A St. Louis Kind of Love

50 reasons we're happy to call this city home.

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As with any great love, the obvious things draw you in first: baseball, Forest Park, price tags cheaper than Chicago’s. Your appreciation for all those things grows over time, as you come to discover more. But what hooks you are the subtle nuances: the Delmar Loop on a Saturday afternoon, a fresh batch at Donut Drive-In, the curtain at the Tivoli…

1. Location, Location, Location
We have the South’s hospitality, the North’s social concern, the East’s intellectualism, the West’s self-reliance. We eat black-eyed peas and chipotle barbecue; summer in Michigan and winter in Naples; read Emersonian transcendentalism and mutter, “Show me!” We’re smack in the middle, and extremes don’t throw us off course.

 2. The Loop at 4 p.m. on a Saturday
Walk, watch, sit, listen, smile.

 3. A Keg That Never Goes Dry
Where to begin on the menu of microbrews in a city where beer magnates have long reigned supreme? How about the A’s: Alandale, Amalgamated, Augusta. Then again, we should mention Buffalo, Morgan Street, and Mattingly. And let’s not forget Square One, O’Fallon, and Trailhead. (Did we leave out Schlafly and A-B? We’ll save those for the next round.)

 4. Parking in a Pinch
We’re spoiled. New Yorkers park in our no-parking zones because a ticket’s cheaper than an NYC parking spot. Granted, we’ve lost the old penny meters, but name 10 favorite destinations, and we’ll wager there’s free parking a stone’s throw from most of them. As a result, we’re all a bit less frazzled. We have more money to spend. We make fewer crazed U-turns. And we know our side streets the way a Sherpa knows his mountain.

 5. Restaurant Heavies Are Big on Skill, Slim on Ego
St. Louis is jam-packed with fantastic restaurant talent—but what’s most unique is the vast number of owners and chefs who are practiced, pleasant, and present. Most everyone who visits Pappy’s Smokehouse has met owner Mike Emerson, because he’s almost always there. If the line is short, he’ll greet you at your table; if it’s long, he’s the one handing out complimentary dry-rub ribs. At Cyrano’s Café, owner Charlie Downs might toss in something extra if he boxes up your leftovers. (Want your car warmed up? He wouldn’t hesitate.) Executive chef Josh Galliano is so personable, knowledgeable, and well-spoken, you’d think he was Monarch’s PR flack, rather than the guy who cured every item on your charcuterie plate. To those culinary captains—and the dozen other locals just like them—we say: Great food, great ’tude!

 6. Songs of St. Louis
To rhapsodize about St. Louis’ musical heritage in a few hundred words is tough—but there are some key flash points. The first is the emergence of ragtime in the late 19th century. As Dennis Owsley notes in City of Gabriels, “Ragtime was the first national popular music, and St. Louis was its first center”—or more specifically, Tom Turpin’s Rosebud Café on Market Street was, where Scott Joplin, Louis Chauvin, and other composers gathered for “cutting contests” on Turpin’s piano. After jazz began to gain favor in 1917, musicians played on riverboats and in Gaslight Square venues, which drew national attention—and not just because the Smothers Brothers played the Crystal Palace. Clubs like Vanity Fair and The Dark Side showcased a range of local talent, including Jeanne Trevor, Cheri Ann Scheaer, Billy Peek, Trebor Tichenor, and Hugh “Peanuts” Whalum. Then, just as Gaslight Square was fading, a group calling themselves the Black Artists’ Group, or BAG, began experimenting with free jazz and interdisciplinary performance, mixing music with theater, dance, and even live painting. While there’s no shortage of famous names to drop—Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Miles Davis, Albert King—environments such as Walnut Valley, midtown, and the near North Side incubated that talent.

 7. Our Big Backyard
There’s something to be said about driving 15 minutes down I-44 and being surrounded by rolling hills and towering maples. St. Louis somehow balances urban amenities—major-league teams and fine eateries—with the serenity of the great outdoors. State parks like Castlewood and Pere Marquette (see No. 18) are among nature’s sprawling retreats, but gems like Powder Valley Nature Center and Meramec Highlands Quarry also abound. Serenity in our own backyard—seems like a natural pick to us.

 8. Friendlier Fuel Prices
We admit to frequently whining about gas prices—after all, it’s the American way. But if you wanna feel better about filling up, take a drive across the Mississippi River. Or to Chicago. Or to either coast. The Show-Me State boasted the seventh lowest average gas prices in the country at press time, according to gasbuddy.com. It makes you realize that much-lamented pain at the pump could be much worse.

 9. Housing’s Affordable
Why do so many St. Louisans go away for college and Part One of their careers, only to return to “settle down”? A big reason: That first “nice apartment” or “modest little house” might be realized a decade earlier than if they’d stayed in Chicago or D.C. (and three times that for San Fran or New York).

 10. A Perfect Pace of Life
You know the feeling: Standing in line at the grocery store, tapping your foot, while the person in front of you chats with the clerk. Yes, it’s frustrating. But it’s also kinda reassuring to know that when someone asks “How’s it going?” she can still make time to listen. It’s that Southern hospitality, mixed with big-city briskness, that makes our pace of life seem just right.

 11. Forest Park
At nearly 1,300 acres, it’s larger than Central Park. And besides the Zoo and Art Museum (see No. 41), it has a lengthy list of draws: the Science Center, the Boathouse, the History Museum, Steinberg Skating Rink, the Jewel Box, The Muny…not to mention the wooded havens, winding streams, and ever-present wildlife. Larger than some county municipalities, Forest Park remains the city’s point of pride long after the World’s Fair.

