May 17: Downtown Architecture and the Blues: Tour of the MX Building and St. Louis's New Blues Museum 

When: Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Where to meet CMT: Convention Center MetroLink Station, street level
Time: Arrive by 9 am at the street level entrance of the Convention Center MetroLink Station, near the plaza adjacent to Pi Pizzeria Downtown Location
Length of Walk: TBA
Walk Capacity: 25 people

COST: $12 per individual participant (for entry to Blues Museum)

Join CMT for a special tour of the Mercantile Exchange (MX) District, including the Laurel building and the new St. Louis Blues Museum, led in part by architect James Roseberry.

The MX district, at the foot of the Eads Bridge, has long been a gathering point for commerce, shopping and hospitality in the region.

The famed Lindell Hotel once stood where the Laurel is today. The Laurel building was complete in 1906, and it became the home of one of the city’s first department stores, The Grand Leader.  The Laurel building itself is named after Washington Avenue’s original name, Laurel Street. As the home to a series of department stores, it was a key commercial anchor in downtown St. Louis throughout its history until vacancy set in in 2001. A new future is being written for the historic property, thanks to an ambitious rehab plan that puts it at the center of a large-scale mixed-use project that will transform an overlooked piece of downtown St. Louis. In October 2011, the site returned to its hotelier roots with the opening of the Embassy Suites.  The most recent development is the Blues Museum, scheduled to open April 2, 2016.