History UsefulNotes / StLouis

* The W.C. Handy [[{{Blues}} blues]] standard "Saint Louis Blues" has been performed by Music/LouisArmstrong, Music/BessieSmith, Music/CabCalloway, Music/BingCrosby, Music/CountBasie, Music/GlennMiller and many others, in addition to lending its name to several [[Film/StLouisBlues films]] and the city's NHL team. Handy himself lived briefly in St. Louis.

* Dick Gregory

* [[UsefulNotes/HistoricalPeopleToKnowInMLB Yogi Berra]]

* Nikki Glaser (comedian): Born in Cincinnati, OH, grew up in St. Louis.

* Scott Joplin

* Wrestling/{{Kane}}: Born in Spain to an [[MilitaryBrat Air Force family]], grew up in St. Louis.

* Music/{{Nelly}}: Born in Austin, TX, grew up in St. Louis.

* Angel Olsen (indie singer-songwriter)

* Phyllis Schlafly (conservative activist and the subject of ''Series/MrsAmerica'')

* The W.C. Handy [[{{Blues}} blues]] standard "Saint Louis Blues" has been performed by Music/LouisArmstrong, Music/BessieSmith, Music/CabCalloway, Music/BingCrosby, Count Basie, Music/GlennMiller and many others, in addition to lending its name to several [[Film/StLouisBlues films]] and the city's NHL team. Handy himself lived briefly in St. Louis.

* The W.C. Handy [[{{Blues}} blues]] standard "Saint Louis Blues" has been performed by Music/LouisArmstrong, Bessie Smith, Music/CabCalloway, Music/BingCrosby, Count Basie, Music/GlennMiller and many others, in addition to lending its name to several [[Film/StLouisBlues films]] and the city's NHL team. Handy himself lived briefly in St. Louis.

St. Louis, Missouri, is known for the Gateway Arch and... well, actually, that's pretty much what it's known for now[[note]](though nearby Ferguson did gain major national attention for the 2014 protests associated with the UsefulNotes/BlackLivesMatterMovement)[[/note]], which is a real shame considering its history. St. Louis sits just south of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, a naturally prudent place for a major settlement; the ancient UsefulNotes/{{Native American|s}} city of Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian city in what would become the US, was more or less just on the other side of the river. The [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] were the first Europeans to [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire settle in the area]], officially founding St. Louis in 1764. The town then almost immediately passed into [[UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} Spanish]] hands (though it remained culturally French), before going back to France in 1800 and then being sold to the fledging UsefulNotes/UnitedStates as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Keeping up so far? The city's location at the convergence of the two longest rivers in North America made it a strategic and commercial hub, which in turn helped it grow into a huge city and made it an especially big deal back when riverboats were considered a speedy form of transportation. At the start of the 20th century, St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in the entire country. However, the city has been declining in importance (and population) for quite awhile now. It's lost population in every census since 1950, is no longer even in the top ''fifty'' largest cities in the U.S., and is no longer even the largest city in Missouri.[[note]]There's an asterisk there, as we'll discuss below: Many of those people just moved to the suburbs, and the total metropolitan area still has a larger population than UsefulNotes/KansasCity's.[[/note]]

* [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams The St. Louis Cardinals]] ([[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} MLB]]). The Cardinals are second only to the UsefulNotes/{{New York|City}} Yankees in total World Series titles and have a strong following. Indeed, in many ways they punch well above their weight in terms of prominence for a market of their size, largely due to the historical circumstances of having been the MLB team furthest west and furthest south for the first half of the 20th century. That landed their games on a large network of first radio and then television stations for "local" broadcasts, which they still maintain to a surprisingly large extent. Especially prominent is radio flagship KMOX, which, because of the flat topography of the American Midwest, the nature of AM broadcasting on medium wave radio, and the power of the signal, can be heard as far away as Canada.

* Angel Olsen (indie singer-writer)

* Bob Costas: Born in Queens, New York, but relocated to St. Louis to begin his broadcasting career after attending Syracuse University.

