Citygarden

Before heading back to Detroit, Mom, Dad, and I made our way downtown to catch a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with Winnie (meeting up Carolyn!).  Since we arrived downtown early, post-brunch at Schneithorst in Frontenac, we walked around the Citygarden, a part of the the Gateway Mall.

It actually took us awhile to find the Citygarden as we weren't quite sure of the exact street and even city residents seemed confused when we asked them about it.  Since I'm sure this is a new concept for most St. Louisians, I did a little bit of research and found quite a fascinating story here.  The history of the Citygarden from their website follows:

In 1999, a nonprofit group called Downtown Now developed a master plan for downtown St. Louis. The plan, which was approved by the Board of Aldermen, called for a sculpture garden on the two blocks of the Gateway Mall between Eighth and Tenth Streets.

Over the next several years, downtown St. Louis experienced a dramatic revival. Lofts and apartments were created in old warehouses and industrial buildings, dozens of new businesses opened, and the population roughly doubled. By 2006, the City saw a need to develop public, recreational space before it was too late. Fortunately the space existed - on the Gateway Mall. The City decided to get busy.

The City approached Gateway Foundation with a request to fund a Mall Master Plan. Gateway Foundation provided $450,000 for a plan encompassing the entire Mall, from Broadway to 21st Street. Excited by the plan, the City asked Gateway Foundation to fund the design and construction of the sculpture garden.

An agreement was reached in September 2006, and in June 2007, Gateway Foundation made a proposal to the Board of Aldermen to develop those two blocks into a public sculpture garden, in a partnership with the City...Just two years after entering into the agreement with the Board of Aldermen, Citygarden is a reality.

We walked through much of the Citygarden discovering and experiencing a wide range of sculptures from a larger-than-life size Pinocchio ("Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels")to a tricky water fountain to entertain the children (on a hot summer day!).  What a great new place for the city, residents, and tourists!

Here's a map of all the sculptures and a link to my Picasa album.

As far as the baseball game went, we endured the heat and the battle of game until the 8th inning leaving the game with the Cardinals down 5-3; however, once we cooled off in the car, we heard them battle back with 2 runs in the 8th to tie, and a winning run in the 10th to clinch the game!  Phew!