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Wikipedia

St. Louis

St. Louis (/snt ˈlɪs, sənt ˈlɪs/)[10] is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578,[8] while the bi-state metropolitan area, which extends into Illinois, had an estimated population of over 2.8 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second-largest in Illinois.

St. Louis, Missouri
Nickname(s): 
"Gateway to the West",[1] The Gateway City,[1] Mound City,[2] The Lou,[3] Rome of the West,[4] River City, The STL, Saint Lou
Interactive map of St. Louis
Coordinates: 38°37′38″N 90°11′52″W / 38.62722°N 90.19778°W / 38.62722; -90.19778Coordinates: 38°37′38″N 90°11′52″W / 38.62722°N 90.19778°W / 38.62722; -90.19778
Country United States
State Missouri
CSASt. Louis–St. Charles–Farmington, MO–IL
MetroSt. Louis, MO-IL
FoundedFebruary 14, 1764
Incorporated1822
Named forLouis IX of France
Government
 • TypeMayor–council
 • BodyBoard of Aldermen
 • MayorTishaura Jones (D)
 • President, Board of AldermenMegan Green (D)
 • TreasurerAdam Layne
 • ComptrollerDarlene Green (D)
 • Congressional representativeCori Bush (D)
Area
 • Independent city66.17 sq mi (171.39 km2)
 • Land61.72 sq mi (159.85 km2)
 • Water4.45 sq mi (11.53 km2)
 • Urban
910.4 sq mi (2,357.8 km2)
 • Metro
8,458 sq mi (21,910 km2)
Elevation466 ft (142 m)
Highest elevation614 ft (187 m)
Population
 • Independent city301,578
 • Estimate 
(2021)[9]
293,310
 • RankUS: 70th
Midwest: 13th
Missouri: 2nd
 • Density4,886.23/sq mi (1,886.59/km2)
 • Urban
2,156,323 (US: 22nd)
 • Urban density2,368.6/sq mi (914.5/km2)
 • Metro
2,809,299 (US: 21st)
 • CSA
2,914,230 (US: 20th)
DemonymSt. Louisan
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes
List
Area code314/557
FIPS code29-65000
Websitestlouis-mo.gov

Before European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. St. Louis was founded on February 14, 1764, by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent,[11] Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, who named it for Louis IX of France. In 1764, following France's defeat in the Seven Years' War, the area was ceded to Spain. In 1800, it was retroceded to France, which sold it three years later to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase;[12] the city was then the point of embarkation for the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In the 19th century, St. Louis became a major port on the Mississippi River; from 1870 until the 1920 census, it was the fourth-largest city in the country. It separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics.

A global city with a metropolitan GDP of more than $160 billion in 2017,[13] metropolitan St. Louis has a diverse economy with strengths in the service, manufacturing, trade, transportation, and tourism industries. It is home to eight Fortune 500 companies. Major companies headquartered or with significant operations in the city include Ameren Corporation, Peabody Energy, Nestlé Purina PetCare, Anheuser-Busch, Wells Fargo Advisors, Stifel Financial, Spire, Inc., MilliporeSigma, FleishmanHillard, Square, Inc., Anthem BlueCross and Blue Shield, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Centene Corporation, and Express Scripts.

Major research universities include Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis. The Washington University Medical Center in the Central West End neighborhood hosts an agglomeration of medical and pharmaceutical institutions, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

St. Louis has four professional sports teams: the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer, anticipated to begin play in 2023, and the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. Among the city's notable sights is the 630-foot (192 m) Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis, the St. Louis Zoo, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum.[14][15][16]

History

Mississippian culture and European exploration

Historical affiliations

  Kingdom of France 1690s–1763
  Kingdom of Spain 1763–1800
  French First Republic 1800–1803
  United States 1803–present

The area that would become St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture, which built numerous temple and residential earthwork mounds on both sides of the Mississippi River. Their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 to 1500. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the "Mound City". These mounds were mostly demolished during the city's development. Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, and the Illiniwek.

European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of Louisiana.

 
The home of Auguste Chouteau in St. Louis. Chouteau and Pierre Laclède founded St. Louis in 1764.

The earliest European settlements in the area were built in the Illinois Country (also known as Upper Louisiana) on the east side of the Mississippi River during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Fort de Chartres. Migrants from the French villages on the opposite side of the Mississippi River (e.g. Kaskaskia) founded Ste. Genevieve in the 1730s.

In 1764, after France lost the Seven Years' War, Pierre Laclède and his stepson Auguste Chouteau founded what was to become the city of St. Louis.[17] (French lands east of the Mississippi had been ceded to Great Britain and the lands west of the Mississippi to Spain; France and Spain were 18th-century allies. Louis XV of France and Charles III of Spain were cousins, both from the House of Bourbon.[18][circular reference]) The French families built the city's economy on the fur trade with the Osage, as well as with more distant tribes along the Missouri River. The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe. French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city.

France, alarmed that Britain would demand French possessions west of the Mississippi and the Missouri River basin after losing New France to them in 1759–1760, transferred these to Spain as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. These areas remained in Spanish possession until 1803. In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, in the Battle of St. Louis.[19]

City founding

The founding of St. Louis was preceded by a trading business between Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent and Pierre Laclède (Liguest) in the fall of 1763. St. Maxent invested in a Mississippi River expedition led by Laclède, who searched for a location to base the company's fur trading operations. Though Ste. Genevieve was already established as a trading center, he sought a place less prone to flooding. He found an elevated area overlooking the flood plain of the Mississippi River, not far south from its confluence with the Missouri and Illinois rivers. In addition to having an advantageous natural drainage system, there were nearby forested areas to supply timber and grasslands which could easily be converted for agricultural purposes. This place, declared Laclède, “might become, hereafter, one of the finest cities in America.” He dispatched his 14-year-old stepson, Auguste Chouteau, to the site, with the support of 30 settlers in February 1764.[20]

Laclède arrived at the future town site two months later and produced a plan for St. Louis based on the New Orleans street plan. The default block size was 240 by 300 feet, with just three long avenues running parallel to the west bank of the Mississippi. He established a public corridor of 300 feet fronting the river, but later this area was released for private development.[20]

 
In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, in the Battle of St. Louis.

For the first few years of St. Louis's existence, the city was not recognized by any of the governments. Although the settlement was thought to be under the control of the Spanish government, no one asserted any authority over it, and thus St. Louis had no local government. This vacuum led Laclède to assume civil control, and all problems were disposed in public settings, such as communal meetings. In addition, Laclède granted new settlers lots in town and the surrounding countryside. In hindsight, many of these original settlers thought of these first few years as "the golden age of St. Louis".[21]

By 1765, the city began receiving visits from representatives of the English, French, and Spanish governments. The Indians in the area expressed dissatisfaction at being under the control of British forces. One of the great Ottawa chieftains, Pontiac, was angered by the change of power and the potential for the British to come into their lands. He desired to fight against them but many of the St. Louis inhabitants refused.

St. Louis was transferred to the French First Republic in 1800 (although all of the colonial lands continued to be administered by Spanish officials), then sold by the French to the U.S. in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. St. Louis became the capital of, and gateway to, the new territory. Shortly after the official transfer of authority was made, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. The expedition departed from St. Louis in May 1804 along the Missouri River to explore the vast territory. There were hopes of finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean, but the party had to go overland in the Upper West. They reached the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River in summer 1805. They returned, reaching St. Louis on September 23, 1806. Both Lewis and Clark lived in St. Louis after the expedition. Many other explorers, settlers, and trappers (such as Ashley's Hundred) would later take a similar route to the West.

19th century

 
White men pose, 104 Locust Street, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1852 at Lynch's slave market.

The city elected its first municipal legislators (called trustees) in 1808. Steamboats first arrived in St. Louis in 1817, improving connections with New Orleans and eastern markets. Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821. St. Louis was incorporated as a city in 1822, and continued to develop largely due to its busy port and trade connections.

 
City of St. Louis and Riverfront, 1874
 
South Broadway after a May 27, 1896, tornado

Immigrants from Ireland and Germany arrived in St. Louis in significant numbers starting in the 1840s, and the population of St. Louis grew from less than 20,000 inhabitants in 1840, to 77,860 in 1850, to more than 160,000 by 1860. By the mid-1800s, St. Louis had a greater population than New Orleans.

Settled by many Southerners in a slave state, the city was split in political sympathies and became polarized during the American Civil War. In 1861, 28 civilians were killed in a clash with Union troops. The war hurt St. Louis economically, due to the Union blockade of river traffic to the south on the Mississippi River. The St. Louis Arsenal constructed ironclads for the Union Navy.

Slaves worked in many jobs on the waterfront as well as on the riverboats. Given the city's location close to the free state of Illinois and others, some slaves escaped to freedom. Others, especially women with children, sued in court in freedom suits, and several prominent local attorneys aided slaves in these suits. About half the slaves achieved freedom in hundreds of suits before the American Civil War. The printing press of abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was destroyed for the third time by townsfolk. He was murdered the next year in nearby Alton, Illinois.

After the war, St. Louis profited via trade with the West, aided by the 1874 completion of the Eads Bridge, named for its design engineer. Industrial developments on both banks of the river were linked by the bridge, the second in the Midwest over the Mississippi River after the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis. The bridge connects St. Louis, Missouri to East St. Louis, Illinois. The Eads Bridge became a symbolic image of the city of St. Louis, from the time of its erection until 1965 when the Gateway Arch Bridge was constructed. The bridge crosses the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch, to the south. Today the road deck has been restored, allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross the river. The St. Louis MetroLink light rail system has used the rail deck since 1993. An estimated 8,500 vehicles pass through it daily.

On August 22, 1876, the city of St. Louis voted to secede from St. Louis County and become an independent city, and, following a recount of the votes in November, officially did so in March 1877.[22] Industrial production continued to increase during the late 19th century. Major corporations such as the Anheuser-Busch brewery, Ralston Purina company and Desloge Consolidated Lead Company were established at St. Louis which was also home to several brass era automobile companies, including the Success Automobile Manufacturing Company;[23] St. Louis is the site of the Wainwright Building, a skyscraper designed in 1892 by architect Louis Sullivan.

20th century

 
The Government Building at the 1904 World's Fair

In 1904, the city hosted the World's Fair and the Olympics, becoming the first non-European city to host the games.[24] Permanent facilities and structures remaining from the fair are located in Forest Park, and other notable structures within the park's boundaries include the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Zoo and the Missouri History Museum, as well as Tower Grove Park and the Botanical Gardens.

After the Civil War, social and racial discrimination in housing and employment were common in St. Louis. In 1916, during the Jim Crow Era, St. Louis passed a residential segregation ordinance[25] saying that if 75% of the residents of a neighborhood were of a certain race, no one from a different race was allowed to move in.[26] That ordinance was struck down in a court challenge, by the NAACP,[27] after which racial covenants were used to prevent the sale of houses in certain neighborhoods to "persons not of Caucasian race".[clarification needed] Again, St. Louisans offered a lawsuit in challenge, and such covenants were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948 in Shelley v. Kraemer.[28]

In 1926, Douglass University, a historically black university was founded by B. F. Bowles in St. Louis, and at the time no other college in St. Louis County admitted black students.[29]

In the first half of the 20th century, St. Louis was a destination in the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South seeking better opportunities. During World War II, the NAACP campaigned to integrate war factories. In 1964, civil rights activists protested at the construction of the Gateway Arch to publicize their effort to gain entry for African Americans into the skilled trade unions, where they were underrepresented. The Department of Justice filed the first suit against the unions under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Between 1900 and 1929, St. Louis, had about 220 automakers, close to 10 percent of all American carmakers, about half of which built cars exclusively in St. Louis. Notable names include Dorris, Gardner and Moon.[30]

In the first part of the century, St. Louis had some of the worst air pollution in the United States. In April 1940, the city banned the use of soft coal mined in nearby states. The city hired inspectors to ensure that only anthracite was burned. By 1946, the city had reduced air pollution by about 75%.[31]

 
View of the Arch (completed 1965) from Laclede's Landing, the remaining section of St. Louis's commercial riverfront

De jure educational segregation continued into the 1950s, and de facto segregation continued into the 1970s, leading to a court challenge and interdistrict desegregation agreement. Students have been bused mostly from the city to county school districts to have opportunities for integrated classes, although the city has created magnet schools to attract students.[32]

St. Louis, like many Midwestern cities, expanded in the early 20th century due to industrialization, which provided jobs to new generations of immigrants and migrants from the South. It reached its peak population of 856,796 at the 1950 census.[33] Suburbanization from the 1950s through the 1990s dramatically reduced the city's population, as did restructuring of industry and loss of jobs. The effects of suburbanization were exacerbated by the small geographical size of St. Louis due to its earlier decision to become an independent city, and it lost much of its tax base. During the 19th and 20th century, most major cities aggressively annexed surrounding areas as residential development occurred away from the central city; however, St. Louis was unable to do so.

Several urban renewal projects were built in the 1950s, as the city worked to replace old and substandard housing. Some of these were poorly designed and resulted in problems. One prominent example, Pruitt–Igoe, became a symbol of failure in public housing, and was torn down less than two decades after it was built.

Since the 1980s, several revitalization efforts have focused on Downtown St. Louis.

21st century

Urban revitalization continued in the new century. Gentrification has taken place in the Washington Avenue Historic District, Central West End and Forest Park Southeast neighborhoods.[34] This helped St. Louis win the World Leadership Award for urban renewal in 2006.[35] In 2017 the US Census Bureau estimated that St. Louis had a population of 308,826, down from 319,371 in 2010.

In the 21st century, the city of St. Louis contains 11% of the total metropolitan population. (The top 20 U.S. metro areas have an average of 24% of their populations in their central cities.) St. Louis grew slightly during the early 2000s, but lost population from 2000 to 2010. Immigration has continued, with the city attracting Vietnamese, Latin Americans predominantly from Mexico, and Bosnians, who make up the largest Bosnian community outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Geography

Cityscape

 
Westward view of St. Louis, September 2008

Landmarks

Name Description Photo
Gateway Arch At 630 feet (190 m), the Gateway Arch is the world's tallest arch and tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere.[36] Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, it is the centerpiece of Gateway Arch National Park which was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018.  
St. Louis Art Museum Built for the 1904 World's Fair, with a building designed by Cass Gilbert, the museum houses paintings, sculptures, and cultural objects. The museum is located in Forest Park, and admission is free.  
Missouri Botanical Garden Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical institutions in the United States and a National Historic Landmark. It spans 79 acres in the Shaw neighborhood, including a 14-acre (5.7 ha) Japanese garden and the Climatron geodesic dome conservatory.  
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis Dedicated in 1914, it is the mother church of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the seat of its archbishop. The church is known for its large mosaic installation (which is one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere with 41.5 million pieces), burial crypts, and its outdoor sculpture.  
City Hall Located in Downtown West, City Hall was designed by Harvey Ellis in 1892 in the Renaissance Revival style. It is reminiscent of the Hôtel de Ville, Paris.  
Central Library Completed in 1912, the Central Library building was designed by Cass Gilbert. It serves as the main location for the St. Louis Public Library.  
City Museum City Museum is a play house museum, consisting largely of repurposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building in the Washington Avenue Loft District.  
Old Courthouse Built in the 19th century, it served as a federal and state courthouse. The Scott v. Sandford case (resulting in the Dred Scott decision) was tried at the courthouse in 1846.  
St. Louis Science Center Founded in 1963, it includes a science museum and a planetarium, and is situated in Forest Park. Admission is free. It is one of two science centers in the United States which offers free general admission.  
St. Louis Symphony Founded in 1880, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, preceded by the New York Philharmonic. Its principal concert venue is Powell Symphony Hall.  
Union Station Built in 1888, it was the city's main passenger intercity train terminal. Once the world's largest and busiest train station, it was converted in the 1980s into a hotel, shopping center, and entertainment complex. Today, it also continues to serve local rail (MetroLink) transit passengers, with Amtrak service nearby. On December 25, 2019, the St. Louis Aquarium opened inside Union Station. The St. Louis Wheel, a 200 ft 42 gondola ferris wheel, is also located at Union Station.  
St. Louis Zoo Built for the 1904 World's Fair, it is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education. It is located in Forest Park, and admission is free.  

Architecture

 
Wainwright Building (1891), an important early skyscraper designed by Louis Sullivan
 
Many houses in Lafayette Square are built with a blending of Greek Revival, Federal and Italianate styles.

The architecture of St. Louis exhibits a variety of commercial, residential, and monumental architecture. St. Louis is known for the Gateway Arch, the tallest monument constructed in the United States at 630 feet (190 m).[37] The Arch pays homage to Thomas Jefferson and St. Louis's position as the gateway to the West. Architectural influences reflected in the area include French Colonial, German, early American, and modern architectural styles.

Some notable post-modern commercial skyscrapers were built downtown in the 1970s and 1980s, including the One US Bank Plaza (1976), the AT&T Center (1986), and One Metropolitan Square (1989), which is the tallest building in St. Louis. One US Bank Plaza, the local headquarters for US Bancorp, was constructed for the Mercantile Bancorporation in the Structural expressionist style, emphasizing the steel structure of the building.

During the 1990s, St. Louis saw the construction of the largest United States courthouse by area, the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse (completed in 2000). The Eagleton Courthouse is home to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The most recent high-rise buildings in St. Louis include two residential towers: the Park East Tower in the Central West End and the Roberts Tower located downtown.

Several examples of religious structures are extant from the pre-Civil War period, and most reflect the common residential styles of the time. Among the earliest is the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France ( referred to as the Old Cathedral). The Basilica was built between 1831 and 1834 in the Federal style. Other religious buildings from the period include SS. Cyril and Methodius Church (1857) in the Romanesque Revival style and Christ Church Cathedral (completed in 1867, designed in 1859) in the Gothic Revival style.

