Columbia, MO

By Micah A Jacobson


I was born in the Memorial Baptist Hospital in Town and Country, Missouri (suburb of Saint Louis). We relocated to Columbia, Missouri when I was three. I have always lived in Columbia except for the short time away after high school. I graduated from the same high school as my mother. I also graduated from the University of Missouri, founded in 1839. It was the first public institution of education west of the Mississippi.

Columbia has about 100,000 people, plus the students from several schools in the city. The three major schools are the University of Missouri, Stephens College (where my mother graduated from) and Columbia College (where my wife graduated from). Stephens College is a private school that was formerly an all-girls school. Columbia College, started in Columbia, has campuses all over the country and is very expansive online college.


Faurot Field is the home of the Tigers football team. Like Carbondale, the university’s sports team is a central theme to many restaurants, stores, bars and parks. During a football game, Providence and Stadium, two of the major streets in Columbia, are almost in passable.

There are many local restaurants worth mentioning, one in particular is Shakespeare’s Pizza. If you are ever in Columbia make sure you eat at Shakespeare’s. They now have two locations, one near the mall and the other is the original downtown location. My wife and would go there at least once or twice or month, if not every week. Another local favorite is Sub Shop. Sub Shop makes the best hot subs you will ever eat. My wife and I like the ham and swiss with mayo. My mom and sister like the veggie, add bacon (weird right).

Columbia is big enough to have plenty to do without being to large of a city, though there have been many new expansions in the recent years. I have enjoyed living there and hope to return someday. It is a great city to raise a family. It is located directly in between Kansas City and Saint Louis on I-70.

In the pictures: 1-Jesse Hall. This is the academic hall seen here behind the columns of the original academic hall that burned down at MU. 2-Firestone Baars Chapel. Chapel at Stephens College designed by Eero Saarinen, who also designed the Saint Louis Arch. 3-The one and only Shakespeare’s Pizza-YUMM

References:
Jesse Hall:
http://korystubblefield.com/FullSize/MissouriColumns1.htm
Firestone Baars Chapel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/welchwrite/809035515/
Shakespeare’s Pizza:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/10thavenue/tags/shakespearespizza/