People and culture of St. Louis, Missouri
Encyclopedia
The culture of St. Louis, Missouri
includes a variety of attractions located within the city of St. Louis, Missouri
and in surrounding communities in Greater St. Louis, such as local museums, attractions, music, performing arts venues, and places of worship.
, located in Forest Park
, houses a variety of art media and periods, ranging from ancient artifacts through contemporary exhibits. Other art museums in St. Louis include the The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
, located in a building designed by the architect and Pritzker Prize
winner Tadao Ando
, and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
, a non-collecting contemporary art
museum. Universities in the area also operate museums of art, such as the Saint Louis University Museum of Art
and the Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis.
The Missouri History Museum
, located in Forest Park and affiliated with the Missouri Historical Society
, offers exhibits on the history of St. Louis, the 1904 World's Fair, and Charles Lindbergh
. The Museum of Westward Expansion, located below the Gateway Arch
, details the history of exploration and settlement of the American West. Other local museums include the Eugene Field House and the Campbell House Museum
, the latter of which operates as a house museum focused on the Victorian era
. The St. Louis area is also home to the Museum of Transportation
, which preserves railroad and other transportation equipment.
The Gateway Arch
, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, is a popular tourist attraction in downtown St. Louis. Also in downtown is Laclede's Landing
, a restaurant and nightclub area along the Mississippi riverfront. Nearby, St. Louis Union Station
is a renovated railroad terminal that includes retail shops and a luxury hotel, and the privately owned City Museum
is a playground-like funhouse
attraction located in the Washington Avenue Historic District
. The Lemp Mansion
, former home of the ill-fated Lemp family, is open to the public as a haunted house
, restaurant, and bed and breakfast. Six Flags St. Louis
is an amusement park
located in Eureka, Missouri
.
Notable museums are also located in surrounding cities. The Delmar Loop
, located in University City
, just west of the St. Louis city line, is a popular entertainment, cultural and restaurant district, voted one of the "10 Best Streets" in the nation by the American Planning Association. The Butterfly House of the Zoo is located in western St. Louis County
in Chesterfield.
The Magic House, a children's hands-on exploration museum, and Worldways Children's Museum, an international children's cultural museum, are both located in Kirkwood
west of the city.
Cahokia Mounds, located near Collinsville, Illinois
, holds the ruins of the 12th century city of the ancient Mississippian
aboriginal culture. Its Monk's Mound is the largest prehistoric earthwork
in North America and one of more than 60 mounds remaining. This was one of the first eight sites in the US listed as a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO
. Similar Mississippian mounds gave St. Louis its nickname "Mound City", but most were leveled off and used for fill during development in the 19th century.
, located in Grand Center, which presents Broadway shows and concert or speaking events. Other theaters include the The Muny
, a municipal opera company located in Forest Park, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
, an annual summer opera production co-founded by Richard Gaddes
in 1976, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Union Avenue Opera, the St. Louis Black Repertory Theater, the New Line Theatre
. Renovations have finished on the Peabody Opera House, located in Downtown West
, which allowed for the reopening of the building in October 2011.
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
has received six Grammy Awards and fifty-six nominations, and it has performed in the Powell Symphony Hall
in Grand Center since 1968.
The American conductor
Leonard Slatkin
led the orchestra through 1996, while Israeli-American violin
ist Itzhak Perlman
served the orchestra as musical advisor from 2002 through 2004. Since 2005, David Robertson
has served as the director. In addition, the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus
provides several concerts annually. The Sheldon Concert Hall also serves the area as a jazz and speaking venue.
St. Louis also is associated with rock and roll
, jazz
, blues
, and ragtime
music. Chuck Berry
, a native St. Louisan, continues to perform in area clubs, while jazz musician Miles Davis
had early ties to musical clubs in the region. The area also was home to several significant blues artists, such as Little Milton
, Oliver Sain
, Albert King
, Henry Townsend
, Johnnie Johnson
, James Crutchfield
and Bennie Smith
. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Scott Joplin
wrote ragtime in the city, and blues performer Louis Jordan
operated a club and lived in the city. During the 1950s and 1960s, popular entertainment areas included Gaslight Square
, attracting nationally known musicians and performers; however, the area has been redeveloped for residential use.
