You Can Help Plan the Future of Tower Grove Park

Tower Grove Park may have a storied history, but it's anything but stuck in the past.

This month, the park's commissioners are kicking off the development of a long-term master plan to "preserve, enhance, and improve the historic park for future generations." The plan seeks to envision the 289-acre park as a place for all communities and generations by improving its amenities, safety, access and connectivity, even while maintaining its historic qualities.

Virginia-based landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm Rhodeside & Harwell has been chosen to lead the Master Plan Project Team. The team includes historic preservation, adaptive re-use, civil engineering and ecological management expertise from Jacobs Engineering, Davey Resource Group and Beyer Blinder Belle. The project is being funded by grants from the William T. Kemper Foundation, Commerce Bank Trustee and the Crawford Taylor Foundation.

Sure, this initial vision for improving the park is broad — but that's where you come in. Community members are encouraged to voice priorities for the park's future by attending the Tower Grove Park Master Plan Open House at the Piper Palm House on January 18 at 6 p.m. Tower Grove Park board members, leadership staff and Master Plan Project Team members from Rhodeside & Harwell will be in attendance to address concerns and questions.

Can't make the meeting? You can still make your opinion heard by taking the Master Plan Survey, which will be on towergrovepark.org as of January 19. You're also welcome to email comments and questions to [email protected] through April 30.

The park, which was founded in 1868 by Henry Shaw, is governed by a board of commissioners appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court. Bob Sellers, president of the board, praised the master plan project in a press release.

“The Park has a tremendous success story that is part of the narrative of St. Louis over the past 30 years. The time is right to ensure that we are investing in the future through long-range planning that will keep the Park vibrant and accessible for all visitors while preserving its most distinctive characteristics.”

For more information about the meeting, see its invitation on Facebook. Reservations are not required to attend.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained two small inaccuracies; we've update the story to fix them. We regret the error.