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77-503: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears , stuffed animals , and characters. During store visits, customers go through an interactive process where the stuffed animal of their choice is assembled and tailored to their own preferences including varying scents, sounds, looks, and outfits. Build-A-Bear Workshop is the largest chain that operates in this style. The company's slogan

154-633: A Build-A-Bear Workshop video game for the Nintendo DS platform for Christmas 2007. A Build-A-Bear game for the Nintendo Wii , subtitled A Friend Fur All Seasons , was released in fall 2008. Build-A-Bear released a feature film, available on the iPad through MoPix, in December 2011. From 2011 to 2013, Millennial women began increasingly visiting the stores to purchase accessories intended for their pets, rather than prior bear purchases. In 2008,

231-505: A Build-A-Bear music label. Patrick Hughes (founder of Foundation Media Partners ) and Harvey Russell (CEO) went on board to guide the label. With an announcement of having secured a deal with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in an August 2019 Q2 earnings report, Build-A-Bear was starting up an in-house production entity, Build-A-Bear Entertainment. The first movie is The Honey Girls movie, which comes with songs and music videos on its YouTube channel. Two Christmas movies were produced,

308-761: A Mississippi River expedition led by Laclède, who searched for a location to base the company's fur trading operations. Though Ste. Genevieve was already established as a trading center, he sought a place less prone to flooding. He found an elevated area overlooking the flood plain of the Mississippi River, not far south from its confluence with the Missouri and Illinois rivers. In addition to having an advantageous natural drainage system, there were nearby forested areas to supply timber and grasslands which could easily be converted for agricultural purposes. Laclède declared that this place "might become, hereafter, one of

385-489: A bear. The relatively low price of the stuffed bears for younger children attracted massive numbers of people, overwhelming the franchise's stores as well as many shopping malls in which Build-A-Bear franchises were located. The event prompted a surge in public awareness of the Build-A-Bear brand, according to a subsequent YouGov poll, nearly all of which was negative. Sharon Price John, president and CEO, apologized;

462-526: A customs house was constructed in the Greek Revival style in 1852, but was demolished and replaced in 1873 by the U.S. Customhouse and Post Office . Because much of the city's commercial and industrial development was centered along the riverfront, many pre-Civil War buildings were demolished during construction of the Gateway Arch. The city's remaining architectural heritage of the era includes

539-543: A greater population than New Orleans. Settled by many Southerners in a slave state , the city was split in political sympathies and became polarized during the American Civil War . In 1861, 28 civilians were killed in a clash with Union troops . The war hurt St. Louis economically, due to the Union blockade of river traffic to the south on the Mississippi River. The St. Louis Arsenal constructed ironclads for

616-521: A home bear-stuffing kit. A few Build-A-Bear Workshop locations began testing the "make-your-own-doll" concept in early 2004. In November 2004, Clark opened the first Friends 2B Made store with this concept in Robinson near Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania followed by a location in Columbus, Ohio on November 19, 2004. Existing mass doll makers had slipping sales, and a number of specialty doll makers entered

693-503: A multi-block district of cobblestone streets and brick and cast-iron warehouses called Laclede's Landing . Now popular for its restaurants and nightclubs, the district is located north of Gateway Arch along the riverfront. Other industrial buildings from the era include some portions of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery , which date to the 1860s. St. Louis saw a vast expansion in variety and number of religious buildings during

770-542: A pan-tribal alliance to counter British control over the region but received little support from the indigenous residents of St. Louis. By 1765, the city began receiving visits from representatives of the British, French, and Spanish governments. St. Louis was transferred to the French First Republic in 1800 (although all of the colonial lands continued to be administered by Spanish officials), then sold by

847-461: A panel of children. The build-a-bear concept was selected from the three, as the children were excited about it, and the stuffed animals offered a high-profit margin. Doll shops (known as Build-A-Doll) were also a part of the original business plan. Clark founded Build-A-Bear in 1997. In 1997, Clark also offered to purchase Basic Brown Bears, who has been operating since 1985 in the do-it-yourself stuffed animals space. Adrienne Weiss Co. of Los Angeles

