The area that became St. Louis was a center of theNative AmericanMississippian culture, which built numerous temple and residentialearthworkmounds on both sides of the Mississippi River. Their major regional center was atCahokia Mounds, active from 900 to 1500. Due to numerous majorearthworks 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 encountered by early Europeans included theSiouan-speakingOsage people, whose territory extended west, and theIlliniwek.[22]Sugarloaf Mound in South St. Louis was rematriated to theOsage Nation in 2025.[23]
In 1764, after France lost theSeven Years' War,Pierre Laclède and his stepsonAuguste Chouteau founded what was to become the city of St. Louis.[24] (French lands east of the Mississippi had been ceded toGreat Britain and the lands west of the Mississippi to Spain; Catholic France and Spain were 18th-century allies.Louis XV of France andCharles III of Spain were cousins, both from the House of Bourbon.[25][circular reference]) The French families built the city's economy on thefur trade with the Osage, and with more distant tribes along theMissouri River. The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade withSanta Fe. French colonists usedAfrican slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city.[citation needed]
During the negotiations for the 1763Treaty of Paris, French negotiators agreed to transfer France's colonial territories west of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers toNew Spain to compensate for Spanish territorial losses during the war. These areas remained under Spanish control until 1803, when they were transferred to theFrench First Republic. During theAmerican Revolutionary War, St. Louis was unsuccessfully attacked by British-allied Native Americans in the 1780Battle of St. Louis.[26]
The founding of St. Louis was preceded by a trading business betweenGilbert Antoine de St. Maxent andPierre Laclède (Liguest) in late 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. ThoughSte. 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. Laclède declared that this place "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.[27]
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.[27]
The muralIndian Attack on the Village of St. Louis, 1780, depicts that during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was unsuccessfully attacked by British-allied Native Americans in theBattle of St. Louis in 1780.
For the city's first few years, it was not recognized by any 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".[28] In 1763, the Native Americans in the region around St. Louis began expressing dissatisfaction with the victorious British, objecting to their refusal to continue to the French tradition of supplying gifts to Natives. Odawa chieftainPontiac began forming a pan-tribal alliance to counter British control over the region but received little support from the indigenous residents of St. Louis. By 1765, the city began receiving visits from representatives of the British, French, and Spanish governments.[citation needed]
St. Louis was transferred to theFrench 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 theLouisiana Purchase. St. Louis became the capital of, and gateway to, the new territory. Shortly afterthe official transfer of authority was made, theLewis 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 asAshley's Hundred) would later take a similar route to the West.[citation needed]
White men pose in 1852 at Lynch'sslave market at 104 Locust Street.
The city elected its first municipal legislators (called trustees) in 1808.Steamboats first arrived in St. Louis in 1817, improving connections withNew 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 busyport and trade connections.[citation needed]
City of St. Louis and Riverfront, 1874South Broadway had a tornado on May 27, 1896.
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.[citation needed]
Slaves worked in many jobs on the waterfront and on the riverboats. Given the city's location close to thefree state of Illinois and others, some slaves escaped to freedom. Others, especially women with children, sued in court infreedom suits, and several prominent local attorneys aided slaves in these suits. About half the slaves achieved freedom in hundreds of suits before theAmerican Civil War began in 1861. The printing press of abolitionistElijah Parish Lovejoy was destroyed for the third time by townsfolk. He was murdered the next year in nearbyAlton, Illinois.[citation needed]
After the war, St. Louis profited via trade with the West, aided by the 1874 completion of theEads 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 toEast 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 theGateway 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.[citation needed]
On August 22, 1876, the city of St. Louis voted tosecede fromSt. Louis County and become an independent city, and, following a recount of the votes in November, officially did so in March 1877.[29] The1877 St. Louis general strike caused significant upheaval, in a fight for the eight-hour day and the banning of child labor.[30][page needed]
In 1900, the entire streetcar system was shut down by aseveral months-long strike, with significant unrest occurring in the city & violence against the striking workers.[32]
After the Civil War, social and racial discrimination in housing and employment were common in St. Louis. In 1916, during theJim Crow Era, St. Louis passed a residential segregation ordinance[34] 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.[35] That ordinance was struck down in a court challenge, by the NAACP,[36] 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 theU.S. Supreme Court in 1948 inShelley v. Kraemer.[37]
In the first half of the 20th century, St. Louis was a destination in theGreat Migration of African Americans from the rural South seeking better opportunities.[citation needed] DuringWorld War II, theNAACP 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 theCivil Rights Act of 1964.[citation needed]
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.[39]
In the first part of the century, St. Louis had some of the worstair 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 onlyanthracite was burned. By 1946, the city had reduced air pollution by about 75%.[40]
TheArch (completed 1965) is visible fromLaclede's Landing, the remaining section of St. Louis's commercial riverfront.
