Streets of St. Louis facts for kids

The streets of St. Louis, Missouri, are managed by the City of St. Louis Street Department. This department takes care of about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of streets and 600 miles (970 km) of alleys in the city. Many of these streets have interesting names and histories!

Famous Streets of St. Louis

Arsenal Street: A Military Name

Arsenal Street runs east to west in South St. Louis. It stretches from near the Mississippi River to the River Des Peres. This street got its name from the St. Louis Arsenal. An arsenal is a place where military equipment is stored. Today, this old arsenal building is used by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Bates Street: Named for a Governor

Bates Street runs from the Bevo Mill and Holly Hills neighborhoods to South Broadway. It is named after Frederick Bates, who was the second governor of Missouri.

Biddle Street: From Willow to Biddle

Biddle Street goes from the Near North Riverfront area, close to the Mississippi River, to 20th Street. It was named after Major Thomas Biddle and Mrs. Anne Biddle, who owned land in the area. Anne Biddle was also the sister of Bryan Mullanphy, who was the tenth mayor of St. Louis. Before it was called Biddle Street, it was known as Willow Street.

Carr Street: A Judge's Legacy

Carr Street runs east to west in Downtown St. Louis, from the Mississippi River to Jefferson Avenue. It is named after Judge William C. Carr. In 1813, Judge Carr built the very first brick house in St. Louis. In 1822, Carr Street was even part of the city's northern border!

Cherokee Street: A Lively Area

Cherokee Street runs east to west in South City. It goes from Grand Boulevard to South Broadway. This street has always been important for business and is now a well-known cultural spot in St. Louis.

Chestnut Street: From "A" to Chestnut

Chestnut Street is an east-west street in downtown St. Louis. It forms the northern edge of the Gateway Mall. This street was one of the first named streets in old St. Louis, originally called "La Rue Missouri." After the United States took over the city in 1804, its name changed to North "A" Street. In 1826, many east-west streets were named after trees, and it became "Chesnut." The spelling was updated to "Chestnut" in 1893.

Chippewa Street: Honoring Native Americans

Chippewa Street runs east to west across several neighborhoods. It is named after the Chippewa people, a Native American tribe. Part of this street is also known as Missouri Route 366, and a section of it used to be part of the famous US Route 66.

Commercial Street: A Cobblestone Path

Commercial Street is a special street made of cobblestone. It runs north to south in Laclede's Landing, which is a historic area close to Gateway Arch National Park.

Delor Street: A Founder's Name

Delor Street runs east to west from McCausland Avenue to Nebraska Avenue. It is named after Clement Delor deTreget, who founded the settlement that later became Carondelet, Missouri in 1767. Before 1893, a part of this street was called Termination Street because it marked the northern border of the Carondelet Commons.

Germania Street: A Nod to Germany

Germania Street runs from Gravois Avenue along the River Des Peres to Alabama Street. Its name refers to Germania, who is a symbol or personification of the German nation.

Hall Street: A Ferry Operator's Name

Hall Street runs north to south in North St. Louis. It is named after Edward Hall, who operated a ferry on the Missouri River.

Itaska Street: Source of the Mississippi

Itaska Street runs from McCausland Street to South Broadway. Even though it's spelled with a "k," it is named to remember Lake Itasca in Minnesota. Lake Itasca is famous because it is the source, or beginning, of the mighty Mississippi River.

Keokuk Street: A Sauk Leader

Keokuk Street runs east to west from Marine Avenue to Meramec Street. It is named after Keokuk, an important leader of the Sauk Native American people. He was known for refusing to help the British during the War of 1812.

Laclede Avenue: St. Louis's Founder

Laclede Avenue runs from east to west, starting in Midtown and going through the Central West End to Forest Park. This street is named in honor of Pierre Laclède Liguest, who founded the city of St. Louis.

La Salle Street: An Explorer's Journey

La Salle Street runs east to west through several neighborhoods. It is named after René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. He was a French explorer who traveled down the Mississippi River in 1682, passing by the future site of St. Louis. He was exploring for the French government, hoping to expand their empire in North America.

Lynch Street: Developing the Area

Lynch Street was named after William A. Lynch, who helped develop the area in 1856. It starts at South Second Street and runs through several neighborhoods, ending at Pennsylvania Avenue.

