What Happened to East St. Louis?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.พ. 2022
- The story of East St. Louis…
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My grandparents grew up in East St Louis. The way they talk about it being seems almost unimaginable now.
The one benefit to living in rotting places like East St Louis, Gary Indiana and Camden, NJ is they would have to offer affordable rent. Provided of course the drive by shooters and toxic mold lets anybody live that far.
As a teenager in the 1970s, I remember "East St. Louis" as a euphemism for "Mismanaged, run down, crime ridden hell hole."
I live 20 minutes away from it, not much has changed in 50 years... Unless boarded up windows and broken flower pots are your thing...
Still is, for the most part.
It’s funny that it got that reputation. Really the crime isn’t nearly as bad there as it is on the south side of St. Louis. I grew up in the 90s tho, maybe times were different
@@sujoudza14 You could say that.
@Sujoud Ali The north side of St. Louis is the part with all the crime, NOT the south side!!! Are you really even from that area?
You're not ready for the REAL answer to that question...
Lol. It’s pretty obvious isn’t it?
@@johnnyboy55 oh hell yes! All you gotta do is drive through there. But it's 2022, people cry when you tell them the truth.
@@donovandey1196
Yep. I live in a good neighborhood but within walking distance of Camden NJ. Once you cross the highway it’s like going to a different country.
Aren't you "real men" the ones who always tell the truth? Where arre your balls? Say what you need to say.
@@johnnyboy55 So what about all the meth and pill-ridden shit wholes all over the US, including all over New England and even the midwest where "those people" dont even live?
This city was in such drastic shape in 1979 that John Carpenter was able to shoot the Post-economic-collapse scenes of the “Prison community New York City” in ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK with almost NO SET DRESSING NEEDED!
And that was back in the 70s... Urban blight has labored on it since.
They shot in the street in front of what is now The Tap Room, Schlafly Brewery's iconic brewery and bar. It's even on Schlafly's website. They also shot at the old 66 chain of rocks bridge.
I don't remember mention of the East Side being included.
The scenes were in St Louis and Chain of Rocks Bridge.
Other than the bridge scene, I think everything was in St Louis proper. Union Station was used in several scenes. The "boxing" ring was set up right in the grand hall
Misinformation huh … he probably don’t know East St. Louis is in Illinois. That’s Illinois that sounds like Illinoi when spoken
My grandmother and uncles still reside in East. St. Louis. Her house is one of the few good ones standing on her street. A lot of prostitutes and drug dealers roll through there often. I believe it can be rebuilt with the right politicians in charge and community leaders. They need to stop putting criminals in charge of the funding though. They steal a lot from the city.
They need more Democrats.
the story of East St. Louis' decline is identical to what happened to Camden, New Jersey (which sits opposite Philadelphia). The only industry of note there now is Campbells Soup Company while all other industries left, unemployment increased and the tax base collapsed
No politicians is in the business of doing good for people
@@RTD3 LMAO.
@@teahmoore3601 The politicians didn't create the mess. It's over for East St. Louis. It's never coming back.
I've lived in the St. Louis area most of my life. East St. Louis was at one time the Model City of America. One of the issues that caused the downfall of ESTL was the same thing that eventually happened to Cahokia. As people moved out and property values decreased, out of towners bought the homes to rent. Mostly slum lords, renting out to Section 8. To a point that 99% of the homes in these towns were owned by non-residents that didn't care for the area and were looking to make a buck at the expense of the reputation of the towns. Now, am I saying there is anything wrong with Section 8 housing, no. But you will find that some people using it, don't care what they do to the homes and more from home to home destroying them as they move along. At some point it becomes not worth it to repair the homes for the Landlords. Especially when the property values are so low. Repair cost more than the home is worth.
This riots and redlining played a major role also
Belleville resident here. I agree with your statement 100%.
Cahokia's problem was even though it was an excellent location there never was any real money that came in. Sure some of the neighbors may have been slightly better off than some others but as far as businesses go nobody ever brought any real money into Cahokia. Then came HUD housing....
Politics, Misuse of funding NO JOBS
Houses require regular maintenance regardless of who lives in them, and absentee landlords tend to neglect such upkeep whether renting at or below market rate, because they "didn't care for the area and were looking to make a buck at the expense of the reputation of the towns" as you noted.
This is very interesting to me personally. I visited St. Louis as a tourist in the late 1980’s. When I asked what was across the river, absolutely everyone said “You DON’T want to go there!” I appreciate the background. Great videos.
You really don't.
That's Illinois over there. You just go, get your weed and come right back.
If I could destroy all bridges that cross the Mississippi river and ban boats coming to Missouri I would. Let's just put it that way.
@@SuperSinestro lmaoo
Interesting comment - I visited Scott AFB at least a dozen times over my military career without actually driving to St Louis, Mo once. The comments from the base were always “You DON’T want to go there! I guess, sometimes perception is reality and other times perception is perception...
