History of St. Louis (1905–1980)
History of St. Louis |
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Exploration and Louisiana |
City founding and early history |
Expansion and the Civil War |
St. Louis as the Fourth City |
Urban decline and renewal |
Recent developments |
See also |
The history of St. Louis, Missouri, from 1905 to 1980 saw declines in population and economic basis, particularly after World War II. Although
Civic improvements and pollution control
Starting in 1903, local civic groups began building small parks and playgrounds in deteriorating residential neighborhoods to promote free play and directed activities among youth; by 1909, St. Louis had gained 16 parks totaling more than 150 acres.[1] Among the progressive social reformers on the city parks committee during this time was Charlotte Rumbold, who later was an officer of the Playground Association of America with Jane Addams.[1] To encourage physical activity, Parks Commissioner Philip Scanlan ordered the construction of baseball fields and tennis courts in major St. Louis parks.[2] Scanlan's successor, Dwight F. Davis, continued the development of recreational facilities during the early 1910s, expanding tennis facilities in particular.[3] Davis also ordered construction of a public 18-hole golf course in northwest Forest Park, replacing an earlier semi-private 9-hole course.[4]
A zoo was first established during the 1870s at Fairground Park, but it closed in 1891 and its animals were sold to local collectors who then began housing them in Forest Park.
Since the 1890s, the St. Louis Board of Health had passed anti-smoke regulations, but little reduction was made in the problem of coal smoke pollution.[9] In 1906, the St. Louis Public Library was forced to repair its collection due to smoke damage, by 1910 smoke pollution had killed trees in Forest Park, and during the 1920s, evergreens no longer grew near the city and the Missouri Botanical Garden was considering a move away from the city.[10] Studies revealed that in 1926, St. Louis had an annual soot deposit of 870 tons per square mile, far above Chicago and Pittsburgh.[11] Despite efforts at reducing pollution by washing coal prior to burning it, St. Louis smog continued unabated.[11] Among the worst episodes was the 1939 St. Louis smog, which blackened the sky during the day of November 28 and lasted for three weeks.[11]
Only a citywide ban in December 1939 on burning low-quality Illinois coal made a significant change in the pollution, forcing homeowners and businesses alike to switch to cleaner-burning Arkansas coal.[11] The result of the ban was significant: during the winter of 1939–40, St. Louis experienced 177 hours of thick smoke pollution, while in the winter of 1940–1941, only 17 hours of thick smoke was reported.[12] In addition, the Laclede Gas Company began to supply cleaner-burning natural gas to customers starting in 1941, which largely rectified the problem of smoke pollution by the late 1940s.[12]
Segregation and the East St. Louis Race Riot
After Reconstruction through 1900, St. Louis saw little of the racial violence that engulfed Southern states, due to the stability and relatively small size of the St. Louis black community.[13] Most black residents lived in the northern edges of downtown along the riverfront or in the area of Chestnut Valley and Mill Creek Valley, near the wharf and railroads for employment.[13] Municipal segregation laws (known as Jim Crow laws) were relatively inconsistent; while blacks could not enter white hotels, restaurants or barber shops, they could enter department store elevators with whites or attend St. Louis theater shows in separate sections.[14] Streetcar seating also was integrated, and there were no efforts to enforce residential segregation prior to 1911.[14]
In the early 1910s, however, predominantly white areas of St. Louis that bordered the black community formed the United Welfare Association (UWA), a group dedicated to lobbying for a segregation ordinance.
In spite of the anti-segregationist opinions, St. Louisans overwhelmingly supported the ordinance at the polls, passing the first initiative-based segregation ordinance in the country by a vote of 52,220 to 17,877.
Concomitant with the segregation ordinance and the rise of restrictive covenants was the beginning of the
Due to an influx of refugees from East St. Louis and the general effects of the Great Migration, the black population of St. Louis increased more rapidly than the whole during the decade of 1910 to 1920.[19] However, St. Louis's overall population rank declined from the fourth largest in the United States to sixth.[19]
St. Louis in World War I
Upon the outbreak of
In spite of this show of support for Wilson's policies, non-German St. Louisans began to embrace nativism and distrust the intentions of the Germans, especially after
In addition, citizens began reporting suspicious conversations overhead on streetcars or public streets, submitting names for prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917.[22] Several German immigrants or members of the German-American community were arrested and charged for violations, and although some were freed, others remained imprisoned for the duration of the war.[22] St. Louis commerce, for its part, was not dramatically affected by the war.