St. Louis, Missouri, is known for the Gateway Arch and... well, actually, that's pretty much what it's known for now[[note]](though nearby Ferguson did gain major national attention for the 2014 protests associated with the UsefulNotes/BlackLivesMatterMovement)[[/note]], which is a real shame considering its history. St. Louis sits just south of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, a naturally prudent place for a major settlement; the ancient UsefulNotes/{{Native American|s}} city of Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian settlement in what would become the US, was more or less just on the other side of the river. The [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] were the first Europeans to [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire settle in the area]], officially founding St. Louis in 1764. The settlement then almost immediately passed into [[UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} Spanish]] hands (though it remained culturally French), before going back to France in 1800 and then being sold to the fledging UsefulNotes/UnitedStates as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Keeping up so far? The city's location at the convergence of the two longest rivers in North America made it a strategic and commercial hub, which in turn helped it grow into a huge city and made it an especially big deal back when riverboats were considered a speedy form of transportation. At the start of the 20th century, St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in the entire country. However, the city has been declining in importance (and population) for quite awhile now. It's lost population in every census since 1950, is no longer even in the top ''fifty'' largest cities in the U.S., and is no longer even the largest city in Missouri.[[note]]There's an asterisk there, as we'll discuss below: Many of those people just moved to the suburbs, and the total metropolitan area still has a larger population than UsefulNotes/KansasCity's.[[/note]]

* Angel Olsen ([[indie singer-writer)

* Angel Olsen ([[FolkMusic indie folk]] singer-writer)

* Bob Costas

* St. Louis City SC ([[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer MLS]]) – Started play in 2023. The city has been a hotbed of U.S. soccer for decades; in fact, for a time in the early 20th century, the de facto top level of the sport was a St. Louis city league. While the league folded during the Depression, the passion never went away, with several relatively short-lived teams operating in various U.S. leagues over the years. College soccer was and still is big in the region as well. The Saint Louis Billikens (Saint Louis University) were a dominant men's side from the 1950s through the mid-1970s, winning a still-record 10 NCAA Division I championships.[[note]]Most of these were in the predecessors to D-I.[[/note]] The Billikens are half of a big local rivalry in the sport with the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) across the river in Metro East. The city had been on MLS' radar almost since the league was founded, but plans for a St. Louis team fell into {{development hell}} until 2019, when City SC was announced with a planned 2022 start date, [[ReleaseDateChange/COVID10PandemicRelatedExamples later pushed back]] to 2023.

* In 2023, STL will become home to a UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer team, St. Louis City SC. The city has been a hotbed of U.S. soccer for decades; in fact, for a time in the early 20th century, the de facto top level of the sport was a St. Louis city league. While the league folded during the Depression, the passion never went away, with several relatively short-lived teams operating in various U.S. leagues over the years. College soccer was and still is big in the region as well. The Saint Louis Billikens (Saint Louis University) were a dominant men's side from the 1950s through the mid-1970s, winning a still-record 10 NCAA Division I championships.[[note]]Most of these were in the predecessors to D-I.[[/note]] The Billikens are half of a big local rivalry in the sport with the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) across the river in Metro East. The city had been on MLS' radar almost since the league was founded, but plans for a St. Louis team fell into {{development hell}} until 2019, when City SC was announced with a planned 2022 start date, since pushed back to 2023.

* Given that it's based on the career of Tina Turner, some of the early sections of ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt'' take place here.

!! In media:

* ''Series/{{Defiance}}'' is set in the city formerly known as St. Louis -- the Gateway Arch survives (and is host to a radio station) while much of the city ended up buried underground.
* ''Theatre/TheGlassMenagerie'', by St. Louis native Tennessee Williams, is set in the city.

