From a streetcar turnaround at the edge of the city to one of "10 Great Streets of America!" — the short version of a long, well-worn story.
The milestones that shaped the Loop — from some of the nation's first trolleys to brass stars in the sidewalk.
"The Loop" comes from the spot where streetcars once looped around to reverse direction and head back toward the city.
the Loop is located at the border between St. Louis and University City — you cross a municipal line mid-stroll.
Rock pioneer Chuck Berry played a standing monthly show in the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill for well over a decade.
The Moonrise Hotel is topped by a rotating, illuminated moon billed as the largest rotating man-made moon in the world.
Local entrepreneur Joe Edwards opened Blueberry Hill on Delmar in 1972, when much of the Loop had fallen quiet. Over the following decades his projects — the Duck Room, the restored Tivoli, the Pageant and Delmar Hall, the Moonrise Hotel, Pin-Up Bowl, and the St. Louis Walk of Fame — helped turn the Loop back into a destination.
He also founded the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1989, embedding brass stars in the sidewalk to honor St. Louisans who made a national mark.
The stories are still standing — the venues, the stars, and the marquees are all a short walk apart.