FOREST PARK

LOUIS SCHMIDT

FOREST PARK " (MOST INFO FROM THE BOOK "FOREST PARK")

THIS LAND WAS ORIGINALLY SETTLED BY THE OMAHA INDIANS. (FROM ST.LOUIS IN THE GILDED AGE). TWO SMALL INDIAN MOUNDS WERE FOUND IN FOREST PARK, BUT DESTROYED DURING CONSTRUCTION FOR THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPO. THEY WERE GOING TO USE THE ARTIFACTS FOR DISPLAY, BUT EVERYTHING HAD DETERIORATED, SO THEY LEVELED THE MOUNDS. NO TELLING HOW OLD THEY WERE.(FROM ST.LOUIS LOST). THREE QUARTERS OF THE PARK WAS PART OF THE GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE, OWNED BY - FROM THE NORTH SIDE - JULIE AND JOHN CABANNE, LOUISE AND JULES DEMUN, EMILY AND PETER CHOUTEAU. EACH RECEIVED 1131 FT. STRIPS OF LAND FROM KINGSHIGHWAY TO BIG BEND IN THE INHERITANCE FROM THEIR FATHER CHARLES GRATIOT SENIOR.

IN LEFFINGWELL'S 1871 PROPOSAL, A 3,000 ACRE PARK WHICH FAILED TO GET APPROVAL, MADE THE 1,370 ACRE PARK SEEM SMALL IN COMPARISON. THE LAND SPECULATORS MADE A KILLING. ONE LOT IN THE PARK DISTRICT SOLD FOR $42,000 BEFORE THE BILL PASSED AND $80,000 JUST AFTER. LEFFINGWELL'S FIRM HAD NEGOTIATED SALES OF MORE THAN $1,650,000 WORTH OF PROPERTY CITY WIDE BECAUSE OF THE NEW PARK. THE ORIGINAL PROPERTY OWNERS DIDN'T LIKE THE DEAL AND BROUGHT A LAWSUIT, AND LOST. BUT ON THE LAST DAY OF APRIL 1873 THE SUPREME COURT ANNOUNCED THAT THE FOREST PARK ACT WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL BECAUSE OF THE SPECIAL TAX DISTRICT. THIS DISTRICT WAS FORMED IN MARCH 1872 BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE. THEY ESTABLISHED A LAW WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE VOTER APPROVAL, NAMING FOURTEEN COMMISSIONERS WITH POWER TO ISSUE BONDS AND BUY THE LAND. THEY THEN EXTENDED THE CITY LIMITS TO INCLUDE ALL THE LAND IN FOREST PARK AND NORTHERN PARK DISTRICTS. DURING THE YEAR THE CASE WAS IN THE COURTS, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, LED OF COURSE BY LEFFINGWELL, BOUGHT MORE THAN HALF THE LAND, GIVING BONDS AS PAYMENT. THE COURT DECISION AGAINST THE PARK ACT INVALIDATED MOST OF THESE SALES. THE DECISION ALSO VOIDED THE COMMISSIONERS PURCHASES OF THE LAND FOR THE PARK. THE COURT HAD FOUND THAT THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HAD NEVER EXISTED AS A LEGAL ENTITY,SO THERE WAS NO ONE TO SUE. LANDOWNERS WERE LEFT HOLDING WORTHLESS BONDS ISSUED BY THE NONEXISTENT COMMISSIONER AND SUPPORTED BY AN ILLEGAL TAX. THE EXTENSION OF THE CITY LIMITS WAS ALSO IN A MUDDLE. PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE ANNEXED AREA, INCLUDING SKINKER CALLED FOR REPEAL OF THE EXTENSION, SINCE THEY DID NOT WANT TO BE IN THE CITY WITHOUT THE PARK. THE 1872 PARK ACT WAS DEAD.

BY 1874 THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE PASSED THREE ACTS TO ESTABLISH THREE PARKS IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY. THEY WERE CARONDELET IN THE SOUTH, FOREST PARK IN THE CENTER, AND O'FALLON PARK IN THE NORTH. THEY CHANGED THE COMMISSIONERS TO SEVEN. THREE APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR OF ST.LOUIS AND CONFIRMED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, THREE APPOINTED BY THE COUNTY COURT, THEN THE PRESIDING JUSTICE OF THE COUNTY COURT. NO POPULAR VOTE WAS NECESSARY TO APPROVE THE PARK AND NONE WAS TAKEN. OF THE SIX COMMISSIONERS ONLY THREE WERE IN THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS. (LEFFINGWELL, McKINLEY, AND GERHART. THE OTHERS WERE IN BUSINESS). THE 1874 PARK ACT DID NOT RESULT IN MAJOR REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY AROUND THE PARK AS THE 1872 ACT DID.

AROUND THE PARK THE LAND WAS MOSTLY FARMLAND WITH CLUSTERS OF HOUSES ALONG CLAYTON ROAD AND SOME INDUSTRY ALONG THE MO-PAC RR SOUTH OF THE PARK. KINGSHIGHWAY RAN EAST OF THE PARK WITH A JOG THAT GAVE THE PARK A PROJECTION IN IT'S SOUTH-EASTERN CORNER. SKINKER EDGED THE PARK ON THE WEST. NEITHER ROAD WAS EVEN GRAVELED. TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH NO ROAD DIVIDED THE PARK FROM THE SURROUNDING LAND. IT TOOK THE 1904 WORLDS FAIR TO GET THE PARK GOING EVEN THOUGH A LOT OF TREES WOULD BE LOST, WHICH MANY COULD NOT STAND THE THOUGHT OF. IT BECAME DEVELOPED FOR PEOPLE USE. SO ON IT WENT THROUGH THE YEARS, ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER, AND ALWAYS THE WORRY THAT THE RICH WOULD DEVELOP IT FOR THEMSELVES (WHICH THEY DID). THE PROBLEM STILL HAUNTS US - HOW TO USE THE PARK -?

THE 1874 ACT PROVIDED FOR THREE APPRAISERS, THE SAME THREE MEN AS BEFORE.(THEOPHILE PAPIN, JOHN G. PRIEST, AND CHARLES GREEN, WITH JULIUS PITZMAN AS SECRETARY. AFTER THE APPRAISAL, THE COUNTY ORDERED $800,000 OF THE PARK BONDS SOLD. ON JAN. 1, 1876 THE COMMISSIONERS GAVE THE COUNTY COURT A REPORT OF MORE THAN A HUNDRED PAGES DESCRIBING THE ACTIONS AND PLANS, INCLUDING AN EXTREMELY DETAILED LIST OF THE PROPERTY HELD BY VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS. THE PARK WOULD NOT BELONG TO ST.LOUIS COUNTY VERY LONG. THE PARK COMMISSIONERS WOULD BE PUT OUT OF OFFICE BY THE SEPARATION OF THE CITY AND COUNTY.

IN 1875 A NEW MISSOURI CONSTITUTION CONTAINED A SECTION CALLED "THE MUNICIPAL DIVORCE BILL". IT DEFINED A PROCEDURE FOR THE SEPARATION OF THE CITY AND COUNTY. IT STIPULATED THAT IF THE CITY AND COUNTY SEPARATED, THE CITY WOULD TAKE OVER THE PARKS AND THE PARKS TAX AND ASSUME THE ENTIRE COUNTY DEBT. THE CITY COULD CHOOSE TO EXTEND IT'S BOUNDARIES PAST ALL THE PARKS, WHICH IT DID IN 1876. THE PANIC OF 1873 CAUSED IN PART BY SIMILAR REAL ESTATE SPECULATION NATIONWIDE, LED TO A RECESSION THAT CONTINUED PAST 1876.

IN 1875 FOREST PARK WAS PURCHASED FROM C.P. CHOUTEAU, JULIA MAFFIT, WILLIAM FORSYTH, THOMAS SKINKER, AND OTHERS FOR $799,995.00. (OTHERS- LOUISA G.BURNETT, M.G. HOLLIDAY, WARREN F. PITNEY, WILLIAM D. GRISWOLD, ROBERT FORSYTH, PHILIP DONAHUE AND ROBERT H. FRANKLIN, L.H. BAKER ET AL, HERCULES McCORD, McKILLTPICK, W.A. BRAWNER, HERMAN H. AND FRED W. LAUMEYER, SAM N. HOLLIDAY, C. WITTENBERG, (FROM THE BOOK FOREST PARK).

THE PARK WAS ORIGINALLY A BEAUTIFUL FOREST, BUT THERE WERE THE ABOVE MENTIONED ESTATES AND SMALL FARMS. THERE ALSO WAS A MINE WHERE THE ZOO IS NOW (FROM HISTORY OF CHELTENHAM AND ST.JAMES PARISH). MORE NAMES - WILLIAM BRADY, JOSEPH HEFELE, ANDREW KENNEDY, THE TOWNSENDS, JOHN HUNTER, THOMAS LOFTUS, HUGH SHIELDS, AND WILLIAM REAGAN. IN THE 1326 ACRES OF FOREST PARK THERE WERE 29 PARCELS THAT RANGED FROM 294 ACRES DOWN TO LOTS. DAVID TRACY, FATHER OF JULIE TRACY LIVED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF FOREST PARK NEAR THE HIGHLANDS. THE SCHWENKER HOME, ONCE IN THE PARK WAS MOVED TO 1310 GRAHAM ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHERS ALSO MOVED TO GRAHAM. THE ARTICLE STATED THE HOMES WERE STILL THERE IN 1937. THIS MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE AN AREA, FOR ON PAGE 12 OF THIS BOOK TELLS OF SQUATTERS EVICTED FROM FOREST PARK IN 1876 THAT BUILT SHACKS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF GRAHAM AND WEST PARK AND CALLED THE PLACE "DOGTOWN".

