This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 7, 2011 - Nobody needs to tell us that this region has a winner shining radiantly night and day all year long between Eighth and Tenth streets on the Gateway Mall in downtown St. Louis.
Having watched this urban treasure set down roots three years ago and having seen it grow into a genuine regional (and even national) resource has been an experience that merits description as phenomenal; seeing it flourish and put on a youthful patina so endearingly is gratifying.
"This," of course, is Citygarden, the innovative sculpture park and urban sparkplug brought to the public by the Gateway Foundation and dedicated two years ago this summer. Citygarden continues to reveal itself in colorful and absorbing ways in all seasons, animated as it is not only by art but by the mystical reaction set off when viewers find themselves transfixed by the union of the timeless material strength of stone, of growing things, of moving water and the ineffable magic of works of art and architecture.
This week, the chorus of enthusiasm so many of us have come together to sing, to feel and to write about has been strengthened by news from the Urban Land Institute in Washington that Citygarden is one of five finalists for its Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award for 2011.
Amanda Jay Mortimer Burden has an impressive pedigree - she is, for example, a descendent of the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay. Although she sometimes gets nailed with the caustic description "socialite," she also has a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia University in New York, and is chair of the New York City Planning Commission and director of the department of city planning.
She established the award in her name at the Washington-based Urban Land Institute, ULI, a nonprofit land use policy and best practices organization that is supported by its members. It was founded in 1936. The Burden award "recognizes an outstanding example of a public open space that has enriched and revitalized its surrounding community."
If the reaction of the folks of this region and vocal visitors is any indicator, Citygarden fits that description perfectly. Back in the 19th century, America's poet-eminence Walt Whitman saw the Eads Bridge and wrote, "I have haunted the river every night lately, where I could get a look at the bridge by moonlight. It is indeed a structure of perfection and beauty unsurpassable, and I never tire of it."
I share Whitman's love and reverence for Capt. Eads's magnificent monument. Yet every time I visit Citygarden I think of Whitman, not in relation to Eads Bridge but because of the strong feelings I have for Citygarden: I never tire of it.
Just last week, I met a friend there for lunch in the Terrace View Restaurant. An observation he made serves to define Citygarden's dynamism. Although my friend was crazy about his first exposure to Citygarden, he was also brimming with visual information about what he had seen walking to the park from his office.
As he walked, he looked. And what he saw and experienced in part was the wonder of St. Louis's architectural treasures. He spoke with particular enthusiasm about the pared down neoclassicism of the Soldiers' Memorial, distinguished by Walker Hancock's monumental sculptures representing vision, loyalty, courage and sacrifice on the North and South sides of the building. Have you really looked at the Soldiers' Memorial lately? You might consider taking a look.
The mayor's office in City Hall is just across the way from the memorial. I called there yesterday and talked to Jeff Rainford, Mayor Slay's chief of staff, to get the official reaction to Citygarden's being named a finalist for the Burden award. Rather than official reaction, I got ebullience.
Rainford told me something that urban designer Michael Van Valkenburgh said about Citygarden. Van Valkenburgh is principal of the Brooklyn-based firm that bears his name. It was chosen last year to create a plan to re-invigorate the grounds of the Arch and to erase the boundaries that exist between the Arch and its urban environs, including our East Side neighborhoods.
Van Valkenberg told Rainford, no doubt about it, the opportunity to work on a project with the Arch as its focus was irresistible. But there was something else that was magnetic: Citygarden. He was blown away by it, Rainford said. Plus, it occurred to Van Valkenburgh's that the multi-faceted success of Citygarden provided proof for him that great things were happening it St. Louis.
If only those of us who live here would see ourselves as others see us, to borrow from another poet, Robert Burns. Great things are happening here, and while recognizing there is plenty of work needing to be done, it's invigorating to realize that we are making progress toward a 21st century renaissance. What is required is connecting the dots, strengthening the whole by bringing our disparate parts together, rather than allowing them to remain in a state of wasteful fragmentation.
Meanwhile, it's nice to know folks from other places appreciate our urban virtues, good to hear them say so. Often, Citygarden is central to their appreciations. "We are so proud of Citygarden," Rainford said, and proud, too, of the Gateway Foundation for making it happen.
"Being honored this way is well deserved."