Downtown St. Louis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neighborhoods of St. Louis Location within the city of St. Louis |
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| Area | 3.79 km² (1.01 mi²) | |
| Population (2000) Density |
8000 | |
| Demographics | White Black Hispanic Asian Other |
64.27% 28.16% 1.86% 3.72% 1.12% |
| Median income | $45,128 | |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | ||
Downtown St. Louis is the central business district of St. Louis, Missouri, the hub of tourism and entertainment and the anchor of the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The downtown is bounded by Interstate 64 to the south, Jefferson Ave. to the west, the river front to the east, and Cole St. to the north. The downtown is the site of many corporate headquarters including A. G. Edwards, Edward Jones Investments, Energizer Holdings, Anheuser-Busch, and a host of other companies.
[edit] History
The earliest history of the downtown area of St. Louis is synonymous with the beginnings of the city. Pierre Laclede chose to found the city here because it was an excellent fur trading post, immune to most floods and defensible against any hostile Native Americans, due to its high bluffs and forest. Laclede also found the present day downtown area the perfect place to run a bustling fur trade.
In its early days Laclede acted as the de facto leader of St. Louis, and although the settlement was named after King Louis IX of France, most residents called it "Laclede Village." Laclede planned out the format of the city streets, and oversaw the construction of the settlements first buildings. Although initial growth was slow, the settlement received a real stimulus when France surrendered all of its territorial holdings east of the Mississippi river to Great Britain after the Seven Years' War. By 1776 St. Louis had 300 residents and almost 75 buildings. By 1804 the population had tripled to 900, yet the village was still without a local government. As the years passed, a flood of American immigrants came to the village, and as these newcomers established an American system of government, and French influence began to wane.
With arrival of the steamboat in 1817, St. Louis became a vital center of American commerce, able to trade goods from the Gulf of Mexico across America. By 1836 the City had 15,000 inhabitants, yet it still did not have basic intuitions, such as banks, libraries or public schools. By now the downtown streets had shed their French names and began to reflect the American settlers. By the mid 1800s the area was becoming more commercial than residential, and more people began to move to the western parts of the city.
The commercial activity of St. Louis was centered around Main street(present day First street) Washington Avenue, and Walnut Street. However the St. Louis Fire of 1849 destroyed much of this district. In time the city recovered from the fire and regained its place as one of the commercial centers of the Midwest. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the St. Louis Downtown experienced a building boom largely because of |a lack of room for businesses to expand. In its heyday the downtown was a bustling center of commerce; however, by the mid 20th century the downtown area began to decline. During the 1970s dozens of historic builds were razed and replaced by parking lots. Also, in 2004, the historic St. Louis Century Building was demolished to create a parking deck. The present day downtown has moved further south, yet the Historic downtown remains, and other recent preservation efforts have been effective.
Both major universities in St. Louis began in the downtown region. St. Louis University was founded in 1818 by Bishop DuBourg, who rented a stone house on Market Street to house its first class. The University was discontinued in 1826 because of Bishop DuBourg's pastoral duties, but the institution was rejuvenated two years later by Father Van Quickenborne. The university expanded greatly, constructing numerous buildings (the University moved to its present location in 1888). Washington University was founded as Eliot Seminary on February 22, 1853, and received its present name in 1857 at the insistence of its chancellor, William Greenleaf Eliot, because it was chartered on George Washington's birthday. The first school opened on its downtown campus at 17th Street and Washington Avenue was the Smith Academy in 1856. This original building was soon followed by the buildings for other departments. Like St. Louis University Washington University relocated from the downtown area in 1904.
After World War II, St. Louis, like many other American urban centers, began to experience economic decline, heavy population loss, and a high crime rate. However, since the early 1990s the downtown area has been the subject of urban renewal efforts. Over $3.3 billion dollars have been invested downtown between 1999 and 2005, and that number will grow to over $4 billion by the end of 2006. Recently, the population has grown for the first time in 40 years, and numerous residential and commercial units are being built.
