Neighborhoods
St. Louis is one of the more segregated and boundaried cities in the nation, and is home to the country's first private gated street - Benton Place in Lafayette Square. In one minute you might be driving down tree-lined avenues with large houses, and the next minute you might be in a low-income neighborhood. Though the region is now more racially and economically integrated than it was, the road system still follows historic boundaries marking one area from the next. Hotels and most St. Louis guide books should have good maps of the layout of the neighborhoods of the City.
Note that St. Louis City is separate and distinct from St. Louis County - the City is really a city without a county, with its own government, school system, and other services. The City has just under 400,000 residents while the St. Louis County has just over 1,000,000 residents. The entire St. Louis metropolitan region has approximately 3,000,000 residents. Any study of St. Louis neighborhoods can be complicated and is bound to leave out some small yet distinct areas, but some of the more well-visited and larger neighborhoods in the metropolitan region are:
St. Louis City
Downtown - The Central Business District of St. Louis, downtown is nearing the end of a decade-long multi-billion dollar revitalization. Featuring all three professional sporting teams' stadiums, dozens of hotels, corporate headquarters, trendy dining and shopping, entertainment, nightlife, and the Gateway arch, downtown St. Louis is now also home to tens of thousands of residents, many living in warehouses that have been converted to affordable and luxurious apartments and condominiums.
Laclede's Landing - On the city's eastern edge, this is one of the oldest standing neighborhoods of the city. A former industrial area, the Landing has original cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriage rides in the evenings, live music, and restaurants and bars in converted industrial buildings.
Soulard - To the immediate southwest of downtown lies St. Louis's oldest neighborhood. Today it is a perfect case study for traditional St. Louis red brick architecture, and also features the famous Soulard Farmers Market and many trendy restaurants.
Lafayette Square - Although some may group this with Soulard due to proximity, Lafayette Square features its own distinct architecture Victorian and French Second Empire and demographics. Surrounding the oldest park in St. Louis are tree-lined streets with rehabbed townhouses, some shopping and dining, and bed and breakfasts.
Old North Saint Louis - just north of Downtown, the historic Old North neighborhood is in the midst of a dramatic revitalization that includes a significant number of historically rehabilitated brick, 19th Century structures; new businesses, such as Old North Grocery Co-op, Therapy Boutique, and La Mancha Coffeehouse; and a diverse community of residents, with a population that grew by 28% since 2000. The center of the neighborhood is at St. Louis Avenue & N. 14th Street, which is where the legendary Crown Candy Kitchen is located, along with the award-winning Crown Square, the recently completed $35 million redevelopment of the former 14th Street Pedestrian Mall. Crown Square is also the site of the North City Farmers' Market, which in 2010 was identified as one of "America's Favorite Farmers' Markets," according to American Farmland Trust.
Benton Park/Brewery - Located just south of Soulard, Benton Park has recently come back from decades of disrepair. The area contains the Anheuser Busch Brewery and the old Lemp Brewery, in addition to a small eponymous park and working-class versions of the townhomes of Lafayette Square.
Forest Park Southeast - Situated just where the name suggests, Forest Park Southeast is at the beginning of a revitalization. Younger professionals have been attracted to the area due to the popular bars, and have since settled down and contributed to the area's infrastructure.
Grand Center/Midtown - Located going West of Downtown down an area known as the Central Corridor that includes Forest Park and the CWE, Grand Center is home to a booming performing arts, theatre, and museum district. St. Louis University is in this area.
Tower Grove/South Grand - a few miles south of Grand Center is Tower Grove Park, a 19th-century Victorian walking park. The nearby South Grand strip has a variety of shops, coffeehouses, bars, service businesses, and the area's largest concentration of Asian restaurants and shops. An ethnically diverse, gay-friendly area with an active street life and turn-of-the-century architecture.
Central West End - A very cosmpolitan neighborhood featuring stunning turn-of-the-century palace-like homes, upscale dining, and boutique shopping, the Central West End also contains an eclectic mix of antique shops, coffee houses, and art galleries. Located on the eastern edge of Forest Park, it also includes the world-renowned Medical School of Washington University.
The Hill - St. Louis's Little Italy is home to a large number of locally renowned Italian restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores. Its name is due to its proximity to the highest point of the city.
North St. Louis - The historic African-American neighborhood known as "The Ville", and contains many historical sites relating to the history of Black America in the Midwest,i.e. Sumner High School and Homer G. Phillips Hospital. This area extends from Delmar to I-270 and contains much of the industrial record of St. Louis and the migration of new comers to the city.
St. Louis County
Clayton - The county seat of St. Louis county, Clayton has an important downtown business district that is also home to several hotels, many coffeehouses, and upscale dining. It is one of the older suburbs of St. Louis, and has many large 100 year-old-homes wonderfully preserved by old-monied families, while the area's nouveau riche help keep the area trendy. It has a great school system and is home to the main campus of Washington University. Clayton begins where Forest Park ends on the west.
Delmar Loop/University City - Located just north of Clayton and beginning at the northwest edge of Forest Park/Washington University is this culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse neighborhood of St. Louis. One of the more liberal areas of the region, it is a popular area for college students and post-graduates to live and interact. "The Loop" a.k.a. Delmar Blvd itself is one main street of storefronts, restaurants,hotels, music venues, bookstores, and one of greatest independent movie theatre- The Tivoli.
West County - This expansive, largely undefined region of St. Louis includes most areas west of Clayton, especially upper-class neighborhoods like Frontenac, Ladue, Huntleigh, Town and Country, and Creve Coeur. The area may include expanded development of older areas such as Chesterfield and Wildwood. The area has one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the Midwest, and home to two of the most upscale shopping areas in St. Louis Region- Plaza Frontenac and The Galleria-Brentwood Square.
North County-Home to Lambert International Airport and the sight of many historical flights by Charles Lindberg and Boeing. This area is also the home of post WWII home development and contains many small subdivisons of ranch style homes of ethnically diverse populations.
South County - A nebulous region primarily served by I-55,I-44 and I-64 in a triangle of interstates, most of the towns dotting South County are largely indistinguishable and include some new developments. It is home to Affton, Bayless,Brentwood, Webster Groves,Maplewood, Richmond Heights, Crestwood and other picture-perfect kinds of towns that provide a nice small-town atmosphere great for families.It is home to a popular shopping area in St. Louis Region- The appropriately named "South County Mall".
By car
A car is extremely useful here.
Please note that the City of St. Louis does have taxi cabs - but they do not drive around the city looking for pedestrians to hail service. You must call a cab company for pick-up. Hotels and phonebooks have the numbers of the most commonly used cab services in the area. In a few downtown areas like at the Convention Center, they wait at the curb for customers.
By train
MetroLink, +1 314 231-2345 (http://www.metrostlouis.org/) - A light rail system with much room to grow. It runs from Lambert-St.Louis Int'l Airport STL in Missouri to Scott AFB in Illinois. The MetroLink has stops in many of the metropolitan area's most popular destinations, such as Delmar Loop, Grand Center arts district, Forest Park, the Central West End, and several in Downtown St. Louis. The campuses of University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University and St. Louis University each have stops on campus or nearby. The Metro recently expanded, and now includes a second line that goes to the St. Louis Galleria a shopping center and farther out to Shrewsbury.