ST. LOUIS, a port of entry, and chief city of Missouri; on the W. bank of the Mississippi river, 20 miles S. of the mouth of the Missouri. It is the sixth city in the United States in population, and the commercial metropolis of the Mississippi valley. The city is built on rising ground, comprising three terraces, the highest of which is 200 feet above the level of the river; area, 61 square miles; pop. (1910) 687,029; (1920) 772,897.
Municipal Improvements.—The city owns an extensive waterworks system, with an average daily consumption of 101,810,000 gallons, erected at a cost of $33,000,000. The water is distributed through 1,040 miles of mains. There are in all 1,048 miles of streets, of which 947 miles are paved. The streets are lighted by gas and electricity at an annual cost of about $600,000. The average cost of the police department exceeds $2,411,000 per annum, and that of the fire depart ment $1,308,300. The annual cost of main taining the city government is about $17,900,000. The annual death rate aver ages 16.76 per 1,000.
Public Parks.—St. Louis has a park system which constitutes one of its most attractive features.. There are 70 parks and playgrounds, 100 municipal baseball grounds and soccer fields, 26 public play grounds for children, 2 public golf links, 2 outdoor swimming pools (one being the largest of its kind in the world), a mu nicipal open-air theater seating 9,300, summer free band concerts attended by an average of 460,000 each summer, and an annual playground festival.
Notable Buildings.—The principal pub lic buildings are the massive post-office and custom-house costing more than $6,500,000; the city hall, built at a cost of $2,000,000; the court house; the union railroad station; Railway Exchange; Boatmen's Bank; Central National Bank; Century; Chemical; Federal Reserve; In ternational Life; Merchants' National Bank; Merchants' Exchange; Syndicate Trust; Title Guaranty.
The Eads a massive struc ture, was completed in 1874, at a cost of over $10,000,000. It consists of three spans, the center one being 520 feet long, and the other two 502 feet each. The piers upon which these spans rest are built of limestone carried down to bed rock. The main passage, for the accom modation of pedestrians, is 54 feet wide, and below this are two lines of rail. The merchant's bridge, 3 miles N., was com pleted in 1890, at a cost of $3,000,000. The latter is used exclusively for railroad traffic. A municipal free bridge, costing
$6,250,000, spans the river.
Trade and Manufactures.—The favor able location of St. Louis in the heart of the vast and fertile Mississippi valley makes it one of the greatest commercial cities in the United States. There is an immense trade in breadstuffs, grain, pro visions, lumber, hides, agricultural prod ucts, hardware, boots and shoes, tobacco and cigars, quarries, steel castings, drugs and chemicals, dry goods, electrical prod ucts, soap and candles, wooden-ware, etc. The automobile industry is of great im portance.
Commerce.—The city has direct com munication with more than 6,000 miles of rivers. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, the imports of merchandise ag gregated in value $18,638,711.
Banks.—On Sept. 1, 1919, there were 6 National banks in operation, besides many private banks and trust companies. The total resources of the banks in 1920 were $659,220,721, with $463,944,744 in deposits. The exchanges at the United States clearing-house in the year ending Sept. 30, 1920, aggregated $8,065,368.
Education.—The St. Louis public school system is recognized by educators as one of the most complete in the United States. It has 124 public grade and high schools for white and negro pupils. The grade schools include one school for the deaf, one for dependent and delinquent chil dren, 13 for backward pupils and two open-air schools for children tubercularly inclined. A system of parochial grade and high schools is maintained by Catho lic institutions for Catholic children. St. Louis has St. Louis University, and Wash ington University, with its celebrated school for girls—Mary Institute. St. Louis University is the oldest Catholic university in the West. The Medical Department of Washington University, which is operated in connection with Barnes Hospital, constitutes the most ex tensive medical institution in America. Many other hospitals with most modern equipment give St. Louis one of the best hospital systems in the country. The City Hospital is recognized as among the most complete municipal institutions in the West. The Ranken School of Me chanical Trades is one of the most com pletely equipped mechanical trade schools for boys and men in the United States. Hosmer Hall, Lenox Hall, Forest Park College, Mary Institute are among the other educational institutions.