Welcome to St. Louis! Hopefully you’re on-site with us to experience the 2016 NRPA Annual Conference, but, even if you’re home-bound this year, there’s still plenty to appreciate about our host city. St. Louis is home to more than 100 parks, including the massive Forest Park and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which hosts the iconic St. Louis Arch. It’s a big city with big demands of its parks amenities — below, find some other interesting facts about America’s Gateway to the West.
 

315,685: Population estimate as of July 1, 2015.

34.7: Median resident age.

$34,800: Median household income.

23.8 minutes: Average travel time to work for employees ages 16 and older.

66.2 sq. miles: St. Louis total land area.

98: Number of  grocery stores (2.76 per 10,000 people).

585: Number of bridges.

1874: The year Eads Bridge was completed. Spanning the Mississippi River, the arched steel truss bridge was, at the time, the first of its kind in the world and still carries all manner of transportation today.

1836: Founding year of Lafayette Park, the first public park established west of the Mississippi River.

3: Number of cheeses that make up Provel cheese — cheddar, Swiss and provolone are specially blended as a topping for thin St. Louis-style pizza.

19: Number of studio albums cut by St. Louis native Chuck Berry, known as the Father of rock n’ roll.

300+: Numbers of bird species that migrate via the Mississippi flyway, along which St. Louis is situated. The St. Louis Audubon Center and Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary offer just two of many excellent spots to view a feathered friend.

 

Sources: Explore St. Louis, City-Data.com, U.S. Census Bureau, Wikipedia