99-488: George Loening Hickenlooper III (May 25, 1963 – October 29, 2010) was an American narrative and documentary filmmaker. Hickenlooper was born in St. Louis , the son of Barbara Jo Wenger, a social worker and stage actress, and George Loening Hickenlooper, Jr., a teacher and playwright. He was also the grand nephew of British-born conductor Leopold Stokowski through marriage to his great aunt, pianist Olga Samaroff (whose birth name
198-606: A "moderately enlarged heart" were contributing factors. St. Louis 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, 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
297-761: 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
396-526: 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
495-543: 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
594-730: A missionary in French Canada, was at a mission station on Lake Superior , when he met native traders from the Illinois Confederation . He learned about the great river that ran through their country to the south and west. In 1673–74, with a commission from the Canadian government, Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Mississippi River territory from Green Bay to the Arkansas River , including
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
792-542: 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
891-595: 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
990-607: 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
1089-495: 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
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#17327828139411188-879: 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
1287-611: 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
1386-671: 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 the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency . Major research universities in Greater St. Louis include Washington University in St. Louis , Saint Louis University , and
1485-625: 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 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
1584-455: 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
1683-800: 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
1782-670: The Canadiens to cross the Mississippi to live in St. Louis or Ste. Genevieve . The British soon relaxed their policy and later extended the Province of Quebec to the region. The British took control of Fort de Chartres on October 10, 1765 and renamed it Fort Cavendish . The British softened the initial expulsion order and offered the Canadien inhabitants the same rights and privileges enjoyed under French rule. In September 1768,
1881-609: The Company of the Indies in 1719). Hoping to make a fortune mining precious metals in the area, the company with a military contingent sent from New Orleans built a fort to protect its interests. Construction began on the first Fort de Chartres (in present-day Illinois) in 1718 and was completed in 1720. The original fort was located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, downriver (south) from Cahokia and upriver of Kaskaskia . The nearby settlement of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois ,
1980-602: 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
2079-695: The Illinois River valley. In 1675, Marquette returned to found a Jesuit mission at the Grand Village of the Illinois . Over the next decades missions, trade posts, and forts were established in the region. By 1714, the principal European, non-native inhabitants were Canadien fur traders , missionaries and soldiers, dealing with Native Americans, particularly the group known as the Kaskaskia . The main French settlements were established at Kaskaskia , Cahokia , and Sainte Genevieve . By 1752,
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#17327828139412178-619: 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 was $ 209.9 billion in 2022. St. Louis has a diverse economy with strengths in the service, manufacturing, trade, transportation, and aviation industries. It
2277-470: 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
2376-683: 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
2475-491: 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
2574-736: 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
2673-463: 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
2772-633: 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 : 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
2871-759: The Wabash valley up to the mouth of the Vermilion River (near present-day Danville, Illinois ); from there, northwest to le Rocher on the Illinois River , and from there west to the mouth of the Rock River (at present-day Rock Island, Illinois ). Thus, Vincennes and Peoria were near the limit of Louisiana's reach; the outposts at Ouiatenon (on the upper Wabash near present-day Lafayette, Indiana ), Checagou , Fort Miamis (near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana ) and Prairie du Chien operated as dependencies of Canada. This boundary between Canada and
2970-638: The Wabash River in Indiana . Explored in 1673 from Green Bay to the Arkansas River by the Canadien expedition of Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette , the area was claimed by France . It was settled primarily from the Pays d'en Haut in the context of the fur trade , and in the establishment of missions from Canada by French Catholic religious orders . Over time, the fur trade took some French to
3069-444: 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
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3168-413: 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
3267-537: 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,