A few civic buildings were constructed during the early 19th century. The original St. Louis courthouse was built in 1826 and featured a Federal style stone facade with a rounded portico. However, this courthouse was replaced during renovation and expansion of the building in the 1850s. The Old St. Louis County Courthouse (known as the Old Courthouse) was completed in 1864 and was notable for having a cast iron dome and for being the tallest structure in Missouri until 1894. Finally, a customs house was constructed in the Greek Revival style in 1852, but was demolished and replaced in 1873 by the U.S. Customhouse and Post Office.

Because much of the city's commercial and industrial development was centered along the riverfront, many pre-Civil War buildings were demolished during construction of the Gateway Arch. The city's remaining architectural heritage of the era includes a multi-block district of cobblestone streets and brick and cast-iron warehouses called Laclede's Landing. Now popular for its restaurants and nightclubs, the district is located north of Gateway Arch along the riverfront. Other industrial buildings from the era include some portions of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, which date to the 1860s.

St. Louis saw a vast expansion in variety and number of religious buildings during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The largest and most ornate of these is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, designed by Thomas P. Barnett and constructed between 1907 and 1914 in the Neo-Byzantine style. The St. Louis Cathedral, as it is known, has one of the largest mosaic collections in the world. Another landmark in religious architecture of St. Louis is the St. Stanislaus Kostka, which is an example of the Polish Cathedral style. Among the other major designs of the period were St. Alphonsus Liguori (known as The Rock Church) (1867) in the Gothic Revival and Second Presbyterian Church of St. Louis (1900) in Richardsonian Romanesque.

By the 1900 census, St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the country. In 1904, the city hosted a world's fair at Forest Park called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Its architectural legacy is somewhat scattered. Among the fair-related cultural institutions in the park are the St. Louis Art Museum designed by Cass Gilbert, part of the remaining lagoon at the foot of Art Hill, and the Flight Cage at the St. Louis Zoo. The Missouri History Museum was built afterward, with the profit from the fair. But 1904 left other assets to the city, like Theodore Link's 1894 St. Louis Union Station, and an improved Forest Park.

Neighborhoods

 
French style houses in Lafayette Square
 
The Delmar Loop is a neighborhood close to Washington University, on the border of the city and St. Louis County.

The city is divided into 79 government-designated neighborhoods.[38] The neighborhood divisions have no legal standing, although some neighborhood associations administer grants or hold veto power over historic-district development.

Several neighborhoods are lumped together in categories such as "North City", "South City", and "The Central West End".

Topography

 
Rivers in the St. Louis area

According to the United States Census Bureau, St. Louis has a total area of 66 square miles (170 km2), of which 62 square miles (160 km2) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km2) (6.2%) is water.[39] The city is built on bluffs and terraces that rise 100–200 feet above the western banks of the Mississippi River, in the Midwestern United States just south of the Missouri-Mississippi confluence. Much of the area is a fertile and gently rolling prairie that features low hills and broad, shallow valleys. Both the Mississippi River and the Missouri River have cut large valleys with wide flood plains.

Limestone and dolomite of the Mississippian epoch underlie the area, and parts of the city are karst in nature. This is particularly true of the area south of downtown, which has numerous sinkholes and caves. Most of the caves in the city have been sealed, but many springs are visible along the riverfront. Coal, brick clay, and millerite ore were once mined in the city. The predominant surface rock, known as St. Louis limestone, is used as dimension stone and rubble for construction.

Near the southern boundary of the city of St. Louis (separating it from St. Louis County) is the River des Peres, practically the only river or stream within the city limits that is not entirely underground.[40] Most of River des Peres was confined to a channel or put underground in the 1920s and early 1930s. The lower section of the river was the site of some of the worst flooding of the Great Flood of 1993.

The city's eastern boundary is the Mississippi River, which separates Missouri from Illinois. The Missouri River forms the northern line of St. Louis County, except for a few areas where the river has changed its course. The Meramec River forms most of its southern line.

Climate

 
The Captains' Return statue inundated by the Mississippi River, 2010.

The urban area of St. Louis has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa); however, its metropolitan region even to the south may present a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa), which shows the effect of the urban heat island in the city. The city experiences hot, humid summers and chilly to cold winters. It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. The average annual temperature recorded at nearby Lambert–St. Louis International Airport, is 57.4 °F (14.1 °C). 100 and 0 °F (38 and −18 °C) temperatures can be seen on an average 3 and 1 days per year, respectively. Precipitation averages 41.70 inches (1,100 mm), but has ranged from 20.59 in (523 mm) in 1953 to 61.24 in (1,555 mm) in 2015. The highest recorded temperature in St. Louis was 115 °F (46 °C) on July 14, 1954, and the lowest was −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 5, 1884.

St. Louis experiences thunderstorms 48 days a year on average.[41] Especially in the spring, these storms can often be severe, with high winds, large hail and tornadoes. Lying within the hotbed of Tornado Alley, St. Louis is one of the most frequently tornado-struck metropolitan areas in the U.S. and has an extensive history of damaging tornadoes. Severe flooding, such as the Great Flood of 1993, may occur in spring and summer; the (often rapid) melting of thick snow cover upstream on the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers can contribute to springtime flooding.

Climate data for St. Louis, Missouri (Lambert–St. Louis Int'l), 1991−2020 normals,[a] extremes 1874−present[b]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 77
(25)
85
(29)
92
(33)
93
(34)
98
(37)
108
(42)
115
(46)
110
(43)
104
(40)
94
(34)
86
(30)
76
(24)
115
(46)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 64.7
(18.2)
71.0
(21.7)
79.4
(26.3)
86.4
(30.2)
90.4
(32.4)
95.5
(35.3)
99.2
(37.3)
99.1
(37.3)
92.4
(33.6)
87.0
(30.6)
75.5
(24.2)
66.9
(19.4)
100.7
(38.2)
Average high °F (°C) 40.4
(4.7)
45.8
(7.7)
56.6
(13.7)
68.0
(20.0)
77.1
(25.1)
85.9
(29.9)
89.6
(32.0)
88.3
(31.3)
81.1
(27.3)
69.2
(20.7)
55.5
(13.1)
44.5
(6.9)
66.8
(19.3)
Daily mean °F (°C) 32.1
(0.1)
36.7
(2.6)
46.6
(8.1)
57.5
(14.2)
67.5
(19.7)
76.5
(24.7)
80.4
(26.9)
78.8
(26.0)
71.0
(21.7)
59.1
(15.1)
46.5
(8.1)
36.5
(2.5)
57.4
(14.1)
Average low °F (°C) 23.8
(−4.6)
27.6
(−2.4)
36.7
(2.6)
47.0
(8.3)
57.9
(14.4)
67.2
(19.6)
71.1
(21.7)
69.3
(20.7)
60.9
(16.1)
49.1
(9.5)
37.4
(3.0)
28.5
(−1.9)
48.0
(8.9)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 4.4
(−15.3)
9.6
(−12.4)
17.8
(−7.9)
32.2
(0.1)
43.5
(6.4)
55.5
(13.1)
61.4
(16.3)
60.1
(15.6)
47.1
(8.4)
33.6
(0.9)
22.0
(−5.6)
11.0
(−11.7)
1.2
(−17.1)
Record low °F (°C) −22
(−30)
−18
(−28)
−5
(−21)
20
(−7)
31
(−1)
43
(6)
51
(11)
47
(8)
32
(0)
21
(−6)
1
(−17)
−16
(−27)
−22
(−30)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.59
(66)
2.23
(57)
3.50
(89)
4.73
(120)
4.82
(122)
4.49
(114)
3.93
(100)
3.38
(86)
2.96
(75)
3.15
(80)
3.42
(87)
2.50
(64)
41.70
(1,059)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 5.7
(14)
4.3
(11)
2.3
(5.8)
0.2
(0.51)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.9
(2.3)
3.2
(8.1)
16.6
(42)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 9.3 8.7 10.8 11.5 12.6 9.8 8.9 8.4 7.3 8.5 9.0 9.0 113.8
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 4.7 3.9 1.7 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 3.2 14.5
Average relative humidity (%) 73.0 72.0 68.3 63.5 66.5 67.1 68.0 70.0 71.6 68.7 72.2 75.8 69.7
Average dew point °F (°C) 20.1
(−6.6)
24.1
(−4.4)
33.1
(0.6)
42.3
(5.7)
52.9
(11.6)
62.1
(16.7)
66.6
(19.2)
65.1
(18.4)
58.6
(14.8)
46.0
(7.8)
36.0
(2.2)
25.5
(−3.6)
44.4
(6.9)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 161.2 158.3 198.3 223.5 266.5 291.9 308.9 269.8 236.1 208.4 140.9 129.9 2,593.7
Percent possible sunshine 53 53 53 56 60 66 68 64 63 60 47 44 58
Source: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961−1990)[43][44][45]

Flora and fauna

 

Before the founding of the city, the area was mostly prairie and open forest. Native Americans maintained this environment, good for hunting, by burning underbrush. Trees are mainly oak, maple, and hickory, similar to the forests of the nearby Ozarks; common understory trees include eastern redbud, serviceberry, and flowering dogwood. Riparian areas are forested with mainly American sycamore.

Most of the residential areas of the city are planted with large native shade trees. The largest native forest area is found in Forest Park. In autumn, the changing color of the trees is notable. Most species here are typical of the eastern woodland, although numerous decorative non-native species are found. The most notable invasive species is Japanese honeysuckle, which officials are trying to manage because of its damage to native trees. It is removed from some parks.

Large mammals found in the city include urbanized coyotes and white-tailed deer. Eastern gray squirrel, cottontail rabbit, and other rodents are abundant, as well as the nocturnal Virginia opossum. Large bird species are abundant in parks and include Canada goose, mallard duck, as well as shorebirds, including the great egret and great blue heron. Gulls are common along the Mississippi River; these species follow barge traffic.

Winter populations of bald eagles are found along the Mississippi River around the Chain of Rocks Bridge. The city is on the Mississippi Flyway, used by migrating birds, and has a large variety of small bird species, common to the eastern US. The Eurasian tree sparrow, an introduced species, is limited in North America to the counties surrounding St. Louis. The city has special sites for birdwatching of migratory species, including Tower Grove Park.

Frogs are found in the springtime, especially after extensive wet periods. Common species include the American toad and species of chorus frogs called spring peepers, which are found in nearly every pond. Some years have outbreaks of cicadas or ladybugs. Mosquitoes, no-see-ums, and houseflies are common insect nuisances, especially in July and August; because of this, windows are almost always fitted with screens. Invasive populations of honeybees have declined in recent years. Numerous native species of pollinator insects have recovered to fill their ecological niche, and armadillos are seen throughout the St. Louis area.[46]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
18101,600
18304,977
184016,469230.9%
185077,860372.8%
1860160,773106.5%
1870310,86493.4%
1880350,51812.8%
1890451,77028.9%
1900575,23827.3%
1910687,02919.4%
1920772,89712.5%
1930821,9606.3%
1940816,048−0.7%
1950856,7965.0%
1960750,026−12.5%
1970622,236−17.0%
1980453,805−27.1%
1990396,685−12.6%
2000348,189−12.2%
2010319,294−8.3%
2020301,578−5.5%
2021 (est.)293,310[9]−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[47]
2020 Census[8]
 
Map of racial distribution in St. Louis, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people:  White  Black  Asian  Hispanic  Other
 
Pruitt–Igoe was a large housing project constructed in 1954, which became infamous for poverty, crime and segregation. It was demolished in 1972.

St. Louis grew slowly until the American Civil War, when industrialization and immigration sparked a boom. Mid-19th century immigrants included many Irish and Germans; later there were immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. In the early 20th century, African American and white migrants came from the South; the former as part of the Great Migration out of rural areas of the Deep South. Many came from Mississippi and Arkansas.

After years of immigration, migration, and expansion, the city reached its peak population in 1950. That year, the Census Bureau reported St. Louis's population as 82% White and 17.9% African American.[48] After World War II, St. Louis began losing population to the suburbs, first because of increased demand for new housing, unhappiness with city services, ease of commuting by highways, and later, white flight.[49] St. Louis's population decline has resulted in a significant increase of abandoned residential housing units and vacant lots throughout the city proper; this blight has attracted much wildlife (such as deer and coyotes) to the many abandoned overgrown lots.

St. Louis has lost 64.0% of its population since the 1950 United States census, the highest percent of any city that had a population of 100,000 or more at the time of the 1950 Census. Detroit, Michigan, and Youngstown, Ohio, are the only other cities that have had population declines of at least 60% in the same time frame. The population of the city of St. Louis has been in decline since the 1950 census; during this period the population of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, which includes more than one county, has grown every year and continues to do so. A big factor in the decline has been the rapid increase in suburbanization.

According to the 2010 United States census, St. Louis had 319,294 people living in 142,057 households, of which 67,488 households were families. The population density was 5,158.2 people per square mile (1,990.6/km2). About 24% of the population was 19 or younger, 9% were 20 to 24, 31% were 25 to 44, 25% were 45 to 64, and 11% were 65 or older. The median age was about 34 years.

The African-American population is concentrated in the north side of the city (the area north of Delmar Boulevard is 94.0% black, compared with 35.0% in the central corridor and 26.0% in the south side of St. Louis[50]). Among the Asian-American population in the city, the largest ethnic group is Vietnamese (0.9%), followed by Chinese (0.6%) and Indians (0.5%). The Vietnamese community has concentrated in the Dutchtown neighborhood of south St. Louis; Chinese are concentrated in the Central West End.[51] People of Mexican descent are the largest Latino group, and make up 2.2% of St. Louis's population. They have the highest concentration in the Dutchtown, Benton Park West (Cherokee Street), and Gravois Park neighborhoods.[52] People of Italian descent are concentrated in The Hill.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $29,156, and the median income for a family was $32,585. Males had a median income of $31,106; females, $26,987. Per capita income was $18,108.

Some 19% of the city's housing units were vacant, and slightly less than half of these were vacant structures not for sale or rent.

In 2010, St. Louis's per-capita rates of online charitable donations and volunteerism were among the highest among major U.S. cities.[53]

As of 2010, 91.05% (270,934) of St. Louis city residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 2.86% (8,516) spoke Spanish, 0.91% (2,713) Serbo-Croatian, 0.74% (2,200) Vietnamese, 0.50% (1,495) African languages, 0.50% (1,481) Chinese, and French was spoken as a main language by 0.45% (1,341) of the population over the age of five. In total, 8.95% (26,628) of St. Louis's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.[54]

Racial composition 2020[55] 2010[56] 2000[57] 1990[48] 1970[48] 1940[48]
White 43.9% 43.9% 43.9% 50.9% 58.7% 86.6%
—Non-Hispanic 42.9% 42.2% 43.0%[58] 50.2% 57.9%[59] 86.4%
Black 43.0% 49.2% 51.2% 47.5% 40.9% 13.3%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 5.1% 3.5% 2.0% 1.3% 1.0%[59] 0.2%
Asian 4.1% 2.9% 2.0% 0.9% 0.2% (X)

Bosnian population

About fifteen families from Bosnia settled in St. Louis between 1960 and 1970. After the Bosnian War started in 1992, more Bosnian refugees began arriving and by 2000, tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees settled in St. Louis with the help of Catholic aid societies. Many of them were professionals and skilled workers who had to take any job opportunity to be able to support their families. Most Bosnian refugees are Muslim, ethnically Bosniaks (87%); they have settled primarily in south St. Louis[60] and South County. Bosnian-Americans are well integrated into the city, developing many businesses and ethnic/cultural organizations.[61]

An estimated 70,000 Bosnians live in the metro area, the largest population of Bosnians in the United States and the largest Bosnian population outside their homeland. The highest concentration of Bosnians is in the neighborhood of Bevo Mill and in Affton, Mehlville, and Oakville of south St. Louis County.[62]

Crime

Since 2014 the city of St. Louis has had, as of April 2017, the highest murder rate, per capita, in the United States,[63] with 188 homicides in 2015 (59.3 homicides per 100,000)[64][65] and ranks No. 13 of the most dangerous cities in the world by homicide rate. Detroit, Flint, Memphis, Birmingham, and Baltimore have higher overall violent crime rates than St. Louis, when comparing other crimes such as rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.[64][66] Despite these high crime rates relative to other American cities, St. Louis index crime rates have declined almost every year since the peak in 1993 (16,648), to the 2014 level of 7,931 (which is the sum of violent crimes and property crimes) per 100,000. In 2015, the index crime rate reversed the 2005–2014 decline to a level of 8,204. Between 2005 and 2014, violent crime has declined by 20%, although rates of violent crime remains 6 times higher than the United States national average and property crime in the city remains 2 12 times the national average.[67] St. Louis has a higher homicide rate than the rest of the U.S. for both whites and blacks and a higher proportion committed by males. As of October 2016, 7 of the homicide suspects were white, 95 black, 0 Hispanic, 0 Asian and 1 female out of the 102 suspects. In 2016, St. Louis was the most dangerous city in the United States with populations of 100,000 or more, ranking 1st in violent crime and 2nd in property crime. It was also ranked 6th of the most dangerous of all establishments in the United States, and East St. Louis, a suburb of the city itself, was ranked 1st.[68][69] The St. Louis Police Department at the end of 2016 reported a total of 188 murders for the year, the same number of homicides that had occurred in the city in 2015.[70] According to the STLP At the end of 2017, St. Louis had 205 murders but the city recorded only 159 inside St. Louis city limits.[71][72] The new Chief of Police, John Hayden said two-thirds (67%) of all the murders and one-half of all the assaults are concentrated in a triangular area in the North part of the city.[71]

Yet another factor when comparing the murder rates of St. Louis and other cities is the manner of drawing municipal boundaries. While many other municipalities have annexed many suburbs, St. Louis has not annexed as much suburban area as most American cities. According to the 2018 Census, the St. Louis metro area included about 3 million residents and the city included about 300,000 residents. Therefore, the city contains about ten percent of the metro population, a low ratio indicating that the municipal boundaries include only a small part of the metro population.[73]

Economy

The gross domestic product of the St. Louis metro area was $160 billion in 2016, up from $155 billion the previous year. The gross metropolitan product of Greater St. Louis was $146 billion in 2014, the 21st-highest in the country, up from $144 billion in 2013, $138.4 billion in 2012, and $133.1 billion in 2011. The St. Louis metropolitan area had a per-capita GDP of $48,738 in 2014, up 1.6% from the previous year.[74] In 2007, manufacturing in the city conducted nearly $11 billion in business, followed by the health care and social service industry with $3.5 billion; professional or technical services with $3.1 billion; and the retail trade with $2.5 billion. The health care sector was the area's biggest employer with 34,000 workers, followed by administrative and support jobs, 24,000; manufacturing, 21,000, and food service, 20,000.[75]

Major companies and institutions

 
The Anheuser-Busch packaging plant in St. Louis

As of 2022, the St. Louis Metropolitan Area is home to seven Fortune 500 companies. They include Centene, Emerson Electric, Reinsurance Group of America, Edward Jones, Olin, Graybar Electric, and Ameren.[76]

Other notable corporations headquartered in the region include Arch Coal, Bunge Limited, Wells Fargo Advisors (formerly A.G. Edwards), Energizer Holdings, Patriot Coal, Post Foods, United Van Lines, and Mayflower Transit, Post Holdings, Olin, Enterprise Holdings (a parent company of several car rental companies). Notable corporations with operations in St. Louis include Cassidy Turley, Kerry Group, Mastercard, TD Ameritrade, BMO Harris Bank, and World Wide Technology.

