As another member of the horrid yuppie town,
Chesterfield MO, my view of downtown is limited. For me and my friends, downtown officially starts just after
the Galleria, a mall in
Clayton, MO (also in
West County). I should note here that St. Louis city and St. Louis county are two different entities.
Xamot did an excellent job in describing the city, but left out a few things: Almost all of the educational institutions (the Zoo, the Science Center, etc.) are free and supported by the city. The Muny (which has free seats) is one of the largest outdoor stages in the world (they once landed a helicopter on it during a performance of "Miss Siagon", and drove a police car on to it during "West Side Story").
St. Louis also has the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the country, down in Soulard.
St. Louis is the world headquarters of Anheiser-Busch (they do beer) and Monsanto (a chemical company).
Although, St. Louis is the home of Hanz Weimann and Becky the Carpet lady (or whatever). It ashames me to see this stuff is being beamed into space for all the aliens to see.