Driving in USA - Driving Through St. Louis Missouri - View of Downtown and The Gateway Arch, February 2013. This is Short Drive Video Tour Through St. Louis, MO on Eastbound 70 and Southbound 55, next to The Gateway Arch and Anheuser-Busch Brewery. Enjoy... The metropolitan Saint Louis area, known as Greater Saint Louis, is the 15th-largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 2,795,794. The city of Saint Louis was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau, and named for St. Louis. After the Louisiana Purchase it became a major port on the Mississippi River.