Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/St. Louis (Missouri)

ST. LOUIS, a port of entry, and chief city of Missouri; on the W. bank of the Mississippi river, 20 miles S. of the mouth of the Missouri. It is the sixth city in the United States in population, and the commercial metropolis of the Mississippi valley. The city is built on rising ground, comprising three terraces, the highest of which is 200 feet above the level of the river; area, 61 square miles; pop. (1910) 687,029; (1920) 772,897.

Municipal Improvements.—The city owns an extensive waterworks system, with an average daily consumption of 101,810,000 gallons, erected at a cost of $33,000,000. The water is distributed through 1,040 miles of mains. There are in all 1,048 miles of streets, of which 947 miles are paved. The streets are lighted by gas and electricity at an annual cost of about $600,000. The average cost of the police department exceeds $2,411,000 per annum, and that of the fire department $1,308,300. The annual cost of maintaining the city government is about $17,900,000. The annual death rate averages 16.76 per 1,000.

Public Parks.—St. Louis has a park system which constitutes one of its most attractive features. There are 70 parks and playgrounds, 100 municipal baseball grounds and soccer fields, 26 public playgrounds for children, 2 public golf links, 2 outdoor swimming pools (one being the largest of its kind in the world), a municipal open-air theater seating 9,300, summer free band concerts attended by an average of 460,000 each summer, and an annual playground festival.

Notable Buildings.—The principal public buildings are the massive post-office and custom-house costing more than $6,500,000; the city hall, built at a cost of $2,000,000; the court house; the union railroad station; Railway Exchange; Boatmen's Bank; Central National Bank; Century; Chemical; Federal Reserve; International Life; Merchants' National Bank; Merchants' Exchange; Syndicate Trust; Title Guaranty.

The Eads bridge, a massive structure, was completed in 1874, at a cost of over $10,000,000. It consists of three spans, the center one being 520 feet long, and the other two 502 feet each. The piers upon which these spans rest are built of limestone carried down to bed rock. The main passage, for the accommodation of pedestrians, is 54 feet wide, and below this are two lines of rail. The merchant's bridge, 3 miles N., was completed in 1890, at a cost of $3,000,000. The latter is used exclusively for railroad traffic. A municipal free bridge, costing $6,250,000, spans the river.

Trade and Manufactures.—The favorable location of St. Louis in the heart of

the vast and fertile Mississippi valley makes it one of the greatest commercial cities in the United States. There is an immense trade in breadstuffs, grain, provisions, lumber, hides, agricultural products, hardware, boots and shoes, tobacco and cigars, quarries, steel castings, drugs and chemicals, dry goods, electrical products, soap and candles, wooden-ware, etc. The automobile industry is of great importance.

Commerce.—The city has direct communication with more than 6,000 miles of rivers. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, the imports of merchandise aggregated in value $18,638,711.

Banks.—On Sept. 1, 1919, there were 6 National banks in operation, besides many private banks and trust companies. The total resources of the banks in 1920 were $659,220,721, with $463,944,744 in deposits. The exchanges at the United States clearing-house in the year ending Sept. 30, 1920, aggregated $8,065,368.

Education.—The St. Louis public school system is recognized by educators as one of the most complete in the United States. It has 124 public grade and high schools for white and negro pupils. The grade schools include one school for the deaf, one for dependent and delinquent children, 13 for backward pupils and two open-air schools for children tubercularly inclined. A system of parochial grade and high schools is maintained by Catholic institutions for Catholic children. St. Louis has St. Louis University, and Washington University, with its celebrated school for girls—Mary Institute. St. Louis University is the oldest Catholic university in the West. The Medical Department of Washington University, which is operated in connection with Barnes Hospital, constitutes the most extensive medical institution in America. Many other hospitals with most modern equipment give St. Louis one of the best hospital systems in the country. The City Hospital is recognized as among the most complete municipal institutions in the West. The Ranken School of Mechanical Trades is one of the most completely equipped mechanical trade schools for boys and men in the United States. Hosmer Hall, Lenox Hall, Forest Park College, Mary Institute are among the other educational institutions.

Churches.—One of the finest groups of representative architecture in the city is at Kings Highway and Washington avenue, where the four corners are occupied by magnificent churches—Temple Israel (Jewish synagogue); First Church of Christ, Scientist; St. John's Methodist Episcopal, South; and Second Baptist. The new cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Church in St. Louis. The

cost $3,250,000, the main altars $100,000, and the organ $50,000. The old cathedral occupies the site of the first church built in St. Louis, shortly after the landing of Laclede in 1764. Pope Gregory conferred favors on this old cathedral which no other church in the world has except the Basilicas in Rome. Christ Church Cathedral, the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, is the first Protestant church founded west of the Mississippi river. The Young Men's Christian Association and Young Women's Christian Association maintain commodious central buildings and branches in various sections of the city.

Finances.—In 1919 the total bonded debt of the city was $13,999,706. The assessed property valuation in 1919 was $765,722,620; tax rate $23.50 per $1,000.

History.—On Feb. 14, 1764, while what is now Missouri was a part of Upper Louisiana, Auguste Chouteau, a young trader, with about 30 men, arrived at the site of the city to establish a permanent post. The spot had been selected the previous year by Laclede. France had ceded the whole of Louisiana Territory to Spain in 1762. Spain ceded it back in 1800, and in 1803 France sold it to the United States. In 1896 the city was swept by a destructive tornado that overthrew many buildings, destroyed shipping, and tore out a shore span of the great bridge. Several hundred lives were lost and many rendered homeless. Tower Grove Park and Shaw's Gardens were greatly injured. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held at St. Louis. The attendance was 19, as compared with Chicago 28 (1893), and Paris 50 millions (1900).