A Nearby Olympiad, 1904

An easy mile walk west of the Grand Basin leads to Washington University in St. Louis's Francis Olympic Field, built for the 1904 Olympics.

The accompanying video explains the stadium and the city's often-overlooked place in Olympic history, perhaps overshadowed by the spectacle of the nearby World's Fair. The Olympics featured some famous firsts, as well as a bizarre marathon that holds an unwanted place in infamy, well-described in this 2024 Smithsonian Magazine article.