# St. Louis, Missouri



## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Hello, this is my first photothread on SSC. The following are pictures of St. Louis, MO that I took myself this summer. 


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Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed St. Louis.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

NICE!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Indeed very nice shots from St. Louis


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## ikops (Jun 12, 2008)

You really did a terrific job capturing this city.


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Thanks guys, here is more of St. Louis:


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## lafreak84 (Oct 26, 2010)

Thank you, STL is nice.


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## Geborgenheit (Sep 9, 2005)

Wonderful. I like that you've noticed so many artistic details in St. Louis !


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great updates!


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## Clay_Rock (Jun 1, 2005)

Excellent photos of St. Louis! Thank you for sharing


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

More St. Louis! Hope you don't mind!

The following is a stained-glass window in Union Station. Saint Louis is in the middle. New York is on one side. San Francisco is on the other side.

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Statue of Italian immigrants in front of St. Ambrose on the Hill:

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I lived on this block in my youth:

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It is self-evident that St. Louis affected me more deeply than any other environment has ever done. I feel that there is something in having passed one's childhood beside the big river, which is incommunicable to those people who have not. I consider myself fortunate to have been born here, rather than in Boston, or New York, or London.
- T.S. Eliot, born in St. Louis 1888

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Saint Louis City Hall:

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Old City Hospital turned condo:

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Shrine of St. Joseph - site of the midwest's only Vatican approved miracle:

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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Clayton & University City are close-in suburbs of St. Louis.

CLAYTON:

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10.View of downtown Clayton from Metrolink train:










11. Wheelchair ramp at one of the Clayton Metrolink stations:










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13. Ritz-Carlton Hotel:










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18. Botero statue:










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UNIVERSITY CITY:

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42. City Hall of University City:









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Thanks for taking a look!!


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

Nice thread..great photos.....thanks for sharing.


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## Sweet Zombie Jesus (Sep 11, 2008)

Beautiful city! Those brick houses and apartments look fantastic... even the plain, undecorated ones are fantastically textured and proportioned. The rest of the world could still learn a few lessons from the Rust Belt.


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## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

great coverage of a nice city.
too bad my com doesn't have enough bandwidth
to accommodate the latter photos.
thanks though for the effort.


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Sorry Capricorn 2000. Should I have done something differently?


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

More St. Louis:

Hope you guys are not getting sick of my St. Louis pics. 










This is a rare scene in STL, because trash is almost always collected in the alley. 





































Volpi is a great old-fashioned store:































































































































































































This would be a VERY convenient place to live. Balcony view of the Metrolink station.



























This the New Cathedral (it isn't new, but the old Cathedral is downtown near the arch)




























The old Playboy Club:









Playboy Club's neighbor, the Krishnas.










Plenty of water in STL:









Hailing a water taxi or evidence of flood?










Old Courthouse:




























St. Xavier. Known as the college church because it is located at St. Louis University:










Grandel Square in theatre district:































































































































New houses:










Convention Center:























































Lobby of Union Station:







































































































































































































St. Louis style pizza. You either love it or hate it. I love it.









Thanks for looking. Honestly, I would love to go back and spend days taking pictures of St. Louis. This is my 4th thread from a 48 hour visit, but, I feel as if I only scratched the surface.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great updates. It's so nice to see a thread out a midwestern city that doesn't focus on the bad and ugly side of urban America! BTW, I LOVE that stained glass window!


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## lafreak84 (Oct 26, 2010)

I can't believe that such a nice looking city has such a bad reputation. Please post more of STL.


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## Falubaz (Nov 20, 2004)

Ofc. we are not getting sick of ur pictures! It's nice set! And i didnt expect St. Louis is such cozy city!
If i could ask for something, that would be: plizz post less pictures in one post. 10 pics per post would be more than enough.


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## Leigh (Sep 1, 2008)

Awesome Expat. Absolutely awesome.

One thing the international forums needed was a bit of StL and you have seriously delivered. St. Louis rocks. :cheers:


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## Talbot (Jul 13, 2004)

I never figured St. Louis to be an interesting city, but you really changed my perception! Looks awesome!


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

You have done a fantastic job of showcasing St Louis: from the panoramic to the domestic.
A man after my own heart.

Well done!


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Thanks to all for their kind comments!


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

St Louis looks incredible in these pics, didn't know it was so beautiful!


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

My hometown, St. Louis, is in the baseball World Series. In celebration, I am posting some additional pictures to this thread. These photographs are a couple of years old, but still represent my beloved home. 

Go Cardinals!!!!




















City Garden - a sculpture garden downtown:









Lambert Airport









House flying St. Louis City flag






















































Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal/Anglican)





































































































































































































































































Sculpture of Tennessee Williams in the Central West End:



























Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal/Anglican)



























Botero sculpture




































Car parked in front of the Mayfair Hotel:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

A great range of images.

Why does St Louis have an image problem? Not aware of that here in Britain!


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

NICE!


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

openlyJane said:


> Why does St Louis have an image problem? Not aware of that here in Britain!