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924-595: A public corridor of 300 feet fronting the river, but later this area was released for private development. For the city's first few years, it was not recognized by any governments. Although the settlement was thought to be under the control of the Spanish government, no one asserted any authority over it, and thus St. Louis had no local government. This vacuum led Laclède to assume civil control, and all problems were disposed in public settings, such as communal meetings. In addition, Laclède granted new settlers lots in town and

1001-514: A push into the "kidulting" trend, where adults would seek out items or experiences that reflect childhood memories. St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( / s eɪ n t ˈ l uː ɪ s , s ən t -/ saynt LOO -iss, sənt- ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri . It is located near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020,

1078-607: A recount of the votes in November, officially did so in March 1877. The 1877 St. Louis general strike caused significant upheaval, in a fight for the eight-hour day and the banning of child labor. Industrial production continued to increase during the late 19th century. Major corporations such as the Anheuser-Busch brewery, Ralston Purina company and Desloge Consolidated Lead Company were established at St. Louis which

1155-495: A symbol of failure in public housing, and was torn down less than two decades after it was built. Since the 1980s, several revitalization efforts have focused on Downtown St. Louis . The urban revitalization projects that started in the 1980s continued into the new century. The city's old garment district , centered on Washington Avenue in the Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods, experienced major development starting in

1232-465: A virtual game of Build-A-Bear was released where people could explore Bearville and play games online. Players had an inventory with items that they could trade amongst each other. The player could also listen to songs in the game. This game closed in 2015. Cepia, LLC settled a patent and copyright infringement lawsuit over a color-changing bear against Build-A-Bear in 2013. Also in 2013, founder Maxine Clark retired as CEO, and Sharon Price John took over

1309-879: A water route to the Pacific Ocean, but the party had to go overland in the Upper West. They reached the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River in summer 1805. They returned, reaching St. Louis on September 23, 1806. Both Lewis and Clark lived in St. Louis after the expedition. Many other explorers, settlers, and trappers (such as Ashley's Hundred ) would later take a similar route to the West. The city elected its first municipal legislators (called trustees) in 1808. Steamboats first arrived in St. Louis in 1817, improving connections with New Orleans and eastern markets. Missouri

1386-611: Is an example of the Polish Cathedral style . Among the other major designs of the period were St. Alphonsus Liguori (known as The Rock Church ) (1867) in the Gothic Revival and Second Presbyterian Church of St. Louis (1900) in Richardsonian Romanesque . By the 1900 census , St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the country. In 1904, the city hosted a world's fair at Forest Park called

1463-455: Is the Mississippi River, which separates Missouri from Illinois. The Missouri River forms the northern line of St. Louis County, except for a few areas where the river has changed its course. The Meramec River forms most of its southern line. The urban area of St. Louis has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ); however, its metropolitan region even to the south may present a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ), which shows

1540-800: Is the tallest building in St. Louis. During the 1990s, St. Louis saw the construction of the largest United States courthouse by area, the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse (2000). The Eagleton Courthouse is home to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit . The most recent high-rise buildings in St. Louis include two residential towers: One Hundred in

1617-669: The Illinois Country (also known as Upper Louisiana) were built by the French during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia , Kaskaskia , and Fort de Chartres . Migrants from the French villages on the east side of the Mississippi River , such as Kaskaskia, also founded Ste. Genevieve in the 1730s. In 1764, after France lost the Seven Years' War , Pierre Laclède and his stepson Auguste Chouteau founded what

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1694-553: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition . Its architectural legacy is somewhat scattered. Among the fair-related cultural institutions in the park are the St. Louis Art Museum designed by Cass Gilbert , part of the remaining lagoon at the foot of Art Hill, and the Flight Cage at the St. Louis Zoo . The Missouri History Museum was built afterward, with the profit from the fair. But 1904 left other assets to

