People and culture of St. Louis, Missouri

Social changes in the twentieth century influenced radically the sorts of people who live in St. Louis, Missouri now. St. Louis can be considered part of the Midwest. From 1810, the date of the first Federal census, to 1880, the population totals include with the city of St. Louis, Missouri the population of St. Louis County, which in 1880 was separately enumerated at 31,888 people.

In 1910, 687,029 people lived in the city, of whom 125,706 were foreign-born, and of those, 47,765 were natives of the German Empire. In 1910, 11.3 per cent of the foreign-born people were of Irish nativity, 4.1 percent of English, 12.3 of Russian, 6 of Italian, and 8.8 of Austrian. 43,960 African Americans composed 6.4 % of the total population.

Like other large American cities, St. Louis experienced a large population shift to the suburbs in the twentieth century; first because of increased demand for new housing following the Second World War, and later in response to demographic changes, whether real or perceived, in existing neighborhoods.

Populations of city "and" county: 1810, 5,667; 1820, 10,049; 1830, 14,145; 1840, 35,979; 1850, 104,978; 1860, 190,524; 1870, 351,189.

Demography

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 348,189 people, 147,076 households, and 76,920 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,171.1/km² (5,622.9/mi²). There were 176,354 housing units at an average density of 1,099.7/km² (2,847.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 51.20% African American, 43.85% White, 1.98% Asian, 0.27 % Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.80% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. 2.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Historically, North St. Louis City has been primarily African American while South St. Louis City has been primarily White. This has changed in recent years as large portions of North St. Louis City have been depopulated, with African-American residents moving either south or to surrounding counties.

There are 147,076 households, out of which 25.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.2% were married couples living together, 21.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.7% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,156, and the median income for a family was $32,585. Males had a median income of $30,106 versus $24,987 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,108. 24.6% of the population and 20.8% of families were below the poverty line. 36.4% of those under the age of 18 and 17.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Museums and other points of interest

There are several museums and attractions in the city. The City Museum offers a variety of interesting exhibits, including several large caves and a huge outdoor playground. It also serves as a meeting point for St. Louis' young arts scene. The Eugene Field House, located in downtown St. Louis, is a museum dedicated to the distinguished children's author. The Missouri History Museum presents exhibits and programs on a variety of topics including the 1904 World's Fair, and a comprehensive exhibit on Lewis and Clark's voyage exploring the Louisiana Purchase.

The Fox Theatre, originally one of many movie theatres along Grand Boulevard, is now a newly restored theatre featuring a Byzantine facade and Oriental decor. The Fox Theatre presents a Broadway Series in addition to concerts.

There are several notable churches in the city, including the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (New Cathedral), a large Roman Catholic cathedral designed in the Byzantine and Romanesque styles. The interior is decorated with lovely mosaics, the largest mosaic collection in the world. The Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (1834), also known as the "Old Cathedral," is the oldest Roman Catholic former cathedral west of the Mississippi River. The Old Cathedral is located adjacent to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

Dutchtown is an historically German neighborhood on the south side which boasts such landmarks as the Bevo Mill, the windmill-like structure built by Anheuser-Busch, and Saint Francis de Sales cathedral size church. The Hill is an historically Italian neighborhood where many of the area's best Italian restaurants can be found. The Hill was the home of Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola. The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum is also located near Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis.

The Lemp Mansion, home of the fated Lemp family which had multiple suicides, is considered one of the most haunted places in the nation.

There are also several notable museums in surrounding cities. The Delmar Loop, located in University City, just west of the St. Louis city line, is a popular entertainment, cultural and restaurant district. The Butterfly House is located in western St. Louis County.

The Museum of Transportation is located in Kirkwood, a suburb in southwestern St. Louis County. Many large steam locomotives, classic cars, a rare Chrysler Turbine car, and even a boat are displayed. A wide range of classic aircraft are also preserved at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Creve Coeur Airport in West St Louis. [ [http://www.historicaircraftrestorationmuseum.org/ Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum] Official website, accessed 09 June 2008]

Six Flags St. Louis, known as "Six Flags over Mid-America" when it opened in 1971, is an amusement park located in Eureka, Missouri, in far west St. Louis County. It is one of the original Six Flags.

Saint Charles, is the seat of St. Charles County and first capital of the state of Missouri.

Cahokia Mounds, located near Collinsville, Illinois, holds the ruins of a city of the ancient Mississippian aboriginal culture. Similar mounds within St. Louis, used as construction fill in the 1800s, gave the city one of its nicknames, "Mound City".

Magic House, a children's hands-on exploration museum, and Worldways Children's Museum, an international children's cultural museum, are both located in Kirkwood.