De jure educational segregation continued into the 1950s, andde 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.[41]
St. Louis, like manyMidwestern 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.[42]Suburbanization from the 1950s through the 1990s dramatically reduced the city's population, as did restructuring of industry and loss of jobs.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Severalurban 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.[citation needed] The degradation and razing ofMill Creek Valley in this time was featured as an example of disenfranchisement in the 2024 Reparations Commission Report.[43]
The urban revitalization projects that started in the 1980s continued into the new century. The city'sold garment district, centered on Washington Avenue in theDowntown andDowntown West neighborhoods, experienced major development starting in the late 1990s as many of the old factory and warehouse buildings were converted into lofts. TheAmerican Planning Association designated Washington Avenue as one of 10 Great Streets for 2011.[44] TheCortex Innovation Community, located within the city'sCentral West End neighborhood, was founded in 2002 and has become a multi-billion dollar economic engine for the region, with companies such as Microsoft and Boeing currently leasing office space.[45][46] TheForest Park Southeast neighborhood in the central corridor has seen major investment starting in the early 2010s. Between 2013 and 2018, over $50 million worth of residential construction has been built in the neighborhood.[47] The population of the neighborhood has increased by 19% from the 2010 to 2020 Census.[48]
TheSt. Louis Rams of theNational Football League controversially returned toLos Angeles in 2016. The city of St. Louis sued the NFL in 2017, alleging the league breached its own relocation guidelines to profit at the expense of the city. In 2021, the NFL and Rams ownerStan Kroenke agreed to settle out of court with the city for $790 million.[49][50]
Built for the1904 World's Fair, with a building designed byCass Gilbert, the museum houses paintings, sculptures, and cultural objects. The museum is located inForest Park, and admission is free.
Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical institutions in the United States and aNational Historic Landmark. It spans 79 acres in theShaw neighborhood, including a 14-acre (5.7-hectare)Japanese garden and the Climatrongeodesic dome conservatory.
Dedicated in 1914, it is the mother church of theArchdiocese of St. Louis and the seat of itsarchbishop. The church is known for its largemosaic installation (which is one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere with 41.5 million pieces), burial crypts, and its outdoor sculpture.
City Museum is a play house museum, consisting largely of repurposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building in theWashington Avenue Loft District.
Built in the 19th century, it served as a federal and state courthouse. TheScott v. Sandford case (resulting in the Dred Scott decision) was tried at the courthouse in 1846.
Founded in 1963, it includes ascience museum and aplanetarium, and is situated inForest Park. Admission is free. It is one of two science centers in the United States which offers free general admission.
Founded in 1880, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, preceded by theNew York Philharmonic. Its principal concert venue isPowell Symphony Hall.
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, withAmtrak 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.
Built for the1904 World's Fair, it is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education. It is located inForest Park, and admission is free.
The architecture of St. Louis exhibits a variety of commercial, residential, and monumentalarchitecture. St. Louis is known for theGateway Arch, the tallestmonument constructed in the United States at 630 feet (190 m).[52] The Arch pays homage toThomas Jefferson and St. Louis's position as the gateway to the West. Architectural influences reflected in the area includeFrench Colonial,German,early American, andmodern architectural styles.
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 theBasilica of St. Louis, King of France (referred to as theOld 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 andChrist Church Cathedral (completed in 1867, designed in 1859) in the Gothic Revival style.[citation needed]
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. TheOld St. Louis County Courthouse (known as theOld Courthouse) was completed in 1864 and was notable for having acast 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 theU.S. Customhouse and Post Office.[citation needed]
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 calledLaclede'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 theAnheuser-Busch Brewery, which date to the 1860s.[citation needed]
The city is divided into 79 officially-recognized neighborhoods.[53]
Topography
Rivers in the St. Louis area
According to theUnited 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.[54] The city is built onbluffs and terraces that rise 100–200 feet above the western banks of the Mississippi River, in theMidwestern United States just south of theMissouri-Mississippiconfluence. 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.[citation needed]
Limestone anddolomite of theMississippianepoch underlie the area, and parts of the city arekarst 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, brickclay, andmillerite ore were once mined in the city. The predominant surface rock, known asSt. Louis limestone, is used asdimension stone and rubble for construction.[citation needed]
Near the southern boundary of the city of St. Louis (separating it fromSt. Louis County) is theRiver des Peres, practically the only river or stream within the city limits that is not entirely underground.[55] 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 theGreat Flood of 1993.[56]
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. TheMeramec River forms most of its southern line.[citation needed]
The Captains' Return statue was inundated by the Mississippi River, 2010.
