University City, MO

University City grew from Edward Gardner Lewis's publishing campus rather than from a university. He planned a model residential city and incorporated it in September 1906; the name referred to nearby Washington University and his ambition to create a center of learning and culture. Delmar Boulevard links that civic core with University City's portion of the Loop, a business and cultural district that continues east across the St. Louis boundary. The city's public facilities extend well beyond Delmar. University City manages 21 parks totaling about 260 acres, plus roughly 34 acres of other green space. Its 85-acre Heman Park combines a swimming pool, the Centennial Commons recreation center, a community center, ball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, a playground, picnic pavilions, and a 1.5-mile jogging course.

On Delmar, the public library has a makerspace equipped for embroidery, sewing, laser cutting, large-format printing, and 3D scanning, along with a recording studio and public computers. Its 2026 calendar included makerspace hours, computer instruction, summer reading, and several book groups. The Loop Special Business District budgeted 2026 editions of its ice carnival, mural festival, Budding Artist event, and holiday programming. Just off Delmar, the Center of Creative Arts occupies an Erich Mendelsohn-designed building and a 52,000-square-foot addition with a 450-seat theater, more than 8,000 square feet of studios, classes, and public performances.