Water's on at Kennedy Park!

The life of an amateur photographer and occasional blogger can get really dicey when she loses her camera. For about a day, which seemed like several, I scoured the house and office in search of my missing pink Nikon Cool-Pix. When I finally found it, "misfiled" in a storage bag full of plastic bags to be recycled, there was a huge sigh of relief as there are so many photos stored in the camera waiting to be shared. Thus, my blogging life has returned, with this report that the water's on at Kennedy Park!

For those of you who have visited Kennedy Park or pass by it on your way to Bowood Farms, you may have forgotten that it was ever anything but a children's playground. Years ago an abandoned, derelict gas station occupied the triangle where Olive and Washington intersect. After the site was acquired and properly cleaned up (there are strict EPA guidelines for remediating the ground under gas station properties), it was turned into a grass covered baseball-themed art park with a batter's box at the apex of the triangle, and a bleacher section painted by artists Bill Kreplin and Charlie Blood on the wall at the east end. This initial round of improvements was spearheaded by the Central West End Association under the able direction of Jack Byrne, with critical assistance from then Alderman Dan McGuire and funding provided by two local banks and a Federal grant.

In early 2006 a group of committed young parents new to the neighborhood approached my husband with the idea of converting the park into a full-fledged playground. This determined group, which eventually organized as CWE Families & Friends, succeeded in obtaining generous grants from Gateway Foundation and the City of St. Louis Parks Department through the Metro Park Tax Fund, and hired local landscape architect Anne Lewis to assist in turning the concept into reality. During the design process the original triangle was extended 60 feet to the west, which allowed room for the addition of an art component. With financial and administrative assistance from the Regional Arts Commission, a national competition was conducted, resulting in selection of a proposal by North Carolina artist David Tillinghast to install his dome shaped concrete sculpture in the expanded area (see mound below). The addition of a clever hardscape design, extensive landscaping (designed by Lewisites and installed by Bowood Farms), playground equipment, whimsical iron fencing and, in November of 2007, a water feature (see first photo above), have turned Kennedy Park into the "go to" spot for neighborhood parents and their young children.

Ten days ago the water feature was turned on for the summer season. That's when I found a young family who had just moved back to St. Louis from Cape Cod (which seems like the wrong direction at this time of year). The young mother told me her husband got a job here, and they are living with her parents while they look for a house, which they hope will be in the Central West End. In the meantime, they have discovered the park, and have met several other young families while playing there.

David Tillinghast's sculpture, which I will tell you about another time, is shown above just beyond the fountain.

 Only one sister at a time can fit on the concrete balls that are placed around the playground.

Barefoot in the park, which is just about perfect for a lazy summer afternoon in the CWE!

Comments

[Kadesoto]

It looks great! Hey, Nicki, have you written about that interesting parklike area at the corner of Maryland and Taylor that sprung up? Can you tell us anything about that?

[nicki]

Type "Taylor Park" in the search bar on this page and you'll see what I've written about this beautiful oasis...more to come. Thanks for your comment Kadesoto!

[Kadesoto]

Thanks for the information! I do find it beautiful as well. It looks like some of the original thoughts on its development were negative, but I find it quite romantic and beautiful, especially with the nighttime lights. I wish my home overlooked it!

[Emma]

For a million reasons, our young family LOVES Kennedy Park! So glad the water is on & I have to say the plantings & foliage have come in so beautifully this year....thanks Bowood for a great design & foresight in the flowers/plants. We are SO lucky to have that tiny, awesome park!