St Louis 1904: Olympic venues overview

Five of these competition venues were permanent and remain in use today: Francis Field Stadium (archery, gymnastics, athletics, cycling (track), football, roque, tug of war, weightlifting, lacrosse and freestyle wrestling, with the latter two both new to the Olympic programme); Creve Coeur Lake (rowing); Glen Echo Country Club (golf); Francis Gymnasium (boxing and fencing); and Francis Field Tennis Courts (tennis). The one venue no longer in use is the US Life-Saving Lake (swimming, diving and water polo), which was temporary.

Four of the permanent competition venues were existing and one was new. Three of the remaining venues are used by a local university – Washington University in St Louis – and two more by local sports clubs. Francis Field Stadium was the main Games venue. There was no official Olympic Village.

Francis Field Stadium is the oldest Olympic stadium still used on a regular basis for official sporting events. Built two years before the Games, it became the home of the Washington University in St Louis (WUSTL) Bears American football team immediately afterwards. The Bears now share it with several other WUSTL varsity sports teams. Refurbished on several occasions since the early 1980s, the stadium is a registered historic landmark. It has been renamed Francis Olympic Field in recognition of its place in Olympic history.

Francis Gymnasium has also been in continuous use since the 1904 Olympic Games. The building was converted into a modern, energy-efficient fitness, recreation and sports centre in 2016 and renamed the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center. Among the center’s exercise spaces is the Olympic Studio, which celebrates the venue’s Olympic past. The venue has also played a part in recent US political history, providing the setting for five presidential/vice-presidential debates since 1992. Like Francis Field Stadium, it is also a registered historic landmark.

Creve Coeur Lake, one of the largest natural lakes in the state of Missouri, has been the permanent base of the St Louis Rowing Club since 1983, although the club has raced there on and off since the early 1900s. The lake is also used by the community for recreational activities such as paddle boating and sailing.

Fourteen of the holes on the Glen Echo Country Club golf course are still laid out exactly as they were when it hosted the Olympic golf competition in 1904. Having opened three years earlier, Glen Echo Country Club was St Louis’ first complete 18-hole golf course. It organises competitions for women and men throughout the season.

All that is known about the Francis Field Tennis Courts is that there were three dirt courts in total, and that they occupied part of the WUSTL campus. Their most likely location was the site now occupied by the Tao Tennis Centre, next to Francis Olympic Field and the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center. The centre is home to the WUSTL tennis teams and has six hard courts.