IN 1875 THE CITY STREET COMMISSIONER REJECTED A REQUEST FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT ON SKINKER BECAUSE "A FULLY IMPROVED ROAD WILL NOT BE REQUIRED FOR MANY YEARS, IF IT EVER IS". BUT AS THE CITY GREW TOWARD THE EASTERN EDGE OF FOREST PARK, CITY SERVICES REACHED THE PARK BEGINNING IN 1885, BRINGING MAJOR CHANGES.

FOREST PARK OFFICIALLY OPENED TO THE PUBLIC ON JUNE 24,1876. THE CIVIL WAR HAD ENDED TWELVE YEARS EARLIER. GENERAL GRANT WAS PRESIDENT,AND THIRTY-SEVEN STATES IN THE UNION, AND GENERAL CUSTER WOULD BE KILLED THE NEXT DAY. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WAS HOLDING IT'S NATIONAL CONVENTION IN DOWNTOWN ST.LOUIS IN JUNE. FOREST PARK WAS IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY, ALMOST TWO MILES WEST OF THE CITY LIMITS, A FORTY MINUTE CARRIAGE RIDE FROM DOWNTOWN. IN SPITE OF THE DISTANCE, 50,000 PEOPLE CAME TO THE PARK FOR THE OPENING DAY CEREMONIES. THE PARK WAS PERFECT. THE GENTLE SLOPES PROVIDED A VARIETY OF SCENERY. SPORT FISH JUMPED IN THE PARKS CLEAR STREAMS, SUCH AS RIVER DES PERES. THE FOREST THAT GAVE THE PARK IT'S NAME WAS INDESCRIBABLE IN IT'S LOVELINESS. THE LARGE TREES STOOD AS NATURE PLANTED THEM. COOL WINDS GAVE A RETREAT FROM THE OPPRESSIVE HEAT OF THE CITY.

THE HIPPODROME, A ONE MILE RACETRACK WHERE THE RICH COULD CHECK OUT THEIR HORSES WAS LOCATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE PARK, JUST WEST OF DEBALIVERE. NO BETTING WAS ALLOWED. THEY DID MANAGE A $200 CUP FOR A PRIZE. AFTER RACES IN OCT.1877 AND MAY 1878, THE TRACK WASN'T USED TOO MUCH, BECAUSE IT BECAME OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

COMMISSIONER WEIGEL DID THE BEST HE COULD WITH THE MONEY AVAILABLE. WEIGEL INCREASED THE LABOR FORCE TO 30. THE MEN CLEARED UNDERGROWTH,REMOVED DEAD WOOD AND STUMPS, AND FILLED UP MORE THAN SIXTY COAL PITS AND AIR HOLES LEFT FROM COAL MINING UNDER THE LAND IN THE 1850'S AND 60'S. THEY THEN CLEANED UP THE 500 ACRE WILDERNESS OF UNDERBRUSH AND CLEARING THE TREES. THERE WAS SOME DEBATE ABOUT THE CLAYTON ROAD, AND IF PEOPLE COULD USE THE ROAD AS THEY ALWAYS HAD. IT WAS A FARM ROAD.

PEOPLE CONTINUED TO ENJOY FOREST PARK AS THEY HAD BEFORE THE SEPARATION, DESPITE IT'S REMOTENESS AND RELATIVE LACK OF FACILITIES. UNTIL THE SUMMER OF 1885, THE ONLY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO FOREST PARK WAS ON THE TRAINS THAT STOPPED JUST OUTSIDE THE GROUNDS, TRAINS OPERATED BY THE WABASH RAILROAD AFTER 1879. EVEN FOR PEOPLE WHO DROVE, THE TRIP TO FOREST PARK WAS DIFFICULT. THE BEST ROAD TO THE PARK, LINDELL, WAS A DIRT ROAD UNTIL THE LATE 1880'S.

IN 1881 A NEW TWENTY FOOT-WIDE STONE AND IRON BRIDGE WAS BUILT.(CLAYTON ROAD BRIDGE).IN DRY WEATHER, PARK ROADS WERE SPRINKLED WITH WATER TO REDUCE DUST. SOON THE WATER SUPPLY WASN'T ENOUGH, SO IN 1879 A STEAM PUMP LIFTED WATER FROM THE CABANNE SPRING TO A 5000 GALLON RESERVOIR,"PROTECTED BY A RUSTIC STRAW THATCHED SHED"IT WAS HARD TO KEEP UP WITH THE NEED, AND IN THE SUMMER OF 1881, MANY PLANTS DIED. THE NURSERY DID WELL. IN 1882 IT SUPPLIED REPLACEMENTS FOR ALL THE TREES THAT DIED FROM THE DROUGHT IN THE CITY PARKS, AS WELL AS TREES FOR THE GROUNDS OF THE MENTAL INSTITUTION,POOR HOUSE,CITY HOSPITAL, AND COURTHOUSE. THE NURSERY IN FOREST PARK AND THE GREENHOUSES IN BENTON PARK, AND HYDE PARK PROVIDED THE PARK DEPARTMENT WITH ALL IT'S PLANTS THAT YEAR.

WHEN THE CITY TOOK OVER THE PARK, THE COTTAGE RESTAURANT, WHICH WAS THE OLD FORSYTH FARMHOUSE,COULDN'T MAKE IT,SO IN MARCH,1885 AN ORDINANCE AWARDED THE RESTAURANT LEASE TO CHARLES SCHWEICKARDT,WHO HELD IT FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS. THERE WAS LITTLE CHANGE BETWEEN 1876 AND 1885. THE FIRST STREETCAR LINE , A HORSECAR REACHED THE NORTHEASTERN PORTION OF FOREST PARK IN EARLY JUNE 1885, ALMOST NINE YEARS AFTER THE PARK OPENED. THE WABASH R.R OFFERED FIVE TRIPS A DAY FOR 15 CENTS, BUT THE STREETCARS WERE CHEAPER AND EASIER TO USE. THEY RAN AT LEAST EVERY HALF HOUR FROM 5:30AM UNTIL MIDNIGHT. THE ADULT FARE WAS FIVE CENTS. CHILDREN WERE HALF PRICE. BUT EVEN FIVE CENTS WAS OUT OF REACH FOR THE POOREST, WHO NEEDED THE FRESH AIR THE MOST. DURING ONE UNUSUALLY HOT SUMMER, AS CITY RESIDENTS LITERALLY DIED FROM THE HEAT, THE STREETCAR COMPANY OFFERED FREE RIDES FROM THE BAKING STREETS AND BRICK BUILDINGS TO THE COOL SHADE OF THE PARK FOR CHILDREN 10 AND UNDER. THEY HAD TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT MEMBER OF THE FAMILY AND COULD RIDE UPON THE PRESENTATION OF A DOCTORS CERTIFICATE. IF THEY COULD AFFORD A DOCTOR.

THINGS GOT HARD TO HANDLE IN THE PARK SO ON CAME THE MOUNTED POLICE IN 1885. A MOUNTED POLICE SUB-STATION WAS BUILT IN 1890. IT LATER SERVED AS A RESIDENCE FOR PARK EMPLOYEES AND BRIEFLY HOUSED A METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY. THE GLOBE DEMOCRAT REPORTED, AFTER A CURFEW WAS INSTITUTED - SARCASTICALLY:" SINCE THE CONSTRUCTION OF A STREETCAR LINE TO THE PARK THE YOUTHS AND MAIDENS HAVE BEEN THRONGING THE LAWNS AND SPORTING UNDER BIG TREES, AND MISSING THE CARS. NOW THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PARK BELIEVES THAT MOONLIGHT AND NIGHT ARE ALL BAD FOR YOUNG FOLKS, AND SO THE PARK IS TO BE CLOSED AFTER 11:00, AND THE PARK POLICE AFTER THAT HOUR WILL START OUT AND BEAT THE BUSHES AND BLOW HORNS TO WARN THE LOVERS TO HUSTLE AND GET THE LAST CAR FOR TOWN. IF THE PARK IS TO BE CLOSED IT WILL PUT A STOP TO MOONLIGHT DRIVES AND WILD ORGIES ON THE LAWNS IN EARLY MORNING"

WHEN THE STREETCARS CAME TO THE PARK, EACH COMPANY HAD TO SPEND AT LEAST $25,000 ON IT'S WAITING ROOM, WHICH BECAME CITY PROPERTY AS SOON AS IT WAS BUILT. THE LINDELL PAVILION OPENED BY 1892 AT THE NORTH CENTRAL ENTRANCE TO THE PARK. THE LACLEDE PAVILION OPENED IN 1893 AT THE NORTHEASTERN ENTRANCE TO THE PARK. IN ADDITION, THE MISSOURI PAVILION, WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A LESS ELABORATE STRUCTURE LOCATED IN THE SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF THE PARK. THE TRAFFIC IN THE PARK WAS HORRENDOUS, SO IN 1896 AN ORDINANCE PROVIDED SOME TRAFFIC SEPARATION BY REQUIRING "ALL PERSONS DRIVING ANY KIND OF VEHICLE, WHICH INCLUDED HORSES, BICYCLES, OR TRICYCLES--TO KEEP TO THE RIGHT OF CENTER" OR RISK A FINE OF 5 TO 25 DOLLARS. BY MAY 7, 1898, THE CYCLISTS GOT WHAT THEY WANTED--A CINDER BICYCLE PATH. THERE WAS A GREAT CELEBRATION.

