St. Louis

St. Louis (/seɪnt ˈluːɪs/ or /sənt ˈluːɪs/) is a city and port in the U.S. state of Missouri. The city developed along the western bank of the Mississippi River, which forms Missouri's border with Illinois. In 2010, St. Louis had a population of 319,294; a 2014 estimate put the population at 317,419, making it the 60th-most populous U.S. city and the second-largest city in the state in terms of city proper population. The St. Louis metropolitan area includes the city as well as nearby areas in Missouri and Illinois; with an estimated population of 2,905,893, it is the largest in Missouri and one of the largest in the United States. St. Louis was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau and named after Louis IX of France. Claimed first by the French, who settled mostly east of the Mississippi River, the region in which the city stands was ceded to Spain following France's defeat in the Seven Years' War. Its territory east of the Mississippi was ceded to the Kingdom of Great Britain, the victor. The area of present-day Missouri was part of Spanish Louisiana from 1762 until 1803.

Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. /ˈænhaɪzər ˈbʊʃ/ is a brewing company founded and based in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). The company operates 12 breweries in the United States. Until December 2009, it also was one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, operating ten theme parks through the company's family entertainment division, Busch Entertainment Corporation.St. Louis, Missouri is also the headquarters for the AB InBev North America unit.

History

Beginnings and national expansion

In 1852, German American brewer and saloon operator George Schneider opened the Bavarian Brewery on Carondelet Avenue (later known as South Broadway) between Dorcas and Lynch streets in South St. Louis. Schneider's brewery expanded in 1856 to a new brewhouse near Eighth and Crittenden streets; however, the following year financial problems forced the sale of the brewery to various owners during the late 1850s. In 1860, the brewery was purchased on the brink of bankruptcy by William D'Oench, a local pharmacist, and Eberhard Anheuser, a prosperous German-born soap manufacturer. D'Oench was the silent partner in the business until 1869, when he sold his half-interest in the company. From 1860 to 1875, the brewery was known as E. Anheuser & Co., and from 1875 to 1879 as the E. Anheuser Company's Brewing Association.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery

Anheuser-Busch Brewery is a brewery complex in St. Louis, Missouri.

The brewery, opened in 1852 by German immigrant Adolphus Busch, is designated as a National Historic Landmark District. Free public tours of the brewery are given. The tour takes visitors through the complex, and those of the legal age can enjoy two free glasses of any Anheuser-Busch product in the Hospitality Room after the tour. Tourists can see beer being made and packaged in a working part of the brewery.

The company keeps a rotation of its famous Budweiser Clydesdales at its headquarters; the historic draft horses were originally used to pull wagons carrying beer in the 19th-century days of the company. Visitors to the brewery can observe the Clydesdales in their exercise field and see their places in the carriage house.

Some of the herd is kept at the company farm in St. Louis County. Known as Grant's Farm (having been owned by former President Ulysses S. Grant at one time), this complex is home to a menagerie of animals such as elephants, tortoises, and a variety of exotic hooved mammals. Since 2008, approximately half of the Budweiser Clydesdales are kept at the Warm Springs Ranch near Booneville, Missouri.