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The
City of St. Louis , is an independent city completely surrounded
by St. Louis County on the west, and the Mississippi River on the
east, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Sometimes written as Saint
Louis, the city, which is named after Louis IX of France, is adjacent
to but not part of St. Louis County, Missouri, thus giving it an
almost-unique situation similar to Baltimore, Maryland in comparison
to other metropolitan areas.
St. Louis is known for its long standing
French and German heritage and Victorian past. While St. Louis has
embraced its deep roots as the Gateway to the West, it also has
modernized into a globally known contributor in the health care
and scientific research fields. The St. Louis renaissance can be
attributed to large scale construction and renovation efforts seen
throughout the city in conjunction with corporate support and strong
civic organizational efforts. St. Louis has seen its population
increase as a direct result of the committed efforts of St. Louisans
to return their city to the grand international status it was once
known for dating back to the 1904 World's Fair and first Olympic
Games ever held in the United States.
The city has several common nicknames,
including the "Gateway City", "Gateway to the West",
and "Mound City". It is called "Gateway to the West"
because of the many people who moved west starting near St Louis;
first, because the lower Missouri River was the first leg of the
Oregon Trail, and later, because of wagon trails. The Mound City
name originated with the Native American burial mounds that once
were common in the city. These were removed to fill sink holes filled
with stagnant water that were thought to be a source of cholera.
The city is also sometimes called "St. Louie", or "River
City". Alternatively, many young people who live in St. Louis
have begun to call it "The Lou". Another popular synonym
for St. Louis is "STL" in reference to the airport code
for the city (STL) and a long-standing use of an interlocked S,
T, and L by the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. The City of St.
Louis lies in the heart of Greater St. Louis, which includes counties
in the states of Missouri and Illinois. It is the largest metropolitan
area in the state of Missouri and the 18th largest metropolitan
area in the United States. The population of Metro St. Louis as
of 2005 is approximately 2,786,728 according to the US Census Bureau.
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