3366-516: The British established a Court of Justice, the first court of common law in the Mississippi Valley (the French law system is called civil law ). After severe flooding in 1772, the British saw little value in maintaining the fort and abandoned it. They moved the military garrison to the fort at Kaskaskia and renamed it Fort Gage . Chartres' ruined but intact magazine is considered the oldest surviving European structure in Illinois and
3465-737: The British, and Pontiac led a coalition of the Illini, and Kickapoo, Miami, Ojibway, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Seneca, Wea, and Wyandot against the British. Pursuant to the Treaty of Paris (1763) Captain Thomas Sterling and the 42nd Regiment of Foot took command of Fort de Chartres , from the French commandant, Captain Louis St. Ange de Bellerive in 1765. During the Revolutionary War, General George Rogers Clark took possession of
3564-642: 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
3663-644: 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
3762-550: The Great Lakes and north of the mouth of the Ohio River , including both banks of the Mississippi as well as the lower Missouri Valley . In 1723, the area around the Wabash River became a separate district. A generation later, trade conflicts between Canada and Louisiana led to a more defined boundary between the French colonies; in 1745, Louisiana governor general Vaudreuil set the northeastern bounds of his domain as
3861-475: The Illinois Country remained in effect until the Treaty of Paris in 1763, after which France surrendered its remaining territory east of the Mississippi to Great Britain. (Although British forces had occupied the "Canadian" posts in the Illinois and Wabash countries in 1761, they did not occupy Vincennes or the Mississippi River settlements at Cahokia and Kaskaskia until 1764, after the ratification of
3960-466: The Illinois Country were defined in a variety of ways, but the region now known as the American Bottom was nearly at the center of all descriptions. One of the earliest known geographic features designated as Ilinois was what later became known as Lake Michigan , on a map prepared in 1671 by French Jesuits . Early French missionaries and traders referred to the area southwest and southeast of
4059-459: The Illinois Country were in the first half of the 17th century, led by explorers and missionaries based in Canada. Étienne Brûlé explored the upper Illinois country in 1615 but did not document his experiences. Joseph de La Roche Daillon reached an oil spring at the northeasternmost fringe of the Mississippi River basin during his 1627 missionary journey. In 1669–70, Father Jacques Marquette ,
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4158-534: The International Documentary Association award. Hickenlooper himself won an Emmy for direction. A short film written by Billy Bob Thornton Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1994), "attracted considerable critical acclaim" for Hickenlooper and was "[a] hit on the festival circuit." Thornton parlayed the success into a full-length picture -- Sling Blade , which won an Oscar for its screenplay for Thornton, who also directed
4257-581: The Meskwaki in 1730. French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort St. Louis on a large butte by the Illinois River in the winter of 1682. Called Le Rocher , the butte provided an advantageous position for the fort above the river. A wooden palisade was the only form of defenses that La Salle used in securing the site. Inside the fort were a few wooden houses and native shelters. The French intended St. Louis to be
4356-663: The Mississippi River was ceded to the British and became part of the British Province of Quebec ; the land west of the river was ceded to Spanish Louisiana . During the American Revolutionary War , Virginian George Rogers Clark led the Illinois campaign against the British. Illinois Country east of the Mississippi River along with what was then much of Ohio Country became part of Illinois County, Virginia , claimed by right of conquest. The county
4455-415: 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
4554-409: The Potawatomi, attacked a band of Illini along the Illinois River. The tribe climbed to the butte to seek refuge from the attack. The Ottawa and Potawatomi continued the siege until the Illini tribe starved to death. After hearing the story, Europeans referred to the butte as Starved Rock . On January 1, 1718, a trade monopoly was granted to John Law and his Company of the West (which was to become
4653-412: 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
4752-556: The Suicide Chair: Dennis Hopper in 1988. His first feature-length documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse , explored the making of Apocalypse Now . It won several awards, including the National Board of Review award for "Best Documentary", an American Cinema Editors award for "Best Edited Documentary", two Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awards for "Outstanding Individual Achievement – Informational Programming – Directing" and "Outstanding Individual Achievement – Informational Programming – Picture Editing", and
4851-412: 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
4950-460: 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
5049-446: 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
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#17327828139415148-408: 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
5247-402: 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
5346-434: 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
5445-488: 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
5544-448: 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,
5643-648: 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
