Old Courthouse Historic Walk

The Old St. Louis Courthouse, now part of Gateway Arch National Park, is one of the most historically significant buildings in American legal history — the site where Dred Scott sued for his freedom in 1847, setting in motion the legal and political chain of events that accelerated the nation toward the Civil War. The walk from the arch grounds to the courthouse passes through Kiener Plaza and the gardens that connect the two park units, offering views back toward the arch from street level and through the tree canopy of the downtown landscape.

The Greek Revival building with its distinctive cast-iron dome served as the seat of St. Louis county government for decades and hosted some of the most consequential legal proceedings in the antebellum United States. The rotunda beneath the dome is one of the finest interior spaces in any national park building, with murals depicting westward expansion scenes that reflect both the triumphalism and the contradictions of 19th-century American expansion. Museum exhibits in the courthouse explore the Dred Scott case in detail, along with the history of St. Louis as a Gateway city and the stories of enslaved people who sought freedom through the courts. The combination of the courthouse and the arch provides a complete narrative of American westward ambition and its human costs.