United States · Missouri · St. Louis
Near North Riverfront, St. Louis — Area Guide & Where to Stay
The Cotton Belt Freight Depot stands five stories over the tracks at Near North Riverfront, a freight district of St. Louis on the Mississippi River.
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Where to stay in Near North Riverfront
Where visitors usually base themselves, and why.
Near North Riverfront is a working freight corridor, and the hotel blocks begin across Carr Street in downtown St. Louis. The Riverfront Trail starts at Biddle Street and runs the length of the district past the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing.
Take a room downtown and ride north if that trail is why you came. North Broadway carries the trucks. Cyclists get more out of the trail than walkers do.
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3- St. Stanislaus Kostka Church Heritage
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Stadiums & Sports
1- Union Grounds
Landmarks & Notable Places
2- Clemens House-Columbia Brewery District Heritage
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About Near North Riverfront
What are the main landmarks in Near North Riverfront?
Near North Riverfront lines its landmarks up along the water. The Cotton Belt Freight Depot stands at 1400 North 1st Street, a long narrow slab of concrete whose eastern wall artists painted in 2014. The McKinley Bridge leaves Salisbury Street for Venice, Illinois.
Upstream of the Merchants Bridge, the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing marks the bank where the Riverfront Trail passes. Biddle Street holds the trail's southern end.
What is the history of Near North Riverfront?
Near North Riverfront was a place of departure long before it was a place of freight. On May 21, 1855, Mary Meachum and a free Black man named Isaac took nine enslaved people by boat over the Mississippi River toward Illinois, and the party was arrested on the far bank. The bridges came later.
The Merchants Bridge opened in May 1889 and the McKinley Bridge in November 1910, and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway opened its Cotton Belt depot on the first day of 1913. Route 66 crossed the river here from 1926 until the traffic shifted to the Chain of Rocks Bridge in 1930.
Where is Near North Riverfront?
Near North Riverfront runs from Carr Street north to Adelaide Avenue, held between Interstate 70 on the west and the Mississippi River on the east.
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Updated October 2026