The area gets its name from a streetcar turnaround, or "loop", formerly located in the area.[2]
Delmar Boulevard was originally known as Morgan Street. According to Norbury L. Wayman in his circa 1980 series History of St. Louis Neighborhoods,[3] the name Delmar was coined when two early landowners living on opposite sides of the road, one from Delaware and one from Maryland, combined the names of their home states. The town of Delmar, Delaware, on the border between the two states, derived its name in similar fashion.
The western demarcation of the Loop is generally considered to be the U. City Lions,[4][5] sculptures of a male lion and a female lion on pedestals flanking Delmar immediately west of the University City City Hall. West of the lions, Delmar becomes largely residential. The eastern boundary of the Loop traditionally was the St. Louis City border, punctuated by The Delmar Lounge at the corner of Delmar and Eastgate, but the area began expanding into the city proper around 2000. This expansion has largely been due to the redevelopment efforts of Joe and Linda Edwards, owners of Blueberry Hill, The Pageant, and Pin-Up Bowl, and the Tivoli Theater, the Moonrise Hotel, and Eclipse Restaurant. The St. Louis Regional Arts Commission completed its new headquarters on Delmar in 2003, creating performance and office spaces for theater groups. The Pageant, located across Delmar from the Arts Commission, has become one of St. Louis's main venues for mid-size popular musical performances, featuring rap, rock, and country artists, including St. Louisans Chuck Berry and Nelly.
The Loop attracts an eclectic clientele and wide variety of street life, due in part to its proximity to Washington University and dating back to the late 1960s when Streetside Records and head shops dominated the retail landscape.
The Loop is also home to many local restaurants including Al-Tarboush deli, Peacock Loop Diner, Blueprint Coffee, Cicero's Italian Restaurant (closed in 2017), Corner 17 Chinese Restaurant, Gokul Indian Restaurant, Gyro House, Meshuggah Cafe, Mission Taco, Three Kings Public House, Seoul Taco, Piccione Pastry, Ranoush Mediterranean Cuisine, Snarf's Sandwiches, T-N-T Wieners, Vegas Wok, and four Thai restaurants owned by Pat's Thai Restaurants.
The Loop Trolley is a 2.2-mile fixed-track heritage trolley line in the Loop,[6] that links the area with MetroLink and Forest Park attractions, a project that received a $24.9 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration.[7] The trolley officially began service on November 16, 2018, in the city of St. Louis[8] and one week later on its University City section in the Loop.[9] The trolley was shut down in December 2019 amid financial problems,[10] but reopened in August 2022.[11]
History
During the 1950s, the Loop was the meeting place for U. City's teenagers. The Varsity Theater and the Tivoli showed first-run movies. Ed's Billiards which was located between the two theaters was always full of teenagers. There were restaurants up and down the Loop area. Enright Avenue, which was part of the streetcar turnaround, had a drug store and three restaurants plus a record store. There was another drug store on the corner of Delmar and Kingsland. Both drugstores had soda fountains. Delmar at Skinker wasn't considered part of the Loop but had a Garaveli's Restaurant and a well known nightclub Davy "Nose" Bold's across from it.[citation needed]
