Historic St. Louis: 250 Years Exploring New Frontiers

The iconic Clydesdales remain a popular
St. Louis treasure. Copyright @ Anheuser-
Busch, LLC. Used with permission of
Anheuser-Busch, LLC. All rights reserved.
St. Louis will never regain the international
acclaim of that spectacular summer over a
century ago, when, as America’s fourth largest
city, with the nation’s biggest brewery, it
welcomed the world as a gracious host.
But it takes more than one event or a
single business to nurture the civic pride
and community spirit that are essential in
determining a city’s true “dignity.” Residents
are the key shapers of urban reputations,
for by embracing and sharing an accurate
knowledge of a city’s entire history, they
create connections through time and well
into the future among all people who
have lived there. That reinforces the reality
that everyone occupies the “same boat” and
must tap all talents and share all sacrifices
to keep the fragile craft of community
from sinking.
Remembering is the greatest honor and
highest compliment that anyone can bestow
on ancestors who created the society we live
in. Respect for the debts owed to that local,
familiar past is why people buy tombstones,
publish obituaries, and name children after
relatives. When a city honors famous citizens
with street names, plaques, or monuments, it
enhances the relevance of history, validating
the shared humanity between the living
and the dead and ensuring that our labors
have created legacies that will last long after
our passing.
The site of St. Louis resembles an
“amphitheater” and on that natural “stage”
our city has played major roles in historical
dramas for two-and-a-half centuries. Only
three dozen U.S. cities are as old as St. Louis,
and our “City of the Sainted King” has
H I S T O R I C S T . L O U I S
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