ST. LOUIS AND HER ILLINOIS SUBURBS
St. Louis, lying on the west bank of the Mississippi, between the mouths of the Ohio and Missouri rivers and not far from the Illinois, became the natural center of this north-and-south river traffic. By 1860 it was the most important shipping point west of the Alleghenies.
THE MUNICIPAL COURT BUILDING
Meanwhile railroad building had begun in the West. Ground was broken in 1850 for St. Louis' first railway, the Missouri Pacific. Other roads were begun during the next two years. In a short time the whole country was covered with a network of railroads, and a change in the methods of transportation followed. The steamboats were unable to compete with their new rivals in speed—a tremendous advantage in carrying passengers and perishable freight—and their former importance quickly grew less.
St. Louis lost nothing by the change. Many of the cross-continent railroads, following the old pioneer trails, met here. To-day more than twenty-five railroads enter the city, connecting it with the remotest parts of the United States as well as with Canada and Mexico.
THE CITY HALL