Industry between the wars and the Great Depression
After World War I, the imposition of
St. Louis industry in 1929 had diversified a great deal since the late 19th century; in order of significance, St. Louis industry included food processing, chemical production,
Despite St. Louis's diversified economy, it suffered as much or more than comparable cities in the early years of the
1930 | 1931 | 1933 | |
---|---|---|---|
National average | 8.7% | 15.9% | 24.9% |
St. Louis (total) | 9.8% | 24% | 30% |
St. Louis (whites) | 8.4% | 21.5% | 35% |
St. Louis (blacks) | 13.2% | 42.8% | 80% |
Unemployment during the Depression was particularly significant in urban areas, and St. Louis was no exception (see table).
During the early years of the Depression from 1930 to 1932, the city allocated $1.5 million of its funds toward
In addition to providing aid for food and shelter, New Deal programs such as the Public Works Administration employed thousands of St. Louisans.[30] Civic improvement bond issues for airport construction and the remainder of the 1923 bond issue construction program also contributed to lowering unemployment.[30] Another bond issue for improvements came in 1934, providing funds for city beautification and renovations on civic buildings, reducing the number of persons on direct relief aid to 35,000 in 1936 from more than 100,000 in 1933.[30]
St. Louis in World War II
Shortly after the
Fears of a Japanese hit-and-run air raid mounted in the weeks after Pearl Harbor, although at the beginning of the war, St. Louis had no air raid sirens and little plans in case of an attack.[35] In spite of its distance from the coasts, city leaders appropriated $50,000 for area defense, including $4,500 to light the MacArthur Bridge.[36] Call-in radio shows were cancelled, and weather forecasts were censored.[36] Civil defense preparations both in the city and county moved slowly, but on March 7, 1942, the city held its first blackout.[37] A second blackout, held in February 1943, was considerably more successful than the first, with 4 of 12 civil defense districts fully blacked out.[38] The local branch of the federal Office of Civilian Defense enrolled 5,300 air raid wardens, 2,400 volunteer firefighters, and 3,000 volunteer police officers by April 1942.[39] City building inspectors selected 200 sites as air raid shelters, enough to house 40,000 people, and local schools began preparing students for attack.[40] The city and region also were protected by anti-aircraft guns, but mistakenly fired on civilian aircraft multiple times during the war.[39]
St. Louis industry had already begun preparing for war starting in 1940, when the government placed a $16 million order with Curtiss-Wright aircraft company for training and cargo planes.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Butch_OHare_F6F-3.jpg/170px-Butch_OHare_F6F-3.jpg)
During the war, St. Louis produced several notable soldiers, including Edward O'Hare, who grew up in St. Louis and attended Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois, followed by acceptance to the United States Naval Academy.[46] During a combat flight in the Pacific in February 1942, O'Hare shot down five Japanese bombers that were on a run to attack the USS Lexington, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor and a parade in St. Louis.[46] St. Louis also was home to Wendell O. Pruitt, an African-American pilot who shot down three enemy aircraft and multiple ground targets in June 1944.[47] St. Louis celebrated Pruitt's achievement by naming December 12, 1944 "Captain Wendell O. Pruitt Day".[47] In addition, more than 5400 St. Louisans became casualties of the war, listed as either missing in action or killed in action.[48]
Among the first products to be
At the outbreak of war, African-American St. Louisans gained greater acceptance in industry than they had previously.[43] By the end of 1942, nearly 8,000 black men and women were hired in St. Louis industries, but employment discrimination remained a significant problem for the community.[55] Most jobs in war factories were unskilled, although some factories, notably Scullin Steel, hired significant numbers of skilled black workers.[55] The April 1943 municipal elections were significant for the civil rights movement, as the first African-American was elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Rev. Jasper C. Caston.[56] In the same election, the first woman was elected to the Board, Clara Hempelmann.[56]
The war also was responsible for the first city integration ordinance, which passed the Board of Aldermen in March 1944 and allowed African-Americans to eat at city-owned (but not private ) lunch counters.
In 1943, several hundred German
The end of the war in Europe, marked by
Suburbanization and population loss
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1900 | 575,238 | — |
1910 | 687,029 | +19.4% |
1920 | 772,897 | +12.5% |
1930 | 821,960 | +6.3% |
1940 | 816,048 | −0.7% |
1950 | 856,796 | +5.0% |
1960 | 750,026 | −12.5% |
1970 | 622,236 | −17.0% |
1980 | 452,801 | −27.2% |
1990 | 396,685 | −12.4% |
2000 | 348,189 | −12.2% |
2010 | 319,294 | −8.3% |
Source: "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-03-29. |
Internal population migration westward was a feature of St. Louis growth since its earliest days, but it accelerated rapidly in the early 20th century.