IN 1891 A NEW MOUNTED POLICE HEADQUARTERS WAS BUILT ON 20 ACRES. A BRICK BUILDING AND GRAZING LAND FOR THE HORSES COSTING $46,000, AND TOOK A YEAR TO BUILD. THIS WAS ON THE SITE OF WHAT IS NOW THE PLANETARIUM. CLAYTON ROAD (FOX CREEK ROAD) USED TO ENTER THE PARK WHERE IT ENDS NOW AT OAKLAND, THEN CAME OUT AT CLAYTON ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE PARK. MACKLIND ENTERED THE PARK AT IT'S PRESENT LOCATION INTERSECTING WITH CLAYTON AS DID UNION AVE. (SECOND KINGSHIGHWAY) WHICH WAS A STRAIGHT ROAD ENDING AT CLAYTON IN THE PARK.

THE TRIPLE A CLUB WAS FORMED IN 1897 WHICH DEVELOPED INTO A PRIVATE CLUB, THOUGH THEY DENIED IT. EVERY ONE SEEMED TO FIND WAYS TO USE THE PARK WITHOUT PAYING. BUT THIS CHANGED LATER.

THE PARK AND THE FAIR

IN EARLY 1890 A GROUP HAD ORGANIZED TO PROCURE A WORLDS FAIR FOR ST.LOUIS. ATTEMPTS HAD BEEN MADE TO HAVE THE COLOMBIAN EXPOSITION CELEBRATING THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF COLUMBUS' DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. BUT CHICAGO WON IT. SO THEY TRIED AGAIN AND IN THE SPRING OF 1897 THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY TOOK PIERRE CHOUTEAU'S ADVISE AND BEGAN SERIOUS CONSIDERATION OF METHODS OF CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE OF 1803.THIS TIME EFFORTS IN WASHINGTON WERE SUCCESSFUL. IN JUNE 1900 CONGRESS AUTHORIZED $5 MILLION IF THE CITY OF ST.LOUIS WOULD ALSO APPROPRIATE $5 MILLION, AND IF ANOTHER $5 MILLION COULD BE RAISED BY POPULAR SUBSCRIPTION. BY MARCH 1901 THE CONDITIONS WERE MET AND THE FEDERAL APPROPRIATION WAS AUTHORIZED.

IN APRIL THE WORLDS FAIR SUPPORTERS INCORPORATED AS THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION COMPANY (LPEC) AND IN MAY ELECTED MAYOR DAVID R. FRANCIS AS PRESIDENT. IN APR.1901 A NEW MAYOR, ROLLA WELLS TOOK OFFICE. HE WAS A FRIEND OF FRANCIS SO THEY WORKED TOGETHER ON THE FAIR. ON JUNE 25, 1901 AFTER MUCH DEBATE FOREST PARK WAS CHOSEN.

ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1901 THE FIRST STAKE WAS DRIVEN. IT TOOK UNTIL OCT. 9, 1901 TO TAKE FORMAL POSSESSION OF THE PARK. BY THE MIDDLE OF OCT. WORKMEN WERE DRAINING THE LAKE AND CLEARING TREES. ONE OF THE MEN SAID MOST OF THE TREES WERE 75 YEARS OLD AND SOME WERE 300 YEARS OLD. SOME OF THE STRONGER TREES WERE TRANSPLANTED. TWO SMALL INDIAN MOUNDS WERE FOUND DURING CONSTRUCTION. THE ITEMS INSIDE WERE DEEMED TOO DETIORATED TO SAVE SO THE MOUNDS WERE LEVELED. ALSO WHILE WORKMEN WERE PREPARING A WORKING COAL MINE FOR THE FAIR, IT BECAME UNUSUALLY REALISTIC WHEN THEY STRUCK COAL AT THE SITE. I'M NOT SURE OF THE EXACT SITES, BUT THINK THEY WERE APPROX WHERE THE ZOO IS NOW. FOR MONTHS CURIOUS ST. LOUISANS TRAVELED TO THE PARK. IN LATE NOVEMBER THE NUMBER OF VISITORS TO THE SITE IN ONE DAY WAS ESTIMATED AT 100,000 PEOPLE. MANY CLIMBED THE NEWLY CLEARED HILL WHERE THE ART PALACE WOULD BE, TO GAIN A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE FAIR SITE. IN APRIL 1902, AFTER THE FENCE WAS IN PLACE, THE GLOBE DEMOCRAT REPORTED THAT HALF ST.LOUIS STOOD ON THE WORLDS FAIR SITE WHILE THE OTHER HALF PEERED THROUGH THE IRON FENCE WITHOUT REALIZING THEY WERE FREE TO ENTER. THE PARK WAS DIVIDED AT APPROX. HAMPTON. THE FAIR USED THE WESTERN HALF AND WENT TO BIG BEND. THE EASTERN SECTION WAS KEPT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AND THE 8 FOOT WROUGHT IRON FENCE DIVIDED IT. IT WAS BUILT THAT WAY SO THOSE WHO COULDN'T AFFORD THE PRICE OF 50 CENTS COULD LOOK IN.

SINCE THE RIVER DES PERES RAN THROUGH THE SITES OF ALL BUT TWO OF THE EXHIBIT BUILDINGS,IT WAS AGREED TO RE-ROUTE THE RIVER AND TO BUILD A TEMPORARY WOODEN CHANNEL, AND TO SHORTEN IT BY ONE HALF. THE RIVER HAD TO BE RESTORED AS IT USED TO BE AFTER THE FAIR. THEY WENT ABOUT $1 MILLION OVER BUDGET AND IT TOOK HALF WAY THROUGH 1904 TO MAKE UP THE MONEY. ALSO THE FAIR WAS A YEAR LATE.

FROM APRIL 30, 1904, THROUGH DEC.1 1904, MORE THAN 20 MILLION PEOPLE WENT TO THE FAIR. AN AVERAGE OF MORE THAN 100,000 FOR EACH DAY THE FAIR WAS OPEN. THE FIFTEEN EXHIBIT PALACES, ALL OUTLINED WITH ELECTRIC LIGHTS, COVERED 128 ACRES OF THE 1,272 ACRE FAIRGROUNDS, THE LARGEST FAIR SITE EVER. MORE THAN NINE-HUNDRED BUILDINGS, INCLUDING REFRESHMENT STANDS, DOTTED THE GROUNDS. TWENTY-TWO COUNTRIES WERE REPRESENTED. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT BUILT THE BIRD CAGE, WHICH WE STILL HAVE. A FERRIS WHEEL, MOVED FROM THE CHICAGO FAIR COULD CARRY 1,400 PEOPLE(40 IN EACH OF IT'S 36 CARS) UP 250 FEET OVER THE GROUNDS. THE 1904 OLYMPICS WERE HELD AT WASH.U'S ATHLETIC FIELD. SO MANY THINGS. IN LATE NOVEMBER 1904 PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT, WHO HAD OPENED THE FAIR BY PRESSING A TELEGRAPH KEY IN THE EAST ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE, ARRIVED IN ST.LOUIS TO VISIT THE WORLDS FAIR. THEY TOOK A CARRIAGE RIDE IN FOREST PARK.

ABOUT SIX WEEKS BEFORE THE FAIR CLOSED, THE LPEC APPOINTED A RESTORATION COMMITTEE, CHAIRED BY DAVID R. FRANCIS, TO DRAW A PLAN FOR RESTORING THE PARK LAND. OPINION WAS DIVIDED. SOME THOUGHT THE COMPANY SHOULD LEAVE SOME OR ALL OF THE FAIR STRUCTURES IN THE PARK. OTHERS BELIEVED THE COMPANY SHOULD REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM THE PARK. THE RESTORATION OF THE PARK LAND TO PRE-FAIR CONDITIONS WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE AND UNDESIRABLE.

