(lively music) - [Jim] It's not just pizza, and pork, steaks and ribs.

You might find St. Louis style at the roller rink.

It's spicing up the Lenten fish fry at St. Cecilia's.

It's directions... Go past the soda bottle, exit at the Amoco sign.

And, it's people exploring the city they love, grew up.

- We're very passionate about the future of St. Louis.

- [Narrator] The St. Louis way of doing things.

A 314 Day special.

It's all next on "Living St.

Louis."

(upbeat music) (jazzy music) (jazzy music continues) (jazzy music continues) - I'm Brooke Butler.

And this is my favorite season of the year.

No, I'm not talking about spring.

But the time of year where we celebrate our city.

From landmarks, to community festivities, to styles only St. Louis can claim.

This 314 Day, we have stories that show how much our community truly defines the place we call home.

It's a date, it's an area code.

Yes, it's also Pi Day.

But above all, it's so St. Louis.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) - [Brooke] What does it mean to love St. Louis?

Well, let's review some of the basics.

(ball batting) You own several items dedicated to showing your love for the Cards.

You hike up Provel, even if you low key think it's disgusting.

You correct out-of-towners on their street name pronunciations.

You love the blues, and the Blues.

You turn up the radio anytime a Nelly song comes on.

And, are you even friends with anyone unless you know where they went to high school?

(upbeat music) Okay, so our city is a little more complex than that.

And, we'll be the first to admit, we have our fair share of issues.

We may not be able to agree on how to spend the Ram's settlement money.

But March 14th, 314 Day, has become a day to set aside our differences, and celebrate the good that we know St. Louis has to offer.

- 314 Day is an opportunity to really dive into the history of St. Louis.

And kind of remember the nostalgia of the great things that we were, and kind of the, to build up the excitement of what we're gonna be.

- [Brooke] In 2006, Tatum Polk, alongside Terrell Evans, who goes by Young Dip, had the idea of 314 Day, as a way to celebrate our city.

(upbeat music) The momentum first spread within their community, but it was in 2022, when they joined forces with Greater St. Louis Inc.'s initiative, #STLMADE, that the popularity really took over the whole city.

(people cheering) Each year the festivities continue to grow, and more people become involved in spreading our collective sense of civic pride.

This year, they kicked things off at Magic Mini Golf in the loop.

- So this evening, we are here at Magic Mini Golf, this is one of our newest event venues here at St. Louis.

As you can, it's so St. Louis, right?

We have all the St. Louis representation.

- As you know, I love St. Louis.

(people cheering) 314 is much.

We're getting better and better at it all the time.

Enjoy the night.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

(people cheering and applauding) (gentle music) - [Veronica] When outsiders think of St. Louis, the first thing that comes to their minds is probably the Gateway Arch.

But St. Louisans know that the Arch isn't the only landmark that defines our city.

There are three landmarks in St. Louis that have been around for decades before the Arch was even a blueprint.

The Compton Hill, Bissell Street, and Grand Avenue water towers, were built in the late 1800s, and are all on the National Registrar of Historic Places.

Only seven of these historic standpipe water towers still exist in the U.S. And St. Louis has three.

Though the towers haven't been used for the city's water system in over a century, they are important parts of St. Louis's history and architecture.

(gentle music) - I'm Ruth Ezell.

The last time I put on a pair of roller skates, I was about eight years old.

And spoiler alert, I won't be doing it now.

Instead, I'm gonna show you some folks in the 314, who take to the roller rink like fish to water.

And they exemplify St. Louis's style.

(chill music) The old school tunes playing on the sound system is your first clue it's Adult Skate Night at Skate King.

This roller rink in Pine Lawn has been the place to rock, skate, roll and bounce for generations of St. Louis area African Americans.

Regulars Joe "Crazy Legs" Hill, and Kevin "Hollywood" Brown, have been skating since they were kids.

So I would imagine this place is like a big family?

- Exactly, exactly.

We got a real bond- - Family.

- Family bond in here.

- Skating made relationships.

- It's like, this is a different world when you cross through that threshold.

When you cross through the skate ring, you forget about all, what's going on out there.

You let your hair down.

- [Ruth] Skate King has deep roots in the African American community.

It's owner is Mathew Foggy, Jr. - Skate King over the years has been a sanctuary, a mainstay for young people.

Parents know that they can drop their kids off.

And we are going to take care of them.