Starting in the 1890s, an extensive streetcar system and railroad stations enabled commuters to travel from suburban towns bordering St. Louis City into the inner city core.[65] Towns such as Kirkwood, Maplewood, Webster Groves, Richmond Heights, University City, and Clayton grew rapidly between 1900 and 1930.[65] Restrictions on immigration and extensive movement to these towns doubled the population of St. Louis County from 1910 to 1920, while St. Louis City only grew 12 percent in the same period.[65] During the 1930s, St. Louis City's population declined by a small amount for the first time, but St. Louis County grew by nearly 30 percent.[65] Nearly 80 percent of new construction in the region occurred outside city limits during the late 1930s, and St. Louis planners were unable to combat the problem via annexation.[65]
The rise in
The Arch and Busch Stadium projects
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/St._Louis_riverfront_after_demolition_for_Gateway_Arch_%281942%29.jpg/220px-St._Louis_riverfront_after_demolition_for_Gateway_Arch_%281942%29.jpg)
Early urban renewal efforts in St. Louis coincided with efforts to plan a
The commission approved Labeaume's land clearance and memorial design plan, and in 1935, the city issued a $7.5 million bond to purchase and demolish buildings at the site.
Luther Ely Smith again led the charge for the riverfront project in 1945, leading a group that organized a design competition for the memorial.
Starting in the 1920s, the
By the mid-1950s, Sportsman's Park had deteriorated to the point of needing expensive repairs, and a new park was proposed closer to downtown St. Louis.[76] The exterior of the new park was designed by Edward Durell Stone to echo the Gateway Arch, and the Cardinals moved into Busch Memorial Stadium for the 1965 season.[76] However, construction of the stadium required the demolition of Chinatown, St. Louis, ending decades of presence in the area by a Chinese immigrant community.[77] Although the stadium's playing field was particularly hot in summer, the stadium was considerably larger than its predecessor and was an asset to downtown development.[75]
Urban renewal and housing projects
Concurrent with plans to build Gateway Arch National Park during the 1930s were plans to provide low-rent or
Under the guidance of St. Louis Mayor Joseph Darst, in 1953, the St. Louis Land Clearance Reutilization Authority (LCRA) purchased and cleared the former Chestnut Valley area, then sold the land to developers who constructed middle-class apartment buildings in what was called the Plaza Square project.[80] The same year Darst promoted a $1.5 million bond issue that allowed for the completion of the St. Louis Gateway Mall project by clearing blocks of land from 15th to 18th streets.[80] Darst also was responsible for encouraging the construction of several large high-rise housing projects, all of which began between 1951 and 1953.[80]
The first of the five,
However, the projects were plagued with problems from the beginning; upon its opening, gangs attacked and harassed residents at Darst, while it became quickly apparent that there was too little recreational space, too few healthcare facilities or shopping centers, and employment opportunities were scarce.[81] Crime was rampant, particularly at Pruitt-Igoe, and even after a $5 million renovation in 1965, only 17 of 33 Pruitt-Igoe towers had occupants in 1971.[81] Plumbing was vandalized and sold by thieves as scrap, causing human waste to accumulate in the buildings' corridors.[81] Two of the 33 Pruitt-Igoe buildings were demolished to make room for playgrounds in 1972, but vacancies and problems continued unabated until the demolition of the other 31 towers in 1975.[81] The other St. Louis housing projects remained relatively well-occupied through the 1980s, in spite of languishing problems with crime.[82]
Along with the development of the major housing projects was a 1955 urban renewal bond issue totaling more than $110 million, which included funds to purchase land to build three
The 1955 bond issue also provided funds for clearing more than 450 acres of a residential neighborhood known as Mill Creek Valley, starting in February 1959.[85] Nearly 2,000 families and more than 600 individuals were displaced in the project, which provided land for the Daniel Boone Expressway, new industrial sites, and an extension of Saint Louis University.[85] The majority of the displaced were poor blacks, and in what the NAACP called a "Negro Removal Project", they were moved to housing projects and historically stable, well-to-do black neighborhoods such as The Ville.[85] Middle-class blacks who once lived in the area near Sumner High School and Homer G. Phillips Hospital moved west to north St. Louis County cities, exacerbating social problems in north St. Louis.[85] Although some subsidized housing was built in Mill Creek Valley to some success during the 1960s, by the late 1970s the area had fallen below the expectations of its developers.[85]
Government consolidation attempts
Largely due to the population exodus from St. Louis City, dating to the 1920s and accelerating through the 1950s, St. Louis government leaders made several attempts at consolidating government or services in the region.[86] Among the earliest of these was an attempt in 1926, fostered by a state constitutional amendment, which allowed a Board of Freeholders to create a plan in which the city would annex all of St. Louis County.[9] While the plan passed among city voters by a margin of seven to one, it failed in the county by three to one, and a 1930 constitutional amendment allowing consolidation of only some services also failed, largely due to its overwhelming rejection by county voters.[9] Only after World War II would more efforts be made toward consolidation of services.