IN MAY 1905, AFTER MUCH ARGUMENT AND DELAY THE LPEC OFFERED THE PARK LAND TO THE CITY WITH ENOUGH MONEY TO COVER THE COST OF RESTORATION,(WHICH WAS $100,000). THE CITY REFUSED SAYING THE COST WOULD BE MORE LIKE $300,000. IN JULY THE LPEC OFFERED , AND THE CITY ACCEPTED A BRONZE STATUE OF THE CITY'S PATRON SAINT, THE APOTHEOSIS OF ST.LOUIS. WHILE THE OFFICIALS WRANGLED, THE WORK OF REMOVING THE FAIR BUILDINGS FROM THE PARK BEGAN. THE CHICAGO HOUSE WRECKING COMPANY PAID $450,000 FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF WREAKING THE TEMPORARY FAIR PALACES, CONTAINING AN ESTIMATED 100 MILLION FEET OF LUMBER, 2 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF WINDOW SASHES, AND COPPER WIRE WORTH $630,000. MUCH OF THE STAFF THAT COVERED THE BUILDING EXTERIORS WAS SHIPPED TO VENICE, ILLINOIS, TO BE REDUCED TO PLASTER, THOUGH SOME REMAINED TO BE USED AS LANDFILL.

MANY PLANTS THAT HAD BEAUTIFIED THE FAIRGROUNDS WERE STORED AT A TEMPORARY NURSERY TO AWAIT REPLANTING ON THE RESTORED GROUNDS. OTHERS WERE SOLD. THIS REMINDS ME OF THE MANY HOUSES THAT WERE BUILT IN THE DOGTOWN AREA WITH LUMBER FROM THE WORLDS FAIR. IT WAS AFTER THIS TIME, AFTER A SNOW IN JANUARY 1905, THAT THE LPEC EMPLOYEES DISCOVERED A NATURAL TOBOGGAN SLOPE DOWN ART HILL, CLEARED OF TREES FOR THE FAIR.

AS THE WRECKING CREWS FELL BEHIND SCHEDULE, LPEC CREWS DID SOME OF THE REMOVAL WORK, THEN SMOOTHED AND GRADED THE LAND AND PLANTED GRASS, SHRUBS, AND TREES. NEAR THE GRAND BASIN, THE FAIR'S SUNKEN GARDEN AGAIN BECAME A LAKE, LATER CALLED POST-DISPATCH LAKE. BETWEEN THE TWO LARGE BODIES OF WATER RAN A NEW LAGOON. THE CREWS LEFT THE FAIRS WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS FOR PARK USE, THOUGH SOME OF THE FIRE HYDRANTS SEEMED ODDLY LOCATED AFTER THE FAIR BUILDINGS WERE REMOVED. THE COMPANY CREWS LEFT MANY OF THE FAIRS PAVED ROADS AND ADDED NEW ONES, FOR A TOTAL OF SEVEN MILES OF PAVED ROADS AND MORE THAN FIVE MILES OF DIRT ROADS. THE RIVER DES PERES BECAME AN OPEN STREAM AGAIN AFTER WORKMEN REMOVED IT'S COVER. A PARK DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE REPORTED IN 1905, "THE RIVER WHICH WAS FORMERLY ONE OF THE PRINCIPLE LANDSCAPE FEATURES OF THE PARK, HAS NOW BECOME A PUBLIC NUISANCE. STENCH ARISING FROM THE STREAM AT TIMES WHEN THE WATER IS LOW IS STIFLING." THE CITY'S SEWER COMMISSIONER CONSIDERED THE NECESSARY WORK ON THE 15 MILES OF THE RIVER WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM FACING HIS DEPARTMENT.

IMPROVED ACCESS TO THE AREA WEST OF THE PARK, PARTICULARLY BY AUTOMOBILE, BROUGHT CHANGES. WASHINGTON U. MOVED INTO ITS NEW BUILDINGS IN JAN. 1905, AFTER THE LPEC MOVED OUT. SKINKER ROAD WAS WIDENED FROM FORSYTH SOUTH TO OAKLAND IN 1910. THEN NEW SUBDIVISIONS BEGAN TO OPEN ON THE LAND USED FOR THE FAIR. BY 1911, ALTHOUGH THE PARK AND THE SURROUNDING AREA HAD BEGUN TO FILL, THERE WAS MUCH OPEN LAND. AROUND THE PARK, THE INCREASING NUMBERS OF AUTOMOBILES MADE DEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

IN 1909 THEY DEDICATED A FIFTY FOOT WIDE STRIP OF LAND NEXT TO THE PARK, FROM UNION TO SKINKER TO THE CITY FOR USE AS PARK LAND AND AS A ROAD AND SIDEWALK EXTENSION OF LINDELL. BUT DEVELOPMENT LAGGED, PROBABLY DUE TO THE RIVER DES PERES CROSSING THE AREA AND THE TRACKS OF THE WABASH R/R AND THE ROCK ISLAND R/R RAN CLOSE TO THE PARK, CROSSING BOTH UNION AND DeBALIVIERE AT STREET LEVEL.

INSIDE FOREST PARK, MANY NEW FACILITIES AROSE, ENCOURAGED BY A NEW PARK COMMISSIONER. LIKE THE PARK, THE LAND AROUND IT CHANGED AS THE TEMPORARY FAIR STRUCTURES WERE DISMANTLED. DURING THE FAIR, THE PIKE AMUSEMENT AREA HAD OCCUPIED MUCH OF THE LAND NORTH OF THE PARK AND WEST OF UNION. A SCHEME TO MAKE THE PIKE AMUSEMENTS PERMANENT WAS ABANDONED AFTER WASHINGTON U. OFFICIALS OBJECTED. THEN DEVELOPERS TRIED TO ATTRACT BUYERS FOR THE LOTS IN THE AREA WHERE THE PIKE HAD BEEN.

IN JUNE 1906 THE VOTERS APPROVED A BOND ISSUE, AND IN 1911 THE CITY BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF THE FOREST PARK FOUL WATER SEWER, A PIPE UNDER THE RIVER THROUGH THE PARK. BUILT IN THREE SECTIONS FOLLOWING THE COURSE OF THE RIVER. IT COST MORE THAN $70,000, INCLUDING NECESSARY PUMPING MACHINERY, BUT SOON PROVED INADEQUATE. ON OCT.4,1906,CITY AND FAIR OFFICIALS JOINED IN UNVEILING THE BRONZE STATUE OF ST. LOUIS IN FRONT OF THE MUSEUM.

IN APRIL 1908 THE LPEC BUILT FOUR NEW BRIDGES, AND OFFERED TO BUILD A MONUMENTAL ENTRANCE TO THE PARK AT DeBALIVIERE. INSTEAD THE CITY REQUESTED A SHELTER PAVILION WHERE IT COULD SELL REFRESHMENTS. ON APRIL 2,1907 ST. LOUIS OFFICIALS MOVED QUICKLY TO GET THE PROPOSED STATE LAW TAX FOR A REAL ESTATE TAX OF TWO CENTS PER HUNDRED DOLLARS VALUATION. THE TAX PASSED EASILY. THE COTTAGE HAD CLOSED WHEN SCHWEICKHARDT'S LEASE EXPIRED IN 1904 AND REMAINED CLOSED AMID OBJECTIONS TO THE SALE OF LIQUOR IN THE PARK, WHICH WERE RAISED BY SUCH CITIZENS AS ANNA SNEED CAIRNS OF FOREST PARK UNIVERSITY. SO THE CITY GLADLY ACCEPTED THE LPEC'S OFFER FOR A $40,000 SHELTER ATOP GOVERNMENT HILL. CALLED "THE WORLDS FAIR PAVILION" THE PAVILION IS STILL THERE,JUST NORTH OF THE ZOO,BUT NOT IN USE. ON APRIL 7, 1909, THE BOARD OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND THE LPEC REACHED A FINAL AGREEMENT ABOUT THE FAIR SITE.

THE LPEC HAD ALREADY BEGUN CONSTRUCTION OF THE GOVERNMENT HILL REFRESHMENT PAVILION. IF THE COMPANY WOULD FINISH THE PAVILION AND WOULD SPEND AT LEAST $200,000 ON A MONUMENT TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, THE CITY WOULD CONSIDER THE LAND RESTORED. THE CONTROVERSY WAS NOT QUITE OVER. TWO SITES WERE CONSIDERED. ONE ON GOVERNMENT HILL NEAR THE PAVILION, AND THE OTHER AT THE MAIN FAIR ENTRANCE AT DeBALIVIERE, THE THAT SITE WON IN MARCH 1910. ON APRIL 1, 1911, LESS THAN THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE LPEC CHARTER EXPIRED,THE COMPANY CONTRACTED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL, WHICH BEGAN IMMEDIATELY WITH A GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY ON APRIL 8, 1911, AND CORNER STONE LAYING ON MAY 1, 1911. CONSTRUCTION TOOK TWO YEARS AND COST ABOUT $450,000.