We have any number of family skates where people are able to skate with their young children.

But we also have been able to have a much larger than average adult skate.

Because people enjoy skating with their peers.

So, we have categorized sessions specially for those age demographics.

- [Ruth] The joy of roller skating inspired one St. Louisan to develop an online business around it.

- It's something that I didn't know I could do.

- [Ruth] Chad Harrell's first career was in telecommunications.

But he took a leave of absence to figure out his true calling.

Harrell found it by chance.

Videotaping and posting other skaters with his phone.

He quickly found an audience.

And SkateLyfe TV was born.

Is there a St. Louis style?

- Yes there is.

We are know as some of the smoother skaters on earth.

Probably the smoothest skaters on earth.

People watch us, and we just have a smooth glide.

- [Ruth] And Joe Hill should know.

- I started a style called Crazy Legs.

(hip hop music) ♪ Momma said I'm a gun of a gun ♪ - [Ruth] How did that happen?

- [Joe] By mistake, just stumbled into it, got good at it.

Keep practicing at it, and it got real good at it.

- We also created like the G slide.

(chill music) - [Ruth] The fancy footwork here is like dancing in place.

- There's a new style of skating called Ballroom Skating.

That really kind of mimics ice skating.

- [Ruth] So, roller skating is thriving here.

As well as in other major metropolitan areas.

But long time enthusiasts like Mathew Foggy, and Chad Harrell, would like to see it get more respect as a sport.

- I think that it's so entertaining, that I would like to see it as an Olympic event.

It's got three great components going for it.

Fun, fitness and fellowship.

- I always kind of refer to roller skating like a life lesson, we all fall.

What are you gonna do if you fall?

You gonna stay down there?

No.

You're gonna get back up, you're gonna keep going and keep skating.

- [Ruth] And that's how they roll.

(chill music) ♪ Everybody knows ♪ How it makes you feel (chill music) - [Veronica] If you're driving west on Highway 40, it's hard to miss the iconic Budweiser sign near Grand Boulevard.

The sign, featuring a 32 foot eagle flying through an A was brought to St. Louis from Los Angeles in 1962.

Recently, it hasn't been lit up at night.

But when it is, the eagle's wings move.

Further west, past Forest Park, our city is also home to the world's largest Amoco sign.

In the early 1920s, it first popped up as a Standard Oil Indiana sign at a service station on Clayton Road, and Skinker Boulevard.

Over the years, the sign and the company name has changed.

But, it's been there for over a century.

And it's one of the many landmarks that when St. Louisans see it, they immediately know where they are.

(gentle music) - Hi, I'm Anne-Marie Berger.

Here in the 314, we do a lot of things really well.

And spring, it's our time to shine.

We have baseball, soccer, Forest Park.

The jewel in our crown here, it's about to bloom.

And many of us go all-in on a religious tradition, whether we follow it or not.

(church bells ringing) Each Friday during lent, Catholics are called to abstain from eating meat on Fridays.

And we know what that means.

(upbeat music) Fish fries.

Lenten fish fries in St. Louis are a big draw.

And not just for Catholics.

Anyone looking for fried fish, a cold beer, and good company are welcome.

And you have your pick.

No matter where you are in the St. Louis region, you can find one.

Now, I've never heard of anyone use the word, "Competition," in reference to the holy season's fish fry industry.

But offering something unique to your menu doesn't hurt.

I'm in the kitchen at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in South St. Louis, as they prep for their Lenten fish fry.

And while I'm sure the fish is delicious, the big draw here is the made from scratch Mexican fare.

(Spanish-style instrumental music) - Yesterday we started with a (Spanish named food).

Today's the chilies, and tomorrow will, of course, is the big day.

But we also made the quesadillas all of these things are made fresh, so we do it on the spot.

(gentle music) - [Anne-Marie] St. Cecilia's Mexican fish fry requires three days of food prep before they open their doors to the more than 1200 hungry visitors each week.

That's three days of volunteers for six weeks.

- I would say we have at least 100 volunteers, yeah.

Over the course of the three days.

- [Anne-Marie] Heather Sieve is the business manager for the church.

She also runs this fish fry, and managers the massive grocery list.

To give you an idea, each week she orders 50 pounds of onions, eight cases of poblano peppers, 11 cases of cheese.

- I mean, it's just a lot.

I mean like, I order like 10 cases of tomatoes each week.

And that goes into the pico, and salsa, and the sauce for the chili.