1771-683: The Missouri History Museum , and Tower Grove Park and the Botanical Gardens. After the Civil War, social and racial discrimination in housing and employment were common in St. Louis. In 1916, during the Jim Crow Era , St. Louis passed a residential segregation ordinance saying that if 75% of the residents of a neighborhood were of a certain race, no one from a different race was allowed to move in. That ordinance

1848-551: The Missouri River . The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe . French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city. During the negotiations for the 1763 Treaty of Paris , French negotiators agreed to transfer France's colonial territories west of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to New Spain to compensate for Spanish territorial losses during

1925-731: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency . Major research universities in Greater St. Louis include Washington University in St. Louis , Saint Louis University , and the University of Missouri–St. Louis . The Washington University Medical Center in the Central West End neighborhood hosts an agglomeration of medical and pharmaceutical institutions , including Barnes-Jewish Hospital . St. Louis has four professional sports teams :

2002-969: The St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball , the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League , St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer , and the St. Louis BattleHawks of the United Football League . The city's attractions include the 630-foot (192 m) Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis , the St. Louis Zoo , the Missouri Botanical Garden , the St. Louis Art Museum , and Bellefontaine Cemetery . [REDACTED]   Kingdom of France 1690s–1763 [REDACTED]   Kingdom of Spain 1763–1800 [REDACTED]   French First Republic 1800–1803 [REDACTED]   United States 1803–present The area that became St. Louis

2079-463: The Union Navy . Slaves worked in many jobs on the waterfront and on the riverboats. Given the city's location close to the free state of Illinois and others, some slaves escaped to freedom. Others, especially women with children, sued in court in freedom suits , and several prominent local attorneys aided slaves in these suits. About half the slaves achieved freedom in hundreds of suits before

2156-588: The city proper had a population of 301,578, while its metropolitan area , which extends into Illinois , had an estimated population of over 2.8 million. It is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second-largest in Illinois. The city's combined statistical area is the 20th-largest in the United States. The land that became St. Louis had been occupied by Native American cultures for thousands of years before European settlement . The city

2233-576: The 1920 census, it was the fourth-largest city in the country. It separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition , also known as the St. Louis World's Fair, and the Summer Olympics . St. Louis is designated as one of 173 global cities by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . The GDP of Greater St. Louis

2310-444: The 1970s, leading to a court challenge and interdistrict desegregation agreement. Students have been bused mostly from the city to county school districts to have opportunities for integrated classes, although the city has created magnet schools to attract students. St. Louis, like many Midwestern cities, expanded in the early 20th century due to industrialization, which provided jobs to new generations of immigrants and migrants from

2387-413: The 19th and 20th century, most major cities aggressively annexed surrounding areas as residential development occurred away from the central city; however, St. Louis was unable to do so. Several urban renewal projects were built in the 1950s, as the city worked to replace old and substandard housing. Some of these were poorly designed and resulted in problems. One prominent example, Pruitt–Igoe , became

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2464-537: The American Civil War. The printing press of abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was destroyed for the third time by townsfolk. He was murdered the next year in nearby Alton, Illinois . After the war, St. Louis profited via trade with the West, aided by the 1874 completion of the Eads Bridge , named for its design engineer. Industrial developments on both banks of the river were linked by the bridge,

2541-642: The Central West End neighborhood and One Cardinal Way in the Downtown neighborhood. The city is divided into 79 officially-recognized neighborhoods. According to the United States Census Bureau , St. Louis has a total area of 66 square miles (170 km ), of which 62 square miles (160 km ) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km ) (6.2%) is water. The city is built on bluffs and terraces that rise 100–200 feet above

2618-644: The French to the U.S. in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase . St. Louis became the capital of, and gateway to, the new territory. Shortly after the official transfer of authority was made, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. The expedition departed from St. Louis in May 1804 along the Missouri River to explore the vast territory. There were hopes of finding