In recent years, St. Louis has been home to musical artists such as Sheryl Crow
, Story of the Year
, and The Urge
. The region produced alt-country bands such as The Bottle Rockets
and Uncle Tupelo
, whose members went on to found Wilco
and Son Volt
. Rap
and hip hop music
artists from the area include Nelly
, Ali
, Murphy Lee
, Chingy
, Akon
, and J-Kwon
. Several musical clubs in the area are in the Delmar Loop
, including The Pageant
and Blueberry Hill
.
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (2000), the largest religious group in the metropolitan area was Catholic with 650,000 members, followed by evangelical Protestant churches with 390,000 members and mainline Protestant churches with 210,000 members. However, 1.3 million St. Louisans were unclaimed by one of the 188 churches or groups studied by the association.
Historically significant churches include the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
, a Roman Catholic cathedral
that is the episcopal see
of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. It was built in the Byzantine
and Romanesque
styles with a large interior mosaic
series, and it hosted Pope John Paul II
in January 1999.
Other locally notable churches include the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
, the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the oldest church in St. Louis, the Saint Louis Abbey
, whose distinctive architectural style garnered multiple awards at the time of its completion in 1962, and St. Francis de Sales Oratory
, a neo-Gothic church completed in 1908 and the second largest church in the city.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
includes a variety of attractions located within the city of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and in surrounding communities in Greater St. Louis, such as local museums, attractions, music, performing arts venues, and places of worship.
Museums and attractions
The Saint Louis Art MuseumSaint Louis Art Museum
The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the principal U.S. art museums, visited by up to a half million people every year. Admission is free through a subsidy from the cultural tax district for St. Louis City and County.Located in Forest Park in St...
, located in Forest Park
Forest Park (St. Louis)
Forest Park is a public park located in western part of the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is a prominent civic center and covers . The park, which opened in 1876 more than a decade after its proposal, has hosted several significant events, including the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and...
, houses a variety of art media and periods, ranging from ancient artifacts through contemporary exhibits. Other art museums in St. Louis include the The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis, Missouri opened in 2001 with a building designed by internationally renowned architect, Tadao Ando. The Pulitzer is located at 3716 Washington Boulevard ....
, located in a building designed by the architect and Pritzker Prize
Pritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
winner Tadao Ando
Tadao Ando
is a Japanese architect whose approach to architecture was once categorized by Francesco Dal Co as critical regionalism. Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field...
, and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is an art museum for contemporary art, located in St. Louis, in the U.S. state of Missouri.- External links :*...
, a non-collecting contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
museum. Universities in the area also operate museums of art, such as the Saint Louis University Museum of Art
Saint Louis University Museum of Art
The Saint Louis University Museum of Art is the formal art museum for Saint Louis University. It is located at 3663 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri and is also known as O'Donnell Hall.-The building:...
and the Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis.
The Missouri History Museum
Missouri History Museum
The Missouri History Museum is located in St. Louis, Missouri in Forest Park. The museum is operated by the Missouri Historical Society and was founded in 1866...
, located in Forest Park and affiliated with the Missouri Historical Society
Missouri Historical Society
The Missouri Historical Society was founded in St. Louis in 1866. Founding members created the historical society "for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state."- Organization :...
, offers exhibits on the history of St. Louis, the 1904 World's Fair, and Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
. The Museum of Westward Expansion, located below the Gateway Arch
Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States...
, details the history of exploration and settlement of the American West. Other local museums include the Eugene Field House and the Campbell House Museum
Campbell House Museum
The Campbell House Museum opened on February 6, 1943, and has served the greater St. Louis area as one of the region's premier historic property museums. The museum was documented as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey between 1936 and 1941, designated a City of St...
, the latter of which operates as a house museum focused on the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. The St. Louis area is also home to the Museum of Transportation
Museum of Transportation
The Museum of Transportation of the St. Louis County, Missouri, United States Parks Department is a museum located in the Greater St. Louis area. It was first founded in 1944 by a group of individuals dedicated to preserving the past and has a wide variety of vehicles from American history...