So I mean, it 's just a lot.

- [Anne-Marie] St. Cecelia's is located in South St. Louis between Grand and Interstate 55.

Masses have been celebrated at this neighborhood church since 1907.

But it was in 2005, after many Spanish-speaking immigrants made this church theirs.

The parish received a new designation.

- At that time we became a personal parish for Spanish-speaking members of the arch diocese.

We don't have a geographical territory.

If you're Spanish-speaking, this is your parish.

(gentle music) - [Anne-Marie] This designation is more than just offering Spanish masses on Sunday.

They receive new Americans from Latin countries.

And using Saint Vincent de Paul and other resources, help them find housing and jobs, so they can call St. Louis home.

What about English as a second language?

You got kids that are coming here for school.

They're learning English, but their parents might not be?

- Correct.

We do have an ESL program that's run strictly by volunteers, which is really nice.

For adults in the evenings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

So that's helpful.

But, we struggle all the time with how can we serve a community that has English-speaking children, and non-English speaking parents.

So trying to find formation and programming for both, to bring them two together, is a struggle.

I mean, it's a challenge to us all the time.

- [Anne-Marie] It's a challenge, but they have found success.

And not just connecting generations within the same family.

They're connecting different cultures within the same community.

(Spanish style dance music) - 2005 comes, and we become Spanish-speaking.

And we're like, "We need to do something "that is going to highlight both communities."

Where both communities are working together.

(people applauding and cheering) So that's when we were like, "Okay, fish fry."

(upbeat music) - I went to grade school here years ago.

And I'm definitely gonna get all the Mexican food.

I'm not gonna get cod, I'm not gonna get fish.

And, I'm not gonna get shrimp.

I'm gonna get what represents them.

(upbeat music) - [Anne-Marie] Since 2008, tens of thousands of people have stood in line to experience this authentic Mexican fish fry.

You know it's a big deal when there's merch.

What do you think is at a Mexican fish fry?

- Hopefully quesadillas, I'm excited for that.

I don't really know, I haven't looked at the menu yet, so.

- [Anne-Marie] Some tamales, chili?

- Tamales, oo, exciting.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to try it all.

- [Anne-Marie] And, they're not only celebrating their Latin community.

They've created a much-needed source of revenue for their church and school.

- Our buildings are old.

Our church needs a new roof.

- We are not a wealthy community.

So it's a way that we have to keep our roof on our head, to keep our house.

The house of our Lord.

- [Anne-Marie] Is it fun?

- Oh yeah, I mean, you get to talk.

Of course, we're in Lent, so- - [Anne-Marie] You don't wanna have too much fun.

- Exactly.

(chuckling) - [Heather] We had no idea that it was gonna be what it is.

- And it takes a lot of work, but we do it with a lot of love.

- It was so cool that this had grown into this amazing thing.

Yeah, everybody, I didn't know that I was gonna get emotional, but yeah.

It really was like, this was what we wanted to do.

Like this is our community.

And they need, you know, here we are.

(Spanish style-dance music) - [Veronica] St. Louis may be a beer city.

But, one of its most curious landmarks is a soda bottle.

In 1953, Vess Bottling Company erected a 2,000 pound, and over 25 foot tall lemon-lime Vess soda bottle.

Originally, the bottle stood on the corner of Hampton and Gravios Boulevard.

But today, it can be spotted just north of the Edward Jones Dome.

Another bottle across the river, advertises a condiment rather than a soda.

The world's largest ketchup, or catsup bottle in Collingsville, Illinois, stands at 170 feet, and was built in 1949 by the bottlers of Brooks Old and Original Tangy Catsup.

And of course, these aren't the only landmarks that define the St. Louis region.

From Bevo Mill to Cahokia Mounds, to City Park, there are scores of buildings, monuments, and places that represent our city.

The Arch just tends to be the most prominent.

(lively music) I'm Brooke Butler.

There are lots of great place to live around St. Louis.

Neighborhoods, suburbs, towns.

But for some, there's nothing better than city living.

And there are plenty of people hyping it up.

It's a common pass time these days.

Endlessly scrolling on social media.

Whether you consider it a waste of time, or your favorite source of entertainment, for me there's one thing in my algorithm that always catches my attention.

Seeing a viral video that was made in St. Louis.

Even better, when it's about St. Louis.

And that's exactly what David Lemon has accomplished.

