photo by RJ Wilner
Carondelet Park is the main recreational focal point for those neighborhoods located in the far south of St. Louis City, principally Bevo Mill, Holly Hills, Carondelet, The Patch, and Boulevard Heights. On our last visit (for Photo Flood 9), improvements to the Park were underway thanks to the City’s 2003 Carondelet Park Master Plan. While some items of the Plan were eventually achieved, like the creation of the YMCA’s Carondelet Park Rec Plex, a reimagining of the “Bear Pit” (basically, a fancy sink hole), a redesign of the Grand-to-Loughborough traffic connector, etc., others were put on indefinite suspension (like a restoration and public use for the Lyle House and former stables). It seems clear that, in the ten years since we’ve visited, much and very little has changed for the Park, which we will dive into a bit here–simultaneous to presenting you with images of what one of STL’s most beautiful outdoor areas looks like draped in almost 8 inches of snow.
photo by James Palmour
photo by Claire Weiss
photo by Yvonne Suess
photo by Mike Matney
Carondelet Park was founded in 1875 and opened in 1876 as a concession (along with O’Fallon Park) for the city’s insistence on creating Forest Park in a location where few city residents lived at the time. Though Forest Park received all of the grand gesturing, Carondelet Park’s karst landscape provides it with a uniqueness unmatched by other city parks. The fact that the natural environment was available largely untouched is thanks to its previous existence as the common fields for the city of Carondelet. The portion of the Park that was not part of the common fields was owned by the Lyle family, who treated it as a country estate. Their house and stables still exist within the Park, and the 1842 Lyle House is the oldest and largest extant example of wooden frame home construction in St. Louis.
photo by Jane DiCampo
photo by Sue Rakers
photo by Jared Gastreich
photo by Jason Gray
photo by RJ Wilner
A wide valley descends from across the street to the Lyle House. This was originally the river valley of the Grand Glaise Creek (not to be confused with the other bodies of water with similar names elsewhere in Missouri), a wet weather tributary of the River Des Peres. The Grand Glaise, also sometimes referred to in old maps as Carondelet Creek, has been long bricked over–a decision that provided the Missouri-Pacific (now Union Pacific) Railroad with a route through the city from Carondelet to Tower Grove South. During periods of extremely heavy rain, the old Creek sometimes resurfaces in locations along the rail line. Carondelet Park was even once afforded with its own commuter train station. Now long removed, its location was roughly adjacent to, and below, the current Holly Hills Bridge.
photo by Joe Rakers
photo by Joe Sardo
photo by Mike Matney
As mentioned in the introduction, for any PFSTL Members whose two Photo Floods at Carondelet Park are their only sources of experience with the Park, the changes they would have observed would seem stop and start. As far as the Master Plan is concerned, the city has had two mayors since the one that initiated the study leading to the Plan. The city has also redistributed its wards, reducing the total number of wards from 28 to 14 (in the era of the Park Master Plan’s drafting, the Park would have fallen within the purview of two, separate wards but now is wholly inside of one). All of this has complex consequences for such a long-term renewal plan, and what we’ve seen as a result is a hodgepodge approach to completing some of its goals.
During the COVID-19 shutdown, a previously unforeseen “improvement” was added to the Park, owing itself to the city’s decision to close roads temporarily in several parks as a means of enforcing social distancing efforts. This closure, though lifted in some other city parks, has carried on in some capacity at Carondelet Park. While the closure has without a doubt reduced crime and improved public safety within the Park, it has reduced access to some for certain activities. It is unclear at this time what solution there will be to this, however, speaking personally (not as PFSTL’s “voice”, but as Jason Gray–its founder and a Holly Hills resident), I do enjoy the benefits gained from the Park’s road closure for myself and my family and don’t mind the burden of not being always able to drive directly to my destination within the Park. For me, the road closures have only increased my enjoyment of this jewel of the St. Louis City Parks System.
photo by RJ Wilner
photo by Claire Weiss
photo by Jarred Gastreich
If you’ve never been to Carondelet Park, or haven’t been in a long while, definitely put it on your list. It is a great place to bring a family or just enjoy some time alone in a natural setting. In addition to the improved features already mentioned, the Park provides options for swimming, fishing, bird-watching, mountain bike riding (on a newly dedicated trail!), and so much more. There is even a Friends of Carondelet Park group if you want to get hands-on with ensuring this treasure be available to generations of future St. Louisans.
photo by Jane DiCampo
photo by Sue Rakers
photo by Jason Gray
photo by Mike Matney