THE BUILDING WAS DEDICATED ON APRIL 30, 1913, THE NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF THE FAIR, AND 25 YEARS BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGAN ON THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON D.C.. THE ARCH AT THE CENTER OF THE ST.LOUIS BUILDING FRAMED A STATUE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON BY CARL BITTER, WHO HAD BEEN THE CHIEF OF SCULPTURE FOR THE FAIR. WITH THE DEDICATION OF THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL BUILDING, THE LPEC'S WORK WAS COMPLETE. THE FAIR HAD BROUGHT GREAT CHANGES TO FOREST PARK. KESSLER SAID THE PARK HAD RECEIVED "IMPROVEMENTS AND BETTERMENTS WHICH FAIRLY REPRESENT $500,000 OF COST." THIS ESTIMATE DIDN'T INCLUDE THE ART MUSEUM, THE STATUE OF ST.LOUIS,THE WORLDS FAIR PAVILION,OR THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL, ONLY LANDSCAPING, ROADS AND BRIDGES, SEWERS AND WATER SYSTEMS. THE RESTORATION, HE SAID,"GIVES TO FOREST PARK AN IMPRESSION OF DISTANCES AND MAGNITUDE THAT THE OLD PARK DID NOT POSSESS--CERTAINLY THERE ARE NO MORE IMPRESSIVE PARK VIEWS IN THE COUNTRY THAN THOSE AFFORDED FROM ART HILL--AND FROM GOVERNMENT HILL--ACROSS THE BROAD MEADOWS, THE LAKES AND LAGOONS--TO THE ENCIRCLING SKY LINE OF THE CITY."

THE GLOBE DEMOCRAT AGREED THAT THE WORK WAS A SUCCESS. "WHETHER ONE LOOKS UP FROM THE MEMORIAL BUILDING TO THE ART MUSEUM,CROWNING ART HILL NOT FAR AWAY, OR DOWN FROM ART HILL TO THE MEMORIAL BUILDING, ALL REGRET FOR THE PRIMEVAL FOREST VANISHES," EVEN AFTER THE DEDICATION OF THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL, THE STORY OF THE WORLDS FAIR WAS NOT QUITE OVER. AFTER HAVING SERVED ALL OUTSTANDING OBLIGATIONS, THE TRUSTEES OF THE FORMER LPEC STILL HELD ABOUT $100,000. IN 1916, FOLLOWING THE ADVISE OF THEIR LAWYER, THEY FORMED A CORPORATION CALLED THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION TO HOLD THE REMAINING MONEY "AS AN ENDOWMENT FUND --FOR THE BENEFIT OF AN HISTORICAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY--TO CONSIST OF THE ARCHIVES OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION COMPANY." THE CORPORATION WAS MERGED INTO THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN 1925, AS FRANCIS HAD LONG INTENDED.

"DWIGHT F. DAVIS."

HIS LEGACY- (1911-1930)HE BECAME PARK COMMISSIONER WHEN HE WAS IN HIS 30'S. HE HAD A VISION OF THE PARK,"THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF A PARK SYSTEM SHOULD BE THE RAISING OF MEN AND WOMEN RATHER THAN GRASS OR TREES". HE SAID "IF WE CAN'T HAVE THE GRASS AND THE PEOPLE THEN LETS SACRIFICE THE GRASS." HE WAS AN ENTHUSIASTIC AMATEUR ATHLETE WHO WAS THE NATIONAL OUTDOOR MEN'S TENNIS DOUBLES CHAMPION FROM 1899 TO 1901. IN 1900 HE DONATED A TROPHY FOR A NEW TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP, LATER KNOWN AS THE DAVIS CUP. DAVIS PROMOTED ORGANIZED RECREATION,PARTICULARLY IN THE POOREST AREAS OF THE CITY.

IN JUNE 1903 DAVIS ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT FROM TENNIS COMPETITION IN ORDER TO DEVOTE HIMSELF TO A PRIVATE ST.LOUIS ORGANIZATION WORKING TO PROVIDE PLAYGROUNDS FOR THE CITIES CHILDREN. HE WORKED WITH CHARLOTTE RUMBOLD UNTIL 1907 WHEN THE ASSOCIATION DISBANDED WHEN THE CITY PARK DEPARTMENT TOOK OVER THE WORK. HE THEN SERVED AS A REPUBLICAN MEMBER OF THE CITY'S HOUSE OF DELEGATES FROM 1907 TO 1909.

IN 1911 REPUBLICAN MAYOR FREDERICK H. KREISMANN, WHOM DAVIS SUPPORTED APPOINTED DAVIS PARK COMMISSIONER. THE CITY COUNCIL ALMOST DIDN'T APPROVE HIM. SOME HAD ANOTHER FOR THE JOB, OTHERS DIDN'T LIKE HIM FOR BEING TOO FRIENDLY WITH THE TERMINAL R/R - OWNER OF THE FREE BRIDGE, AND BECAUSE HE OPPOSED A CITY OWNED "FREE BRIDGE". HIS POLITICAL STRENGTH ALLOWED HIM TO PUT HIS IDEAS INTO PRACTICE. ONE OF HIS FIRST OFFICIAL ACTS WAS TO TAKE DOWN THE "KEEP OFF GRASS" SIGNS OF WHICH THERE WERE MANY. IN 1876 THERE WERE NO SUCH SIGNS. THEY GRADUALLY SHOWED UP IN THE 1880'S AND 90'S.

BY THE 1920'S SOME HAD BEGUN TO CALL A HALT TO ADDITIONS IN THE PARK. DAVIS SAW THE PARKS AS IDEAL LOCATIONS FOR PLAYGROUNDS AND ATHLETIC FIELDS FOR YOUNG AND OLD. HE WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND ATHLETIC FACILITIES FOR ORGANIZED SPORTS. RACIAL BARRIERS WERE RESTRICTING USE OF THE GOLF COURSE. DAVIS'S RACIAL POLICY WAS NEVER STATED BUT HE PROBABLY PROVIDED SEPARATE FACILITIES FOLLOWING THE U.S.SUPREME COURT "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" DOCTRINE OF 1896. THIS WAS ARGUED FOR YEARS UNTIL 1922 WHEN ALBERT H. HOWARD ASKED THE CIRCUIT COURT TO COMPEL COMMISSIONER PAPE TO ISSUE GOLF PERMITS TO HIM AND OTHER BLACKS. PAPE'S SOLUTION WAS TO RESERVE THE GOLF COURSES ON MONDAYS FROM 6AM UNTIL NOON FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE AND ENJOYMENT FOR COLORED PERSONS. UNDER PAPE FOREST PARK CONTAINED 38 TENNIS COURTS, 20 BASEBALL DIAMONDS, 2 SOCCER FIELDS, 2 HANDBALL COURTS, A CROQUET COURSE, A CRICKET LAWN, AN ARCHERY RANGE, AND 2 PUBLIC GOLF COURSES.

DAVIS AND HIS SUCCESSORS ENCOURAGED WINTER SPORTS AS WELL. WHEN THERE WAS SNOW, DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES TENDED 2 TOBOGGAN SLOPES: A GENTLE SLOPE ON BIRD CAGE DRIVE, CLOSED TO AUTO TRAFFIC TO ALLOW SLEDDING, AND NEARBY ART HILL WHERE COASTERS COULD REACH SPEEDS OF 35MPH AFTER THE PARK EMPLOYEES PACKED THE HILL SNOW,THEN POURED WATER OVER IT. GASOLINE LIGHTS SHOWED THE PATH FOR NIGHT SLEDDERS. EMPLOYEES ALSO SMOOTHED THE GRAND BASIN ICE FOR SKATERS AND TENDED BONFIRES AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF ART HILL. ORGANIZED SPORTS BEGAN TO GROW IN ALL FIELDS.

ST. LOUIS SWEPT THE FIRST NATIONAL MUNICIPAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT, DEFEATING THE NEW YORK ENTRIES IN SEPTEMBER, 1916 ON THE COURTS NEAR THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL.(THIS IS A NICE FIND) TED DREWS TEAMED UP WITH FRED JOSTIES TO WIN THE DOUBLES TITLE. DREWS AND TAYLOR WON SINGLES TITLES. THEY HAD GOLF TOURNAMENTS, BASEBALL AND SOCCER LEAGUES, A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BICYCLE RACE, A SILVER SKATES CARNIVAL, WHERE ALMOST A THOUSAND SPECTATORS STOOD SIX TO EIGHT FEET DEEP AROUND THE GRAND BASIN.

AS PARK COMMISSIONER DAVIS AGAIN WORKED WITH CHARLOTTE RUMBOLD ON A CITY-RUN PLAYGROUND IN THE PARK. THESE OUTINGS LASTED UNTIL 1909 WHEN IT GOT TOO EXPENSIVE. THIS DID DEVELOP INTO A FESTIVAL WITH DISPLAYS OF THE CHILDREN'S SUMMER CRAFT PROJECTS AND SIMPLE ATHLETIC CONTESTS. OF COURSE THE COMPETITIONS "FOR COLORED PARTICIPANTS" WERE HELD AT A DIFFERENT TIME FROM THE "WHITE EVENTS". THESE FESTIVALS LASTED UNTIL THE 1930'S. IN 1913 A PAGEANT WAS ADDED AND THIS DEVELOPED INTO A GRAND PAGEANT AND MASQUE ON A STAGE OVER PART OF THE GRAND BASIN. THEY ENACTED THE HISTORY OF ST.LOUIS (150 YRS.) WITH A CAST OF MORE THAN 7,000. FOR EACH OF THE FOUR NIGHTS IN THE SUMMER OF 1914, AN ESTIMATED CROWD OF 100,000 PEOPLE FILLED TEMPORARY SEATS ON ART HILL. THIS WAS A COMPLETE SUCCESS, AND VOTERS DID APPROVE A NEW CITY CHARTER, BUT THE PARKS HAD A LESS IMPORTANT PLACE IN THE CITY ADMINISTRATION. APPROVAL OF THE CHARTER DID NOT BRING ABOUT THE NEW COMMUNITY SPIRIT DAVIS AND RUMBOLT HAD HOPED TO FOSTER, SINCE SEGREGATIONISTS USED IT'S INITIATIVE PROVISION TO PASS THE SEGREGATIONISTS HOUSING ORDINANCE OF 1916.

