St. Louis

Understand

The city is named after King Louis IX of France, but it's usually pronounced "Saint Lewis", instead of "Saint Louie". St. Louis is known by the nickname of The Gateway to the West. The city was the last major stop before pioneers journeyed westward to the Pacific coast. The city also played a large part during the steamboat era due to its position at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St. Louis was acquired from France by the United States during President Thomas Jefferson's term in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The transfer of power from Spain was made official in a ceremony called "Three Flags Day." On March 8, 1804, the Spanish flag was lowered and the French one raised. On March 10, the French flag was replaced by that of the USA. In 1904, St. Louis hosted that year's World's Fair and the Summer Olympic Games. Many of the parks, buildings, and finer homes in St. Louis were built around this time period. While the Fair has passed out of living memory, it holds an important place in the modern development of the city.

Before Detroit became America's automotive capital, St. Louis was the largest producer of American automobiles in the early part of the 20th century. Midtown and Downtown still have many of the original warehouses and factories standing, but most have been converted to other purposes, such as loft apartments, shops and restaurants. St. Louis was also home to a bustling fashion manufacturing industry in the early 1900s, centered on Washington Avenue downtown. As with the auto industry, the last remnants of the fashion manufacturing industry can be found in the rehabilitated warehouses which contain new businesses and loft condominiums. In the late 20th century, St. Louis began a transformation from a manufacturing and industrial economy into a globally known center for research in medicine, biotechnology, and other sciences. Firms such as Bayer, Centene, Solae, Energizer, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Edward Jones, Wells Fargo Advisors, Nestle Purina, and Anheuser-Busch/Inbev are headquartered in St. Louis. AT&T and Bank of America operate major regional offices here. Two major private research universities, Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University, are an important part of the local economy and society.

St. Louis is truly a city of neighborhoods, each with its own distinct flavor and culture. There are 79 government-designated neighborhoods within the City of St. Louis, many of which have associations and councils that exercise wide control over development and subsidies from the highest to the very lowest local level. Some neighborhoods contain avenues of massive stone mansions built as palaces for heads of state visiting the 1904 World's Fair, and now occupied by some of the more wealthy families and individuals in the City of St. Louis. Other neighborhoods are predominantly middle class and working-class and have retained their singular cultural identity for 200 years. Today, most of them have endured as strong and cohesive communities for their residents

Climate

With neither mountains nor large bodies of water nearby to moderate the climate, St. Louis experiences extremes of temperatures at both ends of the scale. The Winter cold from December through March can be brutal to the unaccustomed body, as can the Summer heat from June through September. The Mississippi River makes this area humid, though temperatures are generally moderate. Storms can occur at any time of the year. July and August are hottest and most humid, and January and February are cold, with occasional snow. Normal temperatures range from 21°F in the winter to 90°F in the summer (-6°C to 32°C), but summer highs of 100°F and winter lows of 0°F are not uncommon (38°C and -18°C). Heat indices in the summer months factoring in humidity average around 95°F during the day and 71°F at night, but it's not unheard of to have heat indices climb upwards to 108°F and not go below 79°F on some exceptionally hot and sweltering days.

Tourist information

• Explore St. Louis website

Get in

By car

St. Louis is a freeway hub, connected to the following cities by freeway:

• connects to Kansas City to the west, and Indianapolis and Columbus to the east.
• connects to Louisville to the east.
• connects to Chicago to the north and Memphis to the south.
• connects to Springfield (Missouri), Tulsa, and Oklahoma City to the southwest.

Within the St. Louis area, ( on the Illinois side) forms a loop around the metropolitan area, bypassing the center city.

• Locals may refer to Interstate 64 as "Highway 40"—US-40 is coincident with I-64 through St. Louis. Also, older or more traditional residents are likely to pronounce 40 as "Farty", which out-of-towners sometimes find humorous.

By plane

By train

Amtrak (+1-800-USA-RAIL, 551 S 16th St) offers five daily arrivals from Chicago, two daily arrivals from Kansas City, and one daily arrival from Los Angeles, San Antonio via Dallas, Little Rock and many smaller intermediate stops on each route. Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center, 430 S 15th St, is the central train and bus terminal in St. Louis. It is directly linked to the Civic Center station on the MetroLink light rail system.

If you have time to spare when departing or arriving by train, take a seat at the Grand Hall at the nearby historic Union Station, now turned into a hotel and shopping arcade, to relive past glory of rail travel. St. Louis Union Station was also the site where President elect Truman was photographed holding the Chicago Daily Tribune with the erroneous headline "Dewey Defeats Truman".

By bus

The bus terminal, which is served by Greyhound and Megabus, is at 430 S 15th St, next to the train station.

