The Saturn Lounge

The Saturn Lounge is a cocktail bar and a listening lounge at the same time, which is a rarer thing in America than it ought to be and makes it one of the most distinctive rooms on Cherokee Street.

It is co-owned by Doug Morgan, long a fixture of St. Louis radio at KDHX, and the room is shaped by his record collection – something on the order of twenty thousand pieces of vinyl. Music here is played, chosen and listened to rather than piped in as background, which sets the pace of the whole place. Drinks are made for slow sipping; the room is small, with five booths in the front and ten stools at the bar, and a capacity of forty-nine. Nobody is being hurried through.

The building is an 1880s blacksmith’s shop, brought back over a gut rehabilitation that took two and a half years. It shows: exposed brick, considered lighting, vintage furniture and a mix of artwork that was clearly assembled rather than ordered. The result feels like a room that grew rather than one that was installed.

The Saturn Lounge stands at 1915 Cherokee Street, at the western end of Cherokee Antique Row. It is the sort of place to end an evening rather than start one, and worth a detour for anyone who cares what is on the turntable.