Health care and biotechnology institutions with operations in St. Louis include Pfizer, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Solae Company, Sigma-Aldrich, and Multidata Systems International. General Motors manufactures automobiles in Wentzville, while an earlier plant, known as the St. Louis Truck Assembly, built GMC automobiles from 1920 until 1987. Chrysler closed its St. Louis Assembly production facility in nearby Fenton, Missouri and Ford closed the St. Louis Assembly Plant in Hazelwood.

Several once-independent pillars of the local economy have been purchased by other corporations. Among them are Anheuser-Busch, purchased by Belgium-based InBev; Missouri Pacific Railroad, which was headquartered in St. Louis, merged with the Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific Railroad in 1982;[77] McDonnell Douglas, whose operations are now part of Boeing Defense, Space & Security;[78] Trans World Airlines, which was headquartered in the city for its last decade of existence, prior to being acquired by American Airlines; Mallinckrodt, purchased by Tyco International; and Ralston Purina, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Nestlé.[79] The May Department Stores Company (which owned Famous-Barr and Marshall Field's stores) was purchased by Federated Department Stores, which has its regional headquarters in the area. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in downtown is one of two federal reserve banks in Missouri.[80] Most of the assets of Furniture Brands International were sold to Heritage Home Group in 2013, which moved to North Carolina.[81][82]

St. Louis is a center of medicine and biotechnology.[83] The Washington University School of Medicine is affiliated with Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the fifth largest hospital in the world. Both institutions operate the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center.[84] The School of Medicine also is affiliated with St. Louis Children's Hospital, one of the country's top pediatric hospitals.[85] Both hospitals are owned by BJC HealthCare. The McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University played a major role in the Human Genome Project.[86] Saint Louis University Medical School is affiliated with SSM Health's Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and Saint Louis University Hospital. It also has a cancer center, vaccine research center, geriatric center, and a bioethics institute. Several different organizations operate hospitals in the area, including BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health Care, and Tenet.

Cortex Innovation Community in Midtown neighborhood is the largest innovation hub in the midwest. Cortex is home to offices of Square, Microsoft, Aon, Boeing, and Centene. Cortex has generated 3,800 tech jobs in 14 years. Once built out, projections are for it to make $2 billion in development and create 13,000 jobs for the region.[87][88]

Boeing employs nearly 15,000 people in its north St. Louis campus, headquarters to its defense unit. In 2013, the company said it would move about 600 jobs from Seattle, where labor costs have risen, to a new IT center in St. Louis.[89][90] Other companies, such as LaunchCode and LockerDome, think the city could become the next major tech hub.[91] Programs such as Arch Grants are attracting new startups to the region.[92]

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, the top employers in the St. Louis metropolitan area as of 1 May 2017, are:[93]

# Employer # of Employees
1 BJC Health Care 28,351
2 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 22,290
3 Washington University 15,818
4 SSM Health 14,926
5 Mercy 14,195

According to St. Louis's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (June 30),[94][95][96] the top employers in the city only are (representing 78,706 people, or 19.57% of the city's total employment of 402,000):

# Employer # of Employees
1 Washington University 18,407
2 Barnes Jewish Hospital 15,309
3 Saint Louis University 8,980
4 City of St. Louis 7,212
5 Defense Finance and Accounting Service 5,997
6 Wells Fargo (A. G. Edwards) 5,629
8 US Postal Service 4,647
7 St. Louis Board of Education 4,276
9 STL Children’s Hospital 4,266
10 SSM SLUH 3,983

Arts and culture

With its French past and waves of Catholic immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, from Ireland, Germany and Italy, St. Louis is a major center of Roman Catholicism in the United States. St. Louis also boasts the largest Ethical Culture Society in the United States and is one of the most generous cities in the United States, ranking ninth in 2013.[97] Several places of worship in the city are noteworthy, such as the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, home of the world's largest mosaic installation.[98]

Other notable churches include the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the oldest church in St. Louis; the St. Louis Abbey, whose distinctive architectural style garnered multiple awards at the time of its completion in 1962; and St. Francis de Sales Oratory, a neo-Gothic church completed in 1908 in South St. Louis and the second largest church in the city.

The city is identified with music and the performing arts, especially its association with blues, jazz, and ragtime. St. Louis is home to the St. Louis Symphony, the second oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. Until 2010, it was also home to KFUO-FM, one of the oldest classical music FM radio stations west of the Mississippi River.[99] Opera Theatre of St. Louis has been called "one of America's best summer festivals" by the Washington Post. Former general director Timothy O'Leary was known for drawing the community into discussions of challenging operas. John Adams's "The Death of Klinghoffer", which touched off protests and controversy when performed by the Metropolitan Opera in 2014, had no such problems in St. Louis three years before, because the company fostered a citywide discussion, with interfaith dialogues addressing the tough issues of terrorism, religion and the nature of evil that the opera brings up. St. Louis's Jewish Community Relations Council gave O'Leary an award. Under O'Leary, the company — always known for innovative work — gave second chances to other major American operas, such as John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles", presented in 2009 in a smaller-scale version.[100]

The Gateway Arch anchors downtown St. Louis and a historic center that includes: the Federal courthouse where the Dred Scott case was first argued, an expanded public library, major churches and businesses, and retail. An increasing downtown residential population has taken to adapted office buildings and other historic structures. In nearby University City is the Delmar Loop, ranked by the American Planning Association as a "great American street" for its variety of shops and restaurants, and the Tivoli Theater, all within walking distance.

Unique city and regional cuisine reflecting various immigrant groups include toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, provel cheese, the slinger, the Gerber sandwich, and the St. Paul sandwich. Some St. Louis chefs have begun emphasizing use of local produce, meats and fish, and neighborhood farmers' markets have become more popular. Artisan bakeries, salumeria, and chocolatiers also operate in the city.

St. Louis-style pizza has thin crust, provel cheese, and is cut in small squares.[101] Frozen-custard purveyor Ted Drewes offers its "Concrete": frozen custard blended with any combination of dozens of ingredients into a mixture so thick that a spoon inserted into the custard does not fall if the cup is inverted.[102]

Sports

St. Louis is home to the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League. In 2019, it became the ninth North American city to have won titles in all four major leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) when the Blues won the Stanley Cup championship. It also has notable and collegiate-level soccer teams and is one of three American cities to have hosted an Olympic Games.

A third major team, the St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer, is slated to begin play in 2023.

Professional sports

Pro teams in the St. Louis area include:

 
Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball.[103] The Cardinals have won 19 National League (NL) titles (the most pennants for the league franchise in one city) and 11 World Series titles (second to the New York Yankees and the most by any NL franchise), recently in 2011.[104] They play at Busch Stadium. Previously, the St. Louis Browns played in the American League (AL) from 1902 to 1953, before moving to Baltimore, Maryland to become the current incarnation of the Orioles. The 1944 World Series was an all-St. Louis World Series, matching up the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park, won by the Cardinals in six games. It was the third and final time that the teams shared a home field. St. Louis also was home to the St. Louis Stars (baseball), also known as the St. Louis Giants from 1906 to 1921, who played in the Negro league baseball from 1920 to 1931 and won championships in 1928, 1930, and 1931, and the St. Louis Maroons who played in both the Union Association in 1884 and the National League from 1885 to 1889. In 1884, The St. Louis Maroons won the Union Association pennant and started the season with 20 straight wins, a feat that wasn't surpassed by any major professional sports team in America until the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors season when they started their NBA season with 24 straight wins.

 
The Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis

The St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL) play at the Enterprise Center. They were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion. The Blues went to the Stanley Cup finals in their first three years, but got swept every time. Although they were the first 1967 expansion team to make the Stanley Cup Finals, they were also the last of the 1967 expansion teams to win the Stanley Cup. They finally won their first Stanley Cup in 2019 after beating the Boston Bruins in the final. This championship made St. Louis the eighth city to win a championship in each of the four major U.S. sports. Prior to the Blues, the city was home to the St. Louis Eagles. The team played in the 1934–35 season.

St. Louis has been home to four National Football League (NFL) teams. The St. Louis All-Stars played in the city in 1923, the St. Louis Gunners in 1934, the St. Louis Cardinals from 1960 to 1987, and the St. Louis Rams from 1995 to 2015. The football Cardinals advanced to the NFL playoffs three times (1974, 1975 and 1982), never hosting or winning in any appearance. The Cardinals moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988. The Rams played at the Edward Jones Dome from 1995 to 2015 and won Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. They also went to Super Bowl XXXVI but lost to the New England Patriots. The Rams then returned to Los Angeles in 2016.

The St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) played at Kiel Auditorium from 1955 to 1968. They won the NBA championship in 1958 and played in three other NBA Finals: 1957, 1960, and 1961. In 1968 the Hawks moved to Atlanta. St. Louis was also the home to the St. Louis Bombers of the Basketball Association of America from 1946 to 1949 and the National Basketball Association from 1949 to 1950 and the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association from 1974 to 1976 when the ABA and NBA merged.

Major League Soccer's St. Louis City SC are planned to begin play in 2023 at a proposed soccer-specific stadium.

The St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL began play in 2020, using The Dome at America's Center as their home field.

St. Louis hosts several minor league sports teams. The Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League play in the area. The St. Louis Trotters of the Independent Basketball Association play at Matthews Dickey. Saint Louis FC soccer team in the USL Championship play at World Wide Technology Soccer Park and the St. Louis Ambush indoor soccer team plays at the Family Arena. The region hosts INDYCAR, NHRA drag racing, and NASCAR events at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Illinois. St. Louis Slam play at the Harlen C. Hunter Stadium

Amateur sports

St. Louis has hosted the Final Four of both the women's and men's college basketball NCAA Division I championship tournaments, and the Frozen Four collegiate ice hockey tournament. Saint Louis University has won 10 NCAA men's soccer championships, and the city has hosted the College Cup several times. In addition to collegiate soccer, many St. Louisans have played for the United States men's national soccer team, and 20 St. Louisans have been elected into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. St. Louis also is the origin of the sport of corkball, a type of baseball in which there is no base running.

Although the area does not have a National Basketball Association team, it hosts the St. Louis Phoenix, an American Basketball Association team.

Club Atletico Saint Louis, a semi-professional soccer team, competes within the National Premier Soccer League and plays out of St. Louis University High School Soccer Stadium.

Chess

 
The Sinquefield Cup chess tournament is hosted annually in St. Louis

St. Louis is home to the Saint Louis Chess Club where the U.S. Chess Championship is held. St. Louisan Rex Sinquefield founded the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis (which was renamed as St. Louis Chess Club later) and moved the World Chess Hall of Fame to St. Louis in 2011. The Sinquefield Cup Tournament started at St. Louis in 2013. In 2014 the Sinquefield Cup was the highest-rated chess tournament of all time. Former U.S. Chess Champions Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura have lived in St. Louis. Former women's chess champion Susan Polgar also resides in St. Louis.

Parks and recreation

 
Forest Park features a variety of attractions, including the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, and the St. Louis Science Center.

The city operates more than 100 parks, with amenities that include sports facilities, playgrounds, concert areas, picnic areas, and lakes. Forest Park, located on the western edge of city, is the largest, occupying 1,400 acres of land, making it almost twice as large as Central Park in New York City.[37] The park is home to five major institutions, including the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Science Center, the Missouri History Museum, and the Muny amphitheatre.[37] Another significant park in the city is Gateway Arch National Park, which was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018 and is located on the riverfront in downtown St. Louis. The centerpiece of the park is the 630-foot (192 m) tall Gateway Arch, a National Memorial designed by noted architect Eero Saarinen and completed on October 28, 1965. Also part of the historic park is the Old Courthouse, where the first two trials of Dred Scott v. Sandford were held in 1847 and 1850.

 
The Jewel Box, a greenhouse and event venue in Forest Park

Other notable parks in the city include the Missouri Botanical Garden, Tower Grove Park, Carondelet Park and Citygarden. The Missouri Botanical Garden, a private garden and botanical research facility, is a National Historic Landmark and one of the oldest botanical gardens in the United States.[37] The Garden features 79 acres of horticultural displays from around the world. This includes a Japanese strolling garden, Henry Shaw's original 1850 estate home and a geodesic dome called the Climatron.[37] Immediately south of the Missouri Botanical Garden is Tower Grove Park, a gift to the city by Henry Shaw. Citygarden is an urban sculpture park located in downtown St. Louis, with art from Fernand Léger, Aristide Maillol, Julian Opie, Tom Otterness, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Mark di Suvero.[105][106] The park is divided into three sections, each of which represent a different theme: river bluffs; flood plains; and urban gardens. Another downtown sculpture park is the Serra Sculpture Park, with the 1982 Richard Serra sculpture Twain.[107]

Government

St. Louis is one of the 41 independent cities in the U.S. that does not legally belong to any county.[108] St. Louis has a strong mayor–council government with legislative authority and oversight vested in the Board of Aldermen and with executive authority in the mayor and six other elected officials.[109] The Board of Aldermen is made up of 28 members (one elected from each of the city's wards) plus a board president who is elected citywide.[110] The 2014 fiscal year budget topped $1 billion for the first time, a 1.9% increase over the $985.2 million budget in 2013.[111] 238,253 registered voters lived in the city in 2012,[112] down from 239,247 in 2010, and 257,442 in 2008.[113]

Structure

Citywide office[114][115] Elected Official
Mayor of St. Louis Tishaura Jones
President of the Board of Aldermen Megan Green
City Comptroller Darlene Green
Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler
Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly
License Collector Mavis T. Thompson
Treasurer Adam Layne
Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner
City of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts
 
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones in 2017

The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city and is responsible for appointing city department heads including; the director of public safety, the director of streets & traffic, the director of health, the director of human services, the director of the airport, the director of parks & recreation, the director of workforce development, the director of the Community Development Agency, the director of economic development, the director of public utilities, the director of the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency, the register, and the assessor, among other department-level or senior administrative positions. The President of the Board of Aldermen is the second highest-ranking official in the city. The President is the presiding officer of the Board of Aldermen which is the legislative branch of government of the city.

Municipal elections in St. Louis are held in odd-numbered years, with the primary elections in March and the general election in April. The mayor is elected in odd-numbered years following the United States presidential election, as are the aldermen representing odd-numbered wards. The president of the board of aldermen and the aldermen from even-numbered wards are elected in the off-years. The Democratic Party has dominated St. Louis city politics for decades. The city has not had a Republican mayor since 1949, and the last time a Republican was elected to another citywide office was in the 1970s. As of 2015, all 28 of the city's aldermen are Democrats.[116]

Forty-seven individuals have held the office of mayor of St. Louis, four of whom—William Carr Lane, John Fletcher Darby, John Wimer, and John How—served non-consecutive terms. The most terms served by a mayor was by Lane, who served 8 full terms plus the unexpired term of Darby. The current mayor is Tishaura Jones, who took office April 20, 2021, and is the first African-American woman to hold the post. She succeeded Lyda Krewson, the first female mayor of the city, who retired in 2021 after serving for four years. The longest-serving mayor was Francis Slay, who took office April 17, 2001, and left office April 18, 2017, a total of 16 years and six days over four terms in office. The shortest-serving mayor was Arthur Barret, who died 11 days after taking office.

Although St. Louis separated from St. Louis County in 1876, some mechanisms have been put in place for joint funding management and funding of regional assets. The St. Louis Zoo-Museum district collects property taxes from residents of both St. Louis City and County, and the funds are used to support cultural institutions including the St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Similarly, the Metropolitan Sewer District provides sanitary and storm sewer service to the city and much of St. Louis County. The Bi-State Development Agency (now known as Metro) runs the region's MetroLink light rail system and bus system.