@@SuperSinestro not even that since virtually anyone in MO can get a medical card... And IDK if the topless places in Sauget ever reopened from Covid but that was the other reason people went to IL, or maybe to see a show at Pop's. Otherwise for MO folks, the East Side is like another planet LOL although there are some nicer towns like O'Fallon and Highland out further which aren't bad places, but just typical suburbia.
I remember an old joke on "The Simpsons" when the local members of MENSA ended up taking over Springfield and tried to implement improvements in the town to help it, then reported on their results:
"And thanks to our improvements, we are now ranked 999th out of the top 1000 places to live in the USA! Take that, East St. Louis!"
That 70's show also mentioned east st. Louis once lol
I’m pretty sure one of the writers of the Simpson went to South Western Illinois College which is located only a few minutes away from East saint
Don't forget National Lampoons Vacation, where the Grizwolds take the wrong exit and end up in East St. Louis!
I am from East Saint Louis. I will always cherish my hometown and know the good that comes from there ( especially in its people ).
I am not here to debate or argue about what has caused (or is causing ) the plight of my hometown, but I will always have hope that one day, the city will make it out if this dark narrative and have a better story.
You're absolutely correct when you talk about the high quality of the people that call East St. Louis home. My wife was born and raised there and almost her entire family still reside there and they are the best people I've ever known. Not to mention the dozens of world class athletes that come out of The Boogie every year.
The only way is to nuke it and rebuild it from the ground up and not have democrats run the new city.
You live there now?
@Blake Schnitker How many of those world-class athletes go back there to live?
You're right dude. East Side has lots of good people. You don't have a football team like the Flyers just because the town's black. Winning football games takes organization and discipline and pride. I'm white and I go to the East Side several times a year. Nobody bothers me. I'm treated with respect. If there are ghetto hood rats there, I haven't met them.
This barely scratches the surface of ESTL history.
I'm more nervous working in St louis City than I ever will be in East St Louis.
Agreed
I would be too. I shop for clothes in East St Louis and I'm white. No problems. But I'd stay clear of St Louis city. Three people I knew from my town got bumped off in St Louis.
Isn't St.Louis MO. The murder capital of the U.S. ?
Why?
Right
I grew up there. It was such a nice little city and safe. Now no one wants to even go there. I have no home town to go back to or a high school reunion. It makes me so sad
Cahokia has become the same way, and it's spreading to the west side of Belleville. It's not the skin color of the people, it's the kinds of people- trash. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, green, blue, purple, red, or orange, trashy people ruin communities.
@@jackson5116 Is Cahokia now called Cahokia Heights? I remember my cousin lived there on I think Cecilia St. Of course, this was years ago. East St. Louis being right on the riverfront has so much potential but all the crooked politicians who ran the city ruined it along with a lot of the people who moved in. We lived on 85th st which is right down the hill from Belleville. So many people moved there when the city started going to pot. Now where? Belleville, Fairview Heights, and others are also going downhill. When I see pictures of ESTL now I get so mad. I went to Assumption high school and it's now a prison.
It’s a real bummer.
@@jimkreider9997 There’s a town nearby named “Fairview Heights.”
@@bwake I know and Belleville is right up the hill. These two are getting just as bad.
"ROLL EM UP!" - Clark Griswold
First thing that came to mind when I saw the title was National Lampoon's Vacation.
Hey this is Clark Griswold
Took the fucking rims and all left on slabs lololol Holiday Roaddddd!!!!!
😳🤣yikes ! Classic movie !
That was North St Louis in Missouri that was not East St Louis.
What happened ? The original owners and families that had pride in this area are long gone . Cities are being bought up by investment companies that only care about rent and never put money back into the buildings to keep them looking good . When neighborhoods fall apart they turn into hoods . Unfortunately this is happening just about everywhere .
White flight.
All the industry that used to be in the area wasn't in the city limits. So they never paid taxes to ESL. When those places closed/moved, so did the work force and the revenue that a bigger population provides. Crime and crooked politicians didn't do it any favors either. But it used to be a nice town.
@@thomaskennedy9705 So huwhite flight?
@@MalachiHealey Joined the military, moved around a lot. Live in a different state now.
You missed it by a mile....you know who moved in.
I live in St. Louis, we have similar problems with the north side of the city. It's called "white flight". Black people moved in, white people moved out; industry and commercial business move out, poverty goes up, crime goes up, blight goes up, etc. It started with suburbanization back in the 50's and 60's. It seems to have hit the east side especially hard. My grandmother grew up in ESTL in the 30's and 40's, and it used to be a nice working class city.
This is what I came to say. Thank you for saving me so much typing.
Not so much white people leaving, as it was middle class leaving. Most poor people in urban communities tend to be black, which are the ones left behind, being the reason the term white flight was coined, albeit not entirely accurate...
The main issue is that as an area becomes less desirable to live, city governments raise taxes to try and regain revenue, causing more people to move out. Why pay more to live in a less desirable area? As people leave, crime rises, and as crime rises, people stop investing in those areas. From there, it's a perpetual decline. Truly disappointing. St. Louis is a beautiful city, but it's decaying.
