Citygarden - Downtown Sculpture Park

southsidepride · PostJul 02, 2009#2512009-07-02T14:01+00:00

What gets me is the naysayers like Ted are usually the same ones who drool over something like Chicago's Millenium Park, which is pretty much the same idea.

But they go nuts saying "it's Chicago, a REAL city, not a wannabe like St. Louis, they are so inventive, blah blah blah".

Fine, move there! Hope you enjoy shivering all but 8 weeks out of the year!

OK, rant over.

Alex Ihnen · PostJul 02, 2009#2522009-07-02T14:12+00:00

^ It's true that for some whatever St. Louis does will suck, because to them St. Louis sucks.

innov8ion · PostJul 02, 2009#2532009-07-02T17:25+00:00

^ Because they suck. Their lenses have poo on them so that's what they see. Clean the poo, don't be the poo.

steve · PostJul 02, 2009#2542009-07-02T17:35+00:00

TG wrote:Actually......Ted's comment in the BJ--

--"This city is so easily impressed with itself over the smallest of things" --

couldn't be more honest. He is exactly right. We have so much green space downtown and we are all patting ourselves on the back for planting some trees and putting in some fountains. Bigger things should be happening in this city and I am not yet convinced this place will actually spur any development. That said, it is a nice park, it is just funny how everyone is so worked up about a park, next to another "park", next to more green space, next to underdeveloped lots, etc., etc..

No what's really typical about Saint Louis is people like you, always b*tching about SOMETHING, because, well, dontcha know, Saint Louis just s*cks.

The park is great, and thanks all for sharing your pics.

matguy70 · PostJul 02, 2009#2552009-07-02T18:05+00:00

Look at it this way... every city has them (poopoo naysayers) - if STL would have built the arch today, they would post that it is also crap. Either it would reflect the sun wrong or wouldn't match the rest of the skyline, or Chicago and NYC have something better or we were just trying to make something cool or better. Get a life people!

---------------------------

A snippet from Mayor Slay's remarks at the grand opening of City Garden yesterday:

Now, with Citygarden, we have put in place the crucial first piece for finally realizing (the Gateway Mall's) potential. And the statement that piece is making is this: “Look. We do great things in this City. And the future here can be even greater than our past.”

For that reason, I also think this garden will act as a catalyst for the commercial and residential development of downtown. I’m already hearing from CEOs about how much they love this place. With one stroke, this garden has made downtown SO much more attractive as a place to do business.

juiceinkirkwood · PostJul 02, 2009#2562009-07-02T19:41+00:00

^ Exactly, everyone.

+1 for the

MidcoastSTL wrote:Hopefully Ted can learn to enjoy some of the things in life and not be such a douche bag.

I for one can't wait to show it off!!!

tb1000 · PostJul 03, 2009#2572009-07-03T01:24+00:00

The place looks amazing. Man, I really miss St. Louis.

For the people who are saying, "well, we have so much green space and we use it for a garden...blah, blah, blah..." Guess what? A new skyscraper just isn't realistic now nor will it be within the next 5 years unless a major corporation builds it and makes it their HQ.

I'm glad the city did this. It's the best use of the space as things stand today and gives the city more beauty. If I was a betting man I would bet that it's going to be very popular with tourists and people in town for conventions/business.

matguy70 · PostJul 03, 2009#2582009-07-03T02:49+00:00

For the people who are saying, "well, we have so much green space and we use it for a garden...blah, blah, blah..." Guess what? A new skyscraper just isn't realistic now nor will it be within the next 5 years unless a major corporation builds it and makes it their HQ.

and if you want residents downtown... they want green space. Anyway, look at it this way: Downtown Chicago has Grant and Millineum Park - two enormous parks in one directly in downtown Chicago next to the loop. Is it too much green space? I would think so.

framer · PostJul 03, 2009#2592009-07-03T04:13+00:00

Citygarden makes Downtown look fantastic. Every angle, every view, is amazing. People from all over the country are going to be bringing home photos showing this beautiful, unique oasis surrounded by big buildings. Every travel magazine will do a feature on it. Every newspaper's "Travel & Leisure" section will write it up. A lot of people's impressions of St. Louis are going to change. Hopefully, including people who live here.

shinpickle · PostJul 03, 2009#2602009-07-03T05:49+00:00

threeonefour · PostJul 03, 2009#2612009-07-03T06:04+00:00

There are a lot of great pictures in this thread since Citygarden opened. I can't wait to check it out this weekend!

