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Forest Park

DESCRIPTION: Forest Park, the seventh largest urban park in the United States, is a natural oasis in an urban environment. Located on 1,371 acres in the center of the St. Louis metropolitan area, Forest Park is about 500 acres larger than New York City’s Central Park. The Park contains St. Louis’ major museums--the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum--as well as the Saint Louis Science Center, the world-famous Saint Louis Zoo and the Municipal Opera (The Muny), the country’s biggest outdoor theatre. Forest Park is also home to the Jewel Box, a flower conservatory that is a popular venue for special events. Visitors and locals alike enjoy the bike and pedestrian path that circles the park. During every season of the year, Forest Park is a popular playground for locals and visitors alike. Between 1996 and 2004, Forest Park received a $90 million facelift under the Forest Park master plan.

SLOGAN: Forest Park Forever

ADDRESS: Park mailing address: 5600 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110

LOCATION: Forest Park is bounded by I-64, Kingshighway, Lindell and Skinker, six miles west of downtown.

PHONE: 314-289-5300

WEB SITE: For Forest Park: http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks
For Forest Park Forever: www.forestparkforever.org

GETTING THERE: From downtown, take I-64 west to Exit 34D (Forest Park/Museums) and continue north into Forest Park.

METROLINK: Take MetroLink light rail system to the Forest Park exit. From the station, visitors can walk one block south to the Missouri History Museum or catch a Metro bus to travel to other parts of the park.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the Zip2 Forest Park shuttle takes visitors from Forest Park MetroLink station to stops at the attractions in the park. Riders can use the shuttle all day for just $1.

ADMISSION: Free

ANNUAL ATTENDANCE: 12 million

HIGHLIGHTS:

• The world-famous Saint Louis Zoo is located in Forest Park. The 79-acre attraction is widely recognized as one of the finest zoos in the world. With more than 6,000 exotic animals, many of them rare and endangered, the Zoo’s collection represents the major continents and habitats of the world. The Zoo is also a leader in natural exhibits and an active participant in wildlife conservation. A railroad line circles the zoo and provides visitors with an easy way to get around and view the animals. The Rivers’ Edge, one of the Zoo’s newest attractions, gives visitors the feel of walking along an African river and an opportunity to get up close and personal with the Zoo’s hippos. Also new at the Zoo is Penguin & Puffin Coast and a conservation carousel. The Fragile Forest, a new habitat for Chimpanzees and Orangutans, opens in 2005.
• Some of the world’s greatest works of art can be seen in the Saint Louis Art Museum, also in Forest Park. The Museum has an extensive collection of 30,000 objects from ancient to contemporary. Its pre-Columbian and German Expressionist collections are considered among the best in the world. The museum’s contemporary collections and its collections of arts of Africa, Oceania and the native cultures of the Americas have also helped earn the Art Museum an international reputation. The Art Museum, designed by architect Cass Gilbert, was the Fine Arts Palace of the 1904 World’s Fair.
• The Missouri History Museum, at the western end of the Park, pays tribute to important moments in history including the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery and Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic. The Missouri History Museum is also dedicated to documenting and interpreting the history of the St. Louis area. The Museum was formerly known as the Jefferson Memorial.
• The Saint Louis Science Center at the southern end of the Park is one of only two science centers in the country with no admission charge. The Science Center has two buildings: the main Science Center Building across from Forest Park, and the Forest Park Building (the James S. McDonnell Planetarium) located on Clayton Avenue in the southeast corner of Forest Park. The Boeing Space Station, which teaches about life in space, is located inside the Planetarium.
• Forest Park is home to the St. Louis Municipal Opera (The MUNY), the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor theatre. Each summer, the 12,000-seat MUNY offers a season of musicals starring nationally known performers, from late June until early August.
• Two 7.5 mile paths for walking, running, biking and rollerblading circle Forest Park, one soft surface and one paved.
• The park’s Steinberg Rink, offers ice skating in the colder months and a variety of outdoor activities in the summer.
• A lodge-style Boat House opened in 2003 where visitors can rent canoes and paddleboats to enjoy gliding along the park’s enlarged waterways.
• Numerous picnic sites dot the landscape, and the Park is a popular place to picnic during the summer.
• Also located in the Park are an archery range, ball fields, handball courts and the Dwight Davis Tennis Center where the St. Louis Aces Team Tennis team plays each summer.
• On the south side of Forest Park at Oakland and Tamm avenues, Turtle Playground delights adults and children alike with three giant and four smaller turtles designed and sculpted by St. Louis artist Robert Cassily, owner of the City Museum. The turtles, which visitors can climb, include a snapping turtle, a soft-shelled turtle, a red-eared slider, a Mississippi map, three box turtles and a stinkpot. Also in the Park is a snake curled to form an area for sitting and a serpent taking a bite out of the Highway 40 overpass. Seven large eggs, three with emerging turtles, adorn the sitting area.
• Sitting high atop Government Hill, the World's Fair Pavilion, a picturesque setting for company picnics, private receptions, benefits, special events or parties, commands a dramatic view of Forest Park. The open-air pavilion can seat approximately 500 people. It was built from proceeds of the 1904 World’s Fair.
• During the winter, Forest Park is a popular site for cross-country skiing, tobogganing, sledding and ice skating. Generations of St. Louisans have made sledding down Art Hill, located on the north side of the Art Museum, a winter tradition.
• One of the Park’s popular features is a 27-hole golf course. A clubhouse facility opened in December 2002. The golf course consists of three new 9-hole courses designed by PGA pro and St. Louisan Hale Irwin.

ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS: Forest Park has a number of venues sure to delight the kids including the Zoo, the Science Center and the boat rides on the park’s lakes.

ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: Forest Park is the scene of a number of annual events. A classic car show is held in the Park each Easter Sunday. Each June, the Shakespeare Festival of Saint Louis stages free outdoor performances in a natural amphitheatre near the Art Museum and the Great Forest Park Balloon Race lifts off from Forest Park the third Saturday of each September.

HISTORY: When Forest Park opened to the public in June, 1876, former St. Louis resident Ulysses Grant was president of the United States. Park visitors could come from downtown via a 40-minute carriage ride or a 20-minute train ride on the newly opened train route. A local newspaper account of the Park’s opening says some 50,000 people attended the ceremony, an impressive number considering St. Louis’ population was only 350,000 at the time. During the Park opening, the Democratic Party was holding its national convention in St. Louis.

At the time, the Park was surrounded mostly by farmland and some industry along the Missouri Pacific Railroad to the south. Kingshighway, then known as King's Highway, ran east of the Park with Skinker Road on the west. Both were dirt roads, and there were no roads along the northern and southern perimeters.

Forest Park was actually about a dozen years in the making. In 1864, the Missouri Legislature authorized an election for St. Louisans to vote on a centrally located park. At the time, a board of commissioners picked a site bounded by Laclede Avenue on the south and Kingshighway on the west. The exact boundaries were to be negotiated with property owners. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the plan.

In 1870, Hiram W. Leffingwell, a real estate developer who promoted Kirkwood and created Grand Boulevard, announced plans for a 3,000-acre park extending about three miles west of Kingshighway. However, under Missouri statute at that time, only the state legislature could establish a park. Two years later, the legislature established a scaled down park and created a commission charged with issuing bonds to purchase the land. A special taxing district, located totally outside the city limits, was also created. A few days after passage of the law, the legislature extended the city limits to the land in the Forest Park tax district.

People living near the park filed suit hoping to have the law declared unconstitutional. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the special tax district made the Forest Park act illegal. However, while the case was in court, the commissioners used their powers to issue bonds. They acquired more than half of the land for the park. The legislature then ruled the park, bonds and the new boundaries of the city were illegal. The Supreme Court upheld the decision.

In 1874, the Missouri Legislature established three parks in St. Louis County--Carondelet in the south; Forest Park in the center and O'Fallon on the north. The bill allowed the County (which included the City of St. Louis) to purchase the same land for Forest Park as described in the earlier Forest Park Act. The County could issue 30-year revenue bonds to purchase the land and make improvements.

Because most of the tract was virgin forest land, the name Forest Park was chosen.

The land was placed under the jurisdiction of the Board of Park Commissioners the next year. Also in 1875, the legislature adopted the "Municipal Divorce Bill" which separated the City of St. Louis from the County and gave all the parks and the park tax to the City of St. Louis. It also allowed the City to extend its boundaries past the three county parks--Carondelet, O'Fallon and Forest.

The first Park Commission report noted that a few neglected farms and abandoned huts of coal miners detracted from the vast expanse of natural forest in the Park but improvements to the Park were delayed during negotiations over the railroad right-of-way through the northeast corner of the Park.

Access to the Park was a problem from the beginning but many roads, lakes, bridges and landscaping were in place at the dedication which was held at what was then the Park's main entrance at Chouteau and Kingshighway. At the ceremony, a statue of Edward Bates, who had been U.S. Attorney General in the cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln, was unveiled.

Initially, the only access to the Park was on the Wabash Railroad. In 1885, the first horse car line reached the Park on Laclede Avenue. Only the eastern portion of the Park was developed into a sylvan of winding drives and waterways. Bandstands, pagodas and picnic grounds were scattered around the lakes.

