Battle of the Mississippi River Cities (New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, St. Paul (Minneapolis) (best, largest)
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What City (metro) deserves to be the queen city of the Mississippi?
New Orleans- at the base of the river with its long history of being the big city on the river, great skyline
Memphis- don't know much about it other than BBQ and Elvis
St. Louis- Larger than both New Orleans and the Twin Cities at one point, the gateway to the west, great history and historic density. Forest Park! Light rail.
St. Paul- a river city at its core, originally named "Pigs Eye"! Now has a diverse economy but still retains its historic charm, Grand Avenue. light rail. The largest airport.
I supposed you need to count Minneapolis (the mill city on the river) as part of St. Paul, but whatever.
History
Economy
Urban Neighborhoods
Parks
Brightest future
Etc...
It'll probably be between New Orleans and Minneapolis users posting links that show that they somehow are the "Queen" of the Mississippi and a couple STL guys to come in to explain the urban and historical significance of St. Louis and the Mighty Mississippi. Memphis will get some honorable mention from most people because they feel sorry for it.
Minneapolis isn't really a river city though, it is on the river but not of it. St Paul is a different story, but on its own it isn't a city of the same magnitude as St Louis or New Orleans.
I'm guessing St. Louis will be a contender just because of the large presence of people on here form St. Louis/ppl from STL seem to have way more city pride than the average American, but from someone who is an outsider to that part of the country I will say:
1. New Orleans for sure
3. Minneapolis
3. St. Louis(a pretty close call between STL and MInneapolis)
4. Memphis
The Upper Mississippi is a completely different kind of culture from the Lower Mississippi, and I think when most people imagine the river they are probably thinking of the Lower Mississippi. The Upper Mississippi is very much a "vacationland" sort of recreational amenity. It's part of the Northwoods and the Driftless throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa (and into Illinois). The Lower Mississippi (and the lower part of the Upper Mississippi, really) was and in some ways still is more of an industrial and cultural corridor.
MSP is and has always been the heart of the Upper Mississippi, and New Orleans is and has always been the heart of the Lower Mississippi. St. Louis and Memphis grew up as the upstream destinations of musical, artistic, and cultural ideas developed by the incredibly vibrant black community of New Orleans. After St. Louis those ideas mostly shifted north to Chicago and on to New York, but certainly some of it made it to St. Paul (and, by extension, Minneapolis).
In terms of relationship to the river, New Orleans is definitely the winner. In terms of being a city for people to live in in 2015, I don't think it's terribly controversial to point to MSP as the best functioning of the four.
I picked the Twin Cities as cities. NOLA is more associated with the delta and lower Mississippi, and like steel said, you can't escape the Twin Cities influence on the Upper portion. NOLA is probably the "queen," but TC's are my vote for best city.
I perfectly understand why the Twin Cities would be picked as the best metro, but Queen of the Mississippi? Come on, it doesn't belong in this conversation at all...
I perfectly understand why the Twin Cities would be picked as the best metro, but Queen of the Mississippi? Come on, it doesn't belong in this conversation at all...
Well, might have something to do with the fact that the Mississippi River has its headwaters in Minnesota; the Twin Cities are the biggest metro on the Mississippi; Minnesota has the most miles of the river; and your unfamiliarity with the Upper Mississippi. Here are the top cities, by population, along the Mississippi:
Minneapolis-Saint Paul 3,615,901
St. Louis 2,900,605
Memphis 1,316,100
New Orleans 1,214,932
Baton Rouge 802,484
Quad Cities, IA-IL 382,630
St. Cloud, MN 189,148
La Crosse, WI 133,365
I think we can say the Twin Cities are the capital of the Upper portion, St Louis the Middle, and either NOLA or Memphis (I say NOLA) for the Lower portion. I go NOLA overall, just because it's at the delta and all the history there - but let's not underestimate the middle and upper stretches, which everyone grew up reading about via Mark Twain etc.
Well, might have something to do with the fact that the Mississippi River has its headwaters in Minnesota; the Twin Cities are the biggest metro on the Mississippi; Minnesota has the most miles of the river; and your unfamiliarity with the Upper Mississippi. Here are the top cities, by population, along the Mississippi:
Minneapolis-Saint Paul 3,615,901
St. Louis 2,900,605
Memphis 1,316,100
New Orleans 1,214,932
Baton Rouge 802,484
Quad Cities, IA-IL 382,630
St. Cloud, MN 189,148
La Crosse, WI 133,365
I think we can say the Twin Cities are the capital of the Upper portion, St Louis the Middle, and either NOLA or Memphis (I say NOLA) for the Lower portion. I go NOLA overall, just because it's at the delta and all the history there - but let's not underestimate the middle and upper stretches, which everyone grew up reading about via Mark Twain etc.
My unfamiliarity eh? I've lived around both the upper and lower Cheese, thanks though... Btw, you know where Mark Twain is from right? I'm aware of the metro sizes, obviously the Twin Cities is the biggest and I've already said (in the post you quoted no less) that I understand why it's considered the best metro, but... It is def not the "Queen of the Mississippi." There is a big difference between cities that are on/by rivers and "river cities." St. Louis and New Orleans ARE the Mississippi.
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