And Framer, I agree completely about the impact of this place. Hopefully this will get plenty of attention during All-Star Week.

rssl2000 · PostJul 03, 2009#2622009-07-03T07:30+00:00

After the baseball game Thursday night I walked through City Garden with some friends and the place was packed. People taking pictures, kids/adults playing in the fountains and people just checking the place out. It was an awesome sight. I know 41,000 people just left Busch Stadium, but it was still cool to see all those people at 9pm.

gopher · PostJul 03, 2009#2632009-07-03T14:37+00:00

Was there last night as well after the game. I think most people were stunned to see something like this downtown. Absolutely incredible place.

Saw lots of kids playing in the fountains, people exploring, and a lot of excitement was in the air.

After walking through it we walked up and heard the Monty Python movie playing over at the Post office. That kind of vibrancy is what is needed.

Funny thing is some of us were talking about it and it only seems that when big events happen things get done. Notice the roads being paved, the City garden getting completed, the Post office plaza getting done.

We were joking that it's kind of like cleaning your place before your parents visit.

matguy70 · PostJul 03, 2009#2642009-07-03T15:18+00:00

We went and ate our dinner at City Garden yesterday evening at 7 pm. The game crowd was in the stadium and the place was packed. It is my third time going to the park - once at 8-9:30 pm (no Cards fans), afternoon 2:00 pm and last night (no cards fams) and it is ALWAYS packed.

The place is changing the Gateway mall and downtown... residents are loving it too!

This just isn't a "park". Like I said in my original pic post - this is getting enough attention in the media (across the country) as STL's "Millineum Park".

Smimpickle:

Thanks for the construction pics - that only shows one side of the park (east side) just so everone can see how large this place is!

This is a concept photo I found on the web of the entire area... the park looks better than this "vision" pic. But for what it's worth:

also:

Citygarden also has an audio tour, which people can access by calling 314-802-9571. St. Louis leaders from Ozzie Smith, Hall of Fame Cardinal, to David Robertson, St. Louis Symphony music director, were asked to contribute recordings. Park visitors can punch in a number on their phone that corresponds to each sculpture to hear more about it.

doug · PostJul 03, 2009#2652009-07-03T15:46+00:00

Who thinks this will be popular in 5 years without residential around the Mall?

matguy70 · PostJul 03, 2009#2662009-07-03T15:54+00:00

me - especially if it continues to grow, reshape and develop. I thing the city and Gateway are committed to this.

tg · PostJul 03, 2009#2672009-07-03T15:55+00:00

You guys just can't handle dissenting opinions. I am not a local, not a native and am probaby more of an urban pioneer/city promotor than any of you "urbanists" yet since I have a different opinion (not about the park itself) I have the "typical St. Louis attitude". Get a grip. I love the park, have already spent time there. The park itself isn't what I was talking about and a little more attention to my post would have made that obvious.

The mayor is already hearing from CEO's about this place, as if businesses are going to move here for the garden? That had me laughing out loud. I love downtown, work here (and will work nowhere else), lived here (probaby before any of you would even think about it) but a man was just found dead by the arch...crime is out of hand all over the city...I had to duck as I was walking home last night from work because of gunfire 30 feet away from my stoop....so perhaps we shouldn't act like we have made progress because of a single park and have some civic pride about our entire city for a change. Caring about the entire city and bigger issues SHOULD be the St. Louis attitude, if that is what you think I have.

roy314 · PostJul 03, 2009#2682009-07-03T16:57+00:00

Doug wrote:Who thinks this will be popular in 5 years without residential around the Mall?

Where's the residential around the Grand Basin in Forest Park?

the central scrutinizer · PostJul 03, 2009#2692009-07-03T19:45+00:00

Doug wrote:Who thinks this will be popular in 5 years without residential around the Mall?

Me.

doug · PostJul 03, 2009#2702009-07-03T19:45+00:00

Roy314 wrote:
Doug wrote:Who thinks this will be popular in 5 years without residential around the Mall?

Where's the residential around the Grand Basin in Forest Park?

Forest Park is the home to Internationally renowned cultural institutions that get millions of visitors a year.

brickandmortar · PostJul 03, 2009#2712009-07-03T19:57+00:00

I've heard a lot of good things about the Citygarden. I haven't seen it yet myself, but hopefully will in the next week. After reading this article I like that it has a relationship to the rivers.