The urban area of St. Louis has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen:Cfa); however, itsmetropolitan region even to the south may present a hot-summerhumid continental climate (Dfa), which shows the effect of theurban heat island in the city.[citation needed] The city experiences hot, humid summers and chilly to cold winters.[citation needed] It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from theGulf of Mexico.[citation needed] The average annual temperature recorded at nearbyLambert–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 experiencesthunderstorms 48 days a year on average.[57] Especially in the spring, these storms can often be severe, with high winds, largehail and tornadoes. Lying within the hotbed ofTornado Alley, St. Louis is one of the most frequently tornado-struck metropolitan areas in the U.S. and has an extensive history ofdamaging tornadoes. Severe flooding, such as theGreat 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.[citation needed]
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 mainlyoak,maple, andhickory, similar to the forests of the nearbyOzarks; common understory trees includeeastern redbud,serviceberry, andflowering dogwood.Riparian areas are forested with mainlyAmerican 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 isJapanese honeysuckle, which officials are trying to manage because of its damage to native trees. It is removed from some parks.
Winter populations ofbald eagles are along the Mississippi River around theChain of Rocks Bridge. The city is on theMississippi Flyway, used by migrating birds, and has a large variety of small bird species, common to the eastern U.S. TheEurasian 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, includingTower Grove Park.
Common frog species include theAmerican toad and species of chorus frogs calledspring peepers, which are found in nearly every pond. Some years have outbreaks ofcicadas orladybugs. 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 ofhoneybees have declined in recent years. Numerous native species of pollinator insects have recovered to fill their ecological niche, andarmadillos are throughout the St. Louis area.[63]
Map of racial distribution in St. Louis, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people:⬤ White⬤ Black⬤ Asian⬤ Hispanic⬤ OtherPruitt–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 theGreat Migration out of rural areas of the Deep South. Many came from Mississippi and Arkansas. Italians, Serbians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Greeks settled in St. Louis by the late 19th-Century.[65]
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.[66] 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.[67] 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.[citation needed] As of the 2020 Census, St. Louis has lost 64.8% of its population since the1950 United States census. During this period, the population of Greater St. Louis, which includes more than one county, has grown every year and continues to do so.
Ethnic origins in St. Louis
According to the2010 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 (1,991.6 people/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[68]). Among the Asian-American population in the city, the largest ethnic group isVietnamese (0.9%), followed byChinese (0.6%) andIndians (0.5%). The Vietnamese community has concentrated in theDutchtown neighborhood of south St. Louis; Chinese are concentrated in theCentral West End.[69] People ofMexican 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), andGravois Park neighborhoods.[70] People ofItalian descent are concentrated inThe Hill.