Architecture

St. Louis's largest period of growth as a riverport and national freight center came between 1840 and 1900, and the city's architectural heritage from that era includes a multi-block collection of cobblestone streets and vintage brick-and-cast-iron riverfront warehouses called Laclede's Landing. Now popular for its restaurants and nightclubs, the district is located directly north of the engineering landmark Eads Bridge.

Other examples of 18th and 19th century architecture can be found at the Soulard Market district (1779-1842), the Chatillon-de Menil House (1848), the Bellefontaine Cemetery (1850), the Robert G. Campbell House (1852), the Old Courthouse (1845-62), and the original Anheuser-Busch Brewery (1860). Two of Louis Sullivan's early skyscrapers, the Wainwright Building (1890-91) and the heavily modified Union Trust Building, stand among a crop of similar office buildings and department stores built up between 1890 and 1915.

The city is significant in American urban design history for its private places, residential developments with large mansions, and the common facilities like streets and gardens co-owned. Dating from before 1868 and built through 1905, many of these developments are well-preserved and still gated, patrolled, and functioning as private enclaves.

St. Louis has a considerable stock of turn-of-the-century mansions, brick warehouses and brick churches in unexpected parts of the city. Preservationists continued to fight against such recent losses as the St. Louis Century Building. Important civic buildings from out-of-towners include the Old Post Office by Alfred B. Mullett, one of only two surviving urban fortresses built in the aftermath of the American Civil War, and the stately St. Louis Public Library by Cass Gilbert.

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. Only a handful of the actual fair buildings would become permanent city cultural institutions, notably the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum, but the years of the fair left other assets to the city, like Theodore Link's 1894 St. Louis Union Station, and an improved Forest Park.

In 1923 the city passed a $87 million bond issue for re-development of the Civic Plaza along the lines of the City Beautiful movement. This development, unfortunately delayed and scaled-down, resulted in some of St. Louis's major civic furniture: the Soldiers' Memorial, the Civil Courts Building, and the currently-abandoned Kiel Auditorium.

Into the 1940s and 1950s a certain sub-genre of St. Louis modernism emerged, with the locally important Harris Armstrong, and a series of daring modern civic landmarks like Gyo Obata's Planetarium, the geodesic-dome Climatron, the Saarinen-like terminal building at Lambert International Airport, all this culminating with Eero Saarinen's magnificent stainless-steel gesture, the Gateway Arch. On the other side of urban renewal St. Louis was also the site of Pruitt-Igoe, the most infamous among housing developments in the United States, ultimately so dysfunctional that its residents chanted during a public meeting, "Tear it down, tear it down", and city officials took their advice.

Media

The "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" is the region's major daily newspaper. Founded by Joseph Pulitzer in the 1800s, the paper was owned by Pulitzer Publishing until 2005, when the company was acquired by Lee Enterprises. The company also owns the "Suburban Journals", a collection of local newspapers. The daily " [http://www.belleville.com/ Belleville News Democrat] ", published in Belleville, Illinois, serves many Illinois communities in the St. Louis Metro Area.

The "St. Louis Business Journal", published weekly on Fridays, covers the region's business news.

In 1900, St. Louis had at least five daily newspapers: the "St. Louis Globe-Democrat" and the "St. Louis Republic" in the morning, and the "Post-Dispatch" and "Star-Chronicle" in the afternoon, as well as the German-language "Westlische Post". One by one, these papers folded or consolidated. The "Post-Dispatch" bought out its remaining afternoon competitor, the "Star-Times", in 1951. Until the mid-1980s, the morning "Globe-Democrat", which was editorially more conservative than the "Post-Dispatch", served as the "Post"'s main rival. Although the "Post-Dispatch" and the "Globe-Democrat" maintained a joint-operating agreement for years, the "Globe-Democrat" folded shortly after the "Post-Dispatch" switched from afternoon to morning publication.

The city's main alternative weekly publications include the "Evening Whirl" and the " [http://www.riverfronttimes.com/ Riverfront Times] ". African-American weeklies include the "St. Louis Argus" (est. 1912), the "Saint Louis American" (est. 1928), and the "St. Louis Sentinel" (est. 1969). A variety of glossy monthly and quarterly publications cover topics such as local history, cuisine, and lifestyles. St. Louis is also home to the last remaining metropolitan journalism review, the " [http://www.stljr.org/ St. Louis Journalism Review] ", based at Webster University in the suburb of Webster Groves.

The St. Louis metro area is served by a wide variety of local television stations, and is the twenty-first largest designated market area (DMA) in the U.S., with 1,222,380 homes (1.11% of the total U.S.). The major network television affiliates are KMOV 4 (CBS), KDNL 30 (ABC), KSDK 5 (National Broadcasting Company), KTVI 2 (Fox Broadcasting Company), KPLR-TV 11 (WB), and WRBU 46 (UPN). There is also a PBS station at KETC 9. In September 2006, KPLR will become the St. Louis Tribune Broadcasting O&O station for the new The CW, a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Time-Warner.

