The Enterprise Center and the St. Louis Wheel at Union Station turned teal this week, part of a coordinated show of support for the millions of families touched by Alzheimer’s disease. The lighting marked Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, observed every November, and tied St. Louis into a campaign stretching far beyond Missouri’s borders.
A Citywide Show of Teal
Several St. Louis landmarks lit up in teal on Tuesday in honor of Alzheimer’s Awareness, according to First Alert 4, which named the Enterprise Center and the St. Louis Wheel among the sites that participated. The effort lines up with the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Light the World in Teal program, which the organization describes as an annual event held every November as part of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, per lighttheworldinteal.com. The foundation states that this year’s edition took place on November 2, 2026, and that teal itself is AFA’s designated Alzheimer’s awareness color.
First Alert 4 reported that the St. Louis Wheel lit up in teal on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. A separate Fox 2 Now report, published in 2025, said the James McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis Wheel were scheduled to glow teal on November 3, 2025, according to Fox 2 Now.
Part of a Global Campaign
St. Louis was far from alone in going teal. More than 1,750 sites worldwide were joining the November 2 campaign, according to a report from KELO, underscoring how the Light the World in Teal initiative has grown since it began. Fox 2 Now reports that the 2025 edition marked the 12th year of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s annual campaign, making the 2026 edition its 13th year. The campaign encourages landmarks, businesses, and individuals alike to light up or wear teal in solidarity with people affected by the disease.
The foundation’s own materials describe the goal simply: people and places around the world “go teal” to raise awareness and show support for the millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s, according to lighttheworldinteal.com. That mission has taken on added urgency as the disease’s reach continues to expand nationally.
The Scale of Alzheimer's in Missouri
Estimates of how many Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease vary slightly depending on the source. Fox 2 Now reported that nearly 7 million Americans, including 120,000 Missourians, are currently living with the disease, while KELO’s report put the national figure at more than 7 million Americans. Fox 2 Now also noted that the number of people with Alzheimer’s is projected to double by 2060, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those national trends carry real weight for Missouri families watching the disease’s toll grow closer to home. The lightings in St. Louis offered a visible, local marker of a challenge whose reach is projected to grow as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month continues through November.
