This is the begining of my St. Louis Page. The basics I found in Grolier's. As the months go on, you will find my personal additions, memories I have from growing up there, things I see and do when I visit there, the road to getting there from Chicago, famous Route 66 and many links I have and are still discovering in my WEB travels.
St. Louis will always and forever be my hometown, the place I yearn to be.
an excerpt from Grolier's Encyclipedia
St. Louis is the second largest city of Missouri and a separate administrative unit of the state, independent of all counties. It is located at the central eastern edge of the state on the west bank of the Mississippi River (Illinois is on the east bank), about 15 km (9 mi) below its confluence with the Missouri River. The city proper has a population of 396,685 (1990 census) in an area of 158 sq km (61 sq mi), and experienced a population decline of more than 12% between 1980 and 1990. The metropolitan-area population, which grew slightly during the decade, is 2,444,099.
Contemporary City St. Louis has spread widely from its original site on the west bank, and its metropolitan area now occupies the rolling hills and undulating plains on both sides of the Mississippi. The floodplain of the river, now constricted between artificial levees, serves to separate the main part of the metropolis in Missouri from its less extensive suburbs across the river in Illinois. The stream, however, is spanned by seven bridges that connect the various parts of the city as well as the two states. The city's environs suffered extensive flooding during the summer of 1993, but most of the core city was spared. St. Louis has changeable weather and distinct seasonal contrasts. Summers are warm and humid, with a July average temperature of 26 deg C (79 deg F), whereas winters are cold but relatively short; the January average temperature is about zero deg C (32 deg F). Total annual precipitation averages more than 965 mm (38 in) and is well distributed throughout the year; somewhat less than half falls as snow during the winter.
The population pattern of the city has undergone development similar to that of other U.S. metropolitan areas: about half of the residents of the city proper are black, although the population of surrounding St. Louis, St. Charles, and Jefferson counties is nearly 90% white. St. Louis has a balanced and relatively stable economy, which has been buoyed by its extensive, prosperous hinterland and its excellent transportation facilities. The city is a major railroad and trucking hub, and it ranks among the leading industrial centers in the nation. One of the busiest inland river ports in the country, St. Louis is the Mississippi River's northernmost ice-free port. The industrial structure is highly diversified; the principal manufacturing specialties are soap, beer, chemicals, electrical equipment, paints and varnishes, household appliances, automobiles and aircraft, and iron and steel products. Petroleum is also refined, and St. Louis is an important market for wool, lumber, and pharmaceuticals, and is a hog and grain center. Although factories are widely distributed throughout the metropolitan areas, most of the heavy industry is in the Illinois suburbs.
St. Louis has long been an educational as well as a cultural center. St. Louis University, founded in 1818, is the oldest institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi, and Washington University (1853) is also well known. The city has a symphony orchestra and an outstanding newspaper, the Post Dispatch (founded by Joseph Pulitzer), which enjoys a national reputation. Points of interest include the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, with its 192-m (630-ft) stainless-steel Gateway Arch designed by Eero Saarinen; the Missouri Botanical Garden; and the St. Louis Art Museum and the St. Louis Science Center, both in Forest Park. Forest Park was the site of the Louisana Purchase Exposition (1904); it also contains the municipal theater, where open-air performances are given in the summer.
History The city was founded in 1764 by the French fur trader Pierre Laclede and was named for the patron saint of France. The initial settlement grew slowly and remained predominantly French for several decades. After the Louisiana Purchase (1803) St. Louis became the focal point of river trade and the crossroads of western expansion. It was incorporated as a city in 1823. As the predominant river port above New Orleans, St. Louis was a focus of steamboat traffic (begun 1817) for half a century, and after 1850 it also became a prominent railway center. The city experienced a major influx of German immigrants during the mid-19th century, and steady industrial and commercial growth continued during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Tom McKnight Bibliography: Coyle, Elinor M., St. Louis Treasures (1986); Troen, Selwyn K., and Holt, Glen E., eds., St. Louis (1977).
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This page was last updated January 7, 1997
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