For decades, Mill Creek Valley was dismissed in headlines as a “slum.” In truth, it was a cultural and civic powerhouse—a place where jazz, blues, and ragtime thrived. Black-owned businesses, churches, schools, and social clubs also flourished there. Mainstream media criminally misrepresented Mill Creek Valley in an effort to justify the even bigger crime of bulldozing a beloved Black epicenter in the name of progress. In reality, nearly 20,000 residents built lives rooted in joy, resistance and community.
On November 15, 2025, the Missouri History Museum will honor them when it unveils one of its most powerful exhibitions to date: Mill Creek: Black Metropolis. This landmark presentation resurrects the story of Mill Creek Valley. The vibrant 454-acre African American neighborhood became a casualty of “urban renewal” in the late 1950s, but was never erased from memory.
“For too long, Mill Creek was described by what was taken from it rather than what it gave,” said Julia Clark, African American History Initiative Programming Specialist at the Missouri History Museum. “This exhibit shifts the narrative toward the brilliance and everyday dignity of the people who called Mill Creek home.”
Mill Creek Valley stretched across downtown St. Louis, pulsing with the energy of Black excellence. It was a hub for Black-owned business, with dozens of them— including a then-emerging Black newspaper named The St. Louis American—housed within the legendary People’s Finance Building. Mill Creek Valley was home to the only Black YMCA on Pine Street, and nearby stood legendary music venues and institutions like People’s Hospital and Union Memorial Church.
Among its most famous residents were Josephine Baker, Scott Joplin, and civil rights leader Roy Wilkins, who later became executive director of the NAACP. Black hair care pioneer Madam C.J. Walker called Mill Creek home when she moved to St. Louis in the 1880s. She learned the business that would make her a household name under the tutelage of Annie Malone. Malone built an empire within the neighborhood’s borders through her groundbreaking Poro Hair Care brand.
Global treasure Dr. Maya Angelou frequented the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA as a young girl living in St. Louis. Jazz legend Clark Terry was a product of Mill Creek, and his mentee Miles Davis was a regular.
Mill Creek’s legacy extends to notable figures beyond the Black community. Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman lived in the area for a time, as did poet, essayist, and journalist Walt Whitman—who stayed in the neighborhood while visiting his brother.
The 5,000-square-foot exhibition features rarely seen moving images—including footage of Richmond Heights’ first Black mayor, Reginald Finney—and artifacts that speak to the soul of the neighborhood: a stained-glass window from Union Memorial Church, the original People’s Hospital sign, and records from iconic local clubs. Oral histories and personal collections bring the hum of neighborhood life into focus: Sunday services, NAACP organizing, sports leagues, music clubs, and everyday moments of joy.
Mill Creek: Black Metropolis will be on display through July 12, 2026 with a robust lineup of programming to compliment the exhibition.
The opening weekend celebration takes place November 15-16 and will feature lectures, storytelling and a showing of The Last Children of Mill Creek author Vivian Gibson’s documentary “Remembering Mill Creek: When We Were There” as well as other opportunities to take a deep dive into St. Louis Black History through the exhibition and related programming.
“Preserving these memories is not nostalgia,” said Dr. Malaika Horne Wells, a community advisor for the exhibition. “It is continuity—a way to carry forward the strength that was planted there.”
Presented by the James S. McDonnell Charitable Foundation and Bank of America, Mill Creek: Black Metropolis is part of the Missouri Historical Society’s ongoing commitment to amplify untold stories and honor the diverse history of St. Louis.
“For decades, the people of Mill Creek have deserved for their story to be told in full,” said Dr. Jody Sowell, president and CEO of the Missouri Historical Society. “This exhibit is an act of remembrance and respect—a way to say that their community mattered and continues to matter to the heart of St. Louis.”
Gwen Moore, Curator of Urban History for the Missouri Historical Society, made it her mission to tell Mill Creek’s story with nuance and care. “I was shocked at how my community was represented in newspapers,” Moore said. “The people were faceless, anonymous, smeared. In this exhibit, we put faces back on Mill Creek: doctors, lawyers, grassroots citizens, musicians, students, church elders.”
“Mill Creek: Black Metropolis” opens at The Missouri History Museum (5700 Lindell Blvd) on Saturday, November 15 and continues through July 12, 2026. For more information, and a full schedule of the opening weekend celebration programming (November 15-16), visit mohistory.org/exhibits/mill-creek
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
I am a product of the Mill Creek neighborhood. And remember all the good times and fun we had there. We were a very close and productive community
It’s with pride that I acknowledge that my father Rev. Leo Hardin Sr., who is 95 years old is a product of Mill Creek. My father began the development of the 4500 Washington formerly Liberty Hospital located in the heart of the CWE. Dad continues to represent the pride of Mill Creek and will be present for this opening in representation of my father. I’m hoping he will visit with me again at a later date.