Citygarden

Citygarden's appearance on the scene in summer of 2009 coincided with my burgeoning interest in things like the built environment and urbanism.  To be honest, I wasn't sure what it was or what to make of it when I first saw it.  A year and a half or so later, I must say that Citygarden is a top 5 spot in the city for me.

What makes it so special is that it gives people downtown a place to gather, to see things, to relax, to walk, and to eat.  It is well maintained, clean, full of interesting sculptures, a large projection screen, small limestone bluffs, and my personal favorite - the water fountain that is lit by LED's at night.  Oh and did I mention there's also a restaurant?

Citygarden is the ideal example that I would hold up as what we need to be doing more of in the city.  That's not to say that our most pressing issue is the lack of sculpture parks.  But it's a sign that we care and that we're heavily invested in our community.  When you drive through a neighborhood full of falling down buildings, weeds growing in cracks in the sidewalks, and acres of urban prairie - you do not think this is a city full of people who care.  When people care, all kinds of great things happen.

In the very center of downtown, where thousands of visitors, workers, and residents pass each day this is what we used to have:


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^St. Louis deserves better than that!  Citygarden is what St. Louis needed, and what St. Louis deserved.