St. Louis City Sheriff’s Department
 
AbbreviationSTL-SO
MottoProfessionalism, Honesty, Integrity, and Courage
Agency overview
Formed1876
Employees216
Annual budgetUS$ 9,690,784 [FY 2021][117]
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdictionSt. Louis, Missouri
Governing body22nd Judicial Circuit
Operational structure
HeadquartersCivil Courts Building, 10 N Tucker Blvd 8th Floor, St. Louis, MO 63101
Deputies165
Agency executive
  • Vernon Betts (D), Sheriff
Parent agencyBoard of Aldermen's Committee on Public Safety, 22nd Judicial Circuit
Divisions
5
  • Civil Process Information
  • Court Information
  • Land Tax Sales
  • Conceal and Carry Firearm Permit
  • Sheriff's Office Events
  • Eviction Procedures and Policy
  • Courtroom Security
Facilities
Justice CentersSt Louis City Justice Center, 200 S. Tucker Blvd, St. Louis, Missouri
Marked and UnmarkedsFord Transport Vans, Chevrolet Transport Vans, Ford Police Interceptor
Planes0

The City of St. Louis Sheriff's Office (STLSO or STLCSO) primarily provides security services for the courtrooms, as well as serving court documents and issuing gun carry permits. However, in 2022 they gained the ability to make arrests and traffic stops.[118]

State and federal government

United States presidential election results for St. Louis, Missouri[119]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 21,474 15.98% 110,089 81.93% 2,809 2.09%
2016 20,832 15.72% 104,235 78.68% 7,420 5.60%
2012 22,943 15.93% 118,780 82.45% 2,343 1.63%
2008 24,662 15.50% 132,925 83.55% 1,517 0.95%
2004 27,793 19.22% 116,133 80.29% 712 0.49%
2000 24,799 19.88% 96,557 77.40% 3,396 2.72%
1996 22,121 18.13% 91,233 74.78% 8,649 7.09%
1992 25,441 17.26% 102,356 69.44% 19,607 13.30%
1988 40,906 26.96% 110,076 72.55% 732 0.48%
1984 61,020 35.20% 112,318 64.80% 0 0.00%
1980 50,333 29.48% 113,697 66.59% 6,721 3.94%
1976 58,367 32.47% 118,703 66.03% 2,714 1.51%
1972 72,402 37.67% 119,817 62.33% 0 0.00%
1968 58,252 26.37% 143,010 64.74% 19,652 8.90%
1964 59,604 22.28% 207,958 77.72% 0 0.00%
1960 101,331 33.37% 202,319 66.63% 0 0.00%
1956 130,045 39.14% 202,210 60.86% 0 0.00%
1952 144,828 38.00% 235,893 61.89% 427 0.11%
1948 120,656 35.10% 220,654 64.19% 2,460 0.72%
1944 134,411 39.54% 204,687 60.22% 821 0.24%
1940 168,165 41.79% 233,338 57.98% 948 0.24%
1936 127,887 32.23% 260,063 65.54% 8,880 2.24%
1932 123,448 34.57% 226,338 63.38% 7,319 2.05%
1928 161,701 47.67% 176,428 52.01% 1,065 0.31%
1924 139,433 52.70% 95,888 36.24% 29,276 11.06%
1920 163,280 57.77% 106,047 37.52% 13,325 4.71%
1916 83,798 51.72% 74,059 45.71% 4,175 2.58%
1912 46,509 33.14% 58,845 41.93% 34,973 24.92%
1908 74,160 52.76% 60,917 43.34% 5,473 3.89%
1904 57,547 49.70% 51,858 44.79% 6,387 5.52%
1900 60,597 48.64% 59,931 48.11% 4,046 3.25%
1896 65,708 56.16% 50,091 42.81% 1,197 1.02%
1892 35,528 49.94% 34,669 48.73% 942 1.32%
1888 33,656 53.40% 27,401 43.48% 1,969 3.12%

St. Louis is split between 11 districts in the Missouri House of Representatives: all of the 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, and 84th, and parts of the 66th, 83rd, and 93rd, which are shared with St. Louis County.[120] The 5th Missouri Senate district is entirely within the city, while the 4th is shared with St. Louis County.[120]

At the federal level, St. Louis is the heart of Missouri's 1st congressional district, which also includes part of northern St. Louis County.[120] A Republican has not represented a significant portion of St. Louis in the U.S. House since 1953. Correspondingly, despite voting Republican prior to 1928 in presidential elections, from then on the city has become a Democratic stronghold at the presidential level. George H. W. Bush in 1988 was the most recent Republican to win even a quarter of the city's votes in a presidential election.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri are based in the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. St. Louis is also home to a Federal Reserve System branch, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) also maintains major facilities in the St. Louis area.[121]

The Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC-MPR) located at 9700 Page Avenue in St. Louis, is a branch of the National Personnel Records Center and is the repository of over 56 million military personnel records and medical records pertaining to retired, discharged, and deceased veterans of the U.S. armed forces.[122]

Education

Colleges and universities

The city is home to three national research universities, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University, as classified under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been ranked among the top 10 medical schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report for as long as the list has been published, and as high as second, in 2003 and 2004. U.S. News & World Report also ranks the undergraduate school and other graduate schools, such as the Washington University School of Law, in the top 20 in the nation.[37][123]

St. Louis Metropolitan Region is home to St. Louis Community College. It is also home to several other 4-year colleges & universities, including Harris–Stowe State University, a historically black public university, Fontbonne University, Webster University, Missouri Baptist University, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (the former Saint Louis College of Pharmacy), Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE), and Lindenwood University.

In addition to Catholic theological institutions such as Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and Aquinas Institute of Theology sponsored by the Order of Preachers, St. Louis is home to three Protestant seminaries: Eden Theological Seminary of the United Church of Christ, Covenant Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America, and Concordia Seminary of the St. Louis-based Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.

Primary and secondary schools

 
St. Louis University High School was founded in 1818. Their current building pictured here was built in 1924.

The St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), which covers the entire city,[124] operate more than 75 schools, attended by more than 25,000 students, including several magnet schools. SLPS operates under provisional accreditation from the state of Missouri and is under the governance of a state-appointed school board called the Special Administrative Board, although a local board continues to exist without legal authority over the district. Since 2000, charter schools have operated in the city of St. Louis using authorization from Missouri state law. These schools are sponsored by local institutions or corporations and take in students from kindergarten through high school.[125] In addition, several private schools exist in the city, and the Archdiocese of St. Louis operates dozens of parochial schools in the city, including parochial high schools. The city also has several private high schools, including secular, Montessori, Catholic and Lutheran schools. St. Louis University High School – a Jesuit preparatory high school founded in 1818 – is the oldest secondary educational institution in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River.[126] The state-operated K-12 boarding school Missouri School for the Blind is in St. Louis.

Media

 
The former St. Louis Post-Dispatch building in downtown St. Louis

Greater St. Louis commands the 19th-largest media market in the United States, a position roughly unchanged for over a decade.[127] All of the major U.S. television networks have affiliates in St. Louis, including KTVI 2 (Fox), KMOV 4 (CBS), KSDK 5 (NBC), KETC 9 (PBS), KPLR-TV 11 (The CW), KDNL 30 (ABC), WRBU 46 (Ion), and WPXS 51 Daystar Television Network. Among the area's most popular radio stations are KMOX (AM sports and talk, notable as the longtime flagship station for St. Louis Cardinals broadcasts), KLOU (FM oldies), WIL-FM (FM country), WARH (FM adult hits), and KSLZ (FM Top 40 mainstream).[128] St. Louis also supports public radio's KWMU, an NPR affiliate, and community radio's KDHX. All-sports stations, such as KFNS 590 AM "The Fan" and WXOS "101.1 ESPN" are also popular.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the region's major newspaper. Others in the region include the Suburban Journals, which serve parts of St. Louis County, while the primary alternative newspaper is the Riverfront Times. Three weeklies serve the African-American community: the St. Louis Argus, the St. Louis American, and the St. Louis Sentinel. St. Louis Magazine, a monthly magazine, covers topics such as local history, cuisine, and lifestyles, while the weekly St. Louis Business Journal provides coverage of regional business news. St. Louis was served by an online newspaper, the St. Louis Beacon, but that publication merged with KWMU in 2013.[129]

Many books and movies have been written about St. Louis. A few of the most influential and prominent films are Meet Me in St. Louis and American Flyers,[130] and novels include The Killing Dance, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Runaway Soul, The Rose of Old St. Louis, and Circus of the Damned.

As St. Louis was a prime location for immigrants to move to, much of the early social work depicting immigrant life was based on St. Louis, such as in the book The Immigrant in St. Louis.

Transportation

 
Interstate 64 crossing the Mississippi in Downtown St. Louis

Road, rail, ship, and air transportation modes connect the city with surrounding communities in Greater St. Louis, national transportation networks, and international locations. St. Louis also supports a public transportation network that includes bus and light rail service.

Roads and highways

Four interstate highways connect the city to a larger regional highway system. Interstate 70, an east–west highway, runs from the northwest corner of the city to downtown St. Louis. The north–south Interstate 55 enters the city at the south near the Carondelet neighborhood and runs toward the center of the city, and both Interstate 64 and Interstate 44 enter the city on the west, running parallel to the east. Two of the four interstates (Interstates 55 and 64) merge south of Gateway Arch National Park and leave the city on the Poplar Street Bridge into Illinois, while Interstate 44 terminates at Interstate 70 at its new interchange near N Broadway and Cass Ave. A small portion of the Interstate 270 outer belt freeway runs through the northern end of the city.

The 563-mile Avenue of the Saints links St. Louis with St. Paul, Minnesota.

Major roadways include the north–south Memorial Drive, located on the western edge of Gateway Arch National Park and parallel to Interstate 70, the north–south streets of Grand Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue, both of which run the length of the city, and Gravois Road, which runs from the southeastern portion of the city to downtown and used to be signed as U.S. Route 66. An east-west roadway that connects the city with surrounding communities is Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, which carries traffic from the western edge of the city to downtown.

Metro Light Rail and Subway

 
St. Louis MetroLink Red Line train leaving St. Louis Union Station
 
University City-Big Bend Subway Station along the Blue Line, near Washington University.
 

The St. Louis metro area is served by MetroLink (known as Metro) and is the 11th-largest light rail system in the country with 46 mi (74 km) of double track light rail. The Red Line and The Blue Line both serve all the stations in the inner city, and branch to different destinations beyond in the suburban areas. Both lines enter the city north of Forest Park on the western edge of the city or on the Eads Bridge in downtown St. Louis to Illinois. All of the system track is in independent right of way, with both surface level and underground subway track in the city. All stations are independent entry, while all platforms are flush-level with trains. Rail service is provided by the Bi-State Development Agency (also known as Metro), which is funded by a sales taxes levied in the city and other counties in the region.[131] The Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center acts as the hub station in the city of St. Louis, linking the city's light rail system, local bus system, passenger rail service, and national bus service. It is located just east of the historic grand St. Louis Union Station.

Airports

 
Control tower and main terminal at St. Louis Lambert

St. Louis is served by two passenger airports. St. Louis Lambert International Airport, owned and operated by the City of St. Louis, is 11 miles northwest of downtown along highway I-70 between I-170 and I-270 in St. Louis County. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state. In 2016, when the airport had more than 255 daily departures to about 90 domestic and international locations, it served more than 15 million passengers.[132] The airport serves as a focus hub city for Southwest Airlines; it was once a hub for Trans World Airlines and a focus-city for American Airlines and AmericanConnection.[132] The airport has two terminals with a total of five concourses. International flights and passengers use Terminal 2, whose lower level holds the Immigration and Customs gates. Passengers can move between the terminals on complimentary buses that run continuously, or via MetroLink for a fee. It was possible to walk between the terminals until Concourse D was closed in 2008.[133]

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is the secondary passenger airport serving the metropolitan area. Located 17 miles east of the city downtown core, the airport serves domestic passengers. Air cargo transportation is available at Lambert International and at other nearby regional airports, including MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Spirit of St. Louis Airport, and St. Louis Downtown Airport.

Port authority

River transportation is available through the Port of St. Louis, which is 19.3 miles of riverbank on the Mississippi River that handles more than 32 million tons of freight annually. The Port is the second largest inland port by trip-ton miles, and the third largest by tonnage in the United States, with more than 100 docks for barges and 16 public terminals on the river.[134] The Port Authority added two new small fire and rescue craft in 2012 and 2013.

Railroad service

 
An eastbound Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis freight train passing under the Hampton Avenue viaduct.

Inter-city rail passenger train service in the city is provided by Amtrak at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center downtown. Amtrak trains terminating in the city include the Lincoln Service to Chicago and the Missouri River Runner to Kansas City, Missouri. St. Louis is an intermediate stop on the Texas Eagle route which provides long-distance passenger service between Chicago, San Antonio, and three days a week, to Los Angeles.[135]

St. Louis is the nation's third largest freight rail hub, moving Missouri exports such as fertilizer, gravel, crushed stone, prepared foodstuffs, fats, oils, nonmetallic mineral products, grain, alcohol, tobacco products, automobiles, and automobile parts.[136] Freight rail service in St. Louis is provided on tracks owned by Union Pacific Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway, Foster Townsend Rail Logistics – formerly Manufacturers Railway (St. Louis), Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, Affton Trucking,[137] and the BNSF Railway.

The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (reporting mark: TRRA) is a switching and terminal railroad jointly owned by all the major rail carriers in St. Louis. The company operates 30 diesel-electric locomotives to move railcars around the classification yards, deliver railcars to local industries, and ready trains for departure.[138] The TRRA processes and dispatches a significant portion of railroad traffic moving through the city and owns and operates a network of rail bridges and tunnels including the MacArthur Bridge (St. Louis) and the Merchants Bridge.[139] This infrastructure is also used by inter-city rail and long-distance passenger trains serving St. Louis.

Bus service

 
Bus passing under the St. Louis Science Center walkway

Local bus service in the city of St. Louis is provided by the Bi-State Development Agency via MetroBus, with more than 75 routes connecting to MetroLink light rail transit and stops in the city and region. The city is also served by Madison County Transit, which connects downtown St. Louis to Madison County, Illinois. National bus service in the city is offered by Greyhound Lines, Burlington Trailways and Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach, with a station at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center, and Megabus, with a stop at St. Louis Union Station.

Taxi

Taxicab service in the city is provided by private companies regulated by the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission. Rates vary by vehicle type, size, passengers and distance, and by regulation all taxicab fares must be calculated using a taximeter and be payable in cash or credit card.[140] Solicitation by a driver is prohibited, although a taxicab may be hailed on the street or at a stand.

Notable people

Sister cities

St. Louis has 16 sister cities.[141]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
  2. ^ Official records for St. Louis were kept at the Weather Bureau Office from January 1874 to December 1892, Eads Bridge from January 1893 to December 1929, and at Lambert–St. Louis Int'l since January 1930.[42]

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Further reading

  • Henry W. Berger, St. Louis and Empire: 250 Years of Imperial Quest and Urban Crisis. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2015.
  • Carl J. Ekberg and Sharon K. Person, St. Louis Rising: The French Regime of Louis St. Ange de Bellerive. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2015.
  • Gordon, Colin. Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. ISBN 9780812220940

External links

  • Official website
  • Historic maps of St. Louis in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri

