ST. LOUIS–You simply can’t tell the story of soccer in St. Louis without going back to the 1950s. 

You’ve likely heard it before. How five St. Louisans powered the U.S. World Cup team to a 1-0 win over England in 1950 in what has long been considered one the great upsets in soccer history.

Those players are part of the history of the city, and launched the generations of soccer players who have followed in their footsteps at the local, national and international levels of competition.

But as the region prepares to take its first steps into Major League Soccer, St. Louis City SC is doing its part to acknowledge another story from the 1950s that touches the team today, and for many, may have been lost to time.

What You Need To Know

  • The "Pillars of the Valley" art installation is located on the south side of CITYPARK, the new St. Louis City SC soccer stadium
  • The art is part of the "Brickline Greenway" which will connect CITYPARK to Stars Park at Harris-Stowe State University
  • Pillars of the Valley is open to the public
  • A special event Sunday Feb. 19 from 2pm-4pm will include music and hot chocolate 

City fathers in the 1950s approved plans to either buy up or condemn scores of homes in what was then known as Mill Creek Valley, a Black neighborhood, in the name of urban renewal. The decision displaced 20,000 residents, their homes, businesses and places of worship.

On February 16, 1959, demolition work began. Lois Conley remembers what it was like, and being scared. It wasn’t a slum, as was depicted at the time. It was her home.

Today, part of the Mill Creek Valley footprint includes St. Louis City SC’s CITYPARK.

Thursday, Conley and other former residents in the neighborhood came together on the anniversary of the start of demolition, to see and dedicate “Pillars of the Valley”, a public art installation on the grounds of the stadium that pays tribute to the neighborhood’s former residents. It was designed by East St. Louis native Damon Davis and is part of the vision for a Brickline Greenway, which will connect CITYPARK to Stars Park at Harris-Stowe University. 

“I didn’t know this existed. I didn’t know this neighborhood existed and I grew up around here my whole life and I didn’t know until we started working on the Brickline. So when I found out, I wanted to make sure that no more Black kids grow up without knowing about this thriving Black community that was at the center of St. Louis, downtown,” Davis said. “The idea was to uncover, excavate things that were buried.”

“Sports can be a force for good in helping create meaningful dialogue around social and racial equity issues, and this important project is unlike anything in professional sports,” St. Louis City SC President and CEO Carolyn Kindle. “With our stadium district overlapping the footprint of Mill Creek Valley, we knew it was important to acknowledge the hard truths from St. Louis’ past. We want visitors to CITYPARK to learn, honor and remember the history and stories of who was here before us.”

The installation is already open to the public, but the team is hosting a free event Sunday Feb. 19 from 2pm-4pm to encourage people to come see it. There will be free hot chocolate and music from Red & Black Brass Band at Market Street and 22nd Street.

While future visitors to CITYPARK may be coming to see a soccer match that they’ll remember, Conley hopes the art installation also leaves an impression.

“I’m hoping it will be an inspiration to young folks that what you do in your life is important, who you are in life is important but that it’s your responsibility to make sure those memories are preserved,” she said.