2695-524: The NFL in 2017, alleging the league breached its own relocation guidelines to profit at the expense of the city. In 2021, the NFL and Rams owner Stan Kroenke agreed to settle out of court with the city for $ 790 million. The architecture of St. Louis exhibits a variety of commercial, residential, and monumental architecture . St. Louis is known for the Gateway Arch , the tallest monument constructed in

2772-464: The South. It reached its peak population of 856,796 at the 1950 census. Suburbanization from the 1950s through the 1990s dramatically reduced the city's population, as did restructuring of industry and loss of jobs. The effects of suburbanization were exacerbated by the small geographical size of St. Louis due to its earlier decision to become an independent city, and it lost much of its tax base. During

2849-412: The United States at 630 feet (190 m). The Arch pays homage to Thomas Jefferson and St. Louis's position as the gateway to the West. Architectural influences reflected in the area include French Colonial , German , early American , and modern architectural styles. Several examples of religious structures are extant from the pre-Civil War period, and most reflect the common residential styles of

2926-476: The Workshop demanded that the company stop selling stuffed animals, recall its merchandise, and turn over its customer database and its proceeds. Vermont Teddy Bears had only two out of its three retail locations doing stuffed bears but had closed them down as being too expensive and stepping on its Bear-Gram program. Basic Brown Bears countersued, as the owners believed that Build-A-Bear swiped its information that

3003-568: The area encountered by early Europeans included the Siouan -speaking Osage people , whose territory extended west, and the Illiniwek . European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of La Louisiane , also known as Louisiana . The earliest European settlements in

3080-446: The area, and parts of the city are karst in nature. This is particularly true of the area south of downtown, which has numerous sinkholes and caves. Most of the caves in the city have been sealed, but many springs are visible along the riverfront. Coal, brick clay , and millerite ore were once mined in the city. The predominant surface rock, known as St. Louis limestone , is used as dimension stone and rubble for construction. Near

3157-659: The built bears, the store carried other merchandise, "Bearaphenalia," to encourage repeat business. These items included candy, greeting cards, jewelry, stationery, stickers, and t-shirts. Also, the stores had a photo booth that converts the pictures into stickers. For the video game Kinectimals: Now with Bears! , it released four bears with scan tags, consisting of Champ Bear, Colorful Hearts Bear, Endless Hearts Teddy and Peace & Hearts Bear. Fox Business reporting described some outrage from adult-themed bears, available online only, after they were introduced in January 2024, under

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3234-484: The central corridor has seen major investment starting in the early 2010s. Between 2013 and 2018, over $ 50 million worth of residential construction has been built in the neighborhood. The population of the neighborhood has increased by 19% from the 2010 to 2020 Census. The St. Louis Rams of the National Football League controversially returned to Los Angeles in 2016. The city of St. Louis sued

3311-445: The chain to 14 stores. The stores were doubling the national mall averages of $ 350 sales per square foot. In 1999, the Workshop sent out legal letters with threats of federal lawsuits regarding supposed violations of its trademarks and copyrights to its competitors: Friends 2B Made LLC, Vermont Teddy Bear Co. Inc., and Basic Brown Bears Inc. With Friends 2B Made, the name was similar to Build-A-Bear's slogan "Where best friends are made";

3388-567: The city hosted the World's Fair and the Olympics , becoming the first non-European city to host the games. The formal name for the 1904 World's Fair was the Louisiana Purchase Exposition . Permanent facilities and structures remaining from the fair are located in Forest Park , and other notable structures within the park's boundaries include the St. Louis Art Museum , the St. Louis Zoo and

3465-434: The city, like Theodore Link 's 1894 St. Louis Union Station , and an improved Forest Park. One US Bank Plaza , the local headquarters for US Bancorp , was constructed in 1976 in the structural expressionist style. Several notable postmodern commercial skyscrapers were built downtown in the 1970s and 1980s, including the former AT&T building at 909 Chestnut Street (1986), and One Metropolitan Square (1989), which