In 2010, St. Louis's per-capita rates of online charitable donations and volunteerism were among the highest among major U.S. cities.[71]
As of 2010[update], 91.05% (270,934) of St. Louis city residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as aprimary 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 amain 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 amother language other than English.[72]
St. Louis, Missouri – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the U.S. census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
About fifteen families from Bosnia settled in St. Louis between 1960 and 1970. After theBosnian 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, ethnicallyBosniaks (87%); they have settled primarily in south St. Louis[82] and South County.Bosnian-Americans are well integrated into the city, developing many businesses and ethnic/cultural organizations.[83]
An estimated 70,000Bosnians live in the metro area, which is tied withChicago for 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 ofBevo Mill and inAffton,Mehlville, andOakville of southSt. Louis County.[84][85]
Since 2014 the city of St. Louis has had, as of April 2017[update], one of the highest murder rates, per capita, in the United States,[87] with 188 homicides in 2015 (59.3 homicides per 100,000)[88][89] and ranks No. 13 of the most dangerous cities in the world by homicide rate.Detroit,Flint,Memphis,Birmingham, andBaltimore have higher overall violent crime rates than St. Louis, when comparing other crimes such as rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.[88][90] These crime rates are high relative to other American cities, but St. Louisindex 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 theUnited States national average and property crime in the city remains 21⁄2 times the national average.[91] 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.[92][93] TheSt. 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.[94] 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.[95][96] 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.[95]
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 a 2018 estimate, 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.[97]
Thegross domestic product of Greater St. Louis was $209.9 billion in 2022, up from $192.9 billion the previous year.[17] Greater St. Louis had a GDP per capita of $68,574 in 2021, up 10% from the previous year.[98][99] As of November, 2024, the education and health services industries employed the greatest amount of people in the region, followed by the trade, transportation, and utilities industries and professional and business services.[100]
Cortex Innovation Community inMidtown is the region's largest innovation hub. Cortex is home to offices ofSquare,Microsoft,Aon,Boeing, andCentene. Cortex has generated 3,800 tech jobs in 14 years, and once built out, is projected to generate $2 billion in development and create 13,000 jobs for the region.[112] The nonprofitArch Grants is attracting new startups to the region, while the nonprofitLaunchCode trains future tech workers.[113][114]
The same year as the 1904World's Fair, the Strassberger Music Conservatory Building was constructed at 2300 Grand. Otto Wilhelmi was the architect. In 1911, the conservatory had over 1,100 students.[117] The building is presently in theNational Register of Historic Places.[118] A well known graduate wasAlfonso D'Artega.[119]
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 ofRoman Catholicism in the United States. St. Louis also boasts the largestEthical Culture Society in the United States and is one of the most generous cities in the United States, ranking ninth in 2013.[120] Several places of worship in the city are noteworthy, such as theCathedral Basilica of St. Louis, home of the world's largest mosaic installation.[121]
Other churches include theBasilica of St. Louis, King of France, the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the oldest church in St. Louis; theSt. Louis Abbey, whose distinctive architectural style garnered multiple awards at the time of its completion in 1962; andSt. Francis de Sales Oratory, aneo-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, especiallyblues,jazz, andragtime. TheSt. Louis Symphony is the second oldestsymphony orchestra in the United States. Until 2010, it was also home toKFUO-FM, one of the oldest classical music FM radio stations west of the Mississippi River.[122]Opera Theatre of St. Louis has been called "one of America's best summer festivals" by theWashington 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 theMetropolitan 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.[123]
TheGateway Arch anchors downtown St. Louis and a historic center that includes: the Federal courthouse where theDred Scott case was first argued, an expanded public library, major churches and businesses, and retail.[citation needed] An increasing downtown residential population has taken to adapted office buildings and other historic structures. In nearbyUniversity City is theDelmar Loop, ranked by theAmerican Planning Association as a "great American street" for its variety of shops and restaurants, and the Tivoli Theater, all within walking distance.[124]
Unique city and regional cuisine reflecting various immigrant groups includetoasted ravioli,gooey butter cake,provel cheese, theslinger, theGerber sandwich, and theSt. 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.[citation needed]
St. Louis-style pizza has thin crust, provel cheese, and is cut in small squares.[125] Frozen-custard purveyorTed 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.[126]
TheSt. Louis Blues of theNational Hockey League (NHL) play at theEnterprise Center. They were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the1967 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 firstStanley Cup in2019 after beating theBoston 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 theSt. Louis Eagles. The team played in the 1934–35 season.[citation needed]
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 asCentral Park in New York City.[52] The park is home to five major institutions, including theSt. Louis Art Museum, theSt. Louis Zoo, theSt. Louis Science Center, theMissouri History Museum, andthe Muny amphitheatre.[52] Another significant park in the city isGateway 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) tallGateway Arch, aNational Memorial designed by noted architectEero Saarinen and completed on October 28, 1965. Also part of the historic park is theOld Courthouse, where the first two trials ofDred Scott v. Sandford were held in 1847 and 1850.