The first (and one of the few) successful attempts at consolidation resulted in the creation of the Metropolitan Sewer District, a city-county water and sewer company formed in 1954.[87] The next year, however, a city-county transit agency was rejected by voters, leading St. Louis Alderman Alfonso J. Cervantes to propose a meeting of a Board of Freeholders to discuss city-county consolidation.[87]
To that end, Mayor Raymond Tucker obtained grants to fund a study of consolidation, which found that most county and city residents would not support full consolidation but would support partial consolidation of certain agencies, such as mass transit, zoning, and property assessment.[87] The Board of Freeholders that met to discuss consolidation selected the study's recommendations to present to the voters, opting out of a full city-county merger.[87] Although most major business groups, unions, and Cervantes supported the proposal, Mayor Tucker refused to endorse it, claiming it was inadequate.[87] Anti-tax arguments against the creation of a new government district also were effective, and both city and county voters rejected it overwhelmingly.[88]
As the population of St. Louis County grew, local subdivisions began multiplying and incorporating into tiny cities and towns, producing more than 90 separate municipalities by the 1960s.
Notes
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 397.
- ^ Primm (1998), 398.
- ^ Primm (1998), 406.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 407.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 408.
- ^ Primm (1998), 409.
- ^ a b Tranel (2007), 90.
- ^ Garvin (2002), 87.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 447.
- ^ Primm (1998), 448.
- ^ a b c d Primm (1998), 449.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 450.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 410.
- ^ a b c d Primm (1998), 411.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 412.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 413.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 414.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 415.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 416.
- ^ Primm (1998), 433.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 434.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 435.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 436.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 437.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 438.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 439.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 440.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 441.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 442.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 444.
- ^ a b c d Primm (1998), 443.
- ^ a b c d Burnett (1987), 2
- ^ Burnett (1987), 6.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 28.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 4.
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 9.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 14.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 66.
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 15.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 16.
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 21.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 22.
- ^ a b c Burnett (1987), 23.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 152.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 99.
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 30.
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 117.
- ^ Zimmer (2000).
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 24.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 25-27.
- ^ Burnett (1998), 57.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 61.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 75.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 89.
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 42.
- ^ a b Burnett (1987), 76.
- ^ a b c Burnett (1998), 144.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 115.
- ^ a b c Burnett (1987), 80.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 87.
- ^ a b c Burnett (1987), 145.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 148.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 154.
- ^ Burnett (1987), 162.
- ^ a b c d e f Primm (1998), 445.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 417.
- ^ Primm (1998), 419.
- ^ a b c d Primm (1998), 452.
- ^ Primm (1998), 393.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 453.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 454.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 455.
- ^ a b c Primm (1998), 456.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 424.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 458.
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 457.
- ^ Ling
- ^ a b Primm (1998), 459.
- ^ a b c d Primm (1998), 461.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 460.
- ^ a b c d Primm (1998), 462.
- ^ Primm (1998), 464.
- ^ a b c d Primm (1998), 467.
- ^ Primm (1998), 470.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 468.
- ^ Primm (1998), 476.
- ^ a b c d e Primm (1998), 477.
- ^ Primm (1998), 478.
- ^ Primm (1998), 480.
- ^ Primm (1998), 481.
- ^ Primm (1998), 482.
- ^ Primm (1998), 484.
References
- Burnett, Betty (1987). St. Louis at War. St. Louis, Missouri: Patrice Press. ISBN 0-935284-52-4.
- Garvin, Alexander (2002). The American City: What Works, What Doesn't. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-137367-5.
- Primm, James Neal (1998). Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, 1764-1980 (4 ed.). Missouri Historical Society Press. ISBN 1-883982-24-3.
- Tranel, James Neal (2007). St. Louis Plans: The Ideal and the Real St. Louis. Missouri Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-1-883982-61-4.
- Zimmer, Keith B. (February 2000). "Casualty List of Soldiers From St. Louis Who Died During World War II". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on September 5, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
Further reading
- Civic League of Saint Louis (1911). Directory of Civic and Business Associations of Saint Louis. Nixon-Jones.
- Edward Hungerford (1913), "Gateway of the Southwest", The Personality of American Cities, New York: McBride, Nast & Company