5742-425: The end of the French and Indian War . The British Crown declared almost all the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River from Florida to Newfoundland a Native American territory called the Indian Reserve following the Royal Proclamation of 1763 . The government ordered settlers to leave or get a special license to remain. This and the desire to live in a Catholic territory caused many of
5841-458: The far reaches of the Rocky Mountains , especially along the branches of the broad Missouri River valley. The "Illinois" in the territory's name is a reference to the Illinois Confederation , a group of related Algonquian native peoples . The Illinois Country was governed from the French province of Canada until 1717 when, by order of King Louis XV , it was annexed to the French province of Louisiana , becoming known as "Upper Louisiana". By
5940-454: The film. His final film, Casino Jack , was released two months after his death. In addition to his films, Hickenlooper authored a book in 1991, Reel Conversations . Hickenlooper died in his sleep on October 29, 2010, at the age of 47. Despite initial reports that Hickenlooper had suffered a heart attack, the coroner ruled that his death was the result of accidental painkiller overdose, combining oxymorphone with alcohol. Sleep apnea and
6039-426: 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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#17327828139416138-572: The first of several forts to defend against English incursions and keep their settlements confined to the East Coast . Accompanying the French to the region were allied members of several native tribes from eastern areas, who integrated with the Kaskaskia: the Miami , Shawnee , and Mahican . The tribes established a new settlement at the base of the butte known as Hotel Plaza. After La Salle's five-year monopoly ended New France governor Joseph-Antoine de La Barre wished to put Fort Saint Louis along with Fort Frontenac under his jurisdiction. By orders of
6237-414: 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
6336-428: The fort are found at the site today. The region was periodically occupied by a variety of native tribes who were forced westward by the expansion of European settlements. These included the Potawatomi , Ottawa , and Ojibwe . On April 20, 1769, an Illinois Confederation warrior assassinated Chief Pontiac while he was on a diplomatic mission in Cahokia . According to local legend , the Ottawa, along with their allies
6435-438: The fort in 1691. De Tonti reorganized the settlers at Fort Pimitoui in modern-day Peoria . French troops commanded by Pierre-Charles de Liette occupied Fort St. Louis from 1714 to 1718; De Liette's jurisdiction over the region ended when the territory was transferred from Canada to Louisiana . Fur trappers and traders used the fort periodically in the early 18th century until it became too dilapidated. No surface remains of
6534-445: The governor, traders and his officer were escorted to Illinois. On August 11, 1683, LaSalle's armorer, Pierre Prudhomme , obtained approximately one and three-quarters of a mile of the north portage shore. During the earliest of the French and Indian Wars , the French used the fort as a refuge against attacks by Iroquois, who were allied with the British. The Iroquois forced the settlers, then commanded by Henri de Tonti , to abandon
6633-417: The king. The garrison at the fort was removed to Kaskaskia, Illinois in 1747, about 18 miles to the south. A new stone fort was planned near the old fort and was described as "nearly complete" in 1754, although construction continued until 1760. The new stone fort was headquarters for the French Illinois Country for less than 20 years, as it was turned over to the British in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris at
6732-432: The lake, including much of the upper Mississippi Valley, by this name. Illinois was also the name given to an area inhabited by the Illiniwek . A map of 1685 labels a large area southwest of the lake les Ilinois ; in 1688, the Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli labeled the region (in Italian) as Illinois country. In 1721, the seventh military district of Louisiana was named Illinois . It included more than half of
6831-402: The land claimed by France east of the Mississippi and Spain acquired Louisiana west of the Mississippi. Many French settlers moved west across the river to escape British control. On the west bank, the Spanish also continued to refer to the western region governed from St. Louis as the District of Illinois and referred to St. Louis as the city of Illinois . The first French explorations of
6930-501: 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
7029-415: 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
7128-469: The mid-18th century, major settlements included Cahokia , Kaskaskia , Chartres , Saint Philippe , and Prairie du Rocher , all on the east side of the Mississippi in present-day Illinois; and Ste. Genevieve across the river in what is now Missouri, as well as Fort Vincennes in what is now Indiana. As a consequence of the French defeat in the French and Indian War in 1764, the Illinois Country east of
7227-500: The mid-eighteenth century, slaves accounted for as much as a third of the population. Following the British occupation of the east bank of the Mississippi in 1765, some Canadien settlers remained in the area, while others crossed the river, forming new settlements such as St. Louis . The British faced an uprising of Native Americans known as Pontiac's War . Longtime allies of the French, the Kaskaskia and Peoria tribes had resisted
7326-423: 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
7425-576: The part of the Illinois Country east of the Mississippi for Virginia . In November 1778, the Virginia legislature created the county of Illinois , comprising all of the lands lying west of the Ohio River to which Virginia had any claim, with Kaskaskia as the county seat. Captain John Todd was named as governor. However, this government was limited to the former Canadien settlements and was rather ineffective. For their assistance to General Clark in
