedicated to the city’s industrial contributions, a reference library focusing on working-class struggles, archives of patents awarded to locals and a total of 1,073 artifacts.
Samples of the museum’s archival library are available online.
Cost: Admission price not listed online.
Location: 123 North Church St., Belleville, IL 62220
Braeutigam Orchards
The farm is currently operated by the 6th and 7th generations of the Braeutigam family farmers. The family has run the farm since 1831, and they started producing fruit in 1935.
The orchard will open for the season in June, when tart cherries, apricots, blueberries and lettuce will be available. If you can’t wait till you make it home with your produce, dig into the bakery’s apple cider donuts and slushies, gooey butter cakes, pies and turnovers. You can even grab lunch items on some busy weekends.
June farm hours are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Cost: Determined by activity or purchases.
Location: 2795 Turkey Hill Lane, Belleville, Ill. 62221
Grafton SkyTour
At Aerie’s Resort, you can ride open-seat or enclosed gondolas up a hill for a bird’s eye view. The open-chairs can seat up to three people, while the enclosed option seats up to four.
Ride hours are from 11:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Cost: $10 round-trip per person. If you plan on returning to Grafton, you can get a season pass for $59.99 that provides you with unlimited rides for 365 days from purchase.
Location: 14 W. Main St., Grafton, Ill. 62037
The Griot Museum of Black History
The Griot first opened as The Black World History Wax Museum in 1997. Its core exhibits include wax figures, art, artifacts and other memorabilia honoring the stories of Black people who have made notable contributions to the country’s development.
Past exhibits have included A Reconciliatory Journey through Black Grief and Joy, Civil Unrest in Review, Juneteenth celebrations and A Black Woman Speaks.
You can check out exhibits from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Cost: Museum admission is $7.50 per adult and $3.75 for children 5 to 12 years old.
Location: 2505 St. Louis Ave., St. Louis, MO 63106
International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum
The International Photography museum is currently showcasing a collection of portraits made of veterans struggling with homelessness, which can be viewed until June 11.
Starting May 4, you can also see a project from Jacob Buchowski titled “Wanderings through the American Southwest.”
Cost: Tickets are $10 for an adult, $5 for students with an ID and $5 for children 6 to 12 years old. Free admission is offered to children under 5, veterans and military members, and there is free admission for all the first Friday of each month.
Location: 3415 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo. 63103
Laumeier Sculpture Park
It’s free to explore installation art at Laumeier Sculpture Park, which features an iconic eyeball model along with 64 other pieces.
The park is featuring a salutary sculpture exhibit Feb. 12 to May 15, and the installation showcases eight artists’ work focused on art’s capacity as a therapeutic tool for adaptation, recovery and rehabilitation.
The Rose River Memorial within Laumeier’s Aronson Fine Arts Center honors lives lost to COVID-19 through an installation of felt roses. A rose-making station is open to the public from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Cost: Free
Location: 12580 Rott Road, St. Louis, MO 63127
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
