St. Louis

Many people recognize St. Louis as the city where the Gateway Arch exists, a massive arch structure built in the 1960s to reflect the 19th century explorations traveling west in this region. St. Louis sits on the Mississippi River, providing an important transportation hub for much of the region. This vibrant city is home to over 304,000 people.

There are many things St. Louis is known for, including the invention of the ice cream cone, and it is the home to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. As the second largest city in the state, it is one of the big cities in the region but maintains some of that smaller town feel. There's a lot to know about the city, such as that it is home to four research universities, including The Washington University Medical Center and Saint Louis University. It's home to four professional sports teams, including the MLB's Saint Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis CITY SC of the MLS. It is also home to the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum.

For those that love history and architecture, a quick look at St. Louis shows the vast number of beautiful structures here. That includes the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, City Hall itself, and the Central Library. City Museum is an excellent example of the city's passion for beautiful stone-inspired architecture. The Old Courthouse is a 19th century building that has a long history to it.

Beautiful parks, tree-lined subdivisions, and numerous rivers and creeks help to make this area quite green. It enjoys a subtropical climate that gets hot during the summer months and has violent spring weather due to thunderstorms. The city's economy is one based on manufacturing, health care, social services, and retail trade, though it is also a growing tourism district as well. Numerous large companies call the city home.