MUNICIPAL PLAY DAY IN 1916 WAS THE SECOND AND LAST; THE CELEBRATION WAS DISCONTINUED DURING WORLD WAR I AND NOT RESUMED. IN 1917 THE MUNICIPAL THEATER WAS BUILT WITH 10,000 SEATS (1000 FREE),AND HAS CONTINUED TO THIS DAY.THE NEW THEATER AND THE NEWLY DISCOVERED AMPHITHEATER ON ART HILL WERE PUT TO WORK DURING W.W I FOR PATRIOTIC GATHERINGS. ONE OF THE LARGEST CROWDS EVER IN FOREST PARK WENT FOR A LIBERTY LOAN RALLY IN 1918 TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE WAR EFFORT. A 350-PIECE BAND UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF LIEUTENANT JOHN PHILLIP SOUSA PARADED TO THE PARK, AS DID VETERANS OF THE SPANISH- AMERICAN WAR AND THE CIVIL WAR. THEY MARCHED TWO AND A HALF MILES WHICH TOOK TWO HOURS TO PASS AT ANY GIVEN POINT. THEY JOINED A CROWD OF 200,000 PEOPLE ON AND NEAR ART HILL, MANY OF WHOM HAD WALKED LONG DISTANCES SINCE THE STREET CARS COULDN'T HANDLE THEM. SOUSA REPORTEDLY SAID THAT IT WAS "NOT ONLY THE LARGEST CROWD I EVER SAW, BUT THE GREATEST I EVER HEARD OF IN THE WORLD".

THE PERIOD FOLLOWING THE WAR SAW A NOTICEABLE DECLINE IN MASS MEETINGS IN FOREST PARK. BUT THE LARGE CROWDS RETURNED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 1927, WHEN ST.LOUISANS HAD SOMETHING TO CHEER. MORE THAN 100,000 PEOPLE JAMMED ART HILL TO WELCOME CHARLES A. LINDBERGH BACK TO ST.LOUIS AFTER HIS NONSTOP FLIGHT FROM NEW YORK TO PARIS HAD WON THE $25,000 ORTEIG PRIZE AND MADE THE PILOT AN INTERNATIONAL HERO, AND ALSO MADE THE CITY WORLD FAMOUS.

THE ZOO CONTINUED TO GROW DESPITE DAVIS' OPPOSITION. HE LIKED STRUCTURED, SUPERVISED RECREATION,PUTTING THE ZOO LOW ON THE LIST.BUT THE PEOPLE WANTED IT. IN THE BEGINNING THE ANIMALS WERE CAGED AND IN SMALL, HOT, SMELLY BUILDINGS. DAVIS PREFERRED A "GLIMPSE OF A HERD OF ANIMALS ROAMING AT WILL THROUGH NATURAL SURROUNDINGS". BUT WITH ALL THE OPPOSITION,(SOME DIDN'T WANT TO BE TAXED, SOME DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE UP 70 ACRES OF PARK LAND, AND ANNA SNEED CAIRNS COMPLAINED THAT THE ROAR OF LIONS AND GROWLS OF BEARS WOULD SCARE THE YOUNG WOMEN.)

DESPITE THE OPPOSITION THE CITY VOTED TO SET ASIDE 70 ACRES FOR THE ZOO WHICH PASSED IN DECEMBER,1913. DAVIS CONTENDED IT WAS ILLEGAL, BUT TOOK HIS PLACE ON THE BOARD OF CONTROL AND WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT, A POSITION SUCCEEDING PARK COMMISSIONERS WOULD HOLD UNTIL 1960. SO THE BUILD UP CAME - JULY 1915 - LION HOUSE, APR 5, 1916 MISS JIM THE ELEPHANT CAME, BOUGHT WITH THE PENNIES CONTRIBUTED BY SCHOOL CHILDREN. (MY GRAND FATHER, ERIC TAENZER ARRIVED WITH HER AS TRAINER FROM THE CIRCUS). SO MANY PEOPLE CAME TO SEE MISS JIM IN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS THE ENTHUSIASM GREW AND THE TAX CAME. MISS JIM GOT HER ELEPHANT HOUSE THAT YEAR. THE NEXT STRUCTURES WERE A CHAIN OF LAKES FLOWED INTO A NEW SEAL BASIN. THE BEAR PITS OPENED IN 1921, 22, 23. WHEN SUPERINTENDENT ANGERMEYER DIED IN 1922 GEORGE P. VIERHELLER TOOK OVER. IN 1928 HE BECAME DIRECTOR OF THE ST.LOUIS ZOO, A POSITION HE HELD UNTIL 1962. IN 1925 THE PRIMATE HOUSE, 1927 THE REPTILE HOUSE, IN 1930 THE SMALL MAMMAL PITS, AND THE BIRD HOUSE.

IN 1916 CASS GILBERT DREW A PLAN TO ENLARGE THE ART MUSEUM (MAKING IT EIGHT TIMES THE SIZE OF THE WORLDS FAIR BUILDING WITH Landscaping OF ART HILL.) THE LANDSCAPING HAPPENED BUT NOT THE BUILDING. THE OTHER FAVORITE HILL WAS GOVERNMENT HILL WHICH WAS LANDSCAPED THROUGH THE YEARS. IN 1930 IT RECEIVED ITS COLORED FOUNTAIN WHICH WAS POPULAR INTO THE DAYS OF MY YOUTH.

IN 1918 ANOTHER ATTACK - THE CITY, TRYING TO FOSTER GROWTH OF THE ECONOMY, SET ASIDE LAND NEAR THE MOUNTED POLICE STATION FOR A LANDING FIELD FOR AIRMAIL, DESPITE OBJECTIONS TO SUCH USE OF PARK LANDS. THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SUPPORTED AN AIRMAIL FIELD AS IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT. THEY BELIEVED ANY OTHER SITE WOULD BE SO FAR FROM THE MAIN POST OFFICE THAT IT WOULD TAKE LONGER TO GET MAIL TO THE LANDING FIELD THAN FOR IT TO COME FROM CHICAGO. THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DONATED HALF THE $25,000 NEEDED FOR GRADING THE FIELD AND ERECTING A SURPLUS ARMY HANGER. MAJOR ALBERT LAMBERT, ON BEHALF OF THE MISSOURI AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY, AGREED TO CONTRIBUTE $3,000 FOR MATERIAL NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE HANGAR.

AIRMAIL SERVICE BETWEEN ST.LOUIS AND CHICAGO BEGAN IN FOREST PARK ON AUG.16, 1920. PILOTS MADE ONE FLIGHT EACH WAY DAILY, EXCEPT SUNDAY, YEAR ROUND, CIRCLING THE FIELD UNTIL THEY REACHED THEIR FLIGHT ALTITUDE OF 1,000 FEET, THEN CROSSING THE PARK DIAGONALLY TO THE LINDEL- KINGSHIGHWAY ENTRANCE. THE AIR MAIL SERVICE LASTED LESS THAN A YEAR, ENDING JUNE 30, 1921, AFTER CONGRESS, BENT ON SAVING MONEY, REFUSED TO UNDERWRITE AIRMAIL SERVICE DEFICITS ANOTHER YEAR. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TOOK BACK IT'S MOVABLE EQUIPMENT, BUT THE AIRFIELD AND HANGER REMAINED IN THE PARK. DESPITE WHAT ST.LOUISANS WOULD LATER SAY, CHARLES LINDBERGH NEVER FLEW MAIL OUT OF FOREST PARK.

AFTER AIRMAIL SERVICE ENDED, PRIVATE PILOTS, INCLUDING WILLIAM B. ROBERTSON, CHARLES R. WASSALL, AND H.H. HUNTER, USED THE FOREST PARK AIRFIELD FOR EXHIBITION FLIGHTS THAT ATTRACTED SO MANY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY ON SUNDAYS, THAT IT WAS HARD FOR THE FLYERS TO LAND. AFTER THE CITY PROHIBITED THE PILOTS FROM CHARGING FOR RIDES IN JULY, 1921, FOREST PARK FLIGHTS WERE NO LONGER PROFITABLE. THE PILOTS MOVED TO A LARGER ST.LOUIS COUNTY FIELD, WHICH LATER BECAME LAMBERT- ST.LOUIS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, BUT THE FOREST PARK FIELD REMAINED AS AN EMERGENCY LANDING FIELD.

