My future husband, my mother, and I stayed there (Stouffers) the night of the 7th game of the 1982 World Series, which the Cardinals won! My father, a life-long Cardinals fan, had passed away 3 months earlier, but we knew he was watching the game with us. That hotel was one big party that night! Good times I will never forget! (We rode up the elevator with Joe Garagiola.)
My Husband surprised me after work one evening by having me meet him for dinner at the Regal Riverfront Hotel Restaurant, called Top of the Riverfront in 1995. I didn't know what he was planning but after we ordered our food, he got down on one knee and proposed. People started clapping for us. It was very romantic and a beautiful place to get engaged. We just celebrated 30 years together! This place holds special memories to us.
My husband and I were just married that Saturday. After the ceremony and reception had ended, we took a limo downtown to have a private dinner that evening at the beautiful rotating restaurant. I remember as a 19 and 21 year old, the only thing we recognized on the menu was the filet mignon. We were blown away to have had our own private waiter, just for us. It was a lovely evening, The view was spectacular, the food delicious, and after 26 years, I am still married to that wonderful man.
On the evening of October 1, 1976, my “date” and I had dinner and a beautiful view of St Louis and the Arch. Afterward, we stood directly under the Arch at midnight, when he proposed and we became officially engaged. The location was significant since he was from Illinois and I was from Missouri - where East met West. On March 5, 2027, we will celebrate 50 years of marriage.
My wife,Carol Ann Morgan and I spent our first honeymoon night in the hotel on June 13, 1969 after getting married at Little Flower Catholic Church in Richmond Heights.
My dad died recently but every time he passed the hotel, he talked about how he used to work as a server at the rotating restaurant on the top floor. He talked about how stressful it was finding the right table because of the way the floor moved. He also told the story of the day he served Mike Tyson. He said they gave him really strict orders, “you will not speak to mr tyson, you will not address mr tyson, and you will not look at mr tyson” he said he even had to hand the food to a third party. He recalled being fairly intimidated but it was one of his favorite stories to tell and I think about it every time I pass the building.
I was privileged to perform a concert at the Stouffer's Riverfront Inn in when I was 16 & a Sophomore at McKinley High School in 1974. Our guitar class, along with our Instructors Mr. Wayne & Mr. Roberts did a concert on the top of the Inn while it rotated around. They provided a free dinner for us to enjoy. The food was great!! It is an experience that I will never forget. I have been there since then, but that was my most memorable time. One that I will always cherish. Oh yeah, we did get extra credit for showing up too! Thanks for letting me share this memory with you.
So many memories of the hotel. From family vacations as a kid staying at the Regal Riverfront/Millennium, to attending Cardinals Winter Warm-Ups, to bringing our high school baseball team to stay while in town watching a Cardinals game. Driving up from Tennessee, this was the place to be!!
Belated Honeymoon
@ VP Fair... magical
We had 9 pm dinner at revolving restaurant watching fireworks .... lost pictures in flood. He is deceased but those memories live in my head
My daughters wedding in 2000 and we dining at the top restaurant many times was the best with my uncle John Pappajohn who was manager of the restaurant for years also
My husband and I are high school sweethearts, and we’ll be celebrating 20 years together this year. But back when we were still teenagers, and freshman in college, we were looking for somewhere special to celebrate our three year dating anniversary together (since we had a little more money and freedom than when we were still in high school!). We found the Millennium Hotel, and instantly knew we had to celebrate together in the rotating restaurant. Neither of us had experienced a dining experience quite like this before, and it felt so incredibly magical and romantic for us. Since that dinner, we always would say “remember our anniversary dinner up there?!” every time we would drive past the hotel. When we found out it was closing, it felt like a little part of our relationship was closing with it. But now the rotator for the restaurant will live on at the City Museum, and I can’t wait for us to pay it a visit…maybe for a future anniversary.