3542-589: The company stated that those who had waited in line would receive vouchers. In November 2017, the company expanded on its pop up shop locations with the opening of Build-A-Bear Bakeshop temporarily for the holidays in the West County Center near a Workshop location. In August 2018, the company launched Kabu pre-teen lifestyle brand based on Japanese kawaii -style art starting with three characters: Kabu Pawlette (bunny), Kabu Bearnice (bear) and Kabu Catlynn (kitten). A companion game app, Kabu Pop Party Quest,

3619-554: The construction of the Gateway Arch to publicize their effort to gain entry for African Americans into the skilled trade unions, where they were underrepresented. The Department of Justice filed the first suit against the unions under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . Between 1900 and 1929, St. Louis, had about 220 automakers, close to 10 percent of all American carmakers, about half of which built cars exclusively in St. Louis. Notable names include Dorris, Gardner and Moon. In

3696-511: The early 19th century. The original St. Louis courthouse was built in 1826 and featured a Federal style stone facade with a rounded portico. However, this courthouse was replaced during renovation and expansion of the building in the 1850s. The Old St. Louis County Courthouse (known as the Old Courthouse ) was completed in 1864 and was notable for having a cast iron dome and for being the tallest structure in Missouri until 1894. Finally,

3773-698: The effect of the urban heat island in the city. The city experiences hot, humid summers and chilly to cold winters. It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico . The average annual temperature recorded at nearby Lambert–St. Louis International Airport , is 57.4 °F (14.1 °C). 100 and 0 °F (38 and −18 °C) temperatures can be seen on an average 3 and 1 days per year, respectively. Precipitation averages 41.70 inches (1,100 mm), but has ranged from 20.59 in (523 mm) in 1953 to 61.24 in (1,555 mm) in 2015. The highest recorded temperature in St. Louis

3850-558: The expansions. Kansas City Equity Partners invested to allow her to open its second store in August 1998 in Overland Park, Kansas . Windsor Capital injected $ 4.5 million into the company, which allowed for two Chicago area stores to open. With the four stores opened in 1998, the chain had $ 3.3 million in sales. In 1999, Walnut Capital Partners invested $ 5 million for expansion, which consisted of opening stores in major cities to bring

3927-597: The finest cities in America". He dispatched his 14-year-old stepson, Auguste Chouteau , to the site, with the support of 30 settlers in February 1764. Laclède arrived at the future town site two months later and produced a plan for St. Louis based on the New Orleans street plan. The default block size was 240 by 300 feet, with just three long avenues running parallel to the west bank of the Mississippi. He established

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4004-575: The first being Christmas CEO , which was first broadcast on Hallmark Channel on November 26, 2021, and the second being Glisten and the Merry Mission , which comes out in Cinemark theaters on November 3, 2023. PRWS Entertainment Group, a custom entertainment, live events and branded experiences production company, formed a partnership with the company. In second-quarter 2020, the company moved its headquarters from Overland to St. Louis. Beyond

4081-414: The first part of the century, St. Louis had some of the worst air pollution in the United States . In April 1940, the city banned the use of soft coal mined in nearby states. The city hired inspectors to ensure that only anthracite was burned. By 1946, the city had reduced air pollution by about 75%. De jure educational segregation continued into the 1950s, and de facto segregation continued into

4158-501: The late 1990s as many of the old factory and warehouse buildings were converted into lofts. The American Planning Association designated Washington Avenue as one of 10 Great Streets for 2011. The Cortex Innovation Community , located within the city's Central West End neighborhood, was founded in 2002 and has become a multi-billion dollar economic engine for the region, with companies such as Microsoft and Boeing currently leasing office space. The Forest Park Southeast neighborhood in

4235-545: The late 19th century and early 20th century. The largest and most ornate of these is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis , designed by Thomas P. Barnett and constructed between 1907 and 1914 in the Neo-Byzantine style. The St. Louis Cathedral, as it is known, has one of the largest mosaic collections in the world. Another landmark in religious architecture of St. Louis is the St. Stanislaus Kostka , which