NEARBY, THE PARK WAS AGAIN SERVING THE CITES POOR. IN 1919 THE PARK DEPARTMENT AND THE RED CROSS OPENED A VACATION VILLAGE ON THE PARKS SOUTHERN EDGE FOR FAMILIES WHO OTHERWISE COULDN'T AFFORD TO TAKE VACATIONS. THE VILLAGE INCLUDED A HOSPITAL WITH A NURSE, A MESS TENT WHERE THE AVERAGE COST OF A MEAL WAS 10 CENTS, FOUR SHOWERS, A CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND, AND EASY ACCESS TO THE ZOO. FATHERS AND OTHER WORKING VACATIONISTS COULD GO TO WORK USING THE NEARBY STREETCAR LINES. THAT SAME SUMMER THE AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF ST.LOUIS OPENED AN AUTO TOURIST CAMP IN THE PARK NEAR THE VACATION VILLAGE. THE CAMP CONTAINED SOME TENTS AND HAMMOCKS, ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE TOURISTS CARRIED CAMPING EQUIPMENT WITH THEM.

THINGS COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE FOR THE PARKS SOUTHERN NEIGHBORS IF THE CITY HAD NOT REJECTED ANTON STEUVER'S 1918 PLAN TO MINE FIRE CLAY UNDER FOREST PARKS SOUTHERN EDGE.STEUVER'S HIGHLANDS FIRE CLAY COMPANY, SOUTH OF THE PARK, OFFERED TO PAY THE CITY FOR THE THE PRIVILEGE OF FOLLOWING A VEIN OF CLAY UNDER THE PARK, SAYING IT WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE TO MOVE OUT OF THE CITY. MAYOR KEIL SUPPORTED THE PLAN BECAUSE IT WOULD PRODUCE REVENUE FOR THE CITY WITHOUT ANY DAMAGE TO THE PARK, WHILE CONTINUING TO EMPLOY A HUNDRED WORKERS. BUT A FORMER PROFESSOR OF MINING ENGINEERING SAID THE MINING MIGHT CHANGE THE LAND INTO A SERIES OF SINKS AND SHELL HOLES. NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS OPPOSED THE BILL. THE CENTRAL TRADES AND LABOR UNION WAS AGAINST IT. THE GLOBE DEMOCRAT CALLED THE MINING A DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT THAT MIGHT WORK, BUT IT MIGHT NOT. THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN APPROVED THE PLAN, THEN A WEEK LATER UNANIMOUSLY REVERSED ITSELF BECAUSE OF PUBLIC OPPOSITION.

BY LATE 1918 LAWYER TAYLOR R. YOUNG HAD ENOUGH OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS, WHICH HE SAID DECREASED THE VALUE OF HIS HOUSE ON OAKLAND. HE SUED COMMISSIONER CUNLIFF, CHALLENGING THE USE OF LAND ALONG THE PARKS SOUTHERN BOUNDARY FOR TRIPLE A, THE MOUNTED POLICE STATION, THE AVIATION FIELD, THE GREENHOUSE COMPLEX, AND THE TOURIST CAMP AND VACATION VILLAGE. HE ALSO CALLED THE COURTS ATTENTION TO "UNSIGHTLY AND UNSANITARY PILES OF ROCKS AND STONES ALONG THE SOUTH LINE OF FOREST PARK, NEAR SKINKER ROAD" AND FOR GOOD MEASURE, CHALLENGED THE PRACTICE OF CHARGING ADMISSION AT THE MUNICIPAL THEATER AND THE CONTRACTS FOR REFRESHMENT SALES. YOUNG'S CASE DRAGGED THROUGH THE COURTS FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS BEFORE A JUDGE DISMISSED IT IN 1922. IN THE MEANTIME THE AVIATION FIELD CLOSED AND THE TOURIST CAMP WOULD FOLLOW. THE TOURISTS WERE UNHAPPY WITH THE FACILITIES AT THE CAMP,AND IT CLOSED IN 1925.

IN THE EARLY 1920'S DEVELOPMENT LAGGED NORTH OF FOREST PARK AND WEST OF UNION,NEAR WHERE THE RIVER ENTERED THE PARK MOSTLY DUE TO THE UN-SEWERED RIVER AND THE ROCK ISLAND TRACKS. THERE WERE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON THE SOUTH AND APARTMENTS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE TRACKS.

ON ANOTHER DIAGONAL, THE SOUTHERN SECTION OF THE WEST SIDE AND THE NORTHERN SECTION OF THE EAST SIDE CONTAINED LUXURY APARTMENTS, MIXED ON THE EAST SIDE WITH HOTELS SUCH AS THE BUCKINGHAM HOTEL, THE CHASE HOTEL WHICH OPENED IN 1922 AND THE PARK PLAZA IN 1929.

IN 1923 A BOND ISSUE FOR $87.4 MILLION FOR PROJECTS ALL OVER THE CITY WAS PASSED. ONE OF THE PROJECTS WAS FOR TURNING THE RIVER DES PERES INTO A SEWER. A BILLBOARD IN FOREST PARK SAID "THINK THIS OVER. WHAT OTHER BIG CITY WOULD HAVE AN OPEN SEWER RUNNING THROUGH A FINE BIG PARK? THE PROPOSAL PASSED BY MORE THAN 3/1. THE RIVER WAS REROUTED SO THAT IT ROUGHLY FOLLOWED THE PARKS NORTHERN AND EASTERN BOUNDARIES, THEN PUT INTO HORSESHOE SHAPED CONCRETE SEWER PIPES TALL ENOUGH TO HOLD A TWO STORY HOUSE EASILY. SPECTATORS WENT TO WATCH A 300-TON SHOVEL SCOOP UP SIX CUBIC YARDS OF DIRT AT A TIME. DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES BUILT A NEW LAKE, LATER CALLED JEFFERSON LAKE AND A SERIES OF LAGOONS OVER PARTS OF THE SEWER. THE SEWER IN FOREST PARK WAS COMPLETED IN 1930.

THE PEOPLE ON SKINKER WANTED A NEW ENTRANCE TO THE PARK, BUT INSTEAD GOT A WIDENED GOVERNMENT DRIVE AS PART OF A DIAGONAL CONNECTION THRU THE PARK. AGAIN IN THE 1920'S, AROUSED PUBLIC OPINION PREVENTED PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION ALONG THE PARKS SOUTHERN BORDER. UNLIKE STEUVER'S MINING PLANS, THESE PROPOSALS EYED LAND IN THE PARKS SOUTH EASTERN CORNER, MADE AVAILABLE BY THE REMOVAL OF THE RIVER DES PERES. ARTHUR A. BLUMEYER PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL IN 1929. COMMISSIONER PAPE HAD ANOTHER PLAN FOR THE SITE - A STADIUM. THE STAR POINTED OUT THAT A 50,000 SEAT STADIUM WOULD INCREASE TRAFFIC IN THE PARK, AND WOULD MEAN MORE NOISE AND CONFUSION WHERE IT SHOULD BE QUIET AND RESTFUL. AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, THE NEWSPAPERS WERE AGAINST BOTH PLANS. THE PROPOSAL WAS DROPPED ,THEN BRIEFLY REVIVED IN 1935. REACTION WAS BAD AND THE STADIUM OR SCHOOL WAS NEVER BUILT THERE. TODAY THERE IS A SEMI - ABOVE/UNDER GROUND FIRE WARNING BUILDING ON THE SITE.

IN 1931, A FLOWER DISPLAY STARTED IN ONE OF THE GREENHOUSES. THIS CONTINUED UNTIL 1934 WHEN PARK OFFICIALS ALLOCATED $75,000 FROM THE 1923 BOND ISSUE FOR THE CITY'S SHARE TO BUILD A NEW JEWEL BOX. THE DESIGN WAS INTENDED TO ADMIT THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF LIGHT IN THE WINTER, TO REDUCE DAMAGE FROM HAIL, AND TO REDUCE MAINTENANCE COSTS. ONLY THE WALLS WERE GLASS. ALL OF THE HORIZONTAL SURFACES WERE METAL. AWNINGS REGULATED THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT, REPLACING PAINTED WINDOWS. SOME CALLED IT A FORBIDDING BLOCK OF ICE. ONE WELL KNOWN CONTRACTOR SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE. BUT ROBERT PAULUS CONSTRUCTION CO. DID THE JOB. THE NEW JEWEL BOX, OFFICIALLY NAMED THE ST.LOUIS FLORAL CONSERVATORY, OPENED ON NOV.14, 1936. THERE WAS NO ADMISSION CHARGE FOR ANY OF THE DISPLAYS. THE BUILDING'S DESIGN RECEIVED NATIONAL RECOGNITION. THE BUILDING WORKED JUST AS CITY ENGINEER WILLIAM BECKER ENVISIONED IT WOULD. WHEN HAIL STORMS IN THE SPRING OF 1938 BROKE MORE THAN A THOUSAND PANES OF GLASS IN THE PARK GREENHOUSES,THE JEWEL BOX WAS UNDAMAGED.

