Washington Avenue west from Eighth Street. Photograph by George Stark, 1903
Washington Avenue west from Eighth Street. Photograph by George Stark, 1903. At one time St. Louis’s Garment District was second only to New York’s as an American center for fashion design and manufacturing. People have long come to the canyon of buildings stretching down Washington Avenue for nearly two dozen blocks—but where once it was for clothes and fashion, now it is for nightlife. St. Louis' Garment District is one of the 50 places featured in the Missouri History Museum's 250 in 250 exhibition.