Openly Jane, you will find the St. Louis story rather familiar. Settled on the banks of the Mississippi River in the 1700s. In the 1800s, St. Louis grew quickly in size & importance because of the Mississippi River. Despite not being on the ocean, St. Louis is a port city. The vast resources of the nation's midsection were distributed through St. Louis. Also, it provided a rare crossing of the mighty Mississippi River as the nation expanded west. Much of the nation's expansion west of the Mississppi River was channeled through St. Louis. Therefore, the nickname, Gateway to the West. During the industrial revolution, St. Louis grew immensely in population. Immigrants poured in from Europe and eastern U.S. The city was the 4th largest in the nation at the turn of the last century. It was a city of tremendous wealth and grand plans. St. Louis thought it would become one of the great cities of the world. Grand buildings, avenues, cultural amenities were built that exist to this day. St. Louis hosted the World's Fair in 1904 & the Olympics in 1903. 

Move forward to post WWII era. During the great industrial era, a huge population of poor people, black & white, moved from the rural American south in search of jobs in factories. By WWII, the city was quite crowded & polluted. The middle-class left the city for tidy new suburbs. Then came de-industrialization. Factories moved overseas in search of cheap labor leaving a large population of unemployed, poorly educated people. (mostly the people that moved to StL as labor). Much of that population became part of an underclass. Crime & racial/class tension caused even more middle-class & wealthy people to flee to new suburbs. 

In the 1970s, 1980s, & beyond, all of this left St. Louis an overbuilt city with immense poverty & crime. Mostly to the north side. Much of the south side remained stable. Yet, this era is imprinted in the minds of most Americans. St. Louis is seen as a frightening city of abandoned tenements, hulking closed factories, etc. Much regeneration has happened in recent years, but the reputation remains the same. Some of it deserved, some not. The city is not romanticized by the media. Movies & television come out of Los Angeles & New York. Those media centers tell the stories & romanticize their worlds, not the stories of post-industrial midwestern cities. 

Today's St. Louis has a metro population of nearly 3 million. It is still a center of wealth & culture. Much of it is old money that keeps to itself. Many of the grand old urban neighborhoods have been gentrified & discovered by the artsy crowd. It is possible to buy a lovely house, even a grand house for little money. I love the city. It still has a fascinating history & future. But, it is overlooked & misunderstood by many. Sorry for the long explanation! Those of us from the overlooked cities often have a lot to say & get quite excited when we get a chance to tell our stories.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

^^I think all of us from here in Liverpool, are with you on that one.

A lot of cheerleading is required.


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

I thought you would understand.

By the way, St. Louis has been under 3 flags. It was settled in the 1700s by the French as a French speaking city. At some point, it came under the Spanish flag, but mostly because of political moves elsewhere. And of course, the US Flag. Missouri became a US state in 1821, but St. Louis had long been established by then. The city is named after the French king/saint. Early on, waves of immigrants came from the Eastern US (Brit/Scot descent). Then large waves of immigration from Germany, Ireland, Italy & elsewhere during the late 1800s & early 1900s. During the industrial age, immigrants came from the American south. Most recently, there has been an large influx of Bosnians and Asians, mostly Vietnamese.


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

St. Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series tonight!:banana:

(I promise not to bump this thread again) (Unless I get new pics:cheers


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## aarhusforever (Jun 15, 2010)

^^ Congratulations my friend :banana::banana: 
Expat, I have really enjoyed this photo journey to St. Louis and I hope you will post more photos in the future  It is a really beautiful and interesting city 

I didn't know that St. Louis have such an image problem? Expat, what do you think, the city of St. Louis should do to get a better image in USA? What is the solution?


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Thank you Aarhusforever! I will take more pictures when I am able to visit STL again. I was there for a long visit this summer because my elderly father was quite ill and eventually died. I consider these photographs a tribute to him. Afterall, his family (my family) helped build this great city.

Image restoration is the hardest job of all. It is difficult to get the attention of the national media, Hollywood, television networks. The national media is obsessed with the decline of STL. I call it lazy journalism. Instead of finding the new seed of life, they are content to recycle the old stories of crime & decay. Artist, gays, urban pioneers are working tirelessly to restore old St. Louis. The real estate developers have joined in. The improvements are staggering. Yet, that remains a secret to many.

In some ways, I enjoy St. Louis going unnoticed. The quirkly, artsy people of St. Louis are able to live cheaply in grand houses & apartments. They can open cafes & art galleries in incredible buildings. A unique culture can evolve in a place that is ignored by the masses. I must stop! You have gotten me started on a subject that consumes me!


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## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

impressive residential area and stately mansions
and the CBD is neat and respectable.
nice job dude and thanks for that.


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Thanks Capricorn2000


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## DWest (Dec 3, 2009)

this is one great photo tour.
thank you bud for such a big job.


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Thanks, DWest!


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## Student4life (Sep 23, 2011)

Terrific pics ! I knew all about St Louis' fame as the Gateway to the West and how it came to be settled but I never knew that the city had gone through such a huge decline . 
I love the architecture here , btw. You have done a great job !:applause:


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Student4life - thanks for your comment!


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## Roy Corduroy (Mar 22, 2015)

A pat on the back for Expat 

:cheers2:


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

A very nice collection.


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## tigeruppercut (Mar 28, 2017)

love st louis! great thread


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing, very nice collection of photos, expat :cheers:


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## mergedbear (Aug 28, 2011)

I miss St. Louis 

By me:


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