@@masunrise7471 Don't let that stop you from commenting on the blk problem, it needs to be stated over and over, but everyone is either too afraid or too media brainwashed.
I live in St. Louis as well and have heard this theory before... it always confuses me. I think this completely disregards all the other significant factors the narrator cited. The exodus to the suburbs was motivated by many things and race probably played a part in it (especially in those racially charged decades). I'm sure this affected the economy; however, I think it's illogical to say "white people moving" was the sole cause of East St. Louis' downfall. It was not only white people but the middle class. People wanted to live in nicer places which the suburbs offered in spades with a construction explosion. And, in response, East St. Louis made many missteps (raising taxes!) to remedy its challenges. The result, unfortunately, has been utter ruin :( As a contrast, St. Louis city and the surrounding neighborhoods experienced the same exodus but have not experienced nearly the blight that has befallen East St. Louis.
Race, really? Don't you have a better excuse? This idea of blaming every failure of the democrat controlled city/state is really getting old. Please come up with something else.
My mother, who is 93, grew up there. She said there was a gangster that ran the place and during that time, it was a safe place to live. When he died, it deteriorated and became a dangerous place to live.
She's right. His name was Frank "Buster" Wortman.
@@benpetot1515 not gay buster?
@tommyhearns840 no not the gay buster...Frank is a white man
I grew up in E St Louis in the 40's, 50's & 60's. I left in early 1964 for the USMC & Vietnam and never really returned except for short visits. I now live about 35 miles away in High Ridge MO. I guess I didn't realize just how bad it was. I thought that I had a pretty dang good childhood. The blight didnt really start until the late 60's. My house at 508 N 43rd St still stands although it has iron bars over the doors and windows now. It stands just a few blocks from E St Louis Senior High School.
Man I'm from here we call it east boog. Crazy how buddy skipped up the politicians embezzling millions and pocketing it and caught after spending it. Imagine some person not from here giving the outside view of it. Yes it's bad and crime ridden I left it too. But alot of things go unnoticed. I still love the city they've got some of the best soul food around. There are some good people who live there still to this day.
Thank you you said it right … money pocketing politicians
@Maranita Logan don't pay anyone any mind most of the people talking live in the burbs ect. People say the most on the internet these days
He never even mentioned the masaacre tho😳
@@kambam2291 there's so much history brother. 1917 riots is always gonna be hidden. We know why. We will just get people on the outside looking in thinking they know.
You've never been there? All you have to do is drive through it (quickly in an armored vehicle). The racial makeup of the city is 97.74% Black or African-American, 1.23% White. Any other questions?
It's not so bad, at least we're not speaking German, right?
@@chickenalaking1319 what ARE you insanely blathering on about?
And there is the answer.
I go roller skating at Skate City in EStl. Wonderful place. Lots of wonderful people call EStl home.
Thank you for your kind words
Skate city whoop woop
I learned to skate there as a kid
I live down da street hbu next time u here lol
Hi Juli,
Where is Skate City located?
@@LR-je7nn East St Louis, Illinois at Broadway and 22nd.
I used to deliver pizza and guard a truck stop in East St. Louis.
Interesting. Never been to the "East St. Boogie" however, traveled pass there while back in college playing baseball. From pictures & videos, it looks and even sounds similar to Gary, Indiana. I've seen Gary personally when dating an ex-lady friend. Riding thru Gary is very surreal, and then to learn of the actual history, Gary and East St have very similar patterns
Gary, is rising from the dead. East St Louis though..
Garrett Work : I certainly would NOT recommend going through Washington Park even in the daytime!
Extremely similar. East St. Louis wasn't a company town, though.
East St Louis is even worse. I have seen it way too many times..Typical situation. JObs leave, Real estate folks get greedy and flip houses, then the entire town. Absentee landlords that buy properties and let it run down, too many rental properties, it just keeps going. Then because of that new industries do not want to move in, a sad cycle. This should never be accepted here in the USA!
@@samuelskillern7365 Yes it was. Several large companies hired a lot of people when they left or shit down, many lost their jobs, started the whole town going down.
I used to work at lot close by, and I have worked with people that actively found bullet casings on the lot, and have seen/heard stray fire in their vacinity. I, myself, have heard gunfire close enough to make me hit the deck.
If you hear it, it's too late....
Another sad story in Illinois is Cairo.
Oh my gosh, I drove through Cairo, IL just two years ago. I'd swear I was in a demilitarized zone.
Absolutely. Used to play them in football back in high school. Don't think they have a team anymore.
@@cosmiccharlie1056 You are right about Cairo no longer having high school football team. It's been awhile since they have.
@@theblacksheep5226 had some great basketball teams when I was in school back then. Should of won state the one year but slipped up in semifinals
I visited the area and it gives the vibe that it reached its peak in the 1960s. Lots of people warned me not go to East St. Louis.
