Charles A Lindbergh House/History Center

The famous aviator spent boyhood summers at this home on the Mississippi River. Visitors can enjoy its cozy kitchen, hear the whisper of pines from the porch where he slept, or walk by the river where he dreamed of flight. The house, which contains original furnishings and family possessions, was built in 1906. As a boy, he tinkered with all things mechanical in the basement. But his adolescent dreams of flight soon brought him a job flying the mail. In 1927, he disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean, alone in a single-engine plane before emerging safely in Paris. The visitor center is being remodeled and will open in 2002 with new interactive exhibits, an auditorium and gift shop. The Volkswagen Beetle that Lindbergh and his family drove 130,000 on four continents is being preserved and prepared for the new exhibit.