The Olympic Rings at Francis Field

Those interlaced rings mark a spot that quietly made history. You are at Francis Olympic Field on the Washington University campus, and in the summer and fall of nineteen oh four it hosted the Third Olympiad, the first modern Olympic Games ever held in the Americas. They were folded into the giant Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the World's Fair unfolding right beside the stadium, and the field itself was one of the earliest big structures built of reinforced concrete.

It is also where the very first gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded for first, second, and third place, a custom that started right here. The nineteen oh four marathon was famously chaotic, run in brutal heat over dusty roads, with one runner finishing only after a long ride in a car. In two thousand eighteen the International Olympic Committee allowed these rings to be installed, honoring America's first Olympic city.