Unlike St. Louis, MO, whose major industries were founded and run by people who lived in St. Louis, and had a long-term financial interest in what happened to the companies that they lived near, the major industries in East St. Louis, IL were founded and run by people who lived in the eastern United States, men like Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. Once they got what they wanted, and the businesses no longer made them money, they pulled out and this was part of the decline. The men in New England didn't care what happened in Western Illinois. They already had their money. The businesses that once thrived there left behind loads of environmental waste that make it too expensive to attract new businesses that don't want to spend money to clean up all the stuff that has leaked into the ground and been left behind in the old factories and plants. It's cheaper to build on clean ground or move into a clean building. Sure, it's always easy to blame race for our cities problems, but that's what uninformed people do, find a scapegoat and blame all the problems on them instead of learning that the problem has many more layers to it and has decades of built-up issues besides just racial and social issues.
well said!
And when you ride by to see it for yourself one can truly see all the waste that was left behind! I believe you! They must’ve gotten their money and left. Although, I am a bit young to know this for a fact (80s baby) I can see it now with my own eyes. Concrete from buildings, waste, old buildings etc.
@Dan Jackson Who are "these" people?
@Dan Jackson they always do, they don’t build only break.
@Queen Pangaea
*Sure, it's always easy to blame race for our cities problems, but that's what uninformed people do, find a scapegoat and blame all the problems on them instead of learning that the problem has many more layers to it and has decades of built-up issues besides just racial and social issues.*
Lets be honest. Alot of these problems ARE related to certain demographics of people who turn every area they populate in large numbers into being much worse rather than better. THIS is the main problem that no one wants to tackle because they don't want to be labeled as racists. Until we can deal with this problem seriously and fix it, nothing will change for cities like ESTL or Gary or Baltimore etc.
Imagine if you removed all the current people in ESTL, cleaned up the land so its usable and then offered it to hard working, peaceful people for dirt cheap or even free to try and entice them to lay roots in ESTL what would happen? I think there's a great chance that a number of people would look at ESTL as being a blank slate where they could build a house a raise a family and in a few short years ESTL would start to bounce back.
The thing is this will NEVER happen as long as there are violent and dangerous people living there and the government does nothing to rehab and/or remove them permanently from society to make a safe environment for people to live in and have them create growth in that area.
I went to Lincoln in Jefferson City in the late '60's. Went home with kids from St. Louis during breaks. The St. Louis clubs closed at 2:00am. Everyone would then cross the bridge to ESTL cuz the clubs stayed open til 4...maybe daybreak, don't remember. There was also a record shop that only sold '45's singles for $1. For $6 you could get a record and a nickel bag. Good times back then.
All the strip clubs are still in east stl right next to the new dispensary lol
My parents moved to E. St. Louis in 1954 from SE Missouri, and I was 10 years old at that time. It was a beautiful exciting city then and somewhere in the '50's the city was even named an All American City. We lived at 2616 Bond Ave but now that place is just empty lots. Then things had turned so bad in just 4 years we were forced to moved to Southern Il in Sept 1958. I have many fond memories of E St Louis but if I were to tell you the main reason the city went downhill then, and is still going downhill, I would be accused of being racist.
Sister your exactly right if you told the truth you would be piled on as a racist but it’s never mentioned because of the same thing
Don’t let that stop you. Maybe just add more factors to it .
1 actually went to Southeast Missouri State University in 1978-1980.
Just by you saying "An All American City" reveals the truth. You really meant to say an all white city.
Ha! Because you *are* racist. At least have the courage to take pride in your obvious biases. Smh.😒
Great Video! Thanks
All of IL is in such massive debt that I really don't know how they can possibly come out of it.
I had to go to East St. Louis for work about 20 years ago. I will never go back there again. What a dump!
Corrupt Politicians is what happened...
Until they bankrupted it
Yea I would say a big thing too is that the st louis population has always consistently moved to the west which means all the entertainment and stores moved that way too which hurt east st louis even more
OMG, an intelligent answer! Thank you. I was beginning to lose hope.
In a nutshell, the whites moved away.
Neighborhoods and cities are like limbs and extremities, when they die, they turn black.
My dad was from and grew up in ESTL. I remember growing up when he was in the Navy and someone would ask him where he was from, he always specifically said “St. Louis” because he said the first time he said “East St. Louis” people tried to start fights with him on the ship cause they assumed the worst of people from ESTL
I used to work construction in East St. Louis. People would just walk up and steal things from your job site without any fear. I work IT now and still have to go to ESTL a few times a month to the courthouse. Sad place.
As part of it's storied history the area was dealt a major social and economic blow during the racially motivated labor riot of 1917 leaving an estimated 6,000 homeless with entire sections of the city burned down.
“He witnessed horrible things: people’s houses being set ablaze, . . . people being shot when they tried to flee, some trying to swim to the other side of the Mississippi while being shot at by white mobs with rifles, others being dragged out of street cars and beaten and hanged from street lamps.” This went on for three days.
Ryan McDonough, hundred percent am baffled why that was left out of the video. You can go online and find pictures of it, including a young black man being burnt alive. I am not from St. Louis but have lived in a historic neighborhood south of downtown for seventeen years, and also have a dual degree in History/Sociology. Racism does play a part here even if natives want to deny it.
