St. Louis is a major port city in the US state of Missouri, built along the western bank of the Mississippi River on the Illinois border. The city was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau, and it was named for King Louis IX of France, who had been canonized. The city was known as "San Luis" under Spanish rule from 1764 to 1800, and it was briefly under French control from 1800 to 1803, when the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from the First French Empire. By 1870, the expanding city of St. Louis had become the fourth-largest city in the United States, and it became a major business hub during the 20th and 21st centuries. The 630-foot Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis is the city's most famous landmark and a major tourist attraction. In 2015, the St. Louis metro area had a population of 2,916,447 people. In 2015, 46.9% of the population was African-American, 44% was white, 3.9% was Hispanic, and 3.3% was Asian.
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