louis, this, article, about, missouri, city, other, uses, saint, louis, disambiguation, second, largest, city, missouri, united, states, sits, near, confluence, mississippi, missouri, rivers, 2020, city, proper, population, while, state, metropolitan, area, wh. This article is about the Missouri city For other uses see Saint Louis disambiguation St Louis s eɪ n t ˈ l uː ɪ s s en t ˈ l uː ɪ s 10 is the second largest city in Missouri United States It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers In 2020 the city proper had a population of 301 578 8 while the bi state metropolitan area which extends into Illinois had an estimated population of over 2 8 million making it the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second largest in Illinois St Louis MissouriIndependent cityDowntown St LouisFlagSealLogoNickname s Gateway to the West 1 The Gateway City 1 Mound City 2 The Lou 3 Rome of the West 4 River City The STL Saint LouInteractive map of St LouisCoordinates 38 37 38 N 90 11 52 W 38 62722 N 90 19778 W 38 62722 90 19778 Coordinates 38 37 38 N 90 11 52 W 38 62722 N 90 19778 W 38 62722 90 19778Country United StatesState MissouriCSASt Louis St Charles Farmington MO ILMetroSt Louis MO ILFoundedFebruary 14 1764Incorporated1822Named forLouis IX of FranceGovernment TypeMayor council BodyBoard of Aldermen MayorTishaura Jones D President Board of AldermenMegan Green D TreasurerAdam Layne ComptrollerDarlene Green D Congressional representativeCori Bush D Area 5 Independent city66 17 sq mi 171 39 km2 Land61 72 sq mi 159 85 km2 Water4 45 sq mi 11 53 km2 Urban910 4 sq mi 2 357 8 km2 Metro8 458 sq mi 21 910 km2 Elevation 6 466 ft 142 m Highest elevation 7 614 ft 187 m Population 2020 8 Independent city301 578 Estimate 2021 9 293 310 RankUS 70thMidwest 13thMissouri 2nd Density4 886 23 sq mi 1 886 59 km2 Urban2 156 323 US 22nd Urban density2 368 6 sq mi 914 5 km2 Metro2 809 299 US 21st CSA2 914 230 US 20th DemonymSt LouisanTime zoneUTC 6 CST Summer DST UTC 5 CDT ZIP CodesList 63101 6314163143 6314763150 6315163155 631586316063163 6316463166 63167631696317163177 631806318263188631906319563197 63199Area code314 557FIPS code29 65000Websitestlouis mo wbr govBefore European settlement the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture St Louis was founded on February 14 1764 by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St Maxent 11 Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau who named it for Louis IX of France In 1764 following France s defeat in the Seven Years War the area was ceded to Spain In 1800 it was retroceded to France which sold it three years later to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase 12 the city was then the point of embarkation for the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark Expedition In the 19th century St Louis became a major port on the Mississippi River from 1870 until the 1920 census it was the fourth largest city in the country It separated from St Louis County in 1877 becoming an independent city and limiting its political boundaries In 1904 it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics A global city with a metropolitan GDP of more than 160 billion in 2017 13 metropolitan St Louis has a diverse economy with strengths in the service manufacturing trade transportation and tourism industries It is home to eight Fortune 500 companies Major companies headquartered or with significant operations in the city include Ameren Corporation Peabody Energy Nestle Purina PetCare Anheuser Busch Wells Fargo Advisors Stifel Financial Spire Inc MilliporeSigma FleishmanHillard Square Inc Anthem BlueCross and Blue Shield Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis U S Department of Agriculture National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Centene Corporation and Express Scripts Major research universities include Saint Louis University and Washington University in St Louis The Washington University Medical Center in the Central West End neighborhood hosts an agglomeration of medical and pharmaceutical institutions including Barnes Jewish Hospital St Louis has four professional sports teams the St Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball the St Louis Blues of the National Hockey League St Louis City SC of Major League Soccer anticipated to begin play in 2023 and the St Louis BattleHawks of the XFL Among the city s notable sights is the 630 foot 192 m Gateway Arch in Downtown St Louis the St Louis Zoo the Missouri Botanical Garden the Saint Louis Art Museum and Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum 14 15 16 Contents 1 History 1 1 Mississippian culture and European exploration 1 2 City founding 1 3 19th century 1 4 20th century 1 5 21st century 2 Geography 2 1 Cityscape 2 2 Landmarks 2 3 Architecture 2 4 Neighborhoods 2 5 Topography 2 6 Climate 2 7 Flora and fauna 3 Demographics 3 1 Bosnian population 3 2 Crime 4 Economy 4 1 Major companies and institutions 5 Arts and culture 6 Sports 6 1 Professional sports 6 2 Amateur sports 6 3 Chess 7 Parks and recreation 8 Government 8 1 Structure 8 2 State and federal government 9 Education 9 1 Colleges and universities 9 2 Primary and secondary schools 10 Media 11 Transportation 11 1 Roads and highways 11 2 Metro Light Rail and Subway 11 3 Airports 11 4 Port authority 11 5 Railroad service 11 6 Bus service 11 7 Taxi 12 Notable people 13 Sister cities 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 Further reading 18 External linksHistoryMain article History of St Louis For a chronological guide see Timeline of St Louis Mississippian culture and European exploration Main article History of St Louis before 1762 Historical affiliations Kingdom of France 1690s 1763 Kingdom of Spain 1763 1800 French First Republic 1800 1803 United States 1803 present The area that would become St Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture which built numerous temple and residential earthwork mounds on both sides of the Mississippi River Their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds active from 900 to 1500 Due to numerous major earthworks within St Louis boundaries the city was nicknamed as the Mound City These mounds were mostly demolished during the city s development Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan speaking Osage people whose territory extended west and the Illiniwek European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673 when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley Five years later La Salle claimed the region for France as part of Louisiana The home of Auguste Chouteau in St Louis Chouteau and Pierre Laclede founded St Louis in 1764 The earliest European settlements in the area were built in the Illinois Country also known as Upper Louisiana on the east side of the Mississippi River during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia Kaskaskia and Fort de Chartres Migrants from the French villages on the opposite side of the Mississippi River e g Kaskaskia founded Ste Genevieve in the 1730s In 1764 after France lost the Seven Years War Pierre Laclede and his stepson Auguste Chouteau founded what was to become the city of St Louis 17 French lands east of the Mississippi had been ceded to Great Britain and the lands west of the Mississippi to Spain France and Spain were 18th century allies Louis XV of France and Charles III of Spain were cousins both from the House of Bourbon 18 circular reference The French families built the city s economy on the fur trade with the Osage as well as with more distant tribes along the Missouri River The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city France alarmed that Britain would demand French possessions west of the Mississippi and the Missouri River basin after losing New France to them in 1759 1760 transferred these to Spain as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain These areas remained in Spanish possession until 1803 In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War St Louis was attacked by British forces mostly Native American allies in the Battle of St Louis 19 City founding Main article History of St Louis 1763 1803 The founding of St Louis was preceded by a trading business between Gilbert Antoine de St Maxent and Pierre Laclede Liguest in the fall of 1763 St Maxent invested in a Mississippi River expedition led by Laclede who searched for a location to base the company s fur trading operations Though Ste Genevieve was already established as a trading center he sought a place less prone to flooding He found an elevated area overlooking the flood plain of the Mississippi River not far south from its confluence with the Missouri and Illinois rivers In addition to having an advantageous natural drainage system there were nearby forested areas to supply timber and grasslands which could easily be converted for agricultural purposes This place declared Laclede might become hereafter one of the finest cities in America He dispatched his 14 year old stepson Auguste Chouteau to the site with the support of 30 settlers in February 1764 20 Laclede arrived at the future town site two months later and produced a plan for St Louis based on the New Orleans street plan The default block size was 240 by 300 feet with just three long avenues running parallel to the west bank of the Mississippi He established a public corridor of 300 feet fronting the river but later this area was released for private development 20 In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War St Louis was attacked by British forces mostly Native American allies in the Battle of St Louis For the first few years of St Louis s existence the city was not recognized by any of the governments Although the settlement was thought to be under the control of the Spanish government no one asserted any authority over it and thus St Louis had no local government This vacuum led Laclede to assume civil control and all problems were disposed in public settings such as communal meetings In addition Laclede granted new settlers lots in town and the surrounding countryside In hindsight many of these original settlers thought of these first few years as the golden age of St Louis 21 By 1765 the city began receiving visits from representatives of the English French and Spanish governments The Indians in the area expressed dissatisfaction at being under the control of British forces One of the great Ottawa chieftains Pontiac was angered by the change of power and the potential for the British to come into their lands He desired to fight against them but many of the St Louis inhabitants refused St Louis was transferred to the French First Republic in 1800 although all of the colonial lands continued to be administered by Spanish officials then sold by the French to the U S in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase St Louis became the capital of and gateway to the new territory Shortly after the official transfer of authority was made the Lewis and Clark Expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson The expedition departed from St Louis in May 1804 along the Missouri River to explore the vast territory There were hopes of finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean but the party had to go overland in the Upper West They reached the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River in summer 1805 They returned reaching St Louis on September 23 1806 Both Lewis and Clark lived in St Louis after the expedition Many other explorers settlers and trappers such as Ashley s Hundred would later take a similar route to the West 19th century Main articles History of St Louis 1804 1865 and History of St Louis 1866 1904 White men pose 104 Locust Street St Louis Missouri in 1852 at Lynch s slave market The city elected its first municipal legislators called trustees in 1808 Steamboats first arrived in St Louis in 1817 improving connections with New Orleans and eastern markets Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821 St Louis was incorporated as a city in 1822 and continued to develop largely due to its busy port and trade connections City of St Louis and Riverfront 1874 South Broadway after a May 27 1896 tornado Immigrants from Ireland and Germany arrived in St Louis in significant numbers starting in the 1840s and the population of St Louis grew from less than 20 000 inhabitants in 1840 to 77 860 in 1850 to more than 160 000 by 1860 By the mid 1800s St Louis had a greater population than New Orleans Settled by many Southerners in a slave state the city was split in political sympathies and became polarized during the American Civil War In 1861 28 civilians were killed in a clash with Union troops The war hurt St Louis economically due to the Union blockade of river traffic to the south on the Mississippi River The St Louis Arsenal constructed ironclads for the Union Navy Slaves worked in many jobs on the waterfront as well as on the riverboats Given the city s location close to the free state of Illinois and others some slaves escaped to freedom Others especially women with children sued in court in freedom suits and several prominent local attorneys aided slaves in these suits About half the slaves achieved freedom in hundreds of suits before the American Civil War The printing press of abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was destroyed for the third time by townsfolk He was murdered the next year in nearby Alton Illinois After the war St Louis profited via trade with the West aided by the 1874 completion of the Eads Bridge named for its design engineer Industrial developments on both banks of the river were linked by the bridge the second in the Midwest over the Mississippi River after the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis The bridge connects St Louis Missouri to East St Louis Illinois The Eads Bridge became a symbolic image of the city of St Louis from the time of its erection until 1965 when the Gateway Arch Bridge was constructed The bridge crosses the St Louis riverfront between Laclede s Landing to the north and the grounds of the Gateway Arch to the south Today the road deck has been restored allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross the river The St Louis MetroLink light rail system has used the rail deck since 1993 An estimated 8 500 vehicles pass through it daily On August 22 1876 the city of St Louis voted to secede from St Louis County and become an independent city and following a recount of the votes in November officially did so in March 1877 22 Industrial production continued to increase during the late 19th century Major corporations such as the Anheuser Busch brewery Ralston Purina company and Desloge Consolidated Lead Company were established at St Louis which was also home to several brass era automobile companies including the Success Automobile Manufacturing Company 23 St Louis is the site of the Wainwright Building a skyscraper designed in 1892 by architect Louis Sullivan 20th century Main article History of St Louis 1905 1980 The Government Building at the 1904 World s Fair In 1904 the city hosted the World s Fair and the Olympics becoming the first non European city to host the games 24 Permanent facilities and structures remaining from the fair are located in Forest Park and other notable structures within the park s boundaries include the St Louis Art Museum the St Louis Zoo and the Missouri History Museum as well as Tower Grove Park and the Botanical Gardens After the Civil War social and racial discrimination in housing and employment were common in St Louis In 1916 during the Jim Crow Era St Louis passed a residential segregation ordinance 25 saying that if 75 of the residents of a neighborhood were of a certain race no one from a different race was allowed to move in 26 That ordinance was struck down in a court challenge by the NAACP 27 after which racial covenants were used to prevent the sale of houses in certain neighborhoods to persons not of Caucasian race clarification needed Again St Louisans offered a lawsuit in challenge and such covenants were ruled unconstitutional by the U S Supreme Court in 1948 in Shelley v Kraemer 28 In 1926 Douglass University a historically black university was founded by B F Bowles in St Louis and at the time no other college in St Louis County admitted black students 29 In the first half of the 20th century St Louis was a destination in the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South seeking better opportunities During World War II the NAACP campaigned to integrate war factories In 1964 civil rights activists protested at the construction of the Gateway Arch to publicize their effort to gain entry for African Americans into the skilled trade unions where they were underrepresented The Department of Justice filed the first suit against the unions under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Between 1900 and 1929 St Louis had about 220 automakers close to 10 percent of all American carmakers about half of which built cars exclusively in St Louis Notable names include Dorris Gardner and Moon 30 In the first part of the century St Louis had some of the worst air pollution in the United States In April 1940 the city banned the use of soft coal mined in nearby states The city hired inspectors to ensure that only anthracite was burned By 1946 the city had reduced air pollution by about 75 31 View of the Arch completed 1965 from Laclede s Landing the remaining section of St Louis s commercial riverfront De jure educational segregation continued into the 1950s and de facto segregation continued into the 1970s leading to a court challenge and interdistrict desegregation agreement Students have been bused mostly from the city to county school districts to have opportunities for integrated classes although the city has created magnet schools to attract students 32 St Louis like many Midwestern cities expanded in the early 20th century due to industrialization which provided jobs to new generations of immigrants and migrants from the South It reached its peak population of 856 796 at the 1950 census 33 Suburbanization from the 1950s through the 1990s dramatically reduced the city s population as did restructuring of industry and loss of jobs The effects of suburbanization were exacerbated by the small geographical size of St Louis due to its earlier decision to become an independent city and it lost much of its tax base During the 19th and 20th century most major cities aggressively annexed surrounding areas as residential development occurred away from the central city however St Louis was unable to do so Several urban renewal projects were built in the 1950s as the city worked to replace old and substandard housing Some of these were poorly designed and resulted in problems One prominent example Pruitt Igoe became a symbol of failure in public housing and was torn down less than two decades after it was built Since the 1980s several revitalization efforts have focused on Downtown St Louis 21st century Main article History of St Louis 1981 present Urban revitalization continued in the new century Gentrification has taken place in the Washington Avenue Historic District Central West End and Forest Park Southeast neighborhoods 34 This helped St Louis win the World Leadership Award for urban renewal in 2006 35 In 2017 the US Census Bureau estimated that St Louis had a population of 308 826 down from 319 371 in 2010 In the 21st century the city of St Louis contains 11 of the total metropolitan population The top 20 U S metro areas have an average of 24 of their populations in their central cities St Louis grew slightly during the early 2000s but lost population from 2000 to 2010 Immigration has continued with the city attracting Vietnamese Latin Americans predominantly from Mexico and Bosnians who make up the largest Bosnian community outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina GeographyMain article Geography of St Louis Cityscape Westward view of St Louis September 2008 Landmarks Further information Landmarks of St Louis Name Description PhotoGateway Arch At 630 feet 190 m the Gateway Arch is the world s tallest arch and tallest man made monument in the Western Hemisphere 36 Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States it is the centerpiece of Gateway Arch National Park which was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018 St Louis Art Museum Built for the 1904 World s Fair with a building designed by Cass Gilbert the museum houses paintings sculptures and cultural objects The museum is located in Forest Park and admission is free Missouri Botanical Garden Founded in 1859 the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical institutions in the United States and a National Historic Landmark It spans 79 acres in the Shaw neighborhood including a 14 acre 5 7 ha Japanese garden and the Climatron geodesic dome conservatory Cathedral Basilica of St Louis Dedicated in 1914 it is the mother church of the Archdiocese of St Louis and the seat of its archbishop The church is known for its large mosaic installation which is one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere with 41 5 million pieces burial crypts and its outdoor sculpture City Hall Located in Downtown West City Hall was designed by Harvey Ellis in 1892 in the Renaissance Revival style It is reminiscent of the Hotel de Ville Paris Central Library Completed in 1912 the Central Library building was designed by Cass Gilbert It serves as the main location for the St Louis Public Library City Museum City Museum is a play house museum consisting largely of repurposed architectural and industrial objects housed in the former International Shoe building in the Washington Avenue Loft District Old Courthouse Built in the 19th century it served as a federal and state courthouse The Scott v Sandford case resulting in the Dred Scott decision was tried at the courthouse in 1846 St Louis Science Center Founded in 1963 it includes a science museum and a planetarium and is situated in Forest Park Admission is free It is one of two science centers in the United States which offers free general admission St Louis Symphony Founded in 1880 the St Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second oldest symphony orchestra in the United States preceded by the New York Philharmonic Its principal concert venue is Powell Symphony Hall Union Station Built in 1888 it was the city s main passenger intercity train terminal Once the world s largest and busiest train station it was converted in the 1980s into a hotel shopping center and entertainment complex Today it also continues to serve local rail MetroLink transit passengers with Amtrak service nearby On December 25 2019 the St Louis Aquarium opened inside Union Station The St Louis