Inside The Unparalleled Death Spiral Of St. Louis In 33 Eerie Images

Inside The Unparalleled Death Spiral Of St. Louis In 33 Eerie Images

Despite once being one of America's most prosperous cities, St. Louis, Missouri is now considered one of the worst places in the nation to live — by pretty much any standard or metric. Considered the murder capital of the U.S. with the nation's highest rate of child poverty, St. Louis also battles an unprecedented police brutality problem as the seventh highest city with instances of police killings. Now ranked one of the most crime-ridden places in America, the once thriving history of St. Louis has all but been forgotten. Relive the unprecedented boom and bust of St. Louis in 33 images Throughout the early 20th century, St. Louis, Missouri, was among the most progressive and prosperous towns in America. So what turned the Gateway City into a crime-ridden ghost town? Until the 1950s, St. Louis, Missouri was a bustling hub of industry. Given its location along the Mississippi River, the Gateway City was relatively tolerant and diverse, and so it became a safe destination for African-Americans during the Great Migration from 1910 to 1970. Today, however, the historic city resembles a segregated ghost town. For most of the 20th century, St. Louis was a coveted location for its strong, unionized industrial base. The town was ripe with job opportunities, had a flourishing middle class — and seemed to be a manifestation of the American Dream. But then, St. Louis experienced economic downturns so staggering that only towns like the now derelict Gary, Indiana, could compare. As the city with the highest murder rate per capita outside of South America, St. Louis is considered the murder capital of the United States — and has lost the most residents of any U.S. city since 1950. “Churches are doing food distribution, hosting job fairs, serving as vaccine clinics,” said James Clark of the Division of Public Safety. “We are seeing a change in attitude. We need family accountability, we need neighborhood accountability. We cannot heap the responsibility of violence solely on the police.” So what exactly happened to St. Louis, America’s symbol of progress?