, which preserves railroad and other transportation equipment.
The Gateway Arch
Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States...
, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, is a popular tourist attraction in downtown St. Louis. Also in downtown is Laclede's Landing
Laclede's Landing
Laclède's Landing is a popular attraction located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.Located just north of the Eads Bridge on the Mississippi Riverfront, the Landing is a multi-block collection of cobblestone streets and vintage brick-and-cast-iron warehouses dating from 1850 through 1900, now...
, a restaurant and nightclub area along the Mississippi riverfront. Nearby, St. Louis Union Station
St. Louis Union Station
St. Louis Union Station, a National Historic Landmark, is a passenger train terminal in St. Louis, Missouri. Once the world's largest and busiest train station, it was converted in the early 1980s into a luxury hotel, shopping center, and entertainment complex...
is a renovated railroad terminal that includes retail shops and a luxury hotel, and the privately owned City Museum
City Museum
City Museum is a museum, consisting largely of repurposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building in the Washington Avenue Loft District of St...
is a playground-like funhouse
Funhouse
A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways in which patrons encounter and actively interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse the visitor. Unlike thrill rides, funhouses are participatory attractions, where visitors...
attraction located in the Washington Avenue Historic District
Washington Avenue Historic District
Washington Avenue Historic District may refer to:in the United States* West Washington Avenue Historic District, Jonesboro, Arkansas, listed on the NRHP in Craighead County, Arkansas...
. The Lemp Mansion
Lemp Mansion
The Lemp Mansion is a historical house in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. It is also the site of three suicides by Lemp family members after the death of the son Frederick Lemp, whose William J. Lemp Brewing Co. dominated the St. Louis beer market before Prohibition with its Falstaff beer brand...
, former home of the ill-fated Lemp family, is open to the public as a haunted house
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
, restaurant, and bed and breakfast. Six Flags St. Louis
Six Flags St. Louis
Six Flags St. Louis , is an amusement park owned by Six Flags, Inc. It is located in Eureka, Missouri, USA . Opened in 1971 as the third theme park of the Six Flags chain, this was the last park that was built under the Six Flags name...
is an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
located in Eureka, Missouri
Eureka, Missouri
Eureka is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, between St. Louis and Pacific, Missouri, along Interstate 44. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 10,189. The city is west of the former site of Times Beach, the site of dioxin contamination discovered in...
.
Notable museums are also located in surrounding cities. The Delmar Loop
Delmar Loop
The Delmar Loop is an entertainment, cultural and restaurant district in University City, Missouri and the ajoining western edge of St. Louis, Missouri. Most of its attractions are located in the streetcar suburb of University City, but the area is expanding eastward into the Skinker-Debaliviere...
, located in University City
University City, Missouri
University City is an inner-ring suburb in St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 35,371 in 2010 census. The city was shaped by Washington University in St. Louis, whose campus abuts the city to the southeast....
, just west of the St. Louis city line, is a popular entertainment, cultural and restaurant district, voted one of the "10 Best Streets" in the nation by the American Planning Association. The Butterfly House of the Zoo is located in western St. Louis County
St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its county seat is Clayton. St. Louis County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area wherein the independent City of St. Louis and its suburbs in St. Louis County, as well as the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois all...
in Chesterfield.
The Magic House, a children's hands-on exploration museum, and Worldways Children's Museum, an international children's cultural museum, are both located in Kirkwood
Kirkwood, Missouri
Kirkwood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,540. Founded in 1853, the city is named for James Pugh Kirkwood, builder of the Pacific Railroad through that town. It was the first planned suburb located west...
west of the city.
Cahokia Mounds, located near Collinsville, Illinois
Collinsville, Illinois
Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, both in Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 26,016. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and is considered part of that city's Metro-East area...
, holds the ruins of the 12th century city of the ancient Mississippian
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
aboriginal culture. Its Monk's Mound is the largest prehistoric earthwork
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
in North America and one of more than 60 mounds remaining. This was one of the first eight sites in the US listed as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. Similar Mississippian mounds gave St. Louis its nickname "Mound City", but most were leveled off and used for fill during development in the 19th century.