Market Street: A Main Street for Events

Market Street runs east to west from Memorial Drive near the Gateway Arch to Compton Avenue. In downtown, it forms the southern border of the Gateway Mall. Further west, it is the southern border of Harris-Stowe State University. Market Street is a very important street in St. Louis and is often used for parades and public festivals.

Meramec Street: Named for a River

Meramec Street runs east to west from S. Broadway near the Mississippi River to Chippewa Street. It is named after the Meramec River. The name "Meramec" comes from a Native American term that describes the many catfish and a unique, very large fish called a Paddlefish (sometimes called a "Spoonbill Catfish" because of its long, flat snout) found in the river.

Miami Street: Honoring a River and People

Miami Street has four separate sections that run east to west. It was named in the 1850s after the Miami River and the Miami people of Ohio.

Nebraska Avenue: A Territory's Name

Nebraska Avenue runs north to south from Mt. Pleasant Street near the Mississippi River to Park Avenue. This street was named after the new Nebraska Territory. When the city expanded its street grid in the 1850s, Nebraska was not yet a state. The name "Nebraska" comes from an Oto language word meaning "flat or spreading water," which described the Platte river.

O'Fallon Street: A Soldier and Investor

O'Fallon Street runs east to west from Laclede's Landing to Jefferson Avenue. It was named after John O'Fallon, who was a soldier, a merchant, and later invested in and led several early railroads built through St. Louis.

Olive Street: From "C" to Olive

Olive Street runs east to west from Downtown St. Louis to the northern part of the Central West End. In 1821, this road was first called "North C Street." In 1826, it was renamed after the strong Mediterranean tree and its well-known fruit, the olive. In the 1850s, the western part of the road was called the Olive Street Plank road because it was built with wood.

Parnell Street: An Irish Leader

Parnell Street runs north to south. It is named to honor Charles Stewart Parnell, a famous Irish politician. He was a strong supporter of Ireland becoming independent from England.

Pestalozzi Street: An Educational Reformer

Pestalozzi runs east to west through several neighborhoods to Tower Grove Park. The street is named in honor of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, a Swiss educational reformer. His ideas and methods greatly influenced modern elementary education.

A street sign for Pine Street.

Pine Street: A Campus Connection

Pine Street runs east to west from Memorial Drive in Downtown St. Louis to Jefferson Avenue. It used to connect to West Pine Boulevard in the Central West End. The campuses of Harris–Stowe State University and Saint Louis University are located between Pine Street and West Pine Boulevard. The old path of Pine Street is now a walking path called the West Pine Mall on the Saint Louis University campus.

Salisbury Street: A Doctor's Name

Salisbury Street is an east-west street in the Hyde Park neighborhood. It is named after James Salisbury, an American Civil War doctor. He is famous for creating the Salisbury steak as part of a diet meant to help soldiers.

Sarah Street: A Song's Inspiration

Sarah Street is a major north-south street that runs from Labadie Street to Vandeventer Avenue. The song "Down on Sarah Street," which is on Otis Spann's album The Blues Is Where It's At, refers to this street.

Sidney Street: A Mayor's Daughter

Sidney Street runs from the Kosciusko neighborhood near the Mississippi River to Grand Avenue. It is named after Sarah Sidney Carr Lane, who was the daughter of Dr. William Carr Lane. He was the first mayor of St. Louis and also a doctor.

St. Charles Street: A Historic Alley

St. Charles Street runs east to west in three parts in the downtown area. It used to be one continuous street but has been broken up by new buildings. Even though it's a named street, St. Charles Street is mostly used like an alley for things like garbage pickup, parking, and loading goods. The Mayfair Hotel, located on this street, is famous for creating Mayfair salad dressing.

Thomas Street: A Mayor's Memory

Thomas Street runs from the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Compton Avenue to Jefferson Avenue. It is named in memory of James S. Thomas, who was the 19th mayor of St. Louis.

Utah Street: A Territory's Commemoration

Utah Street runs east to west from S. Broadway to the central neighborhood of Tower Grove South. The street celebrates the creation of the Utah Territory in 1850. The name "Utah" comes from the Ute people and a river of the same name that explorer John C. Fremont documented.

Walnut Street: A Downtown Path

Walnut Street runs from Memorial Drive on the east to Tucker Boulevard on the west.

Wyoming Street: From River to Neighborhood

Wyoming Street runs east to west from Lyon Park, near the Mississippi River, to Alfred Avenue in the Tower Grove South neighborhood.