A City's Artful Heart: Citygarden by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and studio|durham architects

St. Louis, Missouri: Two formerly vacant downtown blocks have been given new life as a serene urban oasis in the heart of the city.

By ArchNewsNow

June 30, 2009

From an urban planning standpoint, sometimes a garden is not just a garden – especially in St. Louis. City planners see Citygarden, which opens tomorrow, July 1, as the first step in fulfilling a nearly century-old dream in St. Louis – creating a thriving civic space along the Gateway Mall, the 1.1 mile-long ribbon of grass and trees that runs east to west from the grounds of Eero Saarinen’s iconic 1965 Gateway Arch and Old Courthouse to Union Station. The mall “has never fully realized its potential,” acknowledges Deputy Mayor for Development Barbara Geisman. Instead of serving as a bridge between the north and south sides of downtown, it has acted more as a barrier.

What were two square blocks of vacant lawn space on the largely uninterrupted stretch of city-owned green space bordered by office and government buildings, is now a 2.9-acre urban oasis of sculpture, nature, stone, and water. Scattered among a variety of native plantings, rain gardens, and a waterfall are two dozen sculptures by some of the world’s most noted artists, including Fernand Leger, Mark di Suvero, Keith Haring, Martin Puryear, Jim Dine, Tony Smith, and Aristide Maillol. (And no “Do-Not-Touch” signs!)

Charlottesville, Virginia-based Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects used the St. Louis area’s chief natural feature – its great rivers – as the key inspiration for the landscape plan. The garden is divided into three tiers, or bands, running east and west. The northern “upland” band corresponds to the high ground near a river – the bluff. The middle band denotes low ground – the floodplain. The southern band represents a cultivated river terrace.

juiceinkirkwood · PostJul 03, 2009#2722009-07-03T21:12+00:00

Okay, I think it's time we stop telling people about UrbanSTL, it looks like we've brought over part of the P-D crowd

I did like the

TG wrote:I am not a local, not a native and am probaby more of an urban pioneer/city promotor than any of you "urbanists"

Oh yeah? Well my dad can beat up your dad.

matguy70 · PostJul 03, 2009#2732009-07-03T21:25+00:00

TG (Ted) comments on all of the forums (not just this one) and makes himself/herself look like a fool.

TG laughs at the mayors comments and then makes this comment...

You guys just can't handle dissenting opinions. I am not a local, not a native and am probaby more of an urban pioneer/city promotor than any of you "urbanists"

but then goes on to say...

I love downtown, work here (and will work nowhere else), lived here (probaby before any of you would even think about it) but a man was just found dead by the arch...crime is out of hand all over the city...I had to duck as I was walking home last night from work because of gunfire 30

feet away from my stoop....

I'm confused... he/she isn't a local, and still works downtown? Very confusifying.

I also live downtown and would LOVE to know where he/she lives that he/she has to "duck" because of gunfire feet away. Come on... feet away - what were you in a fight with a gangster?

As a mod. I must say that I am getting really tired of the lies and/or exagerations. If that is the case, I would definately think about moving from where you live. If you fill your life with drama or you are looking for negative energy, you will probably find it whether it is here, NYC, Peoria or Kansas. Just a fact.

May I remind TG, and everyone else, that Urbanstl has strict guidelines we like to follow. This is not a place/forum to "b****" and "rant and rave".

The Urban St. Louis Forum Mission statement is as follows:

Members should expect mostly positive news and information to be disseminated here. This board is primarily meant to accentuate the positive regarding St. Louis as well as a place to exchange information. This is not a complaint board and not the place to post your rants. Serious users of this forum are interested in informed discussions. While everyone won't necessarily share the same opinions, we hope members will at least make an attempt to use logic and verifiable information in your posts. Lively, intelligent discussion is what we're about.

SEE ENTIRE FORUM RULES:

http://www.urbanstl.com/viewtopic.php?t=2036

PostJul 03, 2009#2742009-07-03T21:33+00:00

Here's A LOT of pics I took while downtown at the City garden and Gateway Mall area today... Friday, July 3rd 1:45 p.m.

Enjoy.

juiceinkirkwood · PostJul 03, 2009#2752009-07-03T21:49+00:00

I am so excited to go tonight!!!!

I am so glad they are giving liberty of playing in and around the fountains.

I can't stand when some power-hungry rent a cop tries to suck the fun out of everything, but based on the sign they are giving a lot of liberty!

I can't wait to go. I can see this being a place we visit regularly.

Citygarden - Downtown Sculpture Park

Choose Display Mode