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The Hill is a neighborhood within
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, located on high ground south of Forest Park. The official boundaries of the area are Manchester Avenue ( Route 100) on the north, Columbia and Southwest Avenues on the south, South Kingshighway Boulevard on the east, and Hampton Avenue on the west. The Hill began with immigrants from Northern Italy, Germany, Ireland, and African-Americans who wanted to live near the railroad which connected the neighborhood to downtown. The vast numbers of Italians migrating to the area resulted in an Italian American majority population during the early part of the 20th century. Historically, it is a predominantly
blue collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and power ...
neighborhood. Its name is due to its proximity to the highest point of the city, formerly named St. Louis Hill, which is outside the neighborhood's boundaries, a few blocks south, at the intersection of Arsenal Street and Sublette Avenue. The intersection borders Sublette Park, the former site of the Saint Louis Social Evil Hospital built there in 1873, where
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
was later born. Adjacent to the building of the former St. Louis County Lunatic Asylum built in 1864, now a rehabilitation center.


History

Various ethnic groups existed in the area in the mid-19th century.
Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...
, mainly from the north and especially from the northern Italian region of Lombardy, immigrated and settled in the area starting in the late 19th century, attracted by jobs in nearby plants established to exploit deposits of clay discovered by
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrants in the 1830s. Due to the increasing number of Italian speakers, the parish of St. Ambrose was founded by members of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish in what later came to be known as the Hill in 1903 to serve primarily the recent Lombard immigrants. After the first wooden church burned in 1924, a brick church was built in 1926. The structure, designed by architect Angelo Corrubia, was modeled after the Sant'Ambrogio Church in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, in a Lombard Romanesque Revival style of brick and
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
. Residents took pride in their parish and donated funds for the new church. It became a territorial parish of the Archdiocese of St Louis in 1955, after existing as a personal ethnic parish until that time. Baseball greats
Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...
and Joe Garagiola Sr. grew up on the Hill; their boyhood homes are across the street from each other on Elizabeth Avenue. Four of the five St. Louisans on the US soccer team that defeated
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the
1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
came from The Hill, a story that is told in ''The Game of Their Lives'', a book () and 2005 film of the same title (released on DVD as ''The Miracle Match''). According to Garagiola's book ''Baseball Is a Funny Game'', during his youth, the Hill was called " Dago Hill," the term "dago", a disparaging and offensive term used to refer to a person of Italian descent. The Hill was also well known to African-Americans, for during the era of
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
and bootlegging, the area had an African-American enclave that produced a number of blues songs that referenced The Hill. Other talent from The Hill includes Toni Carroll who made a singing career in New York in the 1950s and 60s, appearing on Broadway and at the Copacabana. She appeared as a guest on "The Tonight Show" guest hosted by Garagiola and with special guest Yogi Berra. Hill native Ben Pucci played with the Cleveland Browns in the 1960s. * In 1926, the blues singer Luella Miller recorded "Dago Hill Blues" about the area. * In 1929, the pseudonymous blues singer Freezone recorded "Indian Squaw Blues" in which he sang, ''"I'm gonna buy me a mansion, I'm gonna live on Dago's Hill / So I can get my whiskey, honey, right from the still."'' * In 1932,
Tampa Red Hudson Whittaker (born Hudson Woodbridge; January 8, 1903March 19, 1981), known as Tampa Red, was a Chicago blues musician. His distinctive single-string slide guitar style, songwriting and bottleneck technique influenced other Chicago blues gu ...
and Georgia Tom Dorsey sang of the Hill and its connection to illegal liquor in "You Can't Get That Stuff No More" – "stuff" being a reference to alcohol. * In 1934,
Charlie Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American musi ...
mentioned the Hill in his single "Love My Stuff," a song in which "stuff" again means liquor. * In 1935, the North Carolina blues musician
Blind Boy Fuller Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen, July 10, 1904February 13, 1941) was an American blues guitarist and singer. Fuller was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists, rural African Americans, along with Blind Blake, Josh Whi ...
made reference to the Hill in his song "Log Cabin Blues".


Demographics and crime

In 2020 The Hill's racial makeup was 90.4% White, 2.5% Black, 0.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 4.5% Two or More Races, and 1.2% Some Other Race. 3.3% of the people were of Hispanic or Latino origin. On June 13, 2020, Black Lives Matter protests overtook the Hill as the neighborhood has struggled with racism and bigotry against African Americans. Reports surfaced that African-Americans were routinely being denied residency which has caused demonstrations and protests during the 2020 BLM riots. In 2020, total crime in the neighborhood has seen a 27.69% rise as the neighborhood has seen more vandalism, property crimes, rapes, and assaults.


Native-born Italians in St. Louis

As of 2022, there are approximately 2,000 native-born Italians residing throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region, with only a few living in The Hill neighborhood. The Italian Community of St. Louis, an organization which promotes the Italian language and culture, has several popular events which include Carnevale which occurs in February and
Ferragosto Ferragosto is a public holiday celebrated on August 15th in all of Italy. It originates from Feriae Augusti, the festival of emperor Augustus, who made the 1st of August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector. It becam ...
which occurs in August. The St. Louis Italian Language Program has its home on the Hill at Gateway Science Academy on Fyler Avenue.


Notable people

*
Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...
, (1925–2015) was a professional baseball catcher, manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball for New York Yankees and New York Mets. * Frank Borghi, (1925–2015) was a professional soccer player/goalkeeper for the USA national team. *
Charlie Colombo Charles Martin Colombo (July 20, 1920 – May 7, 1986) was an American soccer player who earned 11 caps as center-half for the United States men's national soccer team. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He also played for the ...
, (1920–1986) was a professional soccer player for the United States men's national soccer team. * Joe Garagiola Sr., (1926–2016) was a professional baseball catcher, announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. * Gino Pariani, (1928–2007) was a professional soccer striker for the United States men's national soccer team,


See also

* Ozark Highlands AVA, winemaking region in Missouri started by Italian immigrants *
St. Louis cuisine St. Louis cuisine is the culinary culture of the Greater St. Louis area, which comprises and completely surrounds the independent city of St. Louis (its principal city) and includes parts of both the U.S. states of Missouri and Illinois. Hist ...
*
Toasted ravioli Toast most commonly refers to: * Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat * Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken Toast may also refer to: Places * Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Books * ''T ...
, a local dish made from fried Italian
ravioli Ravioli (; singular: ''raviolo'', ) are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, tho ...


References


External links


The Italian Community of St Louis (bilingual)

Italian organizations in St. Louis (bilingual)



St Louis – Bologna Sister Cities



Hill2000.org , The Hill Neighborhood Association

St. Ambrose Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, The Italian-American culture in Missouri Little Italys in the United States Neighborhoods in St. Louis