@@nicholealderfer191 Not denying things like this happened.
Roles are reversed now. Been there, several times for past jobs. Was called every anti-white name you can think of, and more.
Drug deals openly happening in broad daylight, blacks chasing down whites, simply for being there. What’s that saying, about history repeats itself?
White utility workers and delivery drivers being yanked out of their vehicles and beaten or killed. Because they’re white.
Lest we forget, this goes “both” ways.
What the narrator “forgot “ to mention, the timeframe this town went downhill, also coincides with Caucasian’s moving out.
Might that be Bloody Sunday? When the river ran blood? I'll have to look that one up again.
@Digby Dooright the victims blood has drenched the land and water. their Spirits aren't at rest.
I remember going through there with my Dad on one of his business trips in the 60s. Big street fair going on. We didn’t get out of the car. For years I drove around it because I-70 was under construction and it would dump you off in the middle of the hood
The whole East Side is for sale and if you all were smart you’d start buying.
On the other hand everyone I meet from Saint Louis tells me how hard it is to own property in Saint Louis
When I look at impoverished area’s I tend to see opportunities Example: Washington Park has 5000 people, 8 strip clubs 7 liquor stores and a churches chicken.
No tire shop
No laundrymat
No barbershop etc.
Sometimes if enough good useful businesses come into a town it can help turn it around. It has happened in different places.
@@michaelcraig9449 sometimes you get shot up and burned out.
So you're saying they need a ninth strip club?
The area around the casino boat is a good place to take a photo of St Louis across the river, because there is nothing immediately around it (or at least there wasn't twenty years ago). But between there and I-70, don't stop, and keep your doors locked.
East St. Louis is and has been so jacked up for so long, Carpenter used it, WITHOUT MODIFICATION, as a stand in for post apocalyptic New York, in "Escape from New York." Let that sink in. That was 1981.
Such a crime free beautiful community.
My Hometown! Born & Raised!! 😏
Couple notable events, there were racial tensions in early 1900s with black migration from the south.. a lot more detail the documentation could go into.
Also more recent decades, the city hall deed was awarded by a judge to someone when ESL wouldn’t pay a judgement esl lost.
When driving thru esl watch out for missing manhole covers that were stolen and sold for scrap metal… speaking of which, prior to the great flood of 93, someone did the same with the flood gate.. and the flood gate was really needed in 1993.
I think we all know what happened to east st louis
Do we all know what happened? I guess we do if we watched the video. I also watched a documentary where I learned that Capitalists from the Eastern United States built the city to promote their railroads and make money from stockyards, and then left when they made all the money they could. Since they didn't live in East St. Louis, they didn't care that their plants and factories toxins and wastes hindered future business investments. So, times changed, highways pushed aside railroads, and it became convenient to blame bad management on race because it's a quick and easy "solution" to blame all of our social problems on one thing instead of reading about true history and learning about all the factors that change over time...so much easier to just blame one thing and feel superior. If you want blame it all on one race, why don't you just say it?
@@queenpangaea3325 >you can't blame what happened on one thing
>it's the capitalists fault
I grew up in Belleville in the 70s and 80s - I could quickly and accurately sum up what happened but you all would not like it
Let’s hear it
Black ppl?
I grew up down the "hill" from Belleville.Off State St. in Parkside subdivision in the 60's.I seen it all fall apart.I blame the politicians mostly for the cities demise.They catered to anyone race, whichever one was needed, only for the votes.
@@ednowalk4538 Exactly
Great video! Please do one on Philadelphia
It's been like this for DECADES. Escape From New York was shot there because of how it looked and that was in 1981.
I lived in Fairview Heights most my life right off the edge of East Saint. I can tell you the poverty and crime has been consistently creeping out of there and into neighboring towns as the years have passed. I'm glad I moved away from there and into MO.
I used to work for Home City Ice delivering ice bags to all the gas stations and shops in ESTL, it was a terrible job and the people were terrible. Being white in ESTL instantly makes you an outcast and I had 2 situations of people trying to rob ice from our truck because they had no AC in the summer.
I grew up in west county, now living in Shiloh. We have ESL. You guys have North County and all the towns around the airport. Not much difference, imho.
"Being white in ESTL"
And that's the real thread to the actual answer to "What happened to East St Louis".
That's nothing, Cahokia's zip code IS East St Louis! Look up the 62206 zip code, it's Cahokia's, but will come up as East St Louis! I grew up in Cahokia, and we literally border East St Louis. Now, Cahokia has become a little East St Louis.
@@DJ-px1ds north St Louis has more murders than East St Louis, but because it's in a city of 300,000 versus 30,000 for East St Louis, EStL gets the higher murder rate.
If you’re racist, just say that 🤡
Anybody that's ever been there knows exactly why it's in the shape it's in even if they don't want to say it
I will, damn nigga blacks overran everything! If they were just black, then fine, but when they're the stupid crime-ridden black (the ones who keep calling themselves niggas), then you're going to fail.