By boat

The Mississippi River forms the eastern boundary of the city, separating it from Illinois. The Missouri River runs into the Mississippi just north of St. Louis.

You may be able to arrive on a cruise boat from a nearby city like Peoria or Memphis.

Get around

By train

MetroLink, +1 314-231-2345 – A light rail system that runs to many of the metropolitan area's most popular destinations. There are two branches on the Missouri side of the river—the Red Line begins at Lambert–St. Louis International Airport, while the Blue Line begins in the suburb of Shrewsbury. The lines merge at the edge of Forest Park, and travel through downtown and into Illinois. MetroLink stops at the Delmar Loop, Grand Center arts district, Forest Park, the Central West End, Downtown St. Louis, and Downtown Clayton, among other places. The campuses of University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University and St. Louis University each have stops on campus or nearby. A 2-hour transfer pass costs $3 ($4 if purchased at the airport station). Day pass, which includes trains and buses, is $5.

By bus

Metro St. Louis operates buses around the St. Louis metro area, although in many cases, they don't run as frequently as you would like. A single fare is $2.

By car

Travel by car is the most common mode of transportation in St. Louis.

By taxi

Taxis generally do not drive around looking for street hails; you must order service by phone or from an app. Uber is extremely popular and useful in St. Louis.

A 2015 accident in a taxi that did not have insurance has caused a controversy—make sure you choose a reputable taxi or ride-hailing company.

Neighborhoods

St. Louis is one of the more segregated cities in the nation, and is home to the country's first private gated street—Benton Place in Lafayette Square. In one minute you might be driving down tree-lined avenues with large houses, and the next minute you might be in a low-income neighborhood. Though the region is now more racially and economically integrated than it was, the road system still follows historic boundaries marking one area from the next. Hotels and most St. Louis guide books should have good maps of the layout of the neighborhoods of the City.

St. Louis City is separate from St. Louis County—the city is really a city without a county, with its own government, school system, and other services. St. Louis City has just under 294,000 residents while St. Louis County has just under one million residents. The entire St. Louis metropolitan region has approximately 3,000,000 residents.

Some of the more well-visited and larger neighborhoods in St. Louis City are:

• Downtown - The Central Business District of St. Louis, downtown is nearing the end of a decade-long multi-billion dollar revitalization. Featuring professional sports stadiums, dozens of hotels, corporate headquarters, trendy dining and shopping, entertainment, nightlife, and the Gateway Arch, downtown St. Louis is now also home to tens of thousands of residents, many living in warehouses that have been converted to apartments and condominiums.
• Laclede's Landing - Next to the Mississippi River, north of the Arch, this is one of the oldest standing neighborhoods of the city. A former industrial area, the Landing has original cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriage rides in the evenings, live music, and restaurants and bars in converted industrial buildings.
• Soulard - To the southwest of downtown lies St. Louis's oldest neighborhood. Today it is a perfect case study for traditional St. Louis red brick architecture, and also features the famous Soulard Farmers Market and many trendy restaurants.
• Lafayette Square - Although some may group this with Soulard due to proximity, Lafayette Square features its own distinct architecture (Victorian and French Second Empire) and demographics. Surrounding the oldest park in St. Louis are tree-lined streets with rehabbed townhouses, some shopping and dining, and bed and breakfasts.
• Old North St Louis - Just north of Downtown, the historic Old North neighborhood is in the midst of a dramatic revitalization that includes a significant number of historically rehabilitated brick, 19th century structures; new businesses, such as Old North Grocery Co-op, Therapy Boutique, and La Mancha Coffeehouse; and a diverse community of residents, with a population that grew by 28% since 2000. The center of the neighborhood is at St. Louis Avenue & N. 14th Street, which is where the legendary Crown Candy Kitchen is found, along with the Crown Square, the $35 million redevelopment of the former 14th Street Pedestrian Mall. Crown Square is also the site of the North City Farmers' Market, which in 2010 was identified as one of "America's Favorite Farmers' Markets," according to American Farmland Trust.
• Benton Park/Brewery - Just south of Soulard, Benton Park has come back from decades of disrepair. The area contains the Anheuser Busch Brewery and the old Lemp Brewery, in addition to a small eponymous park and working-class versions of the townhomes of Lafayette Square.
• Forest Park Southeast - Forest Park Southeast is at the beginning of a revitalization. Younger professionals have been attracted to the area due to the popular bars, and have since settled down and contributed to the area's infrastructure.
• Grand Center/Midtown - West of Downtown down an area known as the Central Corridor (that includes Forest Park and the CWE), Grand Center is home to a booming performing arts, theatre, and museum district. St. Louis University is in this area.
• Tower Grove/South Grand - A few miles south of Grand Center is Tower Grove Park, a 19th-century Victorian walking park. The nearby South Grand strip has a variety of shops, coffeehouses, bars, service businesses, and the area's largest concentration of Asian restaurants and shops. An ethnically diverse, gay-friendly area with an active street life and turn-of-the-century architecture.
• Central West End - A very cosmopolitan neighborhood featuring stunning turn-of-the-century palace-like homes, upscale dining, and boutique shopping, the Central West End also contains an eclectic mix of antique shops, coffee houses, and art galleries. It's on the eastern edge of Forest Park, and includes the world-renowned Medical School of Washington University.
• The Hill - St. Louis's Little Italy is home to a large number of locally renowned Italian restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores. Its name is due to its proximity to the highest point of the city.
• North St. Louis - The historic African-American neighborhood known as "The Ville", and contains many historical sites relating to the history of Black Americans in the Midwest, including Sumner High School and Homer G. Phillips Hospital. This area extends north from Delmar Boulevard, and contains much of the industrial record of St. Louis and the migration of newcomers to the city.
• Cherokee Street - A long-time shopping district, created from the convergence of two streetcar lines, this 12 block stretch of antique stores, cafés, restaurants and bars is divided by Jefferson Avenue. Cherokee Street runs from the antique and vintage stores, starting at what remains of the old Lemp Brewery warehouses, east of Jefferson. It crosses over to host 5 blocks of hipster/grunge bars, capped by the city’s most celebrated collection of Hispanic bakeries & taquerias. All of it centered on the Cinco de Mayo festival, each weekend around May 5th. It's also the city center for burlesque, with the Casa Loma Ballroom hosting the annual Show-me Burlesque Festival each June. This neighborhood is having a resurgence, becoming a destination for shopping, dining and entertainment, south of Benton Park/Brewery.

