Wow. St. Louis Is Depressing (Kansas City, University City: appointed, lofts, condo)

[v_astro]

OK, take this for what it's worth, natives, and feel free to tell me what I'm missing.

I'm a first time adult visitor to St. Louis and live on the East Coast. However, I've lived all around the country and have visited all around the world.

For the record, I love all cities and admit that I'm strangely enthralled by how destitute your once fair city appears.

However, I can't help but note that I've been been walking around this place for two days and I have to say that it's DEAD.

You can stand in the middle of some streets for 5 minutes and not a car will pass.

Tonight I walked up Market / Chestnut and took my time looking in all of the main civic buildings. The city auditorium is my favorite. It's like something from Planet Of The Apes. Once beautiful, now decrepit and mouldering.

I spent a good bit of time looking at the frescoes and reading the placards in the Post Office and could not help but feel that St. Louis is a once proud city that will never again reach the height of its glory.

I'm staying in the Union Station Marriott, and it appears to me that the peak era of St. Louis was the WWII years. Ever since then it's been downhill.

Which is why I can't understand how this city has major league baseball, football, and hockey teams.

And before you tell me that I'm hanging out in the wrong parts of town on a weekday, let me tell you, I've been to plenty of cities and few are as dead in the DAY TIME as well as the night time as St. Louis.

If you walk between Market and Chestnut in the day it's like you're traveling through some hobo camp from the 30s. Dozens of vagrants crowd every park bench and hassle you for spare change. The WWI memorial seems permanently closed and disfigured with ugly signs warning said vagrants not to loiter or sleep on the memorial.

I guess what gets me is how proud this city once was and how much history is here. And it seems as though, despite its best efforts to hold onto that past, it keeps steadily slouching towards oblivion and irrelevance.

This sounds harsh, but tell me I'm wrong. Tell me what I'm failing to see about St. Louis. I have one more day here.

V.

[kaliman91]

In short not many people live downtown. Many work here but then travel to the burbs to ive. Although they are building condo's and lofts there are no schools and just recently built a grocery store there. Its actually come a long way in the last 5 years.Washington Ave has built up but is mostly bars but there are some restaurants going up as well.
But i do have to agree with alot of what you said..

[bella84]

St. Louis is a very spread out city, possibly unlike many of the others you have visited. Based on your description of your visit thus far, it does not sound like you have ventured out past downtown. With no major events (especially of the sporting type) going on, it may very well look "dead". Try visiting downtown again when the Cardinals are playing at home, and what you see will look very different. Also, visit St. Louis, MO: Official Travel Information. You are right; St. Louis does have a lot of history. You just have to be willing to travel to all ends of the city, and even some of the suburbs, to see it.

[BoomBoxing]

A few things...

1) St. Louis essentially has 3 downtowns. If you are walking around here in the middle of the weekday, you are seeing only a fraction of the areas workforce. The other two "downtowns" are the Central West End/Midtown/Medical Row and then Clayton. I would urge you to check out those areas.

2) St. Louis is sprawled out big time. Other cities of similar size who are sprawled out have the same issue. I was in Kansas City a couple months ago on a Sunday afternoon and there wasn't a whole lot going on there either. And I was in the infamous Power and Light district! When you see how big the actual metro area spreads out to, you can see how the area can support 3 professional sports teams.

3) St. Louis is a city of neighborhoods, and as a result downtown has suffered a bit. Spend a day here checking out some of the beautiful neighborhoods. Check out Lafayette Square, Soulard, The Hill, Central West End, Grand Center, Midtown, and Grand South Grand. You will see some of the most beautiful brick architecture you have ever seen. Such as:






4) Downtown has made huge progress in the last 10 years, but it is still in the beginnings of becoming what it should be. I agree it is sleepy on a weekday or Sunday afternoon with no major events going on. But Washington Ave and Lacledes Landing on Friday/Saturdays are full of people and events. I'd still check those places out since it doesn't sound like you have yet. And if there is a festival, event or Cardinals/Blues/Rams game, all of downtown is usually pretty hoppin then too. The Downtown partership has done a good job improving things, if you're interested you can check them out here Downtown St. Louis

5) Before you go, check out the Botantical Gardens in south St. Louis. I'd tell you to check out City Museum (quite possibly the coolest place on EARTH) but I am pretty sure they are closed on Tuesdays.

[Azalea City Man]

Uh, you were hanging out at Market and Chestnut lol. Did you go anywhere else in the city, much less anywhere else in the downtown?

With that being said, downtown does have a propensity to be dead outside of Washington Ave unless there is a baseball, football, or hockey game going on. But like others have said, most of the vibrancy is in "neighborhood downtowns" spread across the area.

[chr1s]

The Market St/Chestnut St area is indeed empty during weekends and many weekdays/evenings.

Boomboxing's suggestions are great. Check out more of the city!

[stlcitygirl]

Good Lord, before you come on here and make a blanket statement about the city, check it out! Check out the Central West End, Soulard, Lafayette Square and University City. St Louis is a city of neighborhoods. Downtown has a long way to go, but has made progress. Most of the excitement is on the Landing and Washington Avenue. I suggest you have dinner at The Loop tonight.

[billiken]

When I first moved here 5 yrs ago, I thought the same thing. I went downtown for dinner my 1st day, and was disappointed by how few people seemed out and about. Go to University City (the loop) or Central West End, and things are a bit more lively.

[moorlander]

St. Louis is still a proud city.

Had you taken the time to walk up Wash Ave, Locust, the landing etc you would have seen much more action. You were walking through the heart of the CBD so ya there are few people there after dark on non Cardinals game days.

What did you think of City Garden?

[ktCakes]

Originally Posted by v_astro

I guess what gets me is how proud this city once was and how much history is here. And it seems as though, despite its best efforts to hold onto that past, it keeps steadily slouching towards oblivion and irrelevance.

This sounds harsh, but tell me I'm wrong. Tell me what I'm failing to see about St. Louis. I have one more day here.

V.

We are actually a city, like MANY midwestern cities that are in the midst of quite an upswing. St. Louis has never had much population living downtown. As others have said, it is a city of neighborhoods. Unless you have business downtown or a baseball game to see then, yes there is not much for you to do. But that is changing quickly. Downtown is making an up surge, especially in the past 5 years.

Have you been to the City Museum? Forest Park? Soulard? Layfayette Square? Grand South Grand? The Loop?

It doesn't sound harsh, you just sound mis-informed. Find yourself a guide or ask your hotel front desk. This is not an East Coast city. Appreciate it for what it is.