Other parks include theMissouri Botanical Garden,Tower Grove Park,Carondelet Park, andCitygarden. 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.[52] 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 theClimatron.[52] Immediately south of the Missouri Botanical Garden isTower Grove Park, a gift to the city byHenry Shaw. Citygarden is an urbansculpture park located in downtown St. Louis, with art fromFernand Léger,Aristide Maillol,Julian Opie,Tom Otterness,Niki de Saint Phalle, andMark di Suvero.[130][131] 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 1982Richard Serra sculptureTwain.[132]
Government
St. Louis is one of the 41independent cities in the U.S. that does not legally belong to anycounty.[133] St. Louis has a strongmayor–council government with legislative authority and oversight vested in theBoard of Aldermen and with executive authority in themayor and six other elected officials.[134] The Board of Aldermen is made up of 14 members (one elected from each of the city's wards) plus a board president who is elected citywide.[135] The 2014 fiscal year budget topped $1 billion for the first time, a 1.9% increase over the $985.2 million budget in 2013.[136] 238,253 registered voters lived in the city in 2012,[137] down from 239,247 in 2010, and 257,442 in 2008.[138]
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 using a top-twoapproval voting primary.[141] The aldermen representing odd-numbered wards are up for election at the same time as the mayor. The president of the board of aldermen and the aldermen from even-numbered wards are elected in the off-years. TheDemocratic Party has dominated St. Louis city politics for decades. The city has not had aRepublican 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.[142]
Forty-seven individuals have held the office of mayor of St. Louis, four of whom—William Carr Lane,John Fletcher Darby,John Wimer, andJohn 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 isTishaura Jones, who took office April 20, 2021, and is the first African-American woman to hold the post. She succeededLyda Krewson, the first female mayor of the city, who retired in 2021 after serving for four years. The longest-serving mayor wasFrancis 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 wasArthur 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 theSt. Louis Zoo,St. Louis Art Museum and theMissouri 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'sMetroLink light rail system and bus system.
Ford Transport Vans, Chevrolet Transport Vans, Ford Police Interceptor
Planes
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The City of St. Louis Sheriff's Office (STLSO or STLCSO) primarily provides security services for the courtrooms, and serves court documents and issues gun carry permits. In 2022, it gained the ability to make arrests and traffic stops.[144]
State and federal government
United States presidential election results for St. Louis, Missouri[145]
St. Louis is split between 8 districts in theMissouri House of Representatives: the 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, and 84th districts.[146] The 5thMissouri Senate district is entirely within the city, while the 4th is shared with St. Louis County.[147]
At the federal level, St. Louis is the heart ofMissouri's 1st congressional district, which also includes part of northern St. Louis County.[148] A Republican has not represented a significant portion of St. Louis in the U.S. House since 1953. The city shifted from Republican voting to a Democratic stronghold at the presidential level since 1928.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.
St. Louis Metropolitan Region is home toSt. Louis Community College. It is also home to several other four-year colleges & universities, includingHarris–Stowe State University, ahistorically blackpublic 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.
TheSt. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), which covers the entire city,[151] operate more than 75 schools, attended by more than 25,000 students, including severalmagnet schools. SLPS operates under provisionalaccreditation from the state of Missouri and is under the governance of a state-appointedschool 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 fromkindergarten through high school.[152] In addition, several private schools exist in the city, and theArchdiocese of St. Louis operates dozens ofparochial schools in the city, including parochial high schools. The city also has several private high schools, including secular,Montessori,Catholic andLutheran 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.[153] The state-operated K-12 boarding schoolMissouri School for the Blind is in St. Louis.
Greater St. Louis commands the 24th-largestmedia market in the United States.[154] All of the major U.S. television networks have affiliates in St. Louis, includingKTVI 2 (Fox),KMOV 4 (CBS, withMyNetworkTV on channel 32.1),KSDK 5 (NBC),KETC 9 (PBS),KPLR-TV 11 (The CW),KNLC 24 (MeTV),KDNL 30 (ABC),WRBU 46 (Ion), andWPXS 51Daystar Television Network. Among the area's most popular radio stations areKMOX (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), andKSLZ (FM Top 40 mainstream).[155] St. Louis also supportspublic radio'sKWMU, anNPR affiliate, andcommunity radio'sKDHX. All-sports stations, such asKFNS 590 AM "The Fan" andWXOS "101.1 ESPN" are also popular.KSHE 95 FM "Real Rock Radio" has broadcast rock music since November 1967 - longer than any other radio station in the United States.
Because 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 bookThe Immigrant in St. Louis.[citation needed]
Fourinterstate highways connect the city to a larger regional highway system.Interstate 70, an east–west highway, runs from the northwest corner of the city todowntown St. Louis. The north–southInterstate 55 enters the city at the south near theCarondelet neighborhood and runs toward the center of the city, and bothInterstate 64 andInterstate 44 enter the city on the west, running parallel to the east. Two of the four interstates (Interstates 55 and 64) merge south ofGateway Arch National Park and leave the city on thePoplar 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 theInterstate 270 outer belt freeway runs through the northern end of the city.[citation needed]
Major roadways include the north–southMemorial Drive, located on the western edge of Gateway Arch National Park and parallel to Interstate 70, the north–south streets ofGrand Boulevard andJefferson Avenue, both of which run the length of the city, andGravois Road, which runs from the southeastern portion of the city to downtown and used to be signed asU.S. Route 66. An east-west roadway that connects the city with surrounding communities isMartin Luther King, Jr. Drive, which carries traffic from the western edge of the city to downtown.[citation needed]
ASt. Louis MetroLink Red Line train leaves St. Louis Union Station.University City-Big Bend Subway Station is along the Blue Line, near Washington University.
