St. Louis Walk of Fame

St. Louis Walk of Fame
St. Louis Walk of Fame logo
Sponsored by	Established by Joe Edwards
Location	St. Louis, Missouri
Country	United States
Reward(s)	Brass star and bronze plaque embedded into the sidewalk along Delmar Boulevard
First awarded	1989
Official website	stlouiswalkoffame.org

The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there. Contribution can be in any area; most of the current inductees made their achievements in acting, entertainment, music, sports, art/architecture, broadcasting, journalism, science/education and literature.

As of April 2014^[update], the walk consisted of 137 brass stars and bronze plaques, each containing an inductee's name and a summary of his or her accomplishments. The stars and plaques are set into the sidewalks of Delmar Boulevard in the Delmar Loop area, which is mostly in University City, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis. The walk is about five miles (eight kilometres) west of the indoor Gateway Classic Walk of Fame, a recognition given by another organization, though some, including Dick Gregory, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Ozzie Smith, have received hall of fame recognition from both St. Louis groups.

Anyone can submit a nomination by mail by supplying basic identification information as well as a description of the nominee's accomplishments and connection to St. Louis. About 30 to 40 finalists are culled from the nominees by the walk's founder and director; the finalists are sent to a selection committee of 120 St. Louisans. The selection committee has been variously described as

Prior to 2007, the open-air induction ceremony was always been held the third week of May, though more recently it has depended on the availability of the latest inductees.

The walk was founded by developer Joe Edwards, owner of Blueberry Hill pub/restaurant and other establishments located along the walk. Its first stars and plaques were installed in 1989; the inductees that year were musician Chuck Berry, dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham, bridge builder James B. Eads, poet T. S. Eliot, ragtime composer Scott Joplin, aviator Charles Lindbergh, baseball player Stan Musial, actor Vincent Price, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and playwright Tennessee Williams. Ten more were selected for each of the next four years (in order to get the walk established), but starting in 1994 no more than three have been awarded in any year.