St. Louis, Missouri ©
St.
Louis was incorporated as a city in 1823, and
it’s been a booming center of commerce ever since.
In St. Louis, they say, “There’s More Than Meets
the Arch.” More, as in more than a thousand
different restaurants, more than 20 museums and more
than a dozen theatres – in a city of more than 2.5
million people.
The most famous feature, of course, is the Gateway
Arch-Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
on the St. Louis riverfront. Built in 1965, more
than 4 million guests each year tour the 630-foot
monument, the tallest manmade monument in the
nation. If you climb to the top, you can see for 30
miles, across the city of St. Louis and beyond. The
city is the geographic hub of the United States,
with most major cities located within a 2- to 3-hour
flight from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
Whether you’re into parks, the blues or the St.
Louis Blues (hockey team), there’s something for
everyone in the city. And many attractions are free
of charge: the Saint
Louis Zoo; the Missouri History Museum; the
Science Center; Route
66 State Park, and the Annheuser-Busch
Brewery, just to name a few.
When
President Thomas Jefferson sent explorers Lewis
& Clark from St. Louis to chart the new
Louisiana Territory in 1804, more than 1,000 people,
mostly French, Spanish, Indian and both free and
slave blacks, lived in the city. When they returned
two years later, St. Louis had become a major
jumping off point for pioneers and trappers.
Visitors can follow the adventures of Lewis &
Clark at several museums, historic sites and the
confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
Throughout the 19th century, Germans and Irish also
migrated to St. Louis, making it one of the most
culturally rich destinations in the country.
<< Back
to Community Page
