Community Corner
New Star Added to St. Louis Walk of Fame
Robert Brookings, namesake of the national think tank on public policy is inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame in University City.
There's a new star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in University City's Delmar Loop area.
On Thursday, as dozens of people looked on, Robert S. Brookings was added to the growing list of stars that already tops 125 inductees. Brookings’ star is located at the northeast corner of Delmar and Skinker.
Brookings, a long time St. Louis business man and later board president of Washington University in St. Louis is the namesake for one of America's most prominent think tanks on public policy -- the Brookings Institution headquartered in Washington, DC.
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"I'm really happy to have his star here," Dr. William Danforth, former Chancellor of Washington University told the gathered crowd as he accepted the star on Brookings behalf. "He is truly a star of St. Louis we just wouldn't be here where we are today without Robert Brookings."
The ceremony began with a ragtime band playing cheerful tunes and old time favorites. The band's upbeat music gave a sense of community pride as they played alongside the induction podium awaiting Joe Edwards, founder of the St. Louis Walk of Fame and owner of several Loop establishments. Edwards introduced Dr. Danforth and presented him with the star.
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Edwards began the ceremony with a history lesson about the significance of Robert Brookings' work at Washington University and downtown St. Louis.
Edwards said Brookings was an important figure who helped shape contemporary American public policy and adding him to the St. Louis Walk of Fame gives St. Louisans a great sense of pride and honor in the city.
Each brass star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame is accompanied by a bronze plaque that tells the history of the inductee. Both are installed permanently into the sidewalks of Delmar Blvd.
Newcomers and repeat visitors alike are always learning something new or about someone new when on the St. Louis Walk of Fame said Edwards. "I'm actually thrilled for someone who was born in 1850 to get recognition. It's so important that we know the past of St. Louis and in this case, not just Washington University but even downtown St. Louis. So, its another reason for people to come into The Loop and walk up one side and down the other- it's a great educational attraction."
The St. Louis Walk of Fame was founded by Joe Edwards in 1988 and boasts a long list of inductees ranging from Maya Angelou to Harriet Woods.