Walks & Talks

Walks, Tours, Programs, Lectures and Book Signings

presented by author/historian NiNi Harris.

More book signings and book programs

are scheduled throughout the year.

Check back here for additions and updates.

NiNi Harris’s walking tours, talks, bus tours and programs are based on her original, primary source research.

All content under copyright.

Spring 2026 Walking Tours

features

St. Louis Hills & Grand Center

Walking Tours offered by NiNi Harris during May and June

These customized tours will have a

limited number of participants.

The tour will be offered multiple times during the month to allow keeping the groups small.

All the tours are based on NiNi Harris's

original research.

More dates for these tours will be added,

plus tours of other neighborhoods.

This is an ongoing, seasonal series.

For more information, starting places and to make reservations

Call: NiNi Harris

314-752-2304

Spring Walking Tours by Author/Historian

NiNi Harris

Books by NiNi Harris about St. Louis History and Architecture will be available for sale following each talk. Sale is by cash or check only.

May Walking Tour

St. Louis Hills Walking Tour featuring Art Deco Architecture

A walk exploring the unique development of the City's enchanting St. Louis Hills neighborhood – from the beginnings of Francis Park, its jewel-like centerpiece, through its charming Tudor Revival cottages, its distinctive Art Deco apartments.

Wednesday, May 27 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, May 30 10:30 a.m.

June Walking Tour

Grand Arts Center Tour

This new tour will highlight the evolution of the district from its origins as a gilded age residential neighborhood, to its development as an office center with movie houses, to its rebirth as an Arts District.

Many St. Louisans have attended concerts or theatre in this district. This tour, however, with provide an opportunity to look at the architectural character of this remarkable arts center.

Tuesday, June 9 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday, June 17 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, June 27 10:30 a.m.

To Be Scheduled for this spring

Lafayette Terrace Walking Tour

This extraordinary mix of turn-of-the-century houses – featuring classic St. Louis brickwork and stonework – mixed in with wildly contemporary houses creates a one-of-a-kind neighborhood. The story of the old, as well as the creation of the new, will be explored on this walking tour of this unique neighborhood linking Lafayette Square and Compton Heights.

Call 314-752-2304.

Talks

"19th Century Romances at Jefferson Barracks"

Sunday, July 12

NiNi Harris will present this program in

conjunction with the

Jefferson Barracks Bicentennial Symposium

Friday, July 10 through Saturday, July 12 at the

Missouri Civil War Museum

222 Worth Road

St. Louis, MO 63125

For more information call the museum at

314-845-1861

Harris’s books on St. Louis will be available for sale at the gift shop of the Missouri Civil War Museum following her presentations.

“The Camp Jackson Affair”

Sunday, September 19, time TBD

Missouri Civil War Museum

222 Worth Road

St. Louis, MO 63125

For more information call the museum at

314-845-1861

Book Signings

Saturday, June 6

11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Missouri Civil War Museum gift shop

222 Worth Road

St. Louis, MO 63125

in Jefferson Barracks Park

featured book

A Most Unsettled State: First Person Accounts of

St. Louis during the Civil War

Bus Tours

Autumn Bus Tours with NiNi Harris

These Bus Tours are sponsored by

Cornerstone Excite Experiences

For more information or to make reservations

call 314-287-5333

The Downtown You Don’t Know

Downtown St. Louis - its past, present and future - has been the focus of countless news stories. Yet few of them capture what truly makes Downtown remarkable: its stunning architecture, rich and layered history, artistic treasures, and its enduring importance to the entire region.

This immersive, day-long program begins with a visual journey through time, featuring historic photographs, artistic renderings, and vintage maps that bring Downtown’s past to life. Guests will then enjoy a classic St. Louis lunch in Excite/Cornerstone’s beautifully restored historic travel lounge.

In the afternoon, participants will explore several of Downtown’s hidden gems on a guided tour, experiencing firsthand the stories and spaces that define this iconic district.

The program is inspired by the research of NiNi Harris and her book Downtown St. Louis.

Wednesday, September (date to be determined)

St. Louisans: “You’re in the Army Now”

From frontier outposts to the battlefields of Europe, St. Louis has long been intertwined with the history of the U.S. Army. This day-long tour traces that shared story—from the city’s earliest military roots to the experiences of local soldiers who served in pivotal moments such as the Battle of the Bulge.

Offered during the week of Veterans Day, the program explores significant St. Louis sites connected to Army history, spanning from the Gateway Arch south to Jefferson Barracks.

Midday, guests will gather in the historic Excite/Cornerstone Travel Lounge for a special lunch inspired by Fred Harvey’s World War II–era menus, complementing the day’s journey through history.

(This tour is based on research NiNi Harris has done for her upcoming book on the History of Jefferson Barracks, to be released this fall.)

Thursday, November 12

Please

visit this site regularly for additional

dates and offerings.

**********

Additionally:

Sheila Harris

(who worked with her sister NiNi on many projects)

is well-known for her paintings and batiks of St. Louis architecture. Her acrylics and batiks were inspired by her travels in both this country and overseas.

Building entryways in places like Dublin are admired, immortalized on small cards and then sent through the post the world over, but the thresholds of our humble-yet-gorgeous city structures are barely noticed, as long as they allow us to move from one side of a wall to the other. To raise our local portal perception, St. Louis artist Sheila M. Harris has painted images of the doors of our historic homes, storefronts and factories, and she has put these watercolor works on display for all to enjoy. Harris’ Historic Doors of St. Louis was recently hanging at Washington Avenue Post

(1312 Washington Avenue).