Wheel a 200 ft 42 gondola ferris wheel is also located at Union Station St Louis Zoo Built for the 1904 World s Fair it is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management research conservation and education It is located in Forest Park and admission is free Architecture Further information Architecture of St Louis and List of tallest buildings in St Louis Wainwright Building 1891 an important early skyscraper designed by Louis Sullivan Many houses in Lafayette Square are built with a blending of Greek Revival Federal and Italianate styles The architecture of St Louis exhibits a variety of commercial residential and monumental architecture St Louis is known for the Gateway Arch the tallest monument constructed in the United States at 630 feet 190 m 37 The Arch pays homage to Thomas Jefferson and St Louis s position as the gateway to the West Architectural influences reflected in the area include French Colonial German early American and modern architectural styles Some notable post modern commercial skyscrapers were built downtown in the 1970s and 1980s including the One US Bank Plaza 1976 the AT amp T Center 1986 and One Metropolitan Square 1989 which is the tallest building in St Louis One US Bank Plaza the local headquarters for US Bancorp was constructed for the Mercantile Bancorporation in the Structural expressionist style emphasizing the steel structure of the building During the 1990s St Louis saw the construction of the largest United States courthouse by area the Thomas F Eagleton United States Courthouse completed in 2000 The Eagleton Courthouse is home to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The most recent high rise buildings in St Louis include two residential towers the Park East Tower in the Central West End and the Roberts Tower located downtown Several examples of religious structures are extant from the pre Civil War period and most reflect the common residential styles of the time Among the earliest is the Basilica of St Louis King of France referred to as the Old Cathedral The Basilica was built between 1831 and 1834 in the Federal style Other religious buildings from the period include SS Cyril and Methodius Church 1857 in the Romanesque Revival style and Christ Church Cathedral completed in 1867 designed in 1859 in the Gothic Revival style A few civic buildings were constructed during the early 19th century The original St Louis courthouse was built in 1826 and featured a Federal style stone facade with a rounded portico However this courthouse was replaced during renovation and expansion of the building in the 1850s The Old St Louis County Courthouse known as the Old Courthouse was completed in 1864 and was notable for having a cast iron dome and for being the tallest structure in Missouri until 1894 Finally a customs house was constructed in the Greek Revival style in 1852 but was demolished and replaced in 1873 by the U S Customhouse and Post Office Because much of the city s commercial and industrial development was centered along the riverfront many pre Civil War buildings were demolished during construction of the Gateway Arch The city s remaining architectural heritage of the era includes a multi block district of cobblestone streets and brick and cast iron warehouses called Laclede s Landing Now popular for its restaurants and nightclubs the district is located north of Gateway Arch along the riverfront Other industrial buildings from the era include some portions of the Anheuser Busch Brewery which date to the 1860s St Louis saw a vast expansion in variety and number of religious buildings during the late 19th century and early 20th century The largest and most ornate of these is the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis designed by Thomas P Barnett and constructed between 1907 and 1914 in the Neo Byzantine style The St Louis Cathedral as it is known has one of the largest mosaic collections in the world Another landmark in religious architecture of St Louis is the St Stanislaus Kostka which is an example of the Polish Cathedral style Among the other major designs of the period were St Alphonsus Liguori known as The Rock Church 1867 in the Gothic Revival and Second Presbyterian Church of St Louis 1900 in Richardsonian Romanesque By the 1900 census St Louis was the fourth largest city in the country In 1904 the city hosted a world s fair at Forest Park called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Its architectural legacy is somewhat scattered Among the fair related cultural institutions in the park are the St Louis Art Museum designed by Cass Gilbert part of the remaining lagoon at the foot of Art Hill and the Flight Cage at the St Louis Zoo The Missouri History Museum was built afterward with the profit from the fair But 1904 left other assets to the city like Theodore Link s 1894 St Louis Union Station and an improved Forest Park Neighborhoods Further information Neighborhoods of St Louis French style houses in Lafayette Square The Delmar Loop is a neighborhood close to Washington University on the border of the city and St Louis County The city is divided into 79 government designated neighborhoods 38 The neighborhood divisions have no legal standing although some neighborhood associations administer grants or hold veto power over historic district development Several neighborhoods are lumped together in categories such as North City South City and The Central West End Topography Rivers in the St Louis area According to the United States Census Bureau St Louis has a total area of 66 square miles 170 km2 of which 62 square miles 160 km2 is land and 4 1 square miles 11 km2 6 2 is water 39 The city is built on bluffs and terraces that rise 100 200 feet above the western banks of the Mississippi River in the Midwestern United States just south of the Missouri Mississippi confluence Much of the area is a fertile and gently rolling prairie that features low hills and broad shallow valleys Both the Mississippi River and the Missouri River have cut large valleys with wide flood plains Limestone and dolomite of the Mississippian epoch underlie the area and parts of the city are karst in nature This is particularly true of the area south of downtown which has numerous sinkholes and caves Most of the caves in the city have been sealed but many springs are visible along the riverfront Coal brick clay and millerite ore were once mined in the city The predominant surface rock known as St Louis limestone is used as dimension stone and rubble for construction Near the southern boundary of the city of St Louis separating it from St Louis County is the River des Peres practically the only river or stream within the city limits that is not entirely underground 40 Most of River des Peres was confined to a channel or put underground in the 1920s and early 1930s The lower section of the river was the site of some of the worst flooding of the Great Flood of 1993 The city s eastern boundary is the Mississippi River which separates Missouri from Illinois The Missouri River forms the northern line of St Louis County except for a few areas where the river has changed its course The Meramec River forms most of its southern line Climate Further information Geography of St Louis Climate The Captains Return statue inundated by the Mississippi River 2010 The urban area of St Louis has a humid subtropical climate Koppen Cfa however its metropolitan region even to the south may present a hot summer humid continental climate Dfa which shows the effect of the urban heat island in the city The city experiences hot humid summers and chilly to cold winters It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico The average annual temperature recorded at nearby Lambert St Louis International Airport is 57 4 F 14 1 C 100 and 0 F 38 and 18 C temperatures can be seen on an average 3 and 1 days per year respectively Precipitation averages 41 70 inches 1 100 mm but has ranged from 20 59 in 523 mm in 1953 to 61 24 in 1 555 mm in 2015 The highest recorded temperature in St Louis was 115 F 46 C on July 14 1954 and the lowest was 22 F 30 C on January 5 1884 St Louis experiences thunderstorms 48 days a year on average 41 Especially in the spring these storms can often be severe with high winds large hail and tornadoes Lying within the hotbed of Tornado Alley St Louis is one of the most frequently tornado struck metropolitan areas in the U S and has an extensive history of damaging tornadoes Severe flooding such as the Great Flood of 1993 may occur in spring and summer the often rapid melting of thick snow cover upstream on the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers can contribute to springtime flooding Climate data for St Louis Missouri Lambert St Louis Int l 1991 2020 normals a extremes 1874 present b Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high F C 77 25 85 29 92 33 93 34 98 37 108 42 115 46 110 43 104 40 94 34 86 30 76 24 115 46 Mean maximum F C 64 7 18 2 71 0 21 7 79 4 26 3 86 4 30 2 90 4 32 4 95 5 35 3 99 2 37 3 99 1 37 3 92 4 33 6 87 0 30 6 75 5 24 2 66 9 19 4 100 7 38 2 Average high F C 40 4 4 7 45 8 7 7 56 6 13 7 68 0 20 0 77 1 25 1 85 9 29 9 89 6 32 0 88 3 31 3 81 1 27 3 69 2 20 7 55 5 13 1 44 5 6 9 66 8 19 3 Daily mean F C 32 1 0 1 36 7 2 6 46 6 8 1 57 5 14 2 67 5 19 7 76 5 24 7 80 4 26 9 78 8 26 0 71 0 21 7 59 1 15 1 46 5 8 1 36 5 2 5 57 4 14 1 Average low F C 23 8 4 6 27 6 2 4 36 7 2 6 47 0 8 3 57 9 14 4 67 2 19 6 71 1 21 7 69 3 20 7 60 9 16 1 49 1 9 5 37 4 3 0 28 5 1 9 48 0 8 9 Mean minimum F C 4 4 15 3 9 6 12 4 17 8 7 9 32 2 0 1 43 5 6 4 55 5 13 1 61 4 16 3 60 1 15 6 47 1 8 4 33 6 0 9 22 0 5 6 11 0 11 7 1 2 17 1 Record low F C 22 30 18 28 5 21 20 7 31 1 43 6 51 11 47 8 32 0 21 6 1 17 16 27 22 30 Average precipitation inches mm 2 59 66 2 23 57 3 50 89 4 73 120 4 82 122 4 49 114 3 93 100 3 38 86 2 96 75 3 15 80 3 42 87 2 50 64 41 70 1 059 Average snowfall inches cm 5 7 14 4 3 11 2 3 5 8 0 2 0 51 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2 3 3 2 8 1 16 6 42 Average precipitation days 0 01 in 9 3 8 7 10 8 11 5 12 6 9 8 8 9 8 4 7 3 8 5 9 0 9 0 113 8Average snowy days 0 1 in 4 7 3 9 1 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 3 2 14 5Average relative humidity 73 0 72 0 68 3 63 5 66 5 67 1 68 0 70 0 71 6 68 7 72 2 75 8 69 7Average dew point F C 20 1 6 6 24 1 4 4 33 1 0 6 42 3 5 7 52 9 11 6 62 1 16 7 66 6 19 2 65 1 18 4 58 6 14 8 46 0 7 8 36 0 2 2 25 5 3 6 44 4 6 9 Mean monthly sunshine hours 161 2 158 3 198 3 223 5 266 5 291 9 308 9 269 8 236 1 208 4 140 9 129 9 2 593 7Percent possible sunshine 53 53 53 56 60 66 68 64 63 60 47 44 58Source NOAA relative humidity and sun 1961 1990 43 44 45 Flora and fauna Tower Grove Park in spring The Missouri Botanical Garden Before the founding of the city the area was mostly prairie and open forest Native Americans maintained this environment good for hunting by burning underbrush Trees are mainly oak maple and hickory similar to the forests of the nearby Ozarks common understory trees include eastern redbud serviceberry and flowering dogwood Riparian areas are forested with mainly American sycamore Most of the residential areas of the city are planted with large native shade trees The largest native forest area is found in Forest Park In autumn the changing color of the trees is notable Most species here are typical of the eastern woodland although numerous decorative non native species are found The most notable invasive species is Japanese honeysuckle which officials are trying to manage because of its damage to native trees It is removed from some parks Large mammals found in the city include urbanized coyotes and white tailed deer Eastern gray squirrel cottontail rabbit and other rodents are abundant as well as the nocturnal Virginia opossum Large bird species are abundant in parks and include Canada goose mallard duck as well as shorebirds including the great egret and great blue heron Gulls are common along the Mississippi River these species follow barge traffic Winter populations of bald eagles are found along the Mississippi River around the Chain of Rocks Bridge The city is on the Mississippi Flyway used by migrating birds and has a large variety of small bird species common to the eastern US The Eurasian tree sparrow an introduced species is limited in North America to the counties surrounding St Louis The city has special sites for birdwatching of migratory species including Tower Grove Park Frogs are found in the springtime especially after extensive wet periods Common species include the American toad and species of chorus frogs called spring peepers which are found in nearly every pond Some years have outbreaks of cicadas or ladybugs Mosquitoes no see ums and houseflies are common insect nuisances especially in July and August because of this windows are almost always fitted with screens Invasive populations of honeybees have declined in recent years Numerous native species of pollinator insects have recovered to fill their ecological niche and armadillos are seen throughout the St Louis area 46 DemographicsHistorical populationCensus Pop 18101 600 18304 977 184016 469230 9 185077 860372 8 1860160 773106 5 1870310 86493 4 1880350 51812 8 1890451 77028 9 1900575 23827 3 1910687 02919 4 1920772 89712 5 1930821 9606 3 1940816 048 0 7 1950856 7965 0 1960750 026 12 5 1970622 236 17 0 1980453 805 27 1 1990396 685 12 6 2000348 189 12 2 2010319 294 8 3 2020301 578 5 5 2021 est 293 310 9 2 7 U S Decennial Census 47 2020 Census 8 Map of racial distribution in St Louis 2010 U S Census Each dot is 25 people White Black Asian Hispanic Other Pruitt Igoe was a large housing project constructed in 1954 which became infamous for poverty crime and segregation It was demolished in 1972 St Louis grew slowly until the American Civil War when industrialization and immigration sparked a boom Mid 19th century immigrants included many Irish and Germans later there were immigrants from southern and eastern Europe In the early 20th century African American and white migrants came from the South the former as part of the Great Migration out of rural areas of the Deep South Many came from Mississippi and Arkansas After years of immigration migration and expansion the city reached its peak population in 1950 That year the Census Bureau reported St Louis s population as 82 White and 17 9 African American 48 After World War II St Louis began losing population to the suburbs first because of increased demand for new housing unhappiness with city services ease of commuting by highways and later white flight 49 St Louis s population decline has resulted in a significant increase of abandoned residential housing units and vacant lots throughout the city proper this blight has attracted much wildlife such as deer and coyotes to the many abandoned overgrown lots St Louis has lost 64 0 of its population since the 1950 United States census the highest percent of any city that had a population of 100 000 or more at the time of the 1950 Census Detroit Michigan and Youngstown Ohio are the only other cities that have had population declines of at least 60 in the same time frame The population of the city of St Louis has been in decline since the 1950 census during this period the population of the St Louis Metropolitan Area which includes more than one county has grown every year and continues to do so A big factor in the decline has been the rapid increase in suburbanization According to the 2010 United States census St Louis had 319 294 people living in 142 057 households of which 67 488 households were families The population density was 5 158 2 people per square mile 1 990 6 km2 About 24 of the population was 19 or younger 9 were 20 to 24 31 were 25 to 44 25 were 45 to 64 and 11 were 65 or older The median age was about 34 years The African American population is concentrated in the north side of the city the area north of Delmar Boulevard is 94 0 black compared with 35 0 in the central corridor and 26 0 in the south side of St Louis 50 Among the Asian American population in the city the largest ethnic group is Vietnamese 0 9 followed by Chinese 0 6 and Indians 0 5 The Vietnamese community has concentrated in the Dutchtown neighborhood of south St Louis Chinese are concentrated in the Central West End 51 People of Mexican descent are the largest Latino group and make up 2 2 of St Louis s population They have the highest concentration in the Dutchtown Benton Park West Cherokee Street and Gravois Park neighborhoods 52 People of Italian descent are concentrated in The Hill In 2000 the median income for a household in the city was 29 156 and the median income for a family was 32 585 Males had a median income of 31 106 females 26 987 Per capita income was 18 108 Some 19 of the city s housing units were vacant and slightly less than half of these were vacant structures not for sale or rent In 2010 St Louis s per capita rates of online charitable donations and volunteerism were among the highest among major U S cities 53 As of 2010 update 91 05 270 934 of St Louis city residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language while 2 86 8 516 spoke Spanish 0 91 2 713 Serbo Croatian 0 74 2 200 Vietnamese 0 50 1 495 African languages 0 50 1 481 Chinese and French was spoken as a main language by 0 45 1 341 of the population over the age of five In total 8 95 26 628 of St Louis s population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English 54 Racial composition 2020 55 2010 56 2000 57 1990 48 1970 48 1940 48 White 43 9 43 9 43 9 50 9 58 7 86 6 Non Hispanic 42 9 42 2 43 0 58 50 2 57 9 59 86 4 Black 43 0 49 2 51 2 47 5 40 9 13 3 Hispanic or Latino of any race 5 1 3 5 2 0 1 3 1 0 59 0 2 Asian 4 1 2 9 2 0 0 9 0 2 X Bosnian population See also History of the Bosnians in St Louis About fifteen families from Bosnia settled in St Louis between 1960 and 1970 After the Bosnian War started in 1992 more Bosnian refugees began arriving and by 2000 tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees settled in St Louis with the help of Catholic aid societies Many of them were professionals and skilled workers who had to take any job opportunity to be able to support their families Most Bosnian refugees are Muslim ethnically Bosniaks 87 they have settled primarily in south St Louis 60 and South County Bosnian Americans are well integrated into the city developing many businesses and ethnic cultural organizations 61 An estimated 70 000 Bosnians live in the metro area the largest population of Bosnians in the United States and the largest Bosnian population outside their homeland The highest concentration of Bosnians is in the neighborhood of Bevo Mill and in Affton Mehlville and Oakville of south St Louis County 62 Crime Main article Crime in St Louis Since 2014 the city of St Louis has had as of April 2017 update the highest murder rate per capita in the United States 63 with 188 homicides in 2015 59 3 homicides per 100 000 64 65 and ranks No 13 of the most dangerous cities in the world by homicide rate Detroit Flint Memphis Birmingham and Baltimore have higher overall violent crime rates than St Louis when comparing other crimes such as rape robbery and aggravated assault 64 66 Despite these high crime rates relative to other American cities St Louis index crime rates have declined almost every year since the peak in 1993 16 648 to the 2014 level of 7 931 which is the sum of violent crimes and property crimes per 100 000 In 2015 the index crime rate reversed the 2005 2014 decline to a level of 8 204 Between 2005 and 2014 violent crime has declined by 20 although rates of violent crime remains 6 times higher than the United States national average and property crime in the city remains 2 1 2 times the national average 67 St Louis has a higher homicide rate than the rest of the U S for both whites and blacks and a higher proportion committed by males As of October 2016 update 7 of the homicide suspects were white 95 black 0 Hispanic 0 Asian and 1 female out of the 102 suspects In 2016 St Louis was the most dangerous city in the United States with populations of 100 000 or more ranking 1st in violent crime and 2nd in property crime It was also ranked 6th of the most dangerous of all establishments in the United States and East St Louis a suburb of the city itself was ranked 1st 68 69 The St Louis Police Department at the end of 2016 reported a total of 188 murders for the year the same number of homicides that had occurred in the city in 2015 70 According to the STLP At the end of 2017 St Louis had 205 murders but the city recorded only 159 inside St Louis city limits 71 72 The new Chief of Police John Hayden said two thirds 67 of all the murders and one half of all the assaults are concentrated in a triangular area in the North part of the city 71 Yet another factor when comparing the murder rates of St Louis and other cities is the manner of drawing municipal boundaries While many other municipalities have annexed many suburbs St Louis has not annexed as much suburban area as most American cities According to the 2018 Census the St Louis metro area included about 3 million residents and the city included about 300 000 residents Therefore the city contains about ten percent of the metro population a low ratio indicating that the municipal boundaries include only a small part of the metro population 73 EconomyMain article Economy of St Louis The gross domestic product of the St Louis metro area was 160 billion in 2016 up from 155 billion the previous year The gross metropolitan product of Greater St Louis was 146 billion in 2014 the 21st highest in the country up from 144 billion in 2013 138 4 billion in 2012 and 133 1 billion in 2011 The St Louis metropolitan area had a per capita GDP of 48 738 in 2014 up 1 6 from the previous year 74 In 2007 manufacturing in the city conducted nearly 11 billion in business followed by the health care and social service industry with 3 5 billion professional or technical services with 3 1 billion and the retail trade with 2 5 billion The health care sector was the area s biggest employer with 34 000 workers followed by administrative and support jobs 24 000 manufacturing 21 000 and food service 20 000 75 Major companies and institutions The Anheuser Busch packaging plant in St Louis As of 2022 the St Louis Metropolitan Area is home to seven Fortune 500 companies They include Centene Emerson Electric Reinsurance Group of America Edward Jones Olin Graybar Electric and Ameren 76 Other notable corporations headquartered in the region include Arch Coal Bunge Limited Wells Fargo Advisors formerly A G Edwards Energizer Holdings Patriot Coal Post Foods United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit Post Holdings Olin Enterprise Holdings a parent company of several car rental companies Notable corporations with operations in St