The region's radio airwaves offer a variety of locally produced programming. KMOX (1120 AM), which pioneered the call-in talk radio format in the 1960s, retains significant regional influence due to its 50,000-watt clear-channel signal and an unusually active newsroom operation. Public radio station KWMU (90.7 FM), an NPR affiliate, also provides extensive, locally produced programming treating social issues, politics, and the arts. St. Louis is one of only a handful of U.S. cities to have its own independent community radio station, KDHX (88.1 FM), which features a wide range of music and talk from local residents. Washington University in St. Louis' college radio station, KWUR (90.3 FM), also provides community broadcasting and an eclectic mix of underground music.

Music

St. Louis is the home of the world-renowned Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra which was founded in St. Louis in 1880--the second oldest orchestra in the nation--and which has over the years been honored with six Grammy Awards and fifty-six nominations. Historic Powell Symphony Hall on North Grand Boulevard has been the permanent home of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra since 1968. Leonard Slatkin is one of the orchestra's major conductors (presently he conducts the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC). The current Music Director of the orchestra is David Robertson.

The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is an annual summer festival of opera performed in English, originally co-founded by Richard Gaddes in 1976 (he is now the director of the Santa Fe Opera). Union Avenue Opera Theatre, formed in the early 1990s, is a smaller but thriving company that performs opera in the original languages.

Other classical music groups of note include [http://www.rosewood-ensemble.com/ the Rosewood Ensemble] , the [http://www.ariannaquartet.com/ Arianna String Quartet] , the quartet-in-residence at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis, as well as the Laclede String Quartet and the [http://www.chamberchorus.org/ Saint Louis Chamber Chorus] .

St. Louis has long been associated with great ragtime, jazz and blues music. Early rock and roll singer/guitarist Chuck Berry is a native St. Louisan and continues to perform there several times a year. Soul music artists Ike Turner and Tina Turner and jazz innovator Miles Davis began their careers in nearby East St. Louis, Illinois. St. Louis has also been a popular stop along the infamous Chitlin Circuit.

Popular Music and entertainment in St. Louis peaked in the 1960s due to the popularity of Gaslight Square, a thriving local nightclub district that attracted nationally known musicians and performers. This area was all but extinct by the early 1970s and today is the site of a new housing development.

St. Louis is also the home to successful modern musical artists. Alternative rock artists include Sheryl Crow, Ludo, Gravity Kills, MU330, Story of the Year, Stir, and The Urge. In the 1990s, the metro area produced several prominent alt-country artists, including Uncle Tupelo — a Belleville, Illinois trio often considered the originators of the style, whose members went on to found Wilco and Son Volt in 1994 — and The Bottle Rockets. The most well-known of the city's crop of Hardcore bands is Ultraman, Drunks With Guns and Blind Idiot God, and the city is still home to a very vibrant Garage, Punk and Underground Rock scene. Rap and hip-hop artists include Nelly, The Saint Lunatics, Murphy Lee, Chingy, Ebony Eyez, J-Kwon, Jibbs, and a local hip-hop scene consisting of Spaide R.I.P.P.E.R., MC Praiz, Ruka Puff, P-Dub, Potzee, Da Banggaz, Tha Deck, and others.

Parks and outdoor attractions

courts, and lakes.

Forest Park, located on the western edge of the central corridor of the City of St. Louis, is one of the largest urban parks in the world, outsizing Central Park in New York City by convert|500|acre|km2. It offers many of St. Louis' most popular attractions: the Saint Louis Zoological Park, the Municipal Theatre (also known as The Muny, the largest and oldest outdoor musical theatre in the United States), the St. Louis Science Center (with its architecturally distinctive McDonnell Planetarium), the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, several lakes, and scenic, open areas. Forest Park completed a multimillion dollar renovation in 2004 for the centennial of the St. Louis World's Fair. The Zoo, Art Museum, and Science Center are all world-class institutions. The Zoo-Museum Tax District provides them operating funds, so general admission to them, as well as to the History Museum, is free.

The Missouri Botanical Garden, also known as "Shaw's Garden", is one of the world's leading botanical research centers. It possesses a beautiful collection of flowering plants, shrubs, and trees, and includes the Japanese Garden, which features a lake filled with koi and gravel designs; the woodsy English Garden; the Home Gardening Center; a rose garden; the Climatron; and many other scenic gardens. Immediately south of the Missouri Botanical Garden is Tower Grove Park, a gift to the City by Henry Shaw.

