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, Magic Mini Golf, 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 the home of the St. Louis Walk of Fame, a series of brass plaques embedded in the sidewalk along Delmar Boulevard commemorating famous St. Louisans, including musicians Chuck Berry, Miles Davis and Tina Turner, actor John Goodman, bridge-builder James Eads and sexologists Masters and Johnson.

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.