THE SOUTHEASTERN SECTION OF THE PARK ALWAYS HAD SOMEONE EYING IT. PLANS FOR PARK LAND CONTINUED TO REFLECT THE TENSION BETWEEN NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT. THE SOUTHEAST CORNER WAS ALWAYS A TARGET. SOME WANTED NEW BUILDINGS JUST LIKE THE 1920'S. PROPOSALS FOR A NEW CITY PSYCHOPATHIC HOSPITAL AND A STATE CANCER HOSPITAL WERE MADE, THEN DISCARDED FOLLOWING LOUD OPPOSITION. THEN THE ARMY RECREATION CAMP PREVENTED BUILDING IN THE CORNER UNTIL AFTER THE WAR. THE NEW HIGHWAY CALLED THE OAKLAND EXPRESS CUT OFF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER WHEN IT OPENED IN MID JULY 1936. THE ARMY RECREATION CAMP IN THAT CORNER HOUSED SERVICE MEN ON LEAVE FROM FORT LEONARD WOOD, SCOTT FIELD, AND OTHER NEARBY BASES. IT WAS THE FINEST REST CAMP ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY.

THE PARK HAD ITS HARD TIMES AND GOOD TIMES . THE HARDEST WERE DURING THE 1930'S. WITH THE DEPRESSION. THE CITES FINANCIAL CONDITION, BAD IN THE 20'S, GREW WORSE IN THE 30'S. PARK OFFICIALS HAD TO FACE INCREASED USE WITH INADEQUATE BUDGETS. THE ASSESSED VALUATION OF CITY PROPERTY DECREASED BY ALMOST 20% BETWEEN 1929 AND 1940 RESULTING IN LOWER TAX RECEIPTS.A SHORT WORK WEEK WAS DEVELOPED TO SPREAD WORK AMONG A LARGER NUMBER OF MEN WORKING PART TIME. BY 1937 MOST DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES WERE WORKING ONLY FOURTEEN DAYS A MONTH AT THREE DOLLARS A DAY.BY THE END OF THE WAR, 30% OF PARK EMPLOYEES WERE OLDER THAN SEVENTY-FIVE AND PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO TRIM TREES.

AFTER THE WAR THINGS BEGAN TO TURN AROUND. THE LIGHTS WERE BACK ON, AND SERVICES CUT DURING THE 30'S WERE RESTORED. DURING THE 30'S PRIVATE MONEY HELPED BUT THE REAL SOURCE WAS FEDERAL IN SEVERAL PROGRAMS, SUCH AS CWA, FERA, NYA, WPA, PWA. THIS KEPT PROJECTS GOING AND MEN WORKING. WATERFALLS, FLORAL DISPLAYS, IMPROVED LAKES, COOKING FACILITIES FOR PICNICKERS, COMFORT STATIONS, AND THE CITY FOUND $75,000 FROM THE 1923 BOND ISSUE TO BUILD THE JEWEL BOX. THE ZOO HELD ITS OWN, ALSO THE MUSEUM,AND THE MUNY. AS TIME WENT BY AND MONEY WAS HARD TO FIND, NEW WAYS WERE FOUND TO BUILD UP THE PARK. BUT BUILDINGS WERE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN.

THE FIRE WARNING SYSTEM AT OAKLAND AND KINGSHIGHWAY, BARNES BUILT AN UNDERGROUND GARAGE AND MADE A PARK AND TENNIS COURTS ON TOP. THE PLANETARIUM WAS BUILT ON THE SITE OF THE OLD POLICE STATION.IT HAD A LOT OF DIFFICULTIES FROM THE BEGINNING UNTIL McDONNELL COMPANY STEPPED IN. TODAY AN ADDED ATTRACTION IS THE SCIENCE CENTER ACROSS OAKLAND JOINED WITH THE PLANETARIUM BY A BRIDGE OVER OAKLAND AND THE HIGHWAY. PEOPLE ON THE BRIDGE CAN USE RADAR GUNS TO CLOCK THE SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY. THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL HAS ADDED AN UNDERGROUND EXTENSION WITH LANDSCAPING AND AN ATRIUM AT THE SOUTH ENTRANCE. THE ART MUSEUM HAS EXPANDED AND WILL BE DOING MORE. THE ZOO HAS GREATLY IMPROVED AND EXPANDED, BUT HAS GENERALLY STAYED IN ITS BOUNDARIES, EXCEPT FOR PARKING AREAS.

THE HIGHWAY WAS WIDENED ON THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH SIDE. IMPROVED SPORTS FACILITIES SUCH AS HAND BALL COURTS AND TENNIS COURTS. ON THE EAST, STEINBERG RINK IS STILL BEING USED. IT OPENED IN NOV.11,1957, AS AN ICE RINK THAT WOULD STAY OPEN ALL YEAR. THE MARK C. STEINBERG CHARITABLE TRUST PAID 2/3 OF THE RINK AND THE CITY PAID ITS SHARE FROM 1944 BOND ISSUE FUNDS. THE JEWEL BOX AND THE MUNY HAVE STAYED THE SAME. FROM 1909 TO 1917 THE SOUTH PARK NEIGHBORS LOOKED AT THE GREEN HOUSES AND THE CHILDREN'S VEGETABLE GARDENS RUN BY THE RECREATION DIVISION. AFTER THE GARDENS CLOSED, THE CITY BUILT A GROUP OF WORKSHOPS FOR CARPENTERS,PAINTERS, PLUMBERS, BLACKSMITHS, AND AUTO MECHANICS, BRINGING ALL UNITS TOGETHER WITH THE OFFICES DOWNTOWN. THE TREE NURSERY MOVED OUT IN THE EARLY TEENS, BUT THE NUMBER OF GREENHOUSES GREW PRODUCING COAL SMOKE WHEN THEY WERE HEATED.

THE QUESTION OF THE TRIPLE A CLUB WAS NOT SO EASILY RESOLVED. THE CLUB CLAIMED IT HAD SPENT $100,000 ON THE PARK, AND THEY DIDN'T DISCRIMINATE. SOME DEBATED THAT POSITION, BUT NOTHING WAS SOLVED AND TRIPLE A STAYED WITH A MEMBERS ONLY CLUB. IN 1925 THE CITY ALTERED THE AGREEMENT WITH THE CLUB. WHEN THE CITY IMPOSED FEES FOR THE USE OF THE PUBLIC GOLF AND TENNIS FACILITIES, TRIPLE A AGREED TO PAY $12,000 A YEAR, $10.00 FOR EACH CLUB MEMBER, THE AMOUNT OF AN ANNUAL GOLF PERMIT FOR THE PUBLIC COURSE. THE CITY THEN ISSUED EACH MEMBER A GOLF PERMIT, VALID ONLY ON THE TRIPLE A COURSE. PERMITS FOR THE MUNICIPAL COURSES WERE NOT VALID AT TRIPLE A, ENDING REGULAR USE OF THE COURSE BY NON MEMBERS. TO BE CONTINUED.

IN 1975, PERHAPS ENCOURAGED BY BARNS HOSPITAL NEW PARKING LOT IN THE PARK THE SOLOMONS TRIED TO GET A PARKING LOT IN THE PARK FOR THE ARENA. AFTER MUCH OPPOSITION THE LOT WAS NOT BUILT. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE CHILDRENS HOSP. PROPOSED A HOSP. EXPANSION OVER SEVERAL LANES OF KINGSHIGHWAY,SOME OF WHICH WERE PART OF THE PARK THOUGH THEY HAD BEEN USED AS A CITY STREET SINCE THE MIDDLE 30'S. THIS STARTED A GREAT CONTROVERSY, WHO HAD CONTROL OF THE PARK, AND WHAT PLAN WAS NEEDED.

IN 1976 THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS CHAPTER INVITED A TEAM OF EXPERTS TO COME TO ST.LOUIS TO STUDY THE PARK AND MAKE RECOMENDATIONS. THEY THOUGHT IT SHOULD GO UNDER REGIONAL CONTROL, GET THE CARS OUT OF THE PARK, AND RE-ESTABLISH THE PARK BOUNDARIES. THIS WENT OVER LIKE A LEAD BALLOON. KMOX-TV CALLED THE PLAN UNWORKABLE AND SAID THE VOTERS AREN'T ABOUT TO GIVE UP CONTROL OF THE PARK. SO THE STORY OF FOREST PARK'S FIRST CENTURY ENDED AS THE PARK HAD BEGUN - IN CONTROVERSY. THE DISCUSSION THEN WAS HOW BEST TO PRESERVE IT FOR GENERATIONS TO FOLLOW. ITS NOT CLEAR HOW MUCH OF LEFFINGWELL'S VISIONS CAME DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS, BUT IT IS REMARKABLE HOW MUCH OF THE PARK OF THE 70'S AND 80'S REFLECT THE 1875 PLAN.

TODAY THE COUNTY SHARES IN A TAX PLAN FOR THE ZOO AND MUSEUM, AND MOST ATTACKS ON THE PARK HAVE BEEN STOPPED. THERE IS A LOT OF PARK IMPROVEMENT BY THE FOREST PARK FOREVER GROUP OF WHICH I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT EXCEPT THEY ARE REBUILDING BRIDGES AND REPAIRING ROADS, DOING A GENERAL REPAIR JOB. THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT, GIVEN ST. LOUISANS' AFFECTION AND CONCERN FOR THE PARK, THAT THEY WILL FIND A WAY TO PRESERVE THE PARK INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.