* ''Series/TheJohnLarroquetteShow'' is a WorkCom set in a St. Louis bus station.
* Creator/StevenSoderbergh's 1993 film ''King of the Hill'' (no relation to [[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill the show]]) is a coming-of-age story set in the city during TheGreatDepression. The film is based on a memoir of the same name by A.E. Hotchner.
* ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'' is set in Prohibition-era St. Louis.
* In ''Series/TheLastShip'', St. Louis [[SuddenlySignificantCity becomes the new capital]] of the United States' restored post-plague federal government, due to its centralized location and the fact that the local government's quarantine actions managed to keep the city's infrastructure and population more intact than anywhere else.

* ''Series/MastersOfSex'', based on the real-life studies of Masters and Johnson at Washington University in the '50s.
* ''Film/MeetMeInStLouis'', of course. Specifically the film takes place during the lead-up to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
* The city appears along the travel route of ''[[Film/NationalLampoonsVacation National Lampoon's Vacation]]''.

* The ''WesternAnimation/SpiralZone'' episode "Island in the Zone" is set in St. Louis.
* The W.C. Handy [[{{Blues}} blues]] standard "Saint Louis Blues" has been performed by Music/LouisArmstrong, Bessie Smith, Music/CabCalloway, Music/BingCrosby, Count Basie, Music/GlennMiller and many others, in addition to lending its name to several [[Film/StLouisBlues films]] and the city's NHL team. Handy himself lived briefly in St. Louis.
* The {{folk|Music}} and blues standard "Music/StaggerLee", which has been performed by... well, just about everyone (see the song page for a partial list), is based on a real-life shooting that happened in St. Louis on Christmas Day, 1895.
* An important first-season [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E06Skin episode]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' takes place in the city, and is referred to frequently afterwards.

* Given that it's based on the career of Tina Turner, some of the early sections of ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt'' take place here.

* Creator/HermanMelville's lesser-known novel ''Literature/TheConfidenceMan'' takes place on a steamboat bound downriver from St. Louis.

* In the post-apocalyptic novel ''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'', the site of New Rome--i.e. the seat of the papacy--is heavily implied to be in what was once St. Louis. (Though it later relocates to UsefulNotes/{{Denver}}.)

* ''Literature/AnitaBlake: Vampire Hunter''.

* ''Series/TheJohnLarroquetteShow''.

* ''Film/MeetMeInStLouis'', of course.
* The City appears in ''[[Film/NationalLampoonsVacation National Lampoon's Vacation]]''.
* The serial killer villain in ''Literature/RedDragon'' lives and works a day job in St. Louis.

* The {{folk|Music}} and blues standard "Music/StaggerLee", which has been performed by... well, just about everyone (see the song page for a partial list), is based on a real-life shooting that happened in St. Louis on Christmas Day, 1895.

* Creator/JonathanFranzen: Born in Illinois, grew up in the Webster Groves suburb.

St. Louis, Missouri, is known for the Gateway Arch and... well, actually, that's pretty much what it's known for now,[[note]]Though nearby Ferguson is perhaps best known for the 2014 riots associated with the UsefulNotes/BlackLivesMatterMovement.[[/note]] which is a real shame considering its history. St. Louis sits just south of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, a naturally prudent place for a major settlement; the ancient UsefulNotes/{{Native American|s}} city of Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian settlement in what would become the US, was more or less just on the other side of the river. The [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] were the first Europeans to [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire settle in the area]], officially founding St. Louis in 1764. The settlement then almost immediately passed into [[UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} Spanish]] hands (though it remained culturally French), before going back to France in 1800 and then being sold to the fledging UsefulNotes/UnitedStates as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Keeping up so far? The city's location at the convergence of the two longest rivers in North America made it a strategic and commercial hub, which in turn helped it grow into a huge city and made it an especially big deal back when riverboats were considered a speedy form of transportation. At the start of the 20th century, St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in the entire country. However, the city has been declining in importance (and population) for quite awhile now. It's lost population in every census since 1950, is no longer even in the top ''fifty'' largest cities in the U.S., and is no longer even the largest city in Missouri.[[note]]There's an asterisk there, as we'll discuss below: Many of those people just moved to the suburbs, and the total metropolitan area still has a larger population than UsefulNotes/KansasCity's.[[/note]]

