One block from the arch along St Louis' main east-west thoroughfare, Market Street, old photographs at the stately Old Courthouse Museum (daily 8am-4.30pm; free) record the development of the city and the settling of the West. Two restored courtrooms were the site of the trial of Dred Scott , a black slave who argued that having spent time with his owner in nonslave Illinois and Wisconsin, he had the right to be set free. His case was upheld in 1850, but overturned two years later. On appeal, the Supreme Court declared that Scott, born a slave in a slave state, might like any other chattel be taken anywhere his master chose to go. The decision, which meant that the US Constitution saw slaves as legitimate personal property, sent shock waves through the corridors of government and hastened the onrush of the Civil War. Scott himself, by now a nationally known figure, was voluntarily freed by his new owner, but died a year later.

The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame , at 111 Stadium Plaza (summer Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; rest of year daily 11am-4pm; $6, includes four free frames), is devoted to the favorite sport of such diverse figures as Martin Luther and Homer Simpson, tracing its history from ancient Egypt to the present. Bowling was not always the slick commercial sport it is today; excessive betting on games got it denounced by the Church in fifteenth-century Germany and, three centuries later, the behavior of drunken fans led to all alleys being shut down in London.

See the world's largest pair of underpants and witness the mystic power of the corndog at the whimsical City Museum , 701 N 15th St (Wed-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-5pm; $7.50). The exhibits, made almost entirely of junk, often border on the bizarre, as one floor is devoted to secret passages and dead ends. On entering, you will be informed, "Have fun, and don't lose your adult." Over on Market Street at 18th Street, the focal point of the giant Romanesque Union Station is a 230ft clock tower. The station, erected in 1884, was transformed in the early 1980s into a huge complex of shops, cafés, bars and a hotel. An artificial lake, where you can rent boats, is in the back. The Hyatt Hotel 's ornate lobby, once the station's main waiting room, is well worth visiting for a coffee or just a look.

Central downtown

• Central downtown

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