East Saint Louis Information: Tickets, Venues, Events and More

‘East St. Louis’ is situated in the St. Clair County of Illinois in the USA. Its original name was Illinoistown. This city encountered many deadly tornadoes over the centuries. St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado of 1896 was the worst disaster that killed approximately 255 and injured over 1000.

This city had planned and strong industrial economy until 1917. Black migrants from the South were recruited here by major companies to serve at the Aluminum Ore Company and the American Steel Company. The city was named an All-America City in 1959. It retained prosperity in the coming decades – in a very short period.

Deindustrialization and restructuring process affected this city dramatically. Hundreds of local factories were shut down in this process. The railroad and meatpacking industries were almost swept out. This scenario led to loss of working and middle-class jobs hence its financial condition deteriorated severely. Many business outlets were closed as the labourers left this region to seek jobs in other areas. It resulted into organized crimes, poverty and lack of opportunities. But situation improved later after excellent planning.

East St. Louis has a total area of 14.4 square miles, of which 14.1 square miles is land and 0.4 square miles is water. It usually has cold winters and warm summers. According to 2000 census, it has 31,542 inhabitants, 11,178 households and 7,668 families. Its population density is 2,242.9 people per square mile. The city has 12,899 housing units at an average density of 917.2/sq mi.

Its racial makeup is 97.74% African Americans, 1.23% Whites, 0.19% Native Americans, 0.08% Asians, 0.03% Pacific Islanders, 0.19% from miscellaneous race and 0.55% from two or more races. 0.73% of its population is Hispanic. Its sex ratio is 81.5 males for every 100 females. This city has 72.5 males for every 100 females aged 18 and above.