SAUGET, Ill. | This St. Louis suburb that's already home to strip clubs, chemical plants and a Superfund hazardous waste site will have a new title come 2010 -- the area's first official "Welcome Center" for motorists entering Illinois.
The village will build the Archview Visitors Center next to the ballpark that's the home of minor-league baseball's Gateway Grizzlies along Interstate 255, the state Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.
The $2.6-million center, which will be on donated land offering a view of the towering Gateway Arch across the Mississippi River in St. Louis, is part of a regional effort to increase tourism in southern Illinois.
The site will provide visitors with information on Cahokia Mounds -- the ruins of a once-thriving prehistoric city of up to 20,000 American Indians -- and other points of interest.
Mayor Rich Sauget Jr. says the center should help improve the image of his village.
Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com