St. Louis, Missouri, is known for the Gateway Arch and... well, actually, that's pretty much what it's known for now,[[note]]Though nearby Ferguson is perhaps best known for the 2014 riots associated with the UsefulNotes/BlackLivesMatter movement.[[/note]] which is a real shame considering its history. St. Louis sits just south of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, a naturally prudent place for a major settlement; the ancient UsefulNotes/{{Native American|s}} city of Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian settlement in what would become the US, was more or less just on the other side of the river. The [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] were the first Europeans to [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire settle in the area]], officially founding St. Louis in 1764. The settlement then almost immediately passed into [[UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} Spanish]] hands (though it remained culturally French), before going back to France in 1800 and then being sold to the fledging UsefulNotes/UnitedStates as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Keeping up so far? The city's location at the convergence of the two longest rivers in North America made it a strategic and commercial hub, which in turn helped it grow into a huge city and made it an especially big deal back when riverboats were considered a speedy form of transportation. At the start of the 20th century, St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in the entire country. However, the city has been declining in importance (and population) for quite awhile now. It's lost population in every census since 1950, is no longer even in the top ''fifty'' largest cities in the U.S., and is no longer even the largest city in Missouri.[[note]]There's an asterisk there, as we'll discuss below: Many of those people just moved to the suburbs, and the total metropolitan area still has a larger population than UsefulNotes/KansasCity's.[[/note]]

St. Louis, Missouri, is known for the Gateway Arch and... well, actually, that's pretty much what it's known for now, which is a real shame considering its history. St. Louis sits just south of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, a naturally prudent place for a major settlement; the ancient UsefulNotes/{{Native American|s}} city of Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian settlement in what would become the US, was more or less just on the other side of the river. The [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] were the first Europeans to [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire settle in the area]], officially founding St. Louis in 1764. The settlement then almost immediately passed into [[UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} Spanish]] hands (though it remained culturally French), before going back to France in 1800 and then being sold to the fledging UsefulNotes/UnitedStates as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Keeping up so far? The city's location at the convergence of the two longest rivers in North America made it a strategic and commercial hub, which in turn helped it grow into a huge city and made it an especially big deal back when riverboats were considered a speedy form of transportation. At the start of the 20th century, St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in the entire country. However, the city has been declining in importance (and population) for quite awhile now. It's lost population in every census since 1950, is no longer even in the top ''fifty'' largest cities in the U.S., and is no longer even the largest city in Missouri.[[note]]There's an asterisk there, as we'll discuss below: Many of those people just moved to the suburbs, and the total metropolitan area still has a larger population than UsefulNotes/KansasCity's.[[/note]]

St. Louis, Missouri, is known for the Gateway Arch and... well, actually, that's pretty much what it's known for now, which is a real shame considering its history. St. Louis sits just south of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, a naturally prudent place for a major settlement; the ancient UsefulNotes/{{Native American|s}} city of Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian settlement in what would become the US, was more or less just on the other side of the river. The [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] were the first Europeans to settle in the area, officially founding St. Louis in 1764. The settlement then almost immediately passed into [[UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} Spanish]] hands (though it remained culturally French), before going back to France in 1800 and then being sold to the fledging UsefulNotes/UnitedStates as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Keeping up so far? The city's location at the convergence of the two longest rivers in North America made it a strategic and commercial hub, which in turn helped it grow into a huge city and made it an especially big deal back when riverboats were considered a speedy form of transportation. At the start of the 20th century, St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in the entire country. However, the city has been declining in importance (and population) for quite awhile now. It's lost population in every census since 1950, is no longer even in the top ''fifty'' largest cities in the U.S., and is no longer even the largest city in Missouri.[[note]]There's an asterisk there, as we'll discuss below: Many of those people just moved to the suburbs, and the total metropolitan area still has a larger population than UsefulNotes/KansasCity's.[[/note]]