Louis include Cassidy Turley Kerry Group Mastercard TD Ameritrade BMO Harris Bank and World Wide Technology Health care and biotechnology institutions with operations in St Louis include Pfizer the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center the Solae Company Sigma Aldrich and Multidata Systems International General Motors manufactures automobiles in Wentzville while an earlier plant known as the St Louis Truck Assembly built GMC automobiles from 1920 until 1987 Chrysler closed its St Louis Assembly production facility in nearby Fenton Missouri and Ford closed the St Louis Assembly Plant in Hazelwood Several once independent pillars of the local economy have been purchased by other corporations Among them are Anheuser Busch purchased by Belgium based InBev Missouri Pacific Railroad which was headquartered in St Louis merged with the Omaha Nebraska based Union Pacific Railroad in 1982 77 McDonnell Douglas whose operations are now part of Boeing Defense Space amp Security 78 Trans World Airlines which was headquartered in the city for its last decade of existence prior to being acquired by American Airlines Mallinckrodt purchased by Tyco International and Ralston Purina now a wholly owned subsidiary of Nestle 79 The May Department Stores Company which owned Famous Barr and Marshall Field s stores was purchased by Federated Department Stores which has its regional headquarters in the area The Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis in downtown is one of two federal reserve banks in Missouri 80 Most of the assets of Furniture Brands International were sold to Heritage Home Group in 2013 which moved to North Carolina 81 82 Barnes Jewish Hospital which is affiliated with the Washington University School of Medicine St Louis is a center of medicine and biotechnology 83 The Washington University School of Medicine is affiliated with Barnes Jewish Hospital the fifth largest hospital in the world Both institutions operate the Alvin J Siteman Cancer Center 84 The School of Medicine also is affiliated with St Louis Children s Hospital one of the country s top pediatric hospitals 85 Both hospitals are owned by BJC HealthCare The McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University played a major role in the Human Genome Project 86 Saint Louis University Medical School is affiliated with SSM Health s Cardinal Glennon Children s Hospital and Saint Louis University Hospital It also has a cancer center vaccine research center geriatric center and a bioethics institute Several different organizations operate hospitals in the area including BJC HealthCare Mercy SSM Health Care and Tenet Cortex Innovation Community in Midtown neighborhood is the largest innovation hub in the midwest Cortex is home to offices of Square Microsoft Aon Boeing and Centene Cortex has generated 3 800 tech jobs in 14 years Once built out projections are for it to make 2 billion in development and create 13 000 jobs for the region 87 88 Boeing employs nearly 15 000 people in its north St Louis campus headquarters to its defense unit In 2013 the company said it would move about 600 jobs from Seattle where labor costs have risen to a new IT center in St Louis 89 90 Other companies such as LaunchCode and LockerDome think the city could become the next major tech hub 91 Programs such as Arch Grants are attracting new startups to the region 92 According to the St Louis Business Journal the top employers in the St Louis metropolitan area as of 1 May 2017 update are 93 Employer of Employees1 BJC Health Care 28 3512 Wal Mart Stores Inc 22 2903 Washington University 15 8184 SSM Health 14 9265 Mercy 14 195According to St Louis s 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report June 30 94 95 96 the top employers in the city only are representing 78 706 people or 19 57 of the city s total employment of 402 000 Employer of Employees1 Washington University 18 4072 Barnes Jewish Hospital 15 3093 Saint Louis University 8 9804 City of St Louis 7 2125 Defense Finance and Accounting Service 5 9976 Wells Fargo A G Edwards 5 6298 US Postal Service 4 6477 St Louis Board of Education 4 2769 STL Children s Hospital 4 26610 SSM SLUH 3 983Arts and culture The Cathedral Basilica of St Louis Main article Culture of St Louis See also St Louis cuisine With its French past and waves of Catholic immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries from Ireland Germany and Italy St Louis is a major center of Roman Catholicism in the United States St Louis also boasts the largest Ethical Culture Society in the United States and is one of the most generous cities in the United States ranking ninth in 2013 97 Several places of worship in the city are noteworthy such as the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis home of the world s largest mosaic installation 98 The St Louis Art Museum in Forest Park Other notable churches include the Basilica of St Louis King of France the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the oldest church in St Louis the St Louis Abbey whose distinctive architectural style garnered multiple awards at the time of its completion in 1962 and St Francis de Sales Oratory a neo Gothic church completed in 1908 in South St Louis and the second largest church in the city The city is identified with music and the performing arts especially its association with blues jazz and ragtime St Louis is home to the St Louis Symphony the second oldest symphony orchestra in the United States Until 2010 it was also home to KFUO FM one of the oldest classical music FM radio stations west of the Mississippi River 99 Opera Theatre of St Louis has been called one of America s best summer festivals by the Washington Post Former general director Timothy O Leary was known for drawing the community into discussions of challenging operas John Adams s The Death of Klinghoffer which touched off protests and controversy when performed by the Metropolitan Opera in 2014 had no such problems in St Louis three years before because the company fostered a citywide discussion with interfaith dialogues addressing the tough issues of terrorism religion and the nature of evil that the opera brings up St Louis s Jewish Community Relations Council gave O Leary an award Under O Leary the company always known for innovative work gave second chances to other major American operas such as John Corigliano s The Ghosts of Versailles presented in 2009 in a smaller scale version 100 The Gateway Arch anchors downtown St Louis and a historic center that includes the Federal courthouse where the Dred Scott case was first argued an expanded public library major churches and businesses and retail An increasing downtown residential population has taken to adapted office buildings and other historic structures In nearby University City is the Delmar Loop ranked by the American Planning Association as a great American street for its variety of shops and restaurants and the Tivoli Theater all within walking distance Unique city and regional cuisine reflecting various immigrant groups include toasted ravioli gooey butter cake provel cheese the slinger the Gerber sandwich and the St Paul sandwich Some St Louis chefs have begun emphasizing use of local produce meats and fish and neighborhood farmers markets have become more popular Artisan bakeries salumeria and chocolatiers also operate in the city St Louis style pizza has thin crust provel cheese and is cut in small squares 101 Frozen custard purveyor Ted Drewes offers its Concrete frozen custard blended with any combination of dozens of ingredients into a mixture so thick that a spoon inserted into the custard does not fall if the cup is inverted 102 SportsSee also Sports in St Louis and Soccer in St Louis St Louis is home to the St Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball and the St Louis Blues of the National Hockey League In 2019 it became the ninth North American city to have won titles in all four major leagues MLB NBA NFL and NHL when the Blues won the Stanley Cup championship It also has notable and collegiate level soccer teams and is one of three American cities to have hosted an Olympic Games A third major team the St Louis City SC of Major League Soccer is slated to begin play in 2023 Professional sports Pro teams in the St Louis area include Club Sport First season League VenueSt Louis Cardinals Baseball 1882 Major League Baseball Busch StadiumSt Louis Blues Ice hockey 1967 National Hockey League Enterprise CenterSt Louis City SC Soccer 2023 planned Major League Soccer Centene StadiumSt Louis BattleHawks American football 2020 XFL The Dome at America s Center Busch Stadium in downtown St Louis The St Louis Cardinals are one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball 103 The Cardinals have won 19 National League NL titles the most pennants for the league franchise in one city and 11 World Series titles second to the New York Yankees and the most by any NL franchise recently in 2011 104 They play at Busch Stadium Previously the St Louis Browns played in the American League AL from 1902 to 1953 before moving to Baltimore Maryland to become the current incarnation of the Orioles The 1944 World Series was an all St Louis World Series matching up the St Louis Cardinals and St Louis Browns at Sportsman s Park won by the Cardinals in six games It was the third and final time that the teams shared a home field St Louis also was home to the St Louis Stars baseball also known as the St Louis Giants from 1906 to 1921 who played in the Negro league baseball from 1920 to 1931 and won championships in 1928 1930 and 1931 and the St Louis Maroons who played in both the Union Association in 1884 and the National League from 1885 to 1889 In 1884 The St Louis Maroons won the Union Association pennant and started the season with 20 straight wins a feat that wasn t surpassed by any major professional sports team in America until the 2015 16 Golden State Warriors season when they started their NBA season with 24 straight wins The Enterprise Center in downtown St Louis The St Louis Blues of the National Hockey League NHL play at the Enterprise Center They were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion The Blues went to the Stanley Cup finals in their first three years but got swept every time Although they were the first 1967 expansion team to make the Stanley Cup Finals they were also the last of the 1967 expansion teams to win the Stanley Cup They finally won their first Stanley Cup in 2019 after beating the Boston Bruins in the final This championship made St Louis the eighth city to win a championship in each of the four major U S sports Prior to the Blues the city was home to the St Louis Eagles The team played in the 1934 35 season St Louis has been home to four National Football League NFL teams The St Louis All Stars played in the city in 1923 the St Louis Gunners in 1934 the St Louis Cardinals from 1960 to 1987 and the St Louis Rams from 1995 to 2015 The football Cardinals advanced to the NFL playoffs three times 1974 1975 and 1982 never hosting or winning in any appearance The Cardinals moved to Phoenix Arizona in 1988 The Rams played at the Edward Jones Dome from 1995 to 2015 and won Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 They also went to Super Bowl XXXVI but lost to the New England Patriots The Rams then returned to Los Angeles in 2016 The St Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association NBA played at Kiel Auditorium from 1955 to 1968 They won the NBA championship in 1958 and played in three other NBA Finals 1957 1960 and 1961 In 1968 the Hawks moved to Atlanta St Louis was also the home to the St Louis Bombers of the Basketball Association of America from 1946 to 1949 and the National Basketball Association from 1949 to 1950 and the Spirits of St Louis of the American Basketball Association from 1974 to 1976 when the ABA and NBA merged Major League Soccer s St Louis City SC are planned to begin play in 2023 at a proposed soccer specific stadium The St Louis BattleHawks of the XFL began play in 2020 using The Dome at America s Center as their home field St Louis hosts several minor league sports teams The Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League play in the area The St Louis Trotters of the Independent Basketball Association play at Matthews Dickey Saint Louis FC soccer team in the USL Championship play at World Wide Technology Soccer Park and the St Louis Ambush indoor soccer team plays at the Family Arena The region hosts INDYCAR NHRA drag racing and NASCAR events at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison Illinois St Louis Slam play at the Harlen C Hunter Stadium Amateur sports St Louis has hosted the Final Four of both the women s and men s college basketball NCAA Division I championship tournaments and the Frozen Four collegiate ice hockey tournament Saint Louis University has won 10 NCAA men s soccer championships and the city has hosted the College Cup several times In addition to collegiate soccer many St Louisans have played for the United States men s national soccer team and 20 St Louisans have been elected into the National Soccer Hall of Fame St Louis also is the origin of the sport of corkball a type of baseball in which there is no base running Although the area does not have a National Basketball Association team it hosts the St Louis Phoenix an American Basketball Association team Club Atletico Saint Louis a semi professional soccer team competes within the National Premier Soccer League and plays out of St Louis University High School Soccer Stadium Chess The Sinquefield Cup chess tournament is hosted annually in St Louis St Louis is home to the Saint Louis Chess Club where the U S Chess Championship is held St Louisan Rex Sinquefield founded the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St Louis which was renamed as St Louis Chess Club later and moved the World Chess Hall of Fame to St Louis in 2011 The Sinquefield Cup Tournament started at St Louis in 2013 In 2014 the Sinquefield Cup was the highest rated chess tournament of all time Former U S Chess Champions Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura have lived in St Louis Former women s chess champion Susan Polgar also resides in St Louis Parks and recreationMain article Parks in St Louis For parks in the region see Parks in Greater St Louis Forest Park features a variety of attractions including the St Louis Zoo the St Louis Art Museum the Missouri History Museum and the St Louis Science Center The city operates more than 100 parks with amenities that include sports facilities playgrounds concert areas picnic areas and lakes Forest Park located on the western edge of city is the largest occupying 1 400 acres of land making it almost twice as large as Central Park in New York City 37 The park is home to five major institutions including the St Louis Art Museum the St Louis Zoo the St Louis Science Center the Missouri History Museum and the Muny amphitheatre 37 Another significant park in the city is Gateway Arch National Park which was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018 and is located on the riverfront in downtown St Louis The centerpiece of the park is the 630 foot 192 m tall Gateway Arch a National Memorial designed by noted architect Eero Saarinen and completed on October 28 1965 Also part of the historic park is the Old Courthouse where the first two trials of Dred Scott v Sandford were held in 1847 and 1850 The Jewel Box a greenhouse and event venue in Forest Park Other notable parks in the city include the Missouri Botanical Garden Tower Grove Park Carondelet Park and Citygarden The Missouri Botanical Garden a private garden and botanical research facility is a National Historic Landmark and one of the oldest botanical gardens in the United States 37 The Garden features 79 acres of horticultural displays from around the world This includes a Japanese strolling garden Henry Shaw s original 1850 estate home and a geodesic dome called the Climatron 37 Immediately south of the Missouri Botanical Garden is Tower Grove Park a gift to the city by Henry Shaw Citygarden is an urban sculpture park located in downtown St Louis with art from Fernand Leger Aristide Maillol Julian Opie Tom Otterness Niki de Saint Phalle and Mark di Suvero 105 106 The park is divided into three sections each of which represent a different theme river bluffs flood plains and urban gardens Another downtown sculpture park is the Serra Sculpture Park with the 1982 Richard Serra sculpture Twain 107 GovernmentSt Louis is one of the 41 independent cities in the U S that does not legally belong to any county 108 St Louis has a strong mayor council government with legislative authority and oversight vested in the Board of Aldermen and with executive authority in the mayor and six other elected officials 109 The Board of Aldermen is made up of 28 members one elected from each of the city s wards plus a board president who is elected citywide 110 The 2014 fiscal year budget topped 1 billion for the first time a 1 9 increase over the 985 2 million budget in 2013 111 238 253 registered voters lived in the city in 2012 112 down from 239 247 in 2010 and 257 442 in 2008 113 Structure Citywide office 114 115 Elected OfficialMayor of St Louis Tishaura JonesPresident of the Board of Aldermen Megan GreenCity Comptroller Darlene GreenRecorder of Deeds Michael ButlerCollector of Revenue Gregory F X DalyLicense Collector Mavis T ThompsonTreasurer Adam LayneCircuit Attorney Kimberly GardnerCity of St Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts St Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones in 2017 The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city and is responsible for appointing city department heads including the director of public safety the director of streets amp traffic the director of health the director of human services the director of the airport the director of parks amp recreation the director of workforce development the director of the Community Development Agency the director of economic development the director of public utilities the director of the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency the register and the assessor among other department level or senior administrative positions The President of the Board of Aldermen is the second highest ranking official in the city The President is the presiding officer of the Board of Aldermen which is the legislative branch of government of the city Municipal elections in St Louis are held in odd numbered years with the primary elections in March and the general election in April The mayor is elected in odd numbered years following the United States presidential election as are the aldermen representing odd numbered wards The president of the board of aldermen and the aldermen from even numbered wards are elected in the off years The Democratic Party has dominated St Louis city politics for decades The city has not had a Republican mayor since 1949 and the last time a Republican was elected to another citywide office was in the 1970s As of 2015 update all 28 of the city s aldermen are Democrats 116 Forty seven individuals have held the office of mayor of St Louis four of whom William Carr Lane John Fletcher Darby John Wimer and John How served non consecutive terms The most terms served by a mayor was by Lane who served 8 full terms plus the unexpired term of Darby The current mayor is Tishaura Jones who took office April 20 2021 and is the first African American woman to hold the post She succeeded Lyda Krewson the first female mayor of the city who retired in 2021 after serving for four years The longest serving mayor was Francis Slay who took office April 17 2001 and left office April 18 2017 a total of 16 years and six days over four terms in office The shortest serving mayor was Arthur Barret who died 11 days after taking office Although St Louis separated from St Louis County in 1876 some mechanisms have been put in place for joint funding management and funding of regional assets The St Louis Zoo Museum district collects property taxes from residents of both St Louis City and County and the funds are used to support cultural institutions including the St Louis Zoo St Louis Art Museum and the Missouri Botanical Gardens Similarly the Metropolitan Sewer District provides sanitary and storm sewer service to the city and much of St Louis County The Bi State Development Agency now known as Metro runs the region s MetroLink light rail system and bus system St Louis City Sheriff s Department AbbreviationSTL SOMottoProfessionalism Honesty Integrity and CourageAgency overviewFormed1876Employees216Annual budgetUS 9 690 784 FY 2021 117 Jurisdictional structureLegal jurisdictionSt Louis MissouriGoverning body22nd Judicial CircuitOperational structureHeadquartersCivil Courts Building 10 N Tucker Blvd 8th Floor St Louis MO 63101Deputies165Agency executiveVernon Betts D SheriffParent agencyBoard of Aldermen s Committee on Public Safety 22nd Judicial CircuitDivisions5 Civil Process InformationCourt InformationLand Tax SalesConceal and Carry Firearm PermitSheriff s Office EventsEviction Procedures and PolicyCourtroom SecurityFacilitiesJustice CentersSt Louis City Justice Center 200 S Tucker Blvd St Louis MissouriMarked and UnmarkedsFord Transport Vans Chevrolet Transport Vans Ford Police InterceptorPlanes0The City of St Louis Sheriff s Office STLSO or STLCSO primarily provides security services for the courtrooms as well as serving court documents and issuing gun carry permits However in 2022 they gained the ability to make arrests and traffic stops 118 State and federal government United States presidential election results for St Louis Missouri 119 Year Republican Democratic Third partyNo No No 2020 21 474 15 98 110 089 81 93 2 809 2 09 2016 20 832 15 72 104 235 78 68 7 420 5 60 2012 22 943 15 93 118 780 82 45 2 343 1 63 2008 24 662 15 50 132 925 83 55 1 517 0 95 2004 27 793 19 22 116 133 80 29 712 0 49 2000 24 799 19 88 96 557 77 40 3 396 2 72 1996 22 121 18 13 91 233 74 78 8 649 7 09 1992 25 441 17 26 102 356 69 44 19 607 13 30 1988 40 906 26 96 110 076 72 55 732 0 48 1984 61 020 35 20 112 318 64 80 0 0 00 1980 50 333 29 48 113 697 66 59 6 721 3 94 1976 58 367 32 47 118 703 66 03 2 714 1 51 1972 72 402 37 67 119 817 62 33 0 0 00 1968 58 252 26 37 143 010 64 74 19 652 8 90 1964 59 604 22 28 207 958 77 72 0 0 00 1960 101 331 33 37 202 319 66 63 0 0 00 1956 130 045 39 14 202 210 60 86 0 0 00 1952 144 828 38 00 235 893 61 89 427 0 11 1948 120 656 35 10 220 654 64 19 2 460 0 72 1944 134 411 39 54 204 687 60 22 821 0 24 1940 168 165 41 79 233 338 57 98 948 0 24 1936 127 887 32 23 260 063 65 54 8 880 2 24 1932 123 448 34 57 226 338 63 38 7 319 2 05 1928 161 701 47 67 176 428 52 01 1 065 0 31 1924 