4312-424: The market, including eToys' My Twinn and Mattel's American Girl. By October 2006, there were 9 Friends 2B Made stores in operation. By October 1, 2009, they were all either shuttered or converted into expanded Build-A-Bear outlets, with their staff being offered jobs at Bear locations. The Friends 2B Made products display fixtures were removed from about 50 workshop locations. The Game Factory developed and released

4389-423: The north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch, to the south. Today the road deck has been restored, allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross the river. The St. Louis MetroLink light rail system has used the rail deck since 1993. An estimated 8,500 vehicles pass through it daily. On August 22, 1876, the city of St. Louis voted to secede from St. Louis County and become an independent city, and, following

4466-600: The position around June. The company licensed My Little Pony and the musical group One Direction. With 400 stores, the company plans to trim 60 underperforming stores over two years. In 2015, a lawsuit sought damages for discriminating against blind people and lack of blind-accessible point-of-sale machines in Build-a-Bear shops. On July 12, 2018, Build-A-Bear held an event in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada where patrons could pay their child's age for

4543-661: The second in the Midwest over the Mississippi River after the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis. The bridge connects St. Louis, Missouri to East St. Louis, Illinois . The Eads Bridge became a symbolic image of the city of St. Louis, from the time of its erection until 1965 when the Gateway Arch Bridge was constructed. The bridge crosses the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to

4620-440: The southern boundary of the city of St. Louis (separating it from St. Louis County ) is the River des Peres , practically the only river or stream within the city limits that is not entirely underground. Most of River des Peres was confined to a channel or put underground in the 1920s and early 1930s. The lower section of the river was the site of some of the worst flooding of the Great Flood of 1993 . The city's eastern boundary

4697-399: The surrounding countryside. In hindsight, many of these original settlers thought of these first few years as "the golden age of St. Louis". In 1763, the Native Americans in the region around St. Louis began expressing dissatisfaction with the victorious British, objecting to their refusal to continue to the French tradition of supplying gifts to Natives. Odawa chieftain Pontiac began forming

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4774-445: The time. Among the earliest is the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (referred to as the Old Cathedral ). The Basilica was built between 1831 and 1834 in the Federal style. Other religious buildings from the period include SS. Cyril and Methodius Church (1857) in the Romanesque Revival style and Christ Church Cathedral (completed in 1867, designed in 1859) in the Gothic Revival style. A few civic buildings were constructed during

4851-443: The war. These areas remained under Spanish control until 1803, when they were transferred to the French First Republic . During the American Revolutionary War , St. Louis was unsuccessfully attacked by British-allied Native Americans in the 1780 Battle of St. Louis . The founding of St. Louis was preceded by a trading business between Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent and Pierre Laclède (Liguest) in late 1763. St. Maxent invested in

4928-407: The western banks of the Mississippi River, in the Midwestern United States just south of the Missouri -Mississippi confluence . Much of the area is a fertile and gently rolling prairie that features low hills and broad, shallow valleys. Both the Mississippi River and the Missouri River have cut large valleys with wide flood plains. Limestone and dolomite of the Mississippian epoch underlie

5005-514: Was "Where Best Friends Are Made" from 1997–2013 when it was changed to "The Most Fun You'll Ever Make." As of April 2019, the company's president/CEO is Sharon Price John . In the mid-1990s, Maxine Clark resigned as president of Payless ShoeSource and started a string of retail stores with interactive experiences similar to her childhood of various events held at department stores. She went to toy factories and children's retail stores looking for ideas. She drew up three plans, then presented them to

5082-428: Was $ 209.9 billion in 2022. St. Louis has a diverse economy with strengths in the service, manufacturing, trade, transportation, and aviation industries. It is home to fifteen Fortune 1000 companies, seven of which are also Fortune 500 companies. Federal agencies headquartered in the city or with significant operations there include the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis , the U.S. Department of Agriculture , and