I moved to St Louis on March 2021 and lived there for a year. I didn't go to East St Louis, I really enjoy my time living there. The state parks, museum, zoo, and many events are free. I enjoyed the architecture of the city. St Louis has many potentials if things are managed correctly. I encourage everyone to visit St Louis and expert part of America's city and culture. I wish St Louis a prosperous future.
Very sensible and positive comment….Much needed…..👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👍🏾❤️
I grew up near St. Louis, too. Forest Park, Washington University and the Gateway Arch were magical places for me.
Violence and crime is what moves good people out of good neighbor hood's. Its like the devil moving in someone's heart and life. Nothing but down fall
A lot of scenes were shot in the Fox Theater. This is before it was restored and brought back to its former beauty in the 1980’s. Its still a vibrant and beautiful theater and a proud part of Saint Louis.
The Illinois state government will only concern itself with one city…Chicago. Thus, East St. Louis fate was cemented.
Just like how the New York state government only concerns itself with New York City. New Jersey should be part of New York while Indiana should be part of Illinois.
People in other parts of Illinois: The Metro East? Thats St. Louis. What do we care?
People on the Missouri side of greater St. Louis: Thats Illinois. What do we care?
Unless you actually live there no one wants to think of it as "part of us".
From news coverage to chain stores to industry Greater St. Louis wants to ignore the Illinois side.
Politics and state agencies in Illinois want to ignore the St. Louis area.
Edit: Some day I may see a new Ted Drewes next to a freshly paved road in Granite City or Cahokia, but I doubt it.
"What happened to East St. Louis?"
Well, should we start with demographics?
"the BLUE NOTE" featuring Leo's 5. loved that place
The blue note? Off bond?
Yep, spent a few evenings there in the 60's.
I live in St. Louis-as other commenters have stated it’s not the safest area. I’ve driven through East St. Louis and their Main Street is amazing with beautiful architecture. If things could get renovated in someway-could be a nice place to live once more. However, I’m sure the nearby strip clubs don’t help with the cause.
The strip clubs are in Washington Park, a completely different city. They aren't allowed in East Side.
Not strip clubs, but the Casino Queen
I feel like its safer than st louis
it's fine during the day, it's the night off main street where you need to drive to see the real East St Louis! By the way, when you hear the gunshots, duck!
The strip clubs are one of the very few reasons MO residents even consider going over there.
I blame our politicians. It was once great and now literally in ruins
Blaming politicians is easy. Telling the truth is hard. ESL was doomed by the advent and subsequent domination of freeways and cars as the nation's major mode of travel and freighting. It never had a chance.
All this city ever needed was new development. They can really build a whole new city here. The new communities built can clean up the city and help shape a new future.
This place has been a dive just as long as I can remember. The most basic reason things got bad there and dived even harder is the same thing that happened to Gary, and Windsor. You had a suburb (and a "working class" one at that) on the wrong side of a state line. This means that when things start to go bad, the "wrong" side can't pull revenue from the "successful" side (they are easy to cut off) AND they aren't tied into their "own" state. ESL is FAR from any Illinois population center (the cross-river parts of Cincinnati for example can lean a bit on Louisville) that they are likely to have little political influence. River towns have been in decline for decades. Some are really bad (Cairo is in dire shape) others are at least treading water so to speak (Quincy is an hour or two up-river, and while it isn't thriving, it's reasonably safe).
BTW, where exactly does "St Louis Metro" end? that's a LOT of people for not all that much city.
With all the power and influence locked up in Chicago, IL has little time for places downstate like ESL and Cairo. I drove through Cairo on the way back to STL last year. Hadn't been through in about 20 years. Hard to believe the decay.
The metro cam technically extend out as far as 20 to 30 miles outside the city, east to west and north to south. St. Louis has a very widely spread population base.
@@advantageous111 I think they count even further than 30 miles. Here in Ohio, that's about enough to bump into the next metro area. What IS the next metro round St. Louis? Columbia (doubtful), Springfield (Il, again doubtful). I went to school in Kirksville a long time back, and once you clear St. Louis, the density drops to tiny levels. (Unlike Ohio say when you start entering the next city zone).
@@drewdederer8965 the nearest metro near st louis would either be Kansas City, Chicago, or Memphis
"ESL is FAR from any Illinois population center"
This common misconception bothers me. The Metro East is the second largest population center in the state of Illinois. (After greater Chicago of course). 700,000 according to the 2010 census.
Being all suburbs though, with the focal point in a different state, it somehow goes unnoticed. Somewhat ignored by state politics and funding.
When I worked for the Illinois DOT the roads in the Metro East were practically ignored in spite of probably having the greatest need for repair and upkeep.
Nice video. Sad but true. Illinois could be amazing from North to South with it's resources. The whole State is becoming E. St. Louis.
Cairo, Illinois. Ever been there?😳😳
@@boogitybear2283 South Chicago! The only reason it's a low rate is because 3 million people live in Chicago's city limits.