139 433 52 70 95 888 36 24 29 276 11 06 1920 163 280 57 77 106 047 37 52 13 325 4 71 1916 83 798 51 72 74 059 45 71 4 175 2 58 1912 46 509 33 14 58 845 41 93 34 973 24 92 1908 74 160 52 76 60 917 43 34 5 473 3 89 1904 57 547 49 70 51 858 44 79 6 387 5 52 1900 60 597 48 64 59 931 48 11 4 046 3 25 1896 65 708 56 16 50 091 42 81 1 197 1 02 1892 35 528 49 94 34 669 48 73 942 1 32 1888 33 656 53 40 27 401 43 48 1 969 3 12 St Louis is split between 11 districts in the Missouri House of Representatives all of the 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd and 84th and parts of the 66th 83rd and 93rd which are shared with St Louis County 120 The 5th Missouri Senate district is entirely within the city while the 4th is shared with St Louis County 120 At the federal level St Louis is the heart of Missouri s 1st congressional district which also includes part of northern St Louis County 120 A Republican has not represented a significant portion of St Louis in the U S House since 1953 Correspondingly despite voting Republican prior to 1928 in presidential elections from then on the city has become a Democratic stronghold at the presidential level George H W Bush in 1988 was the most recent Republican to win even a quarter of the city s votes in a presidential election The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri are based in the Thomas F Eagleton United States Courthouse in downtown St Louis St Louis is also home to a Federal Reserve System branch the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency NGA also maintains major facilities in the St Louis area 121 The Military Personnel Records Center NPRC MPR located at 9700 Page Avenue in St Louis is a branch of the National Personnel Records Center and is the repository of over 56 million military personnel records and medical records pertaining to retired discharged and deceased veterans of the U S armed forces 122 EducationMain article Education in St Louis For education in the region see Education in Greater St Louis Colleges and universities Brookings Hall at Washington University in St Louis The city is home to three national research universities University of Missouri St Louis Washington University in St Louis and Saint Louis University as classified under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis has been ranked among the top 10 medical schools in the country by U S News amp World Report for as long as the list has been published and as high as second in 2003 and 2004 U S News amp World Report also ranks the undergraduate school and other graduate schools such as the Washington University School of Law in the top 20 in the nation 37 123 St Louis Metropolitan Region is home to St Louis Community College It is also home to several other 4 year colleges amp universities including Harris Stowe State University a historically black public university Fontbonne University Webster University Missouri Baptist University University of Health Sciences amp Pharmacy the former Saint Louis College of Pharmacy Southern Illinois University Edwardsville SIUE and Lindenwood University In addition to Catholic theological institutions such as Kenrick Glennon Seminary and Aquinas Institute of Theology sponsored by the Order of Preachers St Louis is home to three Protestant seminaries Eden Theological Seminary of the United Church of Christ Covenant Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America and Concordia Seminary of the St Louis based Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Primary and secondary schools St Louis University High School was founded in 1818 Their current building pictured here was built in 1924 The St Louis Public Schools SLPS which covers the entire city 124 operate more than 75 schools attended by more than 25 000 students including several magnet schools SLPS operates under provisional accreditation from the state of Missouri and is under the governance of a state appointed school board called the Special Administrative Board although a local board continues to exist without legal authority over the district Since 2000 charter schools have operated in the city of St Louis using authorization from Missouri state law These schools are sponsored by local institutions or corporations and take in students from kindergarten through high school 125 In addition several private schools exist in the city and the Archdiocese of St Louis operates dozens of parochial schools in the city including parochial high schools The city also has several private high schools including secular Montessori Catholic and Lutheran schools St Louis University High School a Jesuit preparatory high school founded in 1818 is the oldest secondary educational institution in the U S west of the Mississippi River 126 The state operated K 12 boarding school Missouri School for the Blind is in St Louis MediaMain article Media in St Louis The former St Louis Post Dispatch building in downtown St Louis Greater St Louis commands the 19th largest media market in the United States a position roughly unchanged for over a decade 127 All of the major U S television networks have affiliates in St Louis including KTVI 2 Fox KMOV 4 CBS KSDK 5 NBC KETC 9 PBS KPLR TV 11 The CW KDNL 30 ABC WRBU 46 Ion and WPXS 51 Daystar Television Network Among the area s most popular radio stations are KMOX AM sports and talk notable as the longtime flagship station for St Louis Cardinals broadcasts KLOU FM oldies WIL FM FM country WARH FM adult hits and KSLZ FM Top 40 mainstream 128 St Louis also supports public radio s KWMU an NPR affiliate and community radio s KDHX All sports stations such as KFNS 590 AM The Fan and WXOS 101 1 ESPN are also popular The St Louis Post Dispatch is the region s major newspaper Others in the region include the Suburban Journals which serve parts of St Louis County while the primary alternative newspaper is the Riverfront Times Three weeklies serve the African American community the St Louis Argus the St Louis American and the St Louis Sentinel St Louis Magazine a monthly magazine covers topics such as local history cuisine and lifestyles while the weekly St Louis Business Journal provides coverage of regional business news St Louis was served by an online newspaper the St Louis Beacon but that publication merged with KWMU in 2013 129 Many books and movies have been written about St Louis A few of the most influential and prominent films are Meet Me in St Louis and American Flyers 130 and novels include The Killing Dance Meet Me in St Louis The Runaway Soul The Rose of Old St Louis and Circus of the Damned As St Louis was a prime location for immigrants to move to much of the early social work depicting immigrant life was based on St Louis such as in the book The Immigrant in St Louis TransportationSee also Transportation in Greater St Louis Interstate 64 crossing the Mississippi in Downtown St Louis Road rail ship and air transportation modes connect the city with surrounding communities in Greater St Louis national transportation networks and international locations St Louis also supports a public transportation network that includes bus and light rail service Roads and highways See also Streets of St Louis Four interstate highways connect the city to a larger regional highway system Interstate 70 an east west highway runs from the northwest corner of the city to downtown St Louis The north south Interstate 55 enters the city at the south near the Carondelet neighborhood and runs toward the center of the city and both Interstate 64 and Interstate 44 enter the city on the west running parallel to the east Two of the four interstates Interstates 55 and 64 merge south of Gateway Arch National Park and leave the city on the Poplar Street Bridge into Illinois while Interstate 44 terminates at Interstate 70 at its new interchange near N Broadway and Cass Ave A small portion of the Interstate 270 outer belt freeway runs through the northern end of the city The 563 mile Avenue of the Saints links St Louis with St Paul Minnesota Major roadways include the north south Memorial Drive located on the western edge of Gateway Arch National Park and parallel to Interstate 70 the north south streets of Grand Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue both of which run the length of the city and Gravois Road which runs from the southeastern portion of the city to downtown and used to be signed as U S Route 66 An east west roadway that connects the city with surrounding communities is Martin Luther King Jr Drive which carries traffic from the western edge of the city to downtown Metro Light Rail and Subway Main article MetroLink St Louis MetroLink Red Line train leaving St Louis Union Station University City Big Bend Subway Station along the Blue Line near Washington University The St Louis metro area is served by MetroLink known as Metro and is the 11th largest light rail system in the country with 46 mi 74 km of double track light rail The Red Line and The Blue Line both serve all the stations in the inner city and branch to different destinations beyond in the suburban areas Both lines enter the city north of Forest Park on the western edge of the city or on the Eads Bridge in downtown St Louis to Illinois All of the system track is in independent right of way with both surface level and underground subway track in the city All stations are independent entry while all platforms are flush level with trains Rail service is provided by the Bi State Development Agency also known as Metro which is funded by a sales taxes levied in the city and other counties in the region 131 The Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center acts as the hub station in the city of St Louis linking the city s light rail system local bus system passenger rail service and national bus service It is located just east of the historic grand St Louis Union Station Airports Control tower and main terminal at St Louis Lambert St Louis is served by two passenger airports St Louis Lambert International Airport owned and operated by the City of St Louis is 11 miles northwest of downtown along highway I 70 between I 170 and I 270 in St Louis County It is the largest and busiest airport in the state In 2016 when the airport had more than 255 daily departures to about 90 domestic and international locations it served more than 15 million passengers 132 The airport serves as a focus hub city for Southwest Airlines it was once a hub for Trans World Airlines and a focus city for American Airlines and AmericanConnection 132 The airport has two terminals with a total of five concourses International flights and passengers use Terminal 2 whose lower level holds the Immigration and Customs gates Passengers can move between the terminals on complimentary buses that run continuously or via MetroLink for a fee It was possible to walk between the terminals until Concourse D was closed in 2008 133 MidAmerica St Louis Airport is the secondary passenger airport serving the metropolitan area Located 17 miles east of the city downtown core the airport serves domestic passengers Air cargo transportation is available at Lambert International and at other nearby regional airports including MidAmerica St Louis Airport Spirit of St Louis Airport and St Louis Downtown Airport Port authority River transportation is available through the Port of St Louis which is 19 3 miles of riverbank on the Mississippi River that handles more than 32 million tons of freight annually The Port is the second largest inland port by trip ton miles and the third largest by tonnage in the United States with more than 100 docks for barges and 16 public terminals on the river 134 The Port Authority added two new small fire and rescue craft in 2012 and 2013 Railroad service Main article Transportation in St Louis Railroad Service An eastbound Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis freight train passing under the Hampton Avenue viaduct Inter city rail passenger train service in the city is provided by Amtrak at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center downtown Amtrak trains terminating in the city include the Lincoln Service to Chicago and the Missouri River Runner to Kansas City Missouri St Louis is an intermediate stop on the Texas Eagle route which provides long distance passenger service between Chicago San Antonio and three days a week to Los Angeles 135 St Louis is the nation s third largest freight rail hub moving Missouri exports such as fertilizer gravel crushed stone prepared foodstuffs fats oils nonmetallic mineral products grain alcohol tobacco products automobiles and automobile parts 136 Freight rail service in St Louis is provided on tracks owned by Union Pacific Railroad Norfolk Southern Railway Foster Townsend Rail Logistics formerly Manufacturers Railway St Louis Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis Affton Trucking 137 and the BNSF Railway The Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis reporting mark TRRA is a switching and terminal railroad jointly owned by all the major rail carriers in St Louis The company operates 30 diesel electric locomotives to move railcars around the classification yards deliver railcars to local industries and ready trains for departure 138 The TRRA processes and dispatches a significant portion of railroad traffic moving through the city and owns and operates a network of rail bridges and tunnels including the MacArthur Bridge St Louis and the Merchants Bridge 139 This infrastructure is also used by inter city rail and long distance passenger trains serving St Louis Bus service Main article MetroBus Bus passing under the St Louis Science Center walkway Local bus service in the city of St Louis is provided by the Bi State Development Agency via MetroBus with more than 75 routes connecting to MetroLink light rail transit and stops in the city and region The city is also served by Madison County Transit which connects downtown St Louis to Madison County Illinois National bus service in the city is offered by Greyhound Lines Burlington Trailways and Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach with a station at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center and Megabus with a stop at St Louis Union Station Taxi Taxicab service in the city is provided by private companies regulated by the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission Rates vary by vehicle type size passengers and distance and by regulation all taxicab fares must be calculated using a taximeter and be payable in cash or credit card 140 Solicitation by a driver is prohibited although a taxicab may be hailed on the street or at a stand Notable peopleMain category People from St Louis For a more comprehensive list see List of people from St Louis Sister citiesSt Louis has 16 sister cities 141 Bologna Italy Bogor Indonesia Brcko Brcko District Bosnia and Herzegovina Donegal County Donegal Ireland Galway County Galway Ireland Georgetown Guyana Lyon France Nanjing China Rosario Santa Fe Argentina Saint Louis Senegal Samara Russia San Luis Potosi Mexico Stuttgart Germany 142 Suwa Japan Szczecin Poland 143 Wuhan ChinaSee also United States portal North America portal Geography portalCaves of St Louis Delmar Divide Downtown St Louis Laclede s Landing St Louis Downtown West St Louis Great Flood of 1993 Heat wave of 2006 derecho series History of the Jews in St Louis LaClede Town LGBT culture in St Louis List of mayors of St Louis List of tallest buildings in St Louis National Register of Historic Places listings in St Louis city A L Missouri National Register of Historic Places listings in St Louis city M Z Missouri Neighborhoods of St Louis Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Louis St Louis cuisine St Louis in the Civil War 1939 St Louis smog List of Veiled Prophet Parade themesNotes Mean monthly maxima and minima i e the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020 Official records for St Louis were kept at the Weather Bureau Office from January 1874 to December 1892 Eads Bridge from January 1893 to December 1929 and at Lambert St Louis Int l since January 1930 42 References a b St Louis United States Visiting the Gateway to the West Globosapiens net Archived from the original on May 15 2011 Retrieved March 14 2011 St Louis Public Library on Mound City Archived October 1 2008 at the Wayback Machine STLtoday com on The Lou Rome of the West Stltoday com Archived from the original on August 10 2017 Retrieved August 10 2017 ArcGIS REST Services Directory United States Census Bureau Retrieved August 28 2022 St Louis City Missouri Population Finder American FactFinder United States Geological Survey October 24 1980 Archived from the original on January 22 2020 Retrieved 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copy as title link Imo s Pizza The Square Beyond Compare Imospizza com Archived from the original on August 25 2017 Retrieved August 10 2017 Ted Drewes Frozen Custard Home Archived from the original on February 8 2014 Retrieved March 4 2014 St Louis Cardinals Franchise Timeline St Louis Cardinals Archived from the original on March 2 2022 Retrieved March 1 2022 St Louis Cardinals Postseason results St Louis Cardinals Archived from the original on March 2 2022 Retrieved March 1 2022 Tim Bryant Citygarden an immediate hit with visitors St Louis Post Dispatch July 1 2009 David Bonetti Spectacular Citygarden is opening on schedule in St Louis Archived July 1 2009 at the Wayback Machine St Louis Post Dispatch June 28 2009 2 Archived June 23 2011 at the Wayback Machine Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States Its Possessions and Associated Areas Change Notice No 7 2001 Archived from the original on September 29 2013 Retrieved May 27 2006 City of St Louis Elected Officials Stlouis mo gov July 8 2010 Archived from the original on April 6 2012 Retrieved March 24 2012 Guide to the Board of Aldermen Archived October 28 2013 at the Wayback Machine StLouis mo gov City s budget tops 1 billion for first time Business Journal July 1 2014 Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved July 1 2014 SoS Missouri Elections Registered Voters in Missouri 2012 Sos mo gov Archived from the original on October 25 2012 Retrieved November 10 2012 SoS Missouri Elections Registered Voters in Missouri 2008 Sos mo gov Archived from the original on November 16 2011 Retrieved April 1 2012 City of St Louis Departments Stlouis mo gov Archived from the original on August 11 2017 Retrieved August 10 2017 Wards and Aldermen First Time All 28 Aldermen Are Democrats UrbanReview ST LOUIS webcache googleusercontent com Archived from the original on June 16 2019 Retrieved December 5 2019 Public Safety Annual Operating Plan PDF Board of Aldermen June 29 2019 p 3 Retrieved June 29 2019 S Nicole ers New certification to allow St Louis City deputies to make arrests traffic stops KMOV Retrieved November 13 2022 Leip David Dave Leip s Atlas of U S Presidential Elections uselectionatlas org Archived from the original on March 23 2018 Retrieved October 25 2022 a b c Missouri s New Congressional District Maps Missouri Digital News Archived from the original on December 26 2012 Retrieved January 14 2013 Who We Are National Geospatial Intelligence Agency August 4 2008 Archived from the original on February 26 2009 Retrieved January 22 2010 Veterans Service Records Archives gov August 15 2016 Archived from the original on July 29 2017 Retrieved August 10 2017 Overview of Washington University in St Louis U S News amp World Report Archived from the original on July 4 2019 Retrieved December 19 2019 2020 CENSUS SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP St Louis city MO PDF U S Census Bureau Retrieved July 22 2022 Text list Slps org Slps org Archived from the original on May 1 2009 Retrieved March 14 2011 Private Catholic School Chesterfield History Sluh org Archived from the original on January 18 2017 Retrieved January 15 2017 Nielsen Media 2010 2011 Local Market Estimates Nielsen Media Research Broadcast Employment Services October 1 2010 Archived from the original on August 28 2008 Retrieved July 20 2011 Arbitron June 2011 3 Archived July 20 2013 at the Wayback Machine Tucker Justin Top 10 Films Set or Partially Set in St Louis Inside St Louis Archived from the original on May 8 2016 Retrieved April 25 2016 Metro Inside MetroLink Metro Archived from the original on September 11 2008 Retrieved October 29 2008 a b Lambert St Louis International Airport gt Home View Blog Flystl com Archived from the original on August 11 2017 Retrieved August 10 2017 St Louis Airport Reopens One Concourse Remains Closed Travelpulse com April 25 2011 Archived from the original on March 24 2012 Retrieved November 22 2011 St Louis Port Authority Stlouis mo gov April 16 2013 Archived from the original on February 21 2014 Retrieved February 7 2014 amtrak com Brite Tony Rail Freight PDF Missouri Economic Research and Information Center Archived from the original PDF on June 29 2014 Retrieved January 28 2014 Affton Trucking Afftontrucking com Archived from the original on August 2 2017 Retrieved August 10 2017 TRRA History Terminalrailroad com Archived from the original on February 2 2014 Retrieved February 7 2014 TRRA Home Terminalrailroad com Archived from the original on February 1 2014 Retrieved February 7 2014 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on March 27 2012 Retrieved July 17 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link St Louis Sister Cities St Louis Center for International Relations Archived from the original on December 17 2021 Retrieved March 24 2022 Stuttgart Stadtepartnerschaften Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart Abteilung Aussenbeziehungen in German Archived from the original on August 8 2013 Retrieved July 27 2013 Kontakty partnerskie Miasta Szczecin Urzad Miasta Szczecin in Polish Archived from the original on August 18 2012 Retrieved July 29 2013 Further readingHenry W Berger St Louis and Empire 250 Years of Imperial Quest and Urban Crisis Carbondale IL Southern Illinois University Press 2015 Carl J Ekberg and Sharon K Person St Louis Rising The French Regime of Louis St Ange de Bellerive Urbana IL University of Illinois Press 2015 Gordon Colin Mapping Decline St Louis and the Fate of the American City Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press 2008 ISBN 9780812220940External linksSt Louis at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Travel information from Wikivoyage Resources from Wikiversity Official website St Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association Historic maps of St Louis in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Louis amp oldid 1130969364, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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