By Astrid Zeppenfeld
When Chairman Bob O’Loughlin of Lodging Hospitality Management first started out in the hospitality industry and made the decision to buy St. Louis Union Station, he never would have thought that he’d end up getting into family activities. “But the Polar Express was so successful and it’s such a joy to see the kids’ glowing faces when they exit the train. So we added more fun activities,” O’Loughlin explains.
New Technology Meets History
Due to its charming and elegant architecture, St. Louis’ beautiful Union Station rightfully deserves its spot among the most prominent elements of the city’s skyline. This National Historic Landmark in Downtown St. Louis first opened in 1894 and very quickly became the busiest train terminal in the country. One could assume this was a big help in procuring the 1904 World’s Fair for the city. In 1903, it was expanded to accommodate many of the fair’s expected guests. Anyone looking at pictures of the 1904 World’s Fair will no doubt first see the giant Ferris wheel that debuted a decade before in Chicago and was brought to St. Louis for the event.
Under LHM’s ownership, a new Wheel was constructed in 2019. The Wheel has already redefined the skyline of St. Louis, offering 42 climate-controlled gondolas, including a VIP gondola with club chairs. No matter what time of the year your event at Union Station takes place, your guests can enjoy 15 minutes of breathtaking views, 20 miles in each direction.
The space around this now iconic St. Louis landmark at the historic Union Station is aptly named the St. Louis Wheel Park, where, very recently, three more rides opened to add more fun and variety to your company’s events.
So. Much. Fun.
The three new rides include a pirate ship — aptly named “Flying Louie”— that provides just the right amount of stomach-dropping feeling, which makes you want to throw your arms up in the air just like when you were a child. Keeping in line with LHM’s 1904 World’s Fair theme, the Wave Swinger features old-world charm of the classic chair swing ride combined with state-of-the-art hydraulic engineering, making the rider soar high and providing a great view over St. Louis. Finally, the train-themed Loco Motion roller coaster spins you around in multiple directions and is perfect for adults and children alike — not too high, not too fast, but just the right amount for every age.
Additionally, classic carnival games such as balloon pop, break-a-plates, and basketball hoops enhance the nostalgic feeling and provide additional fun for families as well as corporate groups. Can your attendees roll those whiffle balls just slowly enough to make them land on a color-coded field and win a prize? It can certainly make for friendly competition during a teambuilding session at your next meeting.
Rides, Games, and Food
Belle Plew, Communications Specialist, Corporate Affairs at Nestlé Purina, states, “Every year, Purina does something special for our associates and their families. This year was our first time holding the company’s Family Day event at Union Station. With over 3,000 guests, it turned out to be the most popular venue as far as attendance and feedback from our associates.”
Blew continues, “We’ve had the place exclusively to ourselves for four hours and logistically coordinated the coupon vouchers that allowed our guests to have a true Union Station experience and go into the restaurants. Although we did narrow down the menu to keep things running smoothly, our associates loved being able to choose between the buffet and the restaurant menu.”
Attractions Galore
The timing for Nestlé Purina’s Family Day was just right. The three new rides had just opened and everyone got to enjoy them. However, as much fun as the three newest rides and the added games are, meeting and event planners have not forgotten about all the other great attractions the venue has to offer. Blew shares, “We had wristbands that allowed our associates entrance into the Aquarium, the Ropes Course, the Mirror Maze, the Wheel Park rides… they got to do everything a typical visitor at Union Station would get to do and we were so happy to be able to provide that experience for them this year. We had the whole space and it was amazing! There are so many different things to do and we already received a lot of feedback that people appreciated the variety of attractions for all ages; it wasn’t something that just catered to the kids, there were people who didn’t bring kids to the event and they also had a fun time.”
“We were able to send over some graphics that we wanted digitally displayed at the event and Union Station is just really wonderful to work with. My biggest piece of advice to other meeting and event planners working with Union Station is: If you have an idea, send it over to them! They are super flexible and willing to work with you on any crazy idea you might have for your event. It gave me so much freedom in planning this event and that was great.”
Not Just for Daytime Events
Kelsey Dunn, Meeting & Event Manager at Dot Foods, Inc., hosted an evening event at Union Station as part of a trade show for suppliers and distributor partners. Dot Foods, Inc. used the whole main level, with all its indoor and outdoor attractions, for the approximately 3,000 attendees of the event. Even though this event took place before the three new rides had opened, Dunn was able to utilize the Wheel, not only as a ride option for her guests, but she opted to have the Wheel be turned blue to match her company’s brand color. 1.6 million LEDs on the Wheel can be lit up in different colors, which is a fantastic marketing tool that is especially effective at any evening business gathering!
Dunn recounts, “We also used their restaurants — the Train Shed, Soda Fountain, the little cupcake shop, and the upstairs restaurant outlet — as a way to serve food to our attendees. We had casual items at the Soda Fountain, like grilled cheese sandwiches and little milkshakes, and we also had a Pho Station that was really thoughtfully produced. Their range of menu execution is a huge win for planners. The feedback we got was overall very positive; even local people from St. Louis felt that the event was very cool and different. Some of these attendees had visited the Union Station attractions before, but they thought that we put on something that felt really unique to our group.”
She elaborates, “The food and beverage team at this venue knocked it out of the park with what they were able to produce. They had all their food and beverage outlets work together, and it is pretty rare that you’re able to get that type of collaboration across all those different vendors to pull off an event like this successfully.” Dunn agrees with other planners that Union Station is great to work with, especially when it comes to unique ideas you have for your meeting or event. “I think they welcome new ideas in general and are always willing to try something new. It makes a planner’s job easier when they can coordinate all those different elements for you.”
MEET
Astrid Zeppenfeld is MEET Missouri’s Senior Editor from St. Louis.
Contact Information:
Cameron Schoeffel
Director of Fun
St. Louis Union Station + Westport Plaza
cschoeffel@lhmchotels.com
(314) 802-3165
