St. Louis information
With its long history as the "Gateway to the West" and its recent urban renewal campaign, St. Louis has become a vibrant, lovely city benefiting from an ongoing artistic, architectural, and cultural boom.
St. Louis came of age in 1904 when it staged the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (The St. Louis World's Fair), which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was here that iced tea was invented, ice cream cones were dreamed up, and hot dogs and hamburgers were popularized.
In 1965, the captivating Gateway Arch--the centerpiece of the 91-acre Jefferson US Expansion Memorial Park--was completed. The arch pays homage to the thousands of 19th-century pioneers, traders, and explorers who stopped for provisions and bawdy entertainment on their journey to settle the West. The 630-storied structure symbolizes St. Louis's welcoming and romantic character and bespeaks hope, good fortune, and adventure.
The Gateway Arch is not the only attraction in this city that is venerated like a shrine. St. Louis residents also care deeply about architectural masterpieces such as the Greek-revival mansions; the stunning riverfront (a paved, recreational strips paralleling the Mississippi); the first-rate art and history museums; the sumptuous botanical garden; and the magnificent Laumeier Sculpture Park.
St. Louis's neighborhoods, once staunchly self-defined, now overlap and comfortably span racial and class divisions. Migrant Italians established the Hill, and it is still the site of sublime Italian restaurants and bakeries, as well as the childhood home of legendary catcher Yogi Berra. African-Americans settled in the Ville, where singer Tina Turner, tennis-legend Arthur Ashe, rock-and-roll great Chuck Berry, and opera-diva Grace Bumbry all graduated from Sumner High School.
Euclid Avenue in West End is brimming with galleries, shops, pubs, cafes, and one of the best stores in town, Left Bank Books--a true literary bookstore. Closer to downtown, in the Soulard, St. Louis's signature red-brick, 19th-century townhouses are on elegant display. Soulard Farmer's Market, established in 1779, is a covered food market of the highest Epicurean order.
Comprised of these diverse neighborhoods and historic attractions, St. Louis is irresistible. Stroll through its downtown or along the Mississippi, where barges and riverboats move lazily down the river. In this magical city you can almost here Scott Joplin playing ragtime while you sit at a cafe indulging in gooey butter coffeecake. Welcome to St. Louis.
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