Stay safe

Crime

St. Louis' designation as the "most dangerous city in America" should not deter the potential visitor. In reality St. Louis is just as safe as any other Midwestern city—that is to say, extremely safe in suburbs and wealthy neighborhoods, and quite dangerous in inner-city slums. The statistical discrepancy is because, unlike most cities, St Louis' municipal boundaries include mostly slums and very few suburb-like areas. The areas of the city proper that are most often visited by tourists, such as Downtown, the Central West End, and Forest Park, have quite low crime rates.

Some economically depressed North County suburbs like Wellston, Pagedale and parts of Normandy and Jennings, as well as many parts of North St. Louis city are unsafe. The post-war exodus to the suburbs has taken a huge economic toll on these areas, leaving many buildings abandoned, decaying, or demolished. East St. Louis, in Illinois, is also noted for its high crime rate (this is not true of Alton or Belleville, in Illinois to the north and south). When in the city, a general guideline (though politically incorrect and somewhat simplistic) is that areas north of Delmar Blvd are unsafe, and should be entirely avoided after dark. Most tourists, however, will have little reason to visit any of these places, so it should not present reason for much concern.

Some Metrolink stations are in areas some may find questionable after dark as well. But most downtown areas around Busch Stadium, and Union Station, as well as the St. Louis University area and commuter lots near the airport, are generally safe and patrolled.

Natural disasters

St. Louis sits on a fault line, whose last big earthquake changed the course of the Mississippi River. Another earthquake remains a possibility, albeit a remote one according to most scientists.

St. Louis gets a lot of urban tornadoes, so make sure you understand tornado safety precautions.

Go next

Nearby

• Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is just across the river in Illinois. It is the site of the largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico, with an estimated population of 10-20,000 people at its peak. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The top of the "Monk's Mound" offers amazing views of the city and the arch and the free museum is very well done and gives great insights into how the people of what is now America lived 1,000 years ago. It is hard, although possible, to reach the site via public transportation, but it is a $25 Uber ride from downtown.
• The Katy Trail State Bike Trail. The Katy Trail is a bike path built where a Kansas-Missouri-Texas railroad line formerly ran. It's over 200 miles long, and biking on a section (or the whole thing) and stopping on the small towns dotting the tree-lined trail is a worthwhile excursion. Great place for bikers, runners, and those who want to experience small town Missouri and the great outdoors.

Further afield

• Alton is a historic river town just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Enjoy wineries, winter eagle watching, 50 antique shops, 9 golf courses, historic sites, fine dining, and elegant bed and breakfast accommodations. For a scenic day trip, take the Great River Road north from Alton to Grafton, Illinois, stopping for antique shops and then on to lunch at the Père Marquette Lodge in Père Marquette State Park. This drive is especially beautiful in the fall months, but in the winter you can see a number of bald eagles roosting along the river bluffs.
• St. Charles - nearby and makes a nice day trip.
• Jefferson City - Take a short trip to the state capital!
• Troy – only a short ride away.