The Forsyth Home, a popular rural retreat, was converted into the Cottage Restaurant. The farmhouse was replaced by a new building in 1893 but it burned down and was rebuilt. The new, much larger restaurant, located at the top of a hill east of the present Zoo, was a popular spot in the 1890s. In addition to serving food, it had a carousel, swings and band concerts. It was razed after the 1904 World's Fair.

In response to unemployment caused by the 1893 depression, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch began a campaign to build a lake bearing its name in the Park. The project created jobs for several thousand workers. In addition to the lake, crews built a boathouse alongside the lake.

Forest Park’s lakes are filled through pipes with water from the River des Peres, from Cabanne Spring and with storm water runoff from the Park propelled by a steam pump. To avoid its flooding problems, the River des Peres was put underground in the 1920’s.

One of the Park’s earliest attractions was the Hippodrome, a horse racing track. Another was an ornate Moorish-style bandstand built on an island in Pagoda Lake. The bandstand was entirely surrounded by water and accessible by bridges.

The St. Louis Amateur Athletic Association (AAA or Triple A), formed in 1897, built a clubhouse, tennis courts, baseball diamonds and a 9-hole golf course. The original golf course site was a 125-acre tract south and west of DeBaliviere and Lindell. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition paid $4,000 for the Triple A clubhouse so it could use the property for the World's Fair. The Parks Department then gave the group its current 70-acre site in the southeastern portion of the Park.

An 1885 plan for the Park recommended building a zoo. By 1890, Park employees were caring for an animal collection that included deer, geese, prairie dogs and quail in an animal enclosure. The next year, the Park had its own herd of buffalo. Herds of elk, a dromedary, and a zebra were soon added. The city built bear pits and animal houses in 1899 and 1901. The Zoo’s current bear pits date from the 1920’s.

In early 1897, the Park Board asked the city's permission to build an art museum in Forest Park. Three years later, the city agreed but said the building would become city property. Art Hill was selected as the site of the museum but construction was delayed because charges were made that the director had paid a bribe to a councilman to get the site. Ultimately, the Art Museum was built as the Palace of Fine Arts for the 1904 World’s Fair.

1904 WORLD’S FAIR: When St. Louis was selected as the city to host the 1903 World’s Fair, Forest Park was chosen as the site of the fair with the stipulation the land would be restored as a park afterwards.

Not everyone was happy with the selection of Forest Park as the site of the Fair. Early environmentalists also opposed putting the idea on the grounds that cutting down the dense forest in the northwestern corner of the Park known as “the Wilderness” would be an environmental travesty. They even brought suit against the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company charging that the plan would “deforest” Forest Park.

The pro-Fair forces won, and construction began in 1901. While work proceeded at a furious rate, it soon became clear the Fair could not be ready for a 1903 opening. The date was moved to 1904.

But when 1904 arrived, St. Louis was ready to dazzle the world. St. Louis and Forest Park were the focus of the world during the 184 days of the Fair.

To provide the stunning backdrop befitting a world’s fair of such grand proportions, the western portion of Forest Park was transformed into a fantasyland of elegant Victorian buildings, gondoliered lakes, picturesque cascades and highly landscaped open spaces.

Peninsular Lake, the Park’s only natural lake, was renamed “The Grand Basin,” reshaped and connected via a series of lagoons with other lakes while the River Des Peres, a small river which meandered through the Park, was rerouted. Post-Dispatch Lake was drained and partially refilled to allow room for construction of the Liberal Arts Palace, the Mines and Metallurgy Palace and a sunken garden built between them.

The Grand Basin, around which eight palaces were situated, was the focal point of the Fair with boat parades held there almost daily. Below it was the Plaza of St. Louis. With the Grand Basin as a backdrop, the Plaza was the site of official proceedings. At one end of the Plaza was the gigantic Louisiana Purchase monument; at the other was the statue of St. Louis that would later be placed in front of the Art Museum.

Adding to the beauty of the site, waterways, broad plazas and landscaped gardens with symbolic statues dotted the Fairgrounds.

Atop what is now called Art Hill and overlooking the Grand Basin was the majestic Festival Hall with a dome larger than that of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. The Hall’s auditorium could seat 3,000 people and its stage held the largest pipe organ ever built.