Music and the performing arts
Among the performance venues in St. Louis is the Fox TheatreFox Theatre (St. Louis)
The Fox Theatre, a former movie palace, is a performing arts center located at 527 N. Grand Blvd. in St. Louis, Missouri. Also known as "The Fabulous Fox", it is situated in the arts district of the Grand Center area in Midtown St. Louis, one block north of Saint Louis University...
, located in Grand Center, which presents Broadway shows and concert or speaking events. Other theaters include the The Muny
The Muny
The Muny, short for The Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis, is an outdoor musical theatre, located in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri...
, a municipal opera company located in Forest Park, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is a summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which is divided into two...
, an annual summer opera production co-founded by Richard Gaddes
Richard Gaddes
Richard Gaddes is an English-born opera company administrator based in the United States.-Career in England:Gaddes was born in Wallsend, England. He studied at Trinity College of Music in London. At Wigmore Hall, London’s famed recital hall, he created a series of lunchtime concerts designed to...
in 1976, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Union Avenue Opera, the St. Louis Black Repertory Theater, the New Line Theatre
New Line Theatre
New Line Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, is an alternative musical theatre company producing challenging, adult, politically and socially relevant works of musical theatre...
. Renovations have finished on the Peabody Opera House, located in Downtown West
Downtown West, St. Louis
Downtown West is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. It is, as the name suggests, a section of downtown that is further inland, west from the banks of the Mississippi river. St. Louis City Hall, the Peabody Opera House, the Scottrade Center arena, and St. Louis Union Station are all located in...
, which allowed for the reopening of the building in October 2011.
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the SLSO is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States as it is preceded by the New York Philharmonic.-History:The St...
has received six Grammy Awards and fifty-six nominations, and it has performed in the Powell Symphony Hall
Powell Symphony Hall
Powell Symphony Hall is the home of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. It was named after Walter S. Powell, a local St. Louis businessman, whose widow donated $1 million towards the purchase and use of this hall by the symphony...
in Grand Center since 1968.
The American conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,...
led the orchestra through 1996, while Israeli-American violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
served the orchestra as musical advisor from 2002 through 2004. Since 2005, David Robertson
David Robertson (conductor)
David Eric Robertson is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.-Early life:...
has served as the director. In addition, the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus
Saint Louis Chamber Chorus
The Saint Louis Chamber Chorus is a 40 voice a cappella mixed men's and women's chorus performing six concerts per season in St. Louis, Missouri. Under the direction of Philip Barnes, the Artistic Director from 1989 to the present, singers perform a varied repertoire of 50 or more choral works per...
provides several concerts annually. The Sheldon Concert Hall also serves the area as a jazz and speaking venue.
St. Louis also is associated with rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
music. Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, a native St. Louisan, continues to perform in area clubs, while jazz musician Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
had early ties to musical clubs in the region. The area also was home to several significant blues artists, such as Little Milton
Little Milton
James Milton Campbell, Jr. , better known as Little Milton, was an American electric blues, rhythm and blues, and soul singer and guitarist, best known for his hit records "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "We're Gonna Make It."-Biography:Milton was born James Milton Campbell, Jr., in the Mississippi...
, Oliver Sain
Oliver Sain
Oliver Sain was an American saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer....
, Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, Henry Townsend
Henry Townsend (musician)
Henry 'Mule' Townsend was an American blues singer, guitarist and pianist.-Career:Townsend was born in Shelby, Mississippi and grew up in Cairo, Illinois. He left home at the age of nine because of an abusive father and hoboed his way to St. Louis, Missouri...
, Johnnie Johnson
Johnnie Johnson (musician)
Johnnie Johnson was an American pianist and blues musician. His work with Chuck Berry led to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.-Career:...
, James Crutchfield
James Crutchfield
James Crutchfield was an American St. Louis, Missouri based, barrelhouse blues singer, pianist, and songwriter, whose career spanned seven decades...
and Bennie Smith
Bennie Smith
Bennie Smith was a St. Louis blues guitarist, considered to be one of the city's patriarchs of electric blues....
. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
wrote ragtime in the city, and blues performer Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
operated a club and lived in the city. During the 1950s and 1960s, popular entertainment areas included Gaslight Square
Gaslight Square, St. Louis
Gaslight Square in Saint Louis, Missouri flourished from the early nineteen fifties into the mid-sixties. This entertainment district was located in an area close to the intersection of Olive and Boyle Streets, near what is now known as the Central West End neighborhood.-History:Gaslight Square was...
, attracting nationally known musicians and performers; however, the area has been redeveloped for residential use.
In recent years, St. Louis has been home to musical artists such as Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
, Story of the Year
Story of the Year
Story of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri in 2000. The band was initially named 67 North but was then changed to Big Blue Monkey...
, and The Urge
The Urge
The Urge is a St. Louis rock band formed in 1987 by drummer Jeff Herschel, bassist Karl Grable, guitarist Pat Malecek, and singer Steve Ewing...
. The region produced alt-country bands such as The Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets are an American rock band formed in 1992, currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. The founding members are Brian Henneman , Mark Ortmann , Tom Parr and Tom Ray . Current members are Henneman, Ortmann, John Horton and Keith Voegele...
and Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
, whose members went on to found Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
and Son Volt
Son Volt
Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...
. Rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
and hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists from the area include Nelly
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...
, Ali
Ali (rapper)
Ali Jones , better known by his stage name Ali is an American rapper and member of the hip hop group St. Lunatics.-Career:...
, Murphy Lee
Murphy Lee
Torhi Harper , better known by his stage name Murphy Lee, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper, best known as a member of the hip hop group St. Lunatics. Lee is also the chief executive of his own label, U C Me Entertainment.-Career:Murphy Lee formed the St...
, Chingy
Chingy
Howard Bailey, Jr. , better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens...
, Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
, and J-Kwon
J-Kwon
Jerrell Jones, better known by his stage name J-Kwon, is an American rapper from St. Louis best known for his 2004 hit single "Tipsy".-Biography:...
. Several musical clubs in the area are in the Delmar Loop
Delmar Loop
The Delmar Loop is an entertainment, cultural and restaurant district in University City, Missouri and the ajoining western edge of St. Louis, Missouri. Most of its attractions are located in the streetcar suburb of University City, but the area is expanding eastward into the Skinker-Debaliviere...
, including The Pageant
The Pageant
The Pageant, sometimes called The Pageant Concert NightClub, is a music venue in the Delmar Loop district, located on the western edge of Saint Louis, Missouri, just east of the University City half of the loop area....
and Blueberry Hill
Blueberry Hill (restaurant)
Blueberry Hill is a restaurant and bar located in the Delmar Loop neighborhood in University City, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Legendary performer Chuck Berry performs there for one hour on a single Wednesday each month, downstairs in the Duck Room....
.
Religion and places of worship
Historically significant churches include the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, also known as the Saint Louis Cathedral or the New Cathedral, was completed in 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri, as the archdiocesan replacement for the Cathedral of St. Louis, King of France...
, a Roman Catholic cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
that is the episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. It was built in the Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
and Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
styles with a large interior mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
series, and it hosted Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in January 1999.
Other locally notable churches include the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
The Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, formerly the Cathedral of Saint Louis, and colloquially the Old Cathedral, was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1845 the only parish church in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of two Catholic basilicas in St...
, the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the oldest church in St. Louis, the Saint Louis Abbey
Saint Louis Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis is an abbey of the Roman Catholic English Benedictine Congregation located in St. Louis County, Missouri USA. The Abbey is an important presence in the spiritual life of the Archdiocese of St. Louis...
, whose distinctive architectural style garnered multiple awards at the time of its completion in 1962, and St. Francis de Sales Oratory
St. Francis de Sales Church (St. Louis, Missouri)
St. Francis de Sales Church is a Roman Catholic Oratory located on the South Side of St. Louis, Missouri. It is the second largest church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis after the cathedral-basilica. The church is popularly known as the "Cathedral of South St. Louis."The historic main church was...
, a neo-Gothic church completed in 1908 and the second largest church in the city.
Further reading
- Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities by Andrew Hurley (Temple University Press; 2010) 248 pages; focus on successful projects in St. Louis and other cities.