I was a senior in Lindbergh High School working 20 hours a week for United Van Lines. It was May 1975 and the personnel department wanted me to enter their contest at the plant so I agreed. The contest there was held up send two representatives to the main contest to be held at Stouffer's Riverfront Inn in St. Louis. Two of the employees were sent downtown for the main contest. I was the youngest contestant there and unable to drink alcohol, which was fine. It was an all day event and I was driven there by limousine. We had to enter a room with one vacant chair in front of a 3 judge panel. They asked several questions and I was so nervous I can't remember any of them. They were interested in my schedule in the next coming weeks because the winner of this contest was going to have many guest appearances in the next two weeks. Because I was in the co-op program I was released from school around 11:30 every day so I could report to work by 1:00 pm. I had a great time at the function, had a wonderful meal and I won first runner up. I received a trophy, a dozen red roses, a garnet necklace and a $75.00 savings bond and a tiara crown. They told me that I would have won but they did not want all their activities to interfere with my schooling or my graduation.
My grandmother and grandfather Blanche and Claude Miller were well to do fancy people who enjoyed all the finest things St.Louis had to offer including the Clarion later to known as the Millennium. They took me to dinner there on my 8th birthday which was a special one because I was born on January 8th..1973. Grandma gave me a beautiful pendant and had me wear it with my fancy dress. Grandma and grandpa both wearing their finest as well. I felt so special. They however did not tell me that the restaurant rotated..and had me to belive my grandpa was making the things i seen out the window dissappear. It was so much fun. I still remember what the Veil tasted like and the Shirley temple with extra cherries!
I was fresh out of college, and on my first big work trip. The organization I worked for hosted a conference at the hotel, and one night my boss took several large donors to dinner at the rotating restaurant and invited me and another young colleague. We had a very nice dinner, and my colleague and I felt like very fancy, professional grown-ups. At the end of the dinner, our boss took the check and proceeded to pop his eyes and stare down every single person's plate, empty glasses, etc. I cannot imagine the bill was that high, no one had anything over the top, but I will never forget the awkwardness as this man glared at the check at a table full of people whose donations kept our small non-profit going! It was a good lesson in how not to behave as a professional adult, and I have never forgotten it.
My friend took me to the rotating restaurant for my birthday, eager to treat me to the uniqueness of that revolving restaurant and the views and to his friendship. He went up there in perfect health, but the rotation made him nauseous. He got carsick or should I say seasick or should I say just plain old motion, sickness at the rotation of the restaurant. He had to add rotating restaurants to his list of planes and boats and trains and automobiles.
November 15th 1975 my wife and I went there for dinner. We were celebrating our first wedding anniversary.
My wife set her purse on the windows sill. She didn't realize we were rotating until her purse was at the next table. Lovely restaurant and amazing view at night. Definitely one of our favorite memories.
Stouffer's Riverfront Towers is the reason we came to St. Louis. My father, Bob O'Loughlin was the General Manager of the hotel for 10 years when we moved here in 1977. The GAPF preservation photos bring back so many memories of the people that worked there, the conventions that came to the hotel, the VP fair holiday, the celebrities that stayed there, post Cardinal baseball game live commentary shows in Chads restaurant and of course Top of the Riverfront restaurant. This hotel changed our lives.
My husband and best friend worked in the Clarion gift shop for a few years back in the 80's. I would often hang out down there to visit them when they weren't too busy and do a little shopping. They had some great items for sale there! In June 1986, I found out I was pregnant and went to the gift shop to share the good news with my husband. We were both thrilled! That same best friend also dated one of the bellboys and they ended up getting married and having 3 kids (still married since 1984). I also remember a romantic dinner during one of our anniversaries in the revolving restaurant. I had gone to use the restroom and (obviously) our table had moved so I had to "find" my husband so we could finish dinner. Another fun fact that many may not have known is that the guests were able to hire babysitters through guest services for a nominal fee. My sister and I were both hired on several occasions to babysit the children of hotel guests while they had dinner. We met some very nice people doing that and were able to make a few dollars in return. The Clarion was a very nice hotel and a great piece of St. Louis history. It will be missed!
Our first date was in Stouffers revolving restaurant after attending a St Louis Symphony Sunday afternoon performance. It was magical. We watched the sun set as we ate our meal. Then we walked the arch grounds sitting by one of the pools. We both knew this was going to be a relationship ordained by Jesus.
We have celebrated our 43 anniversary.