Festival Hall, flanked by lesser pavilions called “The Atlantic” and “The Pacific” to symbolize the country’s vastness, dominated the view at the top of the Grand Basin. The Hall and its adjacent pavilions were connected by the Colonnade of States curving on each side from behind it. From each of the buildings, a cascade of water flowed down the hill and into the Grand Basin. Great ornate staircases decorated with statues, benches and gardens allowed visitors to walk down along the cascades. Electricity allowed the cascades to be lit with softly changing colors at night.

Along the Colonnade of States, tiering down from the pavilions on each side of Festival Hall were 14 giant sculptures of seated figures—seven on each side—representing a state or territory from the Louisiana Purchase (Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Indian Territory).

The Fine Art Palace, now the Saint Louis Art Museum, was behind Festival Hall. Although the Art Palace had 135 rooms, temporary buildings had to be built on each side of and to the rear of it to house the works artists from 20 nations submitted to the Fair.

From St. Louis Plaza, the Louisiana Way stretched symbolically from the buildings of the nations involved in the Louisiana Purchase. The French palace, modeled after the Grand Trianon at Versailles, was on the west; the United States Government Building was on the east. The Way was the main thoroughfare of the Fairgrounds, and it was here the official parades of the Fair were held.

Two of the most interesting structures built in the Park for the Fair were a replica of the Alps including a picturesque alpine village and the Inside Inn, the only hotel located on the Fairgrounds. The Inside Inn was located at the southeastern end of the Park.

Other than the Palace of Fine Arts which was a permanent structure and became the Saint Louis Art Museum, most of the other Fair buildings, including the huge, very ornate palaces, were temporary. Constructed of “staff,” plaster of paris mixed with fibers, they were built to be torn down after the Fair.

The 1904 Olympics, the first Olympic games held on American soil, were centered at Washington University’s Francis Field near Forest Park.

Following the Fair, the Park was restored to its original condition. Today only two structures remain from the Fair. They are the Art Museum and the giant Bird Cage (now home to the Cypress Swamp exhibit), which the Smithsonian Institution sold to the Zoo following the Fair.

FOREST PARK FOREVER: After the infrastructure of Forest Park began to show signs of age, a conservancy group named Forest Park Forever was formed in 1986 to raise money to bring improvements to the Park. The private fund-raising group composed of citizens concerned about preserving the Park spearheaded a drive to raise the $90 million necessary to “restore the glory of Forest Park” as outlined in a master plan the city of St. Louis adopted in 1995.

WHAT’S COMING UP: The capital improvement program of Forest Park Forever was completed in 2004, the centennial anniversary of the World’s Fair. The multi-phase project has done everything from rebuilding and reconnecting existing lakes and a lagoon to creating five wetlands and native prairies to restoring attractions such as the Jewel Box, Steinberg Skating Rink, the golf course and the boat house. The Grand Basin and Post-Dispatch Lake have been dredged and landscaped. The Basin walls have been replaced and new walkways, boat landings and landscaping added. Two new islands, one for picnics and one for wildlife, have been built, and lagoons have been dredged and reconnected to the Lake for improved boating.

The World’s Fair Pavilion, an open-air shelter that’s been one of the Park's most popular since it was built in 1909 with proceeds from the 1904 World's Fair, has been renovated. A new catering area was added at the west end of the pavilion, and newly installed accessible restroom facilities for men and women were also added. A Rock House restroom is located across the parking lot from the pavilion. The pavilion is a popular spot for weddings.

Aviation Field, which takes its name from the fact that the field was a landing strip for mail planes during the 1920’s, is getting a $2.2 million face-lift and several new ball fields are being added to the Park.

New lighting has been added throughout the Park and bridges are being rebuilt. Extensive road work has been done throughout the Park to help preserve the unique experience of Forest Park, the urban oasis that holds a primary forest, a secondary forest and several fragile ecosystems. The original golf course clubhouse has been renovated to become the Park’s Visitor Center.

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBILITY: Many of the attractions in the Park are handicapped accessible.

WHERE TO GET LUNCH: Meriwether’s in the Missouri History Museum, Puck’s at the Art Museum, the Boat House Café, Forest Perk at the Dennis and Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center and the Painted Giraffe Café in the Living World at the Saint Louis Zoo offering dining options in the Park.

WHAT’S NEARBY: The Central West End neighborhood with a wide array of restaurants, outdoor cafes and shops, and The Hill, St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood filled with Italian restaurants and shops, are nearby as are the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park, a Victorian walking park.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT:
For Forest Park: Anabeth Weiss, Park Manager, 314-289-5323, weissa@stlouiscity.com
For Forest Park Forever: Lee Anna Good, Director of Marketing and Capital Campaign, 314-367-7275, lagood@forestparkforever.com

Readers should call 1-800-916-0040 to request a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitor Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis at www.explorestlouis.com