Wrong! Ever hear of the suburbs of Chicago? I live there, Naperville is the number one city in the country to live and raise a family and very low crime, and there are other suburban towns that surround it as well that are very low in crime and have such a better quality of life. Now the far west side of Chicago and Southside are totally different LOL
blame tubby, fatass keeps raising taxes to make up for the missing funds, instead of cutting costs. Make the taxpayers pay for their massive spending instead of cutting massive spending, and you'll start losing more than you gain! Hey, wait a minute, that's what's happening!
East St Louis Illinois is a third world ghetto. With per capita violent crimes it is ranked as the sixth most dangerous city in the world.
I cut all ties with East St Louis on December 24, 1979 when Hunter meatpacking closed.
What your "sources" won't tell you is that the Eads Bridge connecting East St Louis to St Louis helped it thrive early on.
Man estl not even that bad as folks make it seem. I am a 19 yr old college student who is from estl and currently living in estl. If you going spread some information about estl make sure you do some research next time and look up the estl massacre. Stop looking outside the city and chill with the people of estl
Sounds like a suicide mission
You're right. There are a lot of nice people there. I drive 60 miles to shop for clothes at the Boutique on State Street. Then I take my girlfriend to Rainbow. We're an interracial couple and nobody bothers us. We'd probably be in more danger in Richland County or Clay County. East Side can still get families with athletes to move there because the Flyers are one of the best football teams in the country.
That city is a death trap. No thanks.
@@michaelterrell2108 like I said stop looking from the outside
GOOD FOR YOU! People are so fucking blind and scared that they won't bother to see another side. I live in St. Louis but occasionally take the metro to ESTL to walk around at various stops. I see the desolation but Im not convinced that it's ALL that way, or that it can't be changed, and I've loved every person I've come across. Talking bad about a place buries it. Spreading hope keeps it alive. Keep on spreading hope.
First time I saw the area was summer of 1999 we had to do a turn around through there. There were so many torn up buildings, especially brick ones falling down it literally looked like a war zone. But in the years since, they have cleaned it up at least by removing a good majority of the non-fixable structures. Back in 2003 I took my first late night drive through there. Just wanted to see it in the raw. After driving past most the business district Ill never forget the endless, one after another heavy industrial areas glowing under those orange lights. Quite a sight to see heavy industry in the raw at night like it is up through East St. Louis.
It’s a cesspool and I’ve been robbed multiple times growing up in granite city and driving through the trash
You should do a video on what happened to Parma Ohio, it’s huge growth then steep decline but then a level out closer to now
👏🏻 great job. Sadly, East Stl will prob never recover.
There’s a reason the first blues song was called “saint louis blues” and Duke Ellingtons first song was called “east saint Louis toodle-Oo”💀
I left there a long time ago... I was there for five years
It's the bad ones living there..I used to deliver to local stores and gas stations.. you'd walk thru the front door and be walled off from the store you had to point to what you wanted and the worker would slide it to you thru a drawer after you paid. Every owner had a gun right by their side... crime.. homes with steel bars around windows and their ac units..I delivered to multiple surrounding communities.. east st. Louis was the worse..
My dad grew up in ESL but bought his first home with my mom in Olivette. Sad to see what happened to this once amazing city. I believe at one point is was named the All American City, beautiful homes, shopping, great placed to eat. I live just outside of St. Louis and it makes me so sad to hear the negative comments. I don't know if ESL can be saved, but St. Louis is an amazing city with museums, a world class zoo, fine dinging, grate Italian on the Hill. Like any big city you just have to know what areas to steer clear from (North side mostly)
You could do a very similar story about Cairo, Illinois.
My husband and I drove through Cairo on our way to Tennessee and it was like driving into a post apocalyptic movie.
Do you live in the St Louis Metro area? This is a very St Louis area channel, lol. I'm a fan, we don't have many STL youtubers, it'd be cool to know we have another.
No, Cleveland, midwest tho
This short vid missed the largest cause of ESL's demise. Many of large local factories outside ESL incorporated their properties into their own "towns". Once this happened, the businesses in those sham townships were protected from being incorporated or annexed into ESL's city limits. This meant ESL could not collect the taxes or impact fees needed for services like fire and police departments, health departments, trash collection, or school districts. Private business concerns benefitted from the presence of a workforce but avoided funding the services required to sustain that workforce. Some of the blame for this falls on local and state regulators that allowed the sham incorporations to happen in the first place. ESL is a textbook example of what happens when private business interests are allowed to operate with no obligation to sustain the conditions that allow them to thrive in the first place, and government won’t or can’t step in to correct the situation.
ESTL is Chicago's little brother. Both are a blight.
Washington park municipal building housing city hall and even the fire department burned to the ground even though several fire fighters were on duty, yet strangely missing!
Just like the jail in downtown St louis, where the night shift workers clock in fellow workers
Washington Park's public works had major fire and building houses the police and fire departments. Did not buen completely but will need rebUT. City hall is not at that location on Forest Blvd anymore and has not been for many years. It is located on North Park Drive just west of IL 111 (Kingshighway)
That's not east st louis
@@tommyhearns840 Exactly. People too often refer to all the urban area on IL side as ESTL.