After a memorable day for me and my wife. OUR Wedding night was spent at this Wonderful place in St.Louis history. Of course we had a church basement reception and a Party Reception to dance and enjoy this great day. Finally getting to the hotel we realized that neither one of us had eaten. By the time we checked in the restaurant was closed. Both of us were hungry and realized it was a White Castle down the street. So we made a mad dash there to get a wonderful meal. By the time we finished our meal it was time for bed. I will let your imagination kick in here to see if you can imagine what happened next. Yes Precious Memories of an iconic hotel.
Not sure how old I was or what year this happened, but it would have been in the early ‘70’s. My mom, dad, sister and I went to Stouffers for dinner, it must have been a big occasion because we didn’t go out to ‘fancy’ restaurants often. I was probably 5 or 6, anyway, at some point during the night I was staring out the window, it must have been at Busch Stadium or the Arch, I’m not sure, all I know is the view was awesome and I was mesmerized. Now, here is the interesting thing about the restaurant, the tables rotated, but the center stood still, the other thing that was stationary was a thin strip of floor around the entire exterior of the restaurant, a small enough space that a young child could stand on it. You get the picture, I had gotten ‘off the ride’ and no one bothered to tell me, not sure how long I stood there, but it must have been a while (because as you know, that ‘ride’ was not quick) by the time I turned around, my family had vanished, poof, and sitting where they once sat was a table full of strangers. I am guessing everyone had a good chuckle and a fun time watching that story unfold, I know it stuck with me to this day. Now, since the building is gone, I can’t tell that story and point at the building, I just get to tell the story. Just like your family at dinner, life moves on.
Not really my story, but the story of a close friend at the time, Steve, from DC.
This was back in 1976 and I was working schedule and advance in the St. Louis office of the Jerry Litton campaign for Senate. Steve had interned for Jerry in Jerry's congressional office, and came to St. Louis when his spring semester was over to intern for Jerry's campaign.
Well, Steve met someone - a wonderful young St. Louis woman - and finally got up the courage to ask her out on a date. For a couple of weeks before the big date, Steve was a wreck. Where to go, what to wear, should he take her flowers, etc., etc., etc.
He finally decided on Stouffers and its famous rotating restaurant, and bought a new suit and shoes. (I don't know what the decision was on the flowers.) The night finally arrived, and all was well - except the shoes. The shoes were not ok and Steve could barely walk in them. But, what's a guy to do with the love his life breathlessly awaiting the arrival of her debonair and well dressed date, so he wore the shoes.
However, as soon as they settled at their table, Steve told us he slipped off his shoes and set them to one side. Dinner went great, but when it came time to leave - yep, you guessed it - no shoes. Either the shoes rotated away from Steve or Steve rotated away from the shoes.
Either way, he never found them, despite having to fess up and tell his date, who helped looked for them, along with the waiters and other staff. We don't know what happened to them, but they were gone.
Mortified, Steve left in his socks, and full of anxiety, drove his date home, worried all the way about getting a ticket for driving in Missouri without his shoes on. (Remember that old story?)
I'll never forget the horrible election night when Jerry and his entire immediate family were killed in a plane crash on their way from Chillicothe to Kansas City for his victory party.
But, I'll also never forget, and will always remember with a smile, Steve and his rotating shoes.
In 2012, after graduating high school, my friend Lauren and I got dressed up and dined out at the Top of the Riverfront as a sendoff dinner before going to New York and Chicago for college, respectively. As we slowly spun around and took in views of the Arch, we reminisced on old inside jokes, theater memories, and our hopes for the future. We ended the dinner promising to meet back there in ten years, hoping we would do so every decade, only to have the initial dinner as the hotel closed shortly after we left St. Louis. Maybe the new development will have a restaurant we can meet up at once it's all built in 2032 and make up for the lost reunion, but for now we have the memory of beginning our adult lives spinning around, bursting with optimism.
For many years, we would go to the restaurant for brunch for our anniversary. A couple who are dear friends married two months after us (same year), so the four of us would go there to celebrate together! They live in south county and we live in North county, so we met in the middle downtown for a wonderful brunch!