- Is this not the best view in all of St. Louis for a house?

I think what people want on vertical platforms more than anything, is something real to connect with.

- [Brooke] If you don't recognize him here, you might recognize him from his catch phrase.

- Hey look, there's a house.

- [Brooke] As a local realtor with a sportscasting background, David has gained quite the following on his social platforms over the past few years.

- I thought I'd dip into my bag of video tricks, and just shoot a video a week of interesting properties around the city.

Some of them my listing, the majority of them not if people think, like I have 50 listings in the past two years.

But I just find some properties in St. Louis beautiful and unique, that need to be showcased more.

Because I think St. Louis has a lot more beauty than people give it credit for.

And, people seem to like that.

They want to be entertained, but also somewhat educated.

- I'm going to demonstrate just how big this garage is.

I, for one, will not buy this house unless it has a gigantic blue elephant above a marble fireplace.

I never felt more like a Disney princess in my life.

I'm not gonna lie to you- - [Brooke] So, David's natural sense of entertainment is obvious.

But his expertise and passion about St. Louis is what's really driving his content.

Not just with his realtor channel, but with the podcast that he and his friends created, called "Over Arching."

- We talk about city economics, infrastructure, business, arts.

All sorts of stuff around the city, that's why we called it "Over Arching."

The goal in creating the show, was to yes, entertain people and be our ridiculous selves, and talk about things like, "Hey, can we put a tram down Gravios already?"

We're very passionate about the future of St. Louis.

Hey look, I have all the answers, and I can solve all the housing problems in St. Louis.

Yeah, that would be really fun if all that was true.

But, I do have some ideas on how...

It is important, it's so important to talk about the downfalls of St. Louis.

And to talk about where we need to find help.

We can talk about crime in the city all day.

Is it real?

Yeah, absolutely.

Is it as bad as everybody makes it out to be?

No.

Is St. Louis an incredible place to live and raise a family, even in a city limits?

Absolutely.

I thought about things that every other person that grew up in St. Charles County thought, which is "Man, I could go off and live somewhere else, "and probably get my kid a better education, "in some city center."

Go someplace that seemingly has less crime.

But that means I would leave, and I would just give up on St. Louis.

And I think that is one of the biggest issues, is people leave because they're giving up on St. Louis.

Don't give up on St. Louis, it needs you.

(upbeat music) (lively music) (typewriter typing) - [Jim] This week 70 years ago, St. Louis University President, Father Paul Reinert, ceremoniously removed the first bolt of the University's broadcast tower.

Donating it to a brand new idea called educational television.

Designated as KETC, channel nine.

(upbeat swing music) That was us.

And while in a lot of other cities, the first educational TV licenses would go to universities, Wash U and Slew were interested in the idea, but not in having a TV station.

So St. Louis came up with this creative, really innovate idea.

Form a commission representing the entire community, to get the license, raise the money, run the station.

And it worked, and it still does.

But it wasn't easy.

Imagine today, getting together business and civic leaders, politicians, educators, cultural institutions, and citizens to work together.

And they did.

Other cities would create community-licensed educational stations, as well.

Following what was then dubbed the St. Louis plan.

Washington University donated land for a building.

And let us use the women's gym in McMillan Hall to get started.

And that March 70 years ago, we didn't really know when we were gonna be on the air.

But we were already recording programs that would be used, well, sometime soon.

Sure, there were budget and creative differences.

One producer at the time said, he didn't think the commission members understood that television is an art form.

And producers need to be allowed to create.

And create they did.

Educational programs that would be watched in schools during the day.

An after-school children's program called "The Finder," was in the works.

- But let's try- - Good evening.

- Evening adult programs on arts, culture, science.

And, controversial issues.

- We question before the assembly tonight, is residential segregation.

- I'm not- - A producer said, we realized the more the station did, the more criticism it would draw.

But, he said, "We want this station to be talked about."

KETC today, we call it Nine PBS, finally went on the air for just a few hours a day later that year in September.

But the work was already well under way.

Getting a tower, and making programs.

In March of 1954, this week in history, 70 years ago.

(upbeat music) - And that's "Living St.

Louis."

Do you know of something happening around our city that makes you a proud St. Louisan?

Share your story ideas with us at NinePBS.org/LSL.

I'm Brooke Butler, happy 314 Day.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] "Living St. Louis" is funded in part by the Betsy & Thomas Patterson Foundation, and the members of Nine PBS.