Businesses don’t want to move to east St. Louis? I personally know millionaires complaining about the strong hold the government has on east St. Louis. They just wont build it back up while its 99.9% black owned and operated. It’s the politicians. It’s the best empty plot of land in the country commercially.
Much decline... Between 2010 and 2020, the combined statistical area (CSA) grew 1.12% from 2.89M to 2.92M. East St. Louis is a sad, yet hopeful story. The rest of the Metro-East is growing, too.
no, it's not! The Metro East shrunk overall between 2010 and 2020, led by East St Louis, Belleville, Fairivew Heights and Collinsville.
It's sad to witness the decline of East St. Louis but it is not alone. Several communities built in the Mississippi flood plain are losing population. Most of the new construction in that region is occurring up above the bluffs to the east. St Louis Missouri...aka Bluff City was built on high ground above the Mississippi rather than in a flood way or flood plain.
Always thought the land in East. St. Louis had the best view for a riverfront stadium for an NFL franchise (perfect view of the St. Louis Arch!!!). Could’ve still had a St. Louis name on the team, and simultaneously brought a ton of revenue to both St. Louis and East St. Louis…Maybe Jacksonville Jaguars owner, and Illinois University alumnus, Sayed Khan can move the Jags to Illinois?….🤔🤷🏾♂️👌🏾.
Lost yo mind
@@JeromeHughes You never had one to find.
Hopefully places like this will eventually make a come back some day
nope, it's too far gone. It's just like Gary, Indiana, Flint, Michigan, and other once big cities that have been overrun with crime and drugs.
can you do "what happened to Pittsburgh"? a Niagara Falls video would be great as well
Hey Ted the burg is doing really well. High tech jobs new housing is booming. Take a visit sounds like it's been a long time
Niagara Falls in Ontario is very successful…New York just shows the state’s incompetence.
@@jimmywalsh6208 oh I'm not from America, I always had the impression that Pittsburgh was a typical rust belt city. I mean, it lost half of its population since the 50s. But glad to know it's not doing bad
Also Newark, Camden, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Oakland, Salisbury, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Memphis, Houston, New Orleans, Little Rock...
Nobody says the burg. Ew.
I knew a guy who was taking his family on vacation in their brand new station wagon and they accidentally got lost in East St.louis. When he stopped to ask for directions they stole the hubcaps off his brand new car! They should make a movie with that scene in it.🤣😎
no, they thought it was East St Louis, but since they crossed the river, they were actually in Missouri. They were in an area known as north St Louis.
My fondest memory of East St Louis is from the Vacation movie with Chevy Chase. LOL
it seems like it used to be such a beautiful city.. As someone who lives 20ish miles from ESTL I wish something could be done to make it beautiful again..
Raising property taxes was like the nail in the coffin. Illinois has high property taxes , especially compared to Missouri. Between Chicago and East St. Louis, Illinois has pattern of once great cities that have turned for the worse.
Taxes are a scam
Even not considering the crime, what company in their right mind would want to build where they have to pay Illiniois tax rates when they could be right over the border with Missouri tax rates?
Should do a video on Port Arthur Texas,the East St. Louis of Texas!
Damn that’s bad
My household was one of the few white (passing) families that still lived there ( N 16th street, near the Henrietta cross street) until about 84, my cousin lived near the old Ventures store, can't remember the name anymore. Drove through there not long ago going back to visit family in the area and didn't even recognize it, most the homes I knew, including my own, are gone, nothing in its spot, just empty land.
You literally cant open your eyes without seeing joggers there. All the walkers left. So only the joggers remain and they clearly dont give a damn. Can afford to put rims on a geo metro tho
East St Louis, IL is like Camden, NJ
It is the saddest city I've ever seen.
When The Original Rose Man got killed at The Pink Slip I never step foot over there again.
The Pink Slip was in Brooklyn, IL
@@a_coh can you tell the difference
Nothing about the stockyards?
Or the smell they left behind?
Do the history if Webster Groves next... There is almost no good documentary out there and it is one of the richest stories of St. Louis.
Correct, and would like to see this. Especially the history of Webster high being a designated school for blacks in all of St. Louis county. One of the reasons forced bussing in the 80s occurred.
@@zgdafzgdaf4264 blacks were bussed all around the nice county schools. They went all the way to jeffco border, any area that’s not recked by black people the government and cops make sure they take blacks people there. Just like the first school desegregation was done at gun point by police and the guard.
@@chadking4928 correct. But the reason why there was desegregation settlement was the history of taking any black student in the county and making them go to Webster high school.
My hometown - it use to be lovely and safe!
East St. Louis, Gary, and Camden can be friends
East St Louis isn't near as dangerous as it used to be. I walk there a lot and everyone's friendly, and I almost never hear of any news from there.
It’s da scared people if u look n act scared they gonna get you that simple white black don’t matter but you can be white or other ethnic group n if you act like you blend in they will respect you rather if you a nerd hand yet wateva
My city 👌🏾💯