7524-454: The peace treaty. ) As part of a general report on conditions in the newly conquered lands, Gen. Thomas Gage , then commandant at Montreal , explained in 1762 that, although the boundary between Louisiana and Canada was not exact, it was understood that the upper Mississippi above the mouth of the Illinois was in Canadian trading territory. Distinctions became somewhat clearer after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when Britain acquired Canada and
7623-514: The population had risen to 2,573. From the 1710s to the 1730s, the Fox Wars between the French, French allied tribes and the Meskwaki (Fox) Native American tribe occurred in what is now northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and Michigan, in particular, over the fur trade. During the conflict, in what is now McLean County, Illinois , French and allied forces won a consequential battle against
7722-481: The present state, as well as the land between the Arkansas River and the line of 43 degrees north latitude, between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. A royal ordinance of 1722—following the transfer of the Illinois Country's governance from Canada to Louisiana—may have featured the broadest definition of the region, making it coterminous with Upper Louisiana: all land claimed by France south of
7821-510: 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 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
7920-466: The river (ribbon plots). The Illinois Country French, although they marked long-ribbon plots, did not reside on them. Instead, settlers resided together in farming villages, more like the farming villages of northern France, and practiced communal agriculture. After the port of New Orleans , along the Mississippi River to the south, was founded in 1718, more African slaves were imported to the Illinois Country for use as agricultural and mining laborers. By
8019-661: 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
8118-550: 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
8217-520: 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
8316-686: 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
8415-504: The war, settled Canadien and Indian residents of Illinois Country were given full citizenship. Under the Northwest Ordinance and many subsequent treaties and acts of Congress, the Canadien and Indian residents of Vincennes and Kaskaskia were granted specific exemptions, as they had declared themselves citizens of Virginia. The term Illinois Country was sometimes used in legislation to refer to these settlements. Much of
8514-443: 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
8613-545: 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
8712-440: Was 115 °F (46 °C) on July 14, 1954, and the lowest was −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 5, 1884. Illinois Country The Illinois Country (French: Pays des Illinois [pɛ.i dez‿i.ji.nwa] ; lit. ' land of the Illinois people ' ; Spanish: País de los ilinueses ), also referred to as Upper Louisiana (French: Haute-Louisiane [ot.lwi.zjan] ; Spanish: Alta Luisiana ),
8811-556: Was Lucy Mary Agnes Hickenlooper). He attended high school at St. Louis University High , where he was part of a group of teenage filmmakers he informally called the "Splicers," whose members included James Gunn ( Guardians of the Galaxy ) . After graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in History and Film Studies in 1986, Hickenlooper interned for the producer Roger Corman , and launched his directing career with Art, Acting, and
8910-538: 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
9009-424: Was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s that later fell under Spanish and British control before becoming what is now part of the Midwestern United States . While the area claimed included the entire Upper Mississippi River watershed , French colonial settlement was concentrated along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in what is now the U.S. states of Illinois and Missouri , with outposts on
9108-574: Was abolished in 1782. In 1784, Virginia ceded its claims to the U.S. government and the area was incorporated as part of the Northwest Territory . The name lived on as Illinois Territory between 1809 and 1818, and as the State of Illinois after its admission to the union in 1818. The Spanish-controlled portion of Illinois Country west of the Mississippi was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The boundaries of
9207-423: 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
9306-589: 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,
9405-525: 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
9504-514: Was founded by French-Canadian colonists in 1722, a few miles inland from the fort. The fort was to be the seat of government for the Illinois Country and help to control the aggressive Fox Indians . The fort was named after Louis, duc de Chartres , son of the regent of France. Because of frequent flooding, another fort was built further inland in 1725. By 1731, the Company of the Indies had gone defunct and turned Louisiana and its government back to
9603-455: Was reconstructed in the 20th century, with much of the rest of the Fort. According to historian Carl J. Ekberg, the French settlement pattern in Illinois Country was generally unique in 17th- and 18th-century French North America. These were unlike other such French settlements, which primarily had been organized in separated homesteads along a river with long rectangular plots stretching back from
9702-518: 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
9801-526: 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
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