The St. Louis metropolitan area is served by MetroLink (known as Metro) and is the 11th-largest light rail system in the country with 46 mi (74 km) ofdouble tracklight 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 ofForest Park on the western edge of the city or on theEads 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, and all platforms are flush-level with trains. Rail service is provided by theBi-State Development Agency (also known as Metro), which is funded by asales taxes levied in the city and other counties in the region.[159] TheGateway 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 grandSt. Louis Union Station.[citation needed]
Airports
This control tower and main terminal are 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.[160] The airport serves as a focus hub city forSouthwest Airlines; it was once a hub forTrans World Airlines and a focus-city forAmerican Airlines andAmericanConnection.[160] 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.[161]
River transportation is available through thePort of St. Louis, which is 19.3 miles of riverbank on theMississippi 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 forbarges and 16 public terminals on the river.[162] The Port Authority added two new small fire and rescue craft in 2012 and 2013.
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 ataximeter and be payable in cash or credit card.[168] Solicitation by a driver is prohibited, although a taxicab may be hailed on the street or at a stand.
^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.[58]
^abCazorla, Frank; Baena, Rose; Polo, David; and Reder Gadow, Marion. (2019)The governor Louis de Unzaga (1717–1793) Pioneer in the Birth of the United States of America. Foundation, Malaga, pages 49, 57–65, 70–75, 150, 207
^History: Physical Growth of the City of St. Louis. St. Louis City Planning Commission. 1969.
^abWade, Richard C. (1959).The Urban Frontier: The Rise of Western Cities, 1790–1830 (1996 Illini Books ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 3–4.ISBN0-252-06422-4.
^Van Ravenswaay, Charles (1991).St. Louis: An Informal History of the City and Its People, 1764-1865. Missouri History Museum. p. 26.ISBN9780252019159.
^Clymer, Floyd.Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p. 32.
^Arenson, Adam (2015).The great heart of the republic: St. Louis and the cultural Civil War (1st ed.). Columbia (Mo.): University of Missouri Press.ISBN978-0-8262-2064-6.
^"1904 Summer Olympics". International Olympic Committee.Archived from the original on August 15, 2008. RetrievedApril 20, 2007.
^Primm, James.Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, 1764-1980. St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri History Museum Press. 1998. Print
^Smith, Jeffrey. "A Preservation Plan for St. Louis Part I: Historic Contexts" St. Louis, Missouri Cultural Resources Office. Web. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
^NAACP. Papers of the NAACP Part 5. The Campaign against Residential Segregation. Frederick, MD: University Publications of America. 1986. Web
^"Shelley House". We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement. National Park Service. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
^Lohraff, Kevin (2009).Hiking Missouri (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p. 73.ISBN978-0-7360-7588-6.Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. RetrievedNovember 1, 2016.
^"Station Name: MO ST LOUIS LAMBERT INTL AP".U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. RetrievedJuly 22, 2021.
^Bosman, Julie and Mitch Smith (December 28, 2016). Article comparing Chicago's annual homicide statistics to those of other American cities, including St. Louis,New York Times.Archived March 31, 2017, at theWayback Machine
^Brite, Tony."Rail Freight"(PDF). Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on June 29, 2014. RetrievedJanuary 28, 2014.
^"Affton Trucking".Afftontrucking.com.Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. RetrievedAugust 10, 2017.
^"TRRA History". Terminalrailroad.com.Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2014.
^"TRRA Home". Terminalrailroad.com.Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2014.
^"St. Louis Sister Cities". St. Louis Center for International Relations.Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. RetrievedMarch 24, 2022.
^"Stuttgart Städtepartnerschaften".Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, Abteilung Außenbeziehungen (in German).Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. RetrievedJuly 27, 2013.
Berger, Henry W.St. Louis and Empire: 250 Years of Imperial Quest and Urban Crisis. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2015.
Ekberg, Carl J., 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.ISBN9780812220940
Primm, James Neal.Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, 1764-1980 (1998) a major scholarly historyonline
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