St. Louis

St. Louis (/seɪntˈluːɪs,səntˈluːɪs/ )[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.

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]

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

The home of Auguste Chouteau in St. Louis. Chouteau and Pierre Laclède founded St. Louis in 1764.
In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, in the Battle of St. Louis.
White men pose, 104 Locust Street, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1852 at Lynch's slave market.
City of St. Louis and Riverfront, 1874
South Broadway after a May 27, 1896, tornado
The Government Building at the 1904 World's Fair
View of the Arch (completed 1965) from Laclede's Landing, the remaining section of St. Louis's commercial riverfront
Westward view of St. Louis, September 2008
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.
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.
Rivers in the St. Louis area
The Captains' Return statue inundated by the Mississippi River, 2010.
Tower Grove Park in spring
The Missouri Botanical Garden
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.
The Anheuser-Busch packaging plant in St. Louis
Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which is affiliated with the Washington University School of Medicine
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
The St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park
Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis
The Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis
The Sinquefield Cup chess tournament is hosted annually in 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 Jewel Box, a greenhouse and event venue in Forest Park
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones in 2017
Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis University High School was founded in 1818. Their current building pictured here was built in 1924.
The former St. Louis Post-Dispatch building in downtown St. Louis
Interstate 64 crossing the Mississippi in Downtown St. Louis
St. Louis MetroLink Red Line train leaving St. Louis Union Station
University City-Big Bend Subway Station along the Blue Line, near Washington University.
Control tower and main terminal at St. Louis Lambert
An eastbound Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis freight train passing under the Hampton Avenue viaduct.
Bus passing under the St. Louis Science Center walkway