St. Louis, the largest city in Missouri and often called “The Gateway City,” was the starting point for the exploration of the completely unknown territories beyond the Mississippi River in the 19th century. This is where the Lewis and Clark expeditions began, and the entire further development of the West was also organized from here, with the railroad playing a key role. By 1920, St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the USA; in 1904, it hosted the World’s Fair and – for the first time outside of Europe – the Summer Olympics.
The city’s landmark is the famous Gateway Arch, 192 meters high and symbolizing the “Gateway to the West.” Forest Park, larger than Central Park in New York, is the city’s green lung, with numerous museums, a zoo, and a wide range of leisure activities. With Laumeier Sculpture Park and Citygarden, a first-class sculpture and landscape park in the heart of downtown, the city has two outstanding destinations for lovers of modern art.
Less encouraging is the demographic development in St. Louis. While 850,000 people lived here in 1970, today the population is only 280,000 and continues to decline. The number of abandoned properties is estimated at 24,000, with around 9,000 abandoned or dilapidated buildings. Entire streets are deserted, the houses in danger of collapsing; the transitions to the better residential areas are fluid. The city is trying to stop this development with suitable (residential) projects; only time will tell whether this will succeed.

Den besten Blick auf das Wahrzeichen von St. Louis hat man vom Mississippi River Overlook in Illinois

Verrücktes Museum mit alten Flugzeugen und Schornsteinen, wiederverwerteten Brücken und Industrierelikten in einer ehemaligen Schuhfabrik

Ein herausragender Skulpturen- und Landschaftspark mitten in Downtown

Wahrzeichen der Stadt und einziger Nationalpark in Missouri

Gewidmet dem Freiheitskampf der afroamerikanischen Bevölkerung

Die Hotelkette 21c möchte ihren Gästen zeitgenössische Kunst zugänglich machen

Bei seiner Eröffnung 1894 einer der größten Bahnhöfe der Welt

Der Forest Park, u.a. mit Museen, einem Zoo und Golfplätzen, ist größer als der Central Park in New York

In einer Stadt, in der die Einwohnerzahl von 850.000 (1970) auf heute 280.000 gefallen ist, sind moderne Gebäude eher selten













