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The park was placed into ordinance in 1908 and is bordered by 9th Street to the east, Ann Avenue to the north, 10th Street to the west and Shenandoah Avenue to the south. It is located in the Soulard Neighborhood. A one-acre park seems perfect for this location and there are densely packed homes surrounding the park, giving it a private, neighborhood-y feel.
There's something I really like about these mid-century parks. They are heavy on the concrete and feel very urban. Makes me want to break out the Vision Gator and skate like its 1979. The 1960's parks don't as much seek to provide a green space, natural getaway as much as they intend to be a city park, a complement to their surroundings. Heck, even the horseshoe pits are surrounded by concrete.
Per the city website, the park is on the site of an old reservoir and was donated to the City by Governor John Miller, John O'Fallon, Louis LaBeaume and others.
The park has walking paths throughout the park, a basketball court in the round, a mid-century service building, a beautiful spray pool, and a playground.
Curiously enough, Garrison-Branter-Webster Park is not listed on the city website, although it certainly does exist.
The park has basketball courts and tennis courts. The basketball courts are in playable condition although there are spray painted messages all over. Some more perplexing than others.
This is a small pocket park that kind of serves as the "town square" of a small 1980's development that has a very unique, kind of Disney or movie-set feel. It is not typical St. Louis, but I imagine it has an appeal for folks just wanting privacy and a sense of insular seclusion.
The park had the feel of somewhere you shouldn't be if you don't live in the surrounding Kingsbury Place homes. I got weird looks from the 2 families that were there. It's surely not a destination place, but it is a really nice and almost charming place if not a wee bit contrived. The park feels private not public which I believe is the intent of this part of town. In fact, you won't find the typical city park signage with brown wood with white etched lettering here.
The park is located near Hamilton and Westminster and is pretty hard to find and even harder to get to because of the crazy dead ends, one ways, bollards, etc that make navigating this neighborhood a puzzling maze.
Anyhow, I jumped a few curbs and finally found this park which is nothing more than a small playground and football field complete with 2 field goals.
You can tell there are a lot kids spending time here and there were two young families using the park on my visit, one playing soccer, the other playing on the playground. I try and talk to the young families about where they plan on sending their kids to school and talk up the ones I know about and urge them to give the city schools a try. This particular family wants to stay in St. Louis and are excited about trying the magnets.
Accessibility from the surrounding neighborhoods is pretty rough, as you have to cross 6 traffic lanes and a median if you are walking from the larger Ellendale neighborhood to the west. The park is accessible from the north on the chat easement of the River Des Pares drainage ditches. There are homeless people who've set up shop here under the Arsenal bridge as signs of bon fires and meals and graffiti are everywhere.
As can be seen by the satellite image above, there are sports fields consolidated on the south side of the park and a central walkway and lily pond which you'll see photos of herein and the park is bordered by wide sidewalks which are popular with joggers, dog walkers, stroller pushers and the like.
Francis Park is one of 2 parks serving the beautiful St. Louis Hills neighborhood, along with Willmore Park. The neighborhood that flanks the park includes tree lined streets, a school, churches on every corner and lots and lots of well maintained and cared for homes. You can tell there is a lot of neighborhood pride in this part of the city.
The shutting off of the Thurman underpass had some unintended consequences. One, it became a hangout for the knuckleheads to gather en masse. Broken glass and trash piled up and it became an eye sore and intimidating for the average person to traverse. Two, it separated communities.
However, this part of Shaw/Botanical Heights is prepping for a major transformation. In 2012 the Garden District Commission put together a design competition for improvement in the area. UIC was eventually chosen as the winning design and this will include repaving the street, installing new lighting and a bike path and pedestrian trail.
Fountain Park was designed to be a treasure on St. Louis' near north side. It is an oval shaped park surrounded by beautiful homes, churches and a former business building. It is the one park to servethe Fountain Park Neighborhood.
Bluesky - @st-louis-city-talk.bsky.social
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