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is a convert|90.96|acre|m2|sing=on national park located on the downtown riverfront where the city was first founded in 1764, and commemorates the westward growth of the United States between 1803 and 1890. The centerpiece of the park is the stainless steel Gateway Arch, which is the most recognizable structure in the city. It was designed by noted architect Eero Saarinen and completed on October 28, 1965. At 630 feet (192 m), it is the tallest manmade monument in the United States. Located below the Arch is the Museum of Westward Expansion, which contains an extensive collection of artifacts and details the story of the thousands of people who lived in and settled the American West during the nineteenth century. Nearby and also part of the memorial is the historic Old Courthouse, one of the oldest standing buildings in St. Louis. Begun in 1839, it was here that the first two trials of the Dred Scott case were held in 1847 and 1850. This park is also the location of the annual July 4th festival, Fair Saint Louis.

ports

Enthusiastic and knowledgeable fans give the city a reputation as "a top-notch sports town" and "Baseball City USA." The Sporting News rated St. Louis the nation's "Best Sports City." Although the city has or had professional football, hockey, and basketball teams, it is baseball that is undeniably the epicenter of the city's sporting life. Cardinal fans are constantly called "the most knowledgeable fans in baseball." The St. Louis Cardinals, one of the oldest franchises in Major League Baseball, have accumulated ten World Series titles since its first in 1926, second only to the New York Yankees in World Series wins.

The city of St. Louis has earned 13 professional sports championships. As mentioned earlier, the St. Louis Cardinals have won 10 World Series Championships with one of the championships played against the old cross-city rival the St. Louis Browns in 1944. The St. Louis Rams have won one Super Bowl Championship, and the St. Louis Hawks (who later moved to Atlanta) gave the city its lone NBA Championship.The Blues have also made 3 trips to the Stanley Cup Finals but have never won the championship.

St. Louis was also home to two prominent twentieth-century boxers, brothers Leon and Michael Spinks. The two are the only brothers in boxing history to have both captured the Heavyweight boxing title.

Professional Wrestling also has firm roots in St. Louis. Essentially, three men combined to make the Mound City not only the "Gateway to the West," but the unofficial capital of professional wrestling. The three men were Tom Packs, Sam Muchnick, and Lou Thesz. Wrestling at the Chase was a popular weekly event for hundreds of thousands of fans for several decades, both live and on television. St. Louis is also home to former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) World Champion and currently one of the sport's top performers, Randy Orton.

In 2006, the College Cup was played at Hermann Stadium on the campus of Saint Louis University.

The Scottrade Center hosted the 2007 Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament on April 5 and April 7, 2007. The Scottrade Center also hosts the annual "Braggin' Rights" game, a men's college basketball rivalry game between the universities of Illinois and Missouri. St. Louis is roughly equidistant from the two campuses.

In March 2005, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis hosted the final two rounds of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, also known as the Final Four. In April 2009, the Edward Jones Dome will host the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.

Gateway International Raceway hosts NHRA Drag Racing and NASCAR racing events convert|5|mi|km|0 east of the city in Madison, Illinois.

There are also several minor league teams in the area. The Gateway Grizzlies (Minor League Baseball) of the Frontier League, which plays at GMC Stadium across the river in Sauget, Illinois. The River City Rascals (Minor League Baseball) also of the Frontier League, play at T.R. Hughes Stadium in nearby O'Fallon, Missouri. The Missouri River Otters (United Hockey League) play at Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. The River City Rage are an Arena Football team that play in the National Indoor Football League at Family Arena. The St. Louis Flight are a basketball team that play in the newly reincarnated American Basketball Association, also at Family Arena.

St. Louis has long had a reputation as being one of America's soccer hotbeds, and is home to what is arguably the richest soccer history in the nation. In addition to being the former home of several professional teams, including the St. Louis Stars of the NASL, St. Louis has a strong tradition of prep and select soccer, which is followed very closely by many people in the city. It has been suggested that prep soccer in St. Louis enjoys a similar following to prep hockey in Minnesota. The St. Louis University men's soccer team has made 16 NCAA Final Four appearances, and has won 10 national championships. The team consistently ranks in the Top 10 of all Division 1 soccer teams in attendance. Of most pride to many St. Louisans was the 1950 U.S. World Cup team, which defeated England 1-0, in what is perhaps the greatest upset in World Cup history. Five of the eleven players on the team were from St. Louis, many from the historically Italian neighborhood known as 'The Hill'. This event was chronicled in the 2005 film "The Miracle Match". Every U.S. World Cup team in history has included at least one St. Louisan on its roster, and there have been 20 St. Louisans elected into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

St. Louis is also one of the few cities in the country that plays host to local Corkball leagues. Corkball is a "mini-baseball" game featuring a 1.6 oz. ball and bat with a barrel that measures just 1.5". Corkball is St. Louis' classic baseball game. Originally played on the streets and alleys of St. Louis in the early 1900s, today the game has leagues formed around the country as a result of St. Louis servicemen introducing the game to their buddies during World War II and the Korean conflict. It has many of the features of baseball, yet can be played in a very small area because there is no base-running.

References