5159-601: Was 115 °F (46 °C) on July 14, 1954, and the lowest was −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 5, 1884. The Game Factory The Game Factory was a Danish video game publisher operating in Europe and North America. The Game Factory was founded in 2004 and fully owned by K.E. Mathiasen A/S, with headquarters just outside Aarhus, Denmark . Its titles were distributed either by the company's own sales force in Scandinavia , their parent company K.E. Media or from their two fully owned subsidiaries in Santa Monica, California and London, England . Their final known release

5236-455: Was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture , which built numerous temple and residential earthwork mounds on both sides of the Mississippi River. Their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds , active from 900 to 1500. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the "Mound City". These mounds were mostly demolished during the city's development. Historic Native American tribes in

5313-423: Was admitted as a state in 1821. St. Louis was incorporated as a city in 1822, and continued to develop largely due to its busy port and trade connections. Immigrants from Ireland and Germany arrived in St. Louis in significant numbers starting in the 1840s, and the population of St. Louis grew from less than 20,000 inhabitants in 1840, to 77,860 in 1850, to more than 160,000 by 1860. By the mid-1800s, St. Louis had

5390-414: Was also created. During the 2018 holiday season, Build-A-Bear opened six pop-up pilot shops in Walmart stores. The success of the pilot led to the expansion of Build-A-Bear into a further 25 Walmart locations in 2019. The company launched a streaming radio station in October 2018. Build-A-Bear Workshop teamed up with Warner Music Group's Arts Music and Warner Chappell Music in July 2019 to partner on

5467-421: Was also home to several brass era automobile companies, including the Success Automobile Manufacturing Company ; St. Louis is the site of the Wainwright Building , a skyscraper designed in 1892 by architect Louis Sullivan . In 1900, the entire streetcar system was shut down by a several months-long strike , with significant unrest occurring in the city & violence against the striking workers. In 1904,

5544-525: Was founded by B. F. Bowles in St. Louis, and at the time no other college in St. Louis County admitted black students. In the first half of the 20th century, St. Louis was a destination in the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South seeking better opportunities. During World War II , the NAACP campaigned to integrate war factories. In 1964, civil rights activists protested at

5621-510: Was founded on February 14, 1764, by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent , Pierre Laclède , and Auguste Chouteau . They named it for King Louis IX of France , and it quickly became the regional center of the French Illinois Country . In 1804, the United States acquired St. Louis as part of the Louisiana Purchase . In the 19th century, St. Louis developed as a major port on the Mississippi River; from 1870 until

5698-663: Was hired to develop the concept. Clark wanted to expand the store into a chain from the beginning, expecting to open three to five stores in 1998, and six to ten stores in 1999, with the goal of having 100 stores within five years. She opened the first store in the Saint Louis Galleria in Richmond Heights, Missouri . The first year's sales at $ 377,600 were above projections. With store opening cost of $ 500,000 to $ 700,000 and estimated per store sales at $ 2 million, Clark quickly found capital firms to invest in for

5775-518: Was struck down in a court challenge, by the NAACP, after which racial covenants were used to prevent the sale of houses in certain neighborhoods to "persons not of Caucasian race". Again, St. Louisans offered a lawsuit in challenge, and such covenants were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948 in Shelley v. Kraemer . In 1926, Douglass University , a historically black university

5852-526: Was to become the city of St. Louis. (French lands east of the Mississippi had been ceded to Great Britain and the lands west of the Mississippi to Spain; Catholic France and Spain were 18th-century allies. Louis XV of France and Charles III of Spain were cousins, both from the House of Bourbon. ) The French families built the city's economy on the fur trade with the Osage, and with more distant tribes along

5929-757: Was under a confidential disclosure agreement when Clark attempted to purchase the company in 1997 and from her visits to their Mall of America location, while Clark asserted that Basic Brown Bears had switched from plastic bags to copy the Workshops' signature cardboard carrier. The company settled with Basic Brown with a payment and a confidentiality agreement that hides any validity to these allegations. Build-A-Bear has 14 other lawsuits to protect 380 patents, trademarks and copyrights. Clark took Build-A-Bear Workshop public in 2004. The company opened its first international franchise in Sheffield, England and licensed Hasbro

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