A reputation as the town of shoes, booze and blues persists in St. Louis. But a fascinating history waits just beneath the surface in the heart of the city, like the labyrinth of natural limestone caves where Anheuser-Busch got its start. One of the city's Garment District shoe factories was the workplace of a young Tennessee Williams, referenced in his first Broadway play, The Glass Menagerie. Downtown's vibrant African American community was the source and subject of such folk-blues classics as "Frankie and Johnny" and "Stagger Lee," not to mention W.C. Handy's classic "St. Louis Blues." Navigate this hidden heritage of downtown St. Louis with author Maureen Kavanaugh.
Maureen Kavanaugh is a St. Louis tour guide specializing in the history of the greater St. Louis area from the year 1000 to the present. She publishes a Wordpress blog (https://stltourguide.wordpress.com/) on St. Louis history, landmarks, events and people and is the author of The Campbell Family of St. Louis: Their Public Triumphs and Personal Tragedies, published by the Campbell House Museum in St. Louis in 2016.