 12. The Curtain at The Tivoli’s Main Theater
What’s better than catching a new flick on a Friday night? The anticipation that builds as the rich, burgundy velvet rises, rises, rises… Shhh, the movie’s starting.

 13. We’re Getting Greener
It’s a group effort, this green thing—and that’s how it should be. We’re seeing anecdotal upticks in recycling and composting, more sustainability-focused businesses and initiatives cropping up, and just plain cool planet-minded stuff happening, from the brand new (downtown’s Roberts Tower, going for LEED Gold) to the old-as-new (Cannon Design’s highly cool quarters in the Power House Building, which already achieved LEED Gold).

 14. A Word From David Robertson
We’re not talking about the Symphony’s “PreConcert Perspectives”—although those half-hour lecturettes are cool. We mean something briefer: The moment when maestro David Robertson turns to face the audience just before the program begins, offering unscripted remarks—perceptive, charmingly delivered—to prepare us for the sounds to come. You can feel the hall’s mood change in those 30 seconds.

 15. Farm-Fresh Options
Years ago, the sole farmer’s market was in Soulard. Then the farm-to-feast movement sprung. Now you can get fresh produce everywhere, from Tower Grove to Wildwood, and it seems another market opens every spring. Here’s to plenty.

 16. Awe-Inspiring Architecture
Our fair city abounds with wow-factor architecture. Beyond the Arch (see No. 25) and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, we could spend forever gazing at St. Louis’ magnificent homes, such as the mansions of Westmoreland and Portland places, designed by Eames and Young; Mauran, Russell & Crowell; and others. Ignore the paved streets, and you’re back in the early 1900s.

 17. Understated Style
Our publishing peer New York Magazine does a section called “Look Book,” featuring fashionable locals pulled from city sidewalks. Sometimes the looks involve fancy furs; other times they lean Goth. Here in the Midwest, though, a walk down Washington doesn’t equate to a strut down a catwalk—a good thing, in our book. Style in St. Louis is refined and sensible, without Prada prices. We’re happy to report that taste and comfort are always in.

 18. Parks Aplenty
The City of St. Louis alone has more than 100 parks, including the granddaddy of ’em all, Forest Park (see No. 11). But drive beyond city limits, and you’ll find many more: 2,400-acre Babler State Park (with 13 miles of trails), 550-acre Lone Elk Park (with wandering elk and bison), Chesterfield’s Faust Park (with the Butterfly House and St. Louis Carousel)… We could go on.

 19. We Live in Wine Country (Even if We Don’t)
It’s not just that wine is now a sizable business here (Missouri’s a top-10 state in U.S. production)—it’s our ability to so easily transition from the St. Louis workweek to a Saturday afternoon with our feet up and glass full at one of Missouri’s 70-plus wineries or one in southern Illinois. And while widely grown grapes like Norton will always have their fans, we’re excited to see regional vineyards branching out—as Chandler Hill did when it lent its land to pinot gris. Our glasses await…

 20. Celebs Who Don’t Forget Where They Came From
Some stars leave anonymity—and their hometowns—forever. St. Louis natives, though, rarely do. Mad Men actor Jon Hamm visited John Burroughs High School last May before serving as honorary chair at the Center of Creative Arts’ COCAcabana. And after finishing her latest movie, A Little Help, actress Jenna Fischer will help raise funds for her own alma mater, Nerinx Hall High School, next month. There are plenty of others—John Goodman, Joe Buck, Kevin Kline—but perhaps no local celeb embodies hometown pride more than Nelly; not only does Cornell Haynes Jr. represent the Lou with his clothes and lyrics, he also brings friends together here for his annual Black and White Ball fundraiser.

 21. The Giant Amoco Sign
Yes, it’s now a BP station—but what better way to give directions to out-of-towners, instead of saying Skinker and Clayton?

 22. Scenic Routes and Worthwhile Cut-Throughs
There’s not room to print them all, so just picture yours (and then email it to us at feedback@stlmag.com). What are ours? Sappington, between Lockwood and Big Bend, those modern houses tucked off the main drag; the “crooked” white house facing Westborough Country Club, one side leaning into the other like a sleepy younger sibling. And Forsyth’s pretty enough, but if you need to hit Skinker, why not take Wydown? That too flat for your taste? Go west on Old Warson, then turn right on Warson, and enjoy the drive toward Litzsinger. Always in view: stunning homes—plus a horse or two.

 23. Someone Nearby Could Be Discovering the Cure for Cancer
Scan news about the latest in cancer research, and there’s a good chance you’ll find mention of St. Louis. At Washington University’s Genome Center, scientists are analyzing entire DNA sequences to pinpoint potentially cancer-causing genetic flaws. But genomics is just one field of research at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. More than 350 researchers and doctors there are studying everything from proteomics (the study of proteins within cells) to neuro-oncology, and as part of BioMed 21, a multidisciplinary initiative launched at Wash. U. in 2003, the $235 million BJC Institute of Health will soon expand its research. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though; visit cancerstl.org to see a list of local cancer-fighting organizations.

 24. Brick Older Than Our Great-Grandparents
Live here, and you can see and feel the centuries, because St. Louis is a city of brick. Italian immigrants shaped the slick, heavy layer of clay beneath The Hill and Dogtown into more than 20 million bricks a year by 1839, and when fire destroyed a third of the city in 1849, a new ordinance forbade construction of wooden structures altogether. We like our buildings to outlive us.

 25. The Arch
Other cities have forbidding walls and phallic towers. St. Louis has a single, daring gesture, held in perfect balance. As complex as it is simple, the Arch shows up at odd moments, glimpsed between buildings or at the end of an alley. It changes shape, mirrors sunsets, surprises and welcomes us, and urges us to explore.