A Great Morning at Lucas Park

This past Saturday morning I made my way two blocks East of my loft to Lucas Park, not sure what to expect. As I arrived so did others. It was just before 8am.

After the smoker was set up to start cooking lunch, volunteers began working. This was not about cleaning up daily trash from the homeless and others. This was about basic park cleaning — something that had been long ignored. We started with a mess:

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Lucas Park looks a thousand times better when we left vs. when we arrived. However much work remains.

Overall the infrastructure of the park, with a few exceptions, is in very good condition. There has been talk for years about major fund raising to do a major renovation of the park. I had supported such an effort. Had, but no longer. The park still needs things that require money, it just doesn’t need a major overhaul. A restoration is more in order. The Park’s page on the city’s website helps explain some of the history of the park which was deeded to the city in 1857:

The entire 6.25 acres was named Missouri Park and provided popular downtown breathing space until the erection of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in 1883. Licensed to a private corporation for a period of 50 years, the ground was restored to use as a park in 1907 and designs for the Italian Renaissance inspired library building were drawn up by the famous architect Cass Gilbert. The library was completed in 1912.

Locust Street was reopened behind the Library from 13th to 14th Streets and the present sunken garden with its fountain was developed.

Sculptress Nancy Coonsman Hahn’s stone benches dot the landscape.

The park is beautifully laid out and is deserving of the renewed interest it is receiving. The old stone benches are a delight to view. These should not be removed/replaced. Some other benches are worn but they are equally as old, presumably. For them, a good coat of paint on the wood slats would do wonders.

I’m certainly a tree hugger but I think we need to evaluate the trees on the park’s perimeter. Photos from the 1920s & 1960s both show a park full of flowers but sans trees. A few of the trees are deciduous while most are like a cypress – not exactly my favorite. I’m not a fan of cutting down trees but again I’d like to get an opinion from a professional arborist on the specimens in the park.

The sidewalks, steps and such are all in very good condition and have a pleasant layout, no point changing that. An exception might be the West edge along 14th street — the sidewalk is very narrow there. If those trees come out we’d have room for a wider sidewalk with new trees planted next to the curb.

The fountain doesn’t need a major rebuild either. The spray is barely there — just clean/repair/replace the equipment. The basin is fine.

The grass areas have been built up over the years as thatch has increased. Most of the lawn areas could benefit from being reduced by 2″-6″ in height. Given the layout of the park this could be done a section at a time. As each section is done it could be fenced off so that new grass seed could take hold. Do one section per year for the new few?

Opening up the perimeter by cutting down some of the cypress trees would allow more light from adjacent streetlights to enter the center of the park. The fixtures in the center are newer and are likely adequate for the job.

Historic photos show flower beds arranged in the city’s fleur de lies pattern. Fancy shaped beds might be pushing it but I do think some planing areas are needed. Recent plantings in Kiener Plaza illustrate the impact some bold plantings can have on a public space. A start would be say four large squares — one per corner of the fountain. I’d like to see the beds started this Fall and planted out next Spring when other plantings are done downtown.

For a while now the East end of the park has been a playground area for a nearby day care center. But they’ve moved to the Motor Loft building at 22nd & Washington. The fenced area left behind is now serving as a unofficial downtown dog park. It is great to see dogs frolicking with other dogs while off leash. This needs to move to an official status.

Converting the old fenced playground to use as a dog park is not a major project either. A few old playground items remain. These need to be moved to the West end of the park, relocated elsewhere, or discarded. Grid wire needs to be attached to the interior of the existing metal fence to keep small dogs from getting out. Material cost would be under $200. A second gate needs to be added so that as someone new enters dogs are not able to escape. The issue of having the dog park open to any dog owner vs. having to be a member needs to be resolved. I like openness but I can understand dog owners wanting to ensure their dogs are playing with others that have proper shots and such.

Sprinkler lines are broken and keeping a portion of the park soggy. The fountain needs repair to work properly.

I learned that one of the loft residents volunteering was homeless twice when younger. Our volunteer group included both owners & renters. Renters are often not viewed as the type to get involved as they don’t have a financial stake where they live. However, downtown is a tight knit walkable neighborhood where most of the residents (owners, renters & homeless) care about the quality of the neighborhood.

Most of the park’s users are homeless. Some thanked our group for the effort put forward in the park — it is now more attractive for everyone. Some helped. We had a couple of the mentally unstable belligerent types that were being loud and acting all crazy, making everyone feel uncomfortable – they were a very small minority. One in our crew had a chat with one such man. I don’t know what she said to him but after their conversation he quieted down and did a great job helping us

I spent quite a bit of time talking with one homeless man now about six months into his second time being homeless. It always surprises me when I meet someone on the street that is so well spoken, is well read and such. This man, I’ll use his initials — FWC, goes to the Horizon Club on 23rd Street just South of Olive. The Horizon Club opened a year ago and is a 24/7 “safe haven” for the homeless (see article on opening). Members get to use the facility for up to six hours per day. Here the homeless can shower, do laundry, check email and store some possessions so they don’t have to carry everything on them.

FWC has a cell phone – one of those pre-paid types. This allows him to give out the number to prospective employers, he has a job interview on Tuesday. I emailed him to give him some encouragement and to thank him for our conversation. I got a nice reply back early Sunday morning.

Looking at him you’d have no idea he is homeless. His hair & beard are nicely trimmed and his clothes were clean and well fitting. The beard might be a giveaway — it is probably easier to keep a beard looking good than it is to stay clean shaven. Still just seeing him walking down the sidewalk he would not stand out as homeless.

At one point we were talking and a homeless couple he knew came up. They were eating some fried chicken being handed out out of a van by a church group. He had just asked me if I knew why the city was cracking down on that practice. I said the concern was about how the food was prepared & stored and also about the resulting trash. This couple, not hearing our conversation about trash, commented that with all the work going on to clean the park that some of the other homeless would still leave their trash on the ground despite an abundance of trash cans. It was great to be talking to three homeless individuals that were as equally put off by behavior of some of the other homeless. The homeless, like those of us with homes, are not all the same. A small minority often gives the larger group a bad rap.

The St Louis Post-Dispatch sent a reporter and photographer to cover the clean-up project, each was in the park for a good two hours. I’m looking forward to the story. I didn’t talk to the reporter. I probably could talked to her but I have my own venue here so I figured I’d just let her talk to whomever she wanted to.

My help was minimal on Saturday morning. What can I do from a wheelchair? Even if I hod gotten my cane out I still wouldn’t have been that useful as the cane would occupy my one good hand. So I took photos and went around to various groups giving them praise for the work they were doing. At one point I picked up a push broom while seated in my chair. I was able to sweep a bit of gravel using the broom one-handed but I quickly tired from that – a big push broom is heavy when held by one hand. But the positive energy in the park was exciting. We had probably 40 volunteers over the course of about 3 hours.

Later this week our small core group is meeting to plan out the next step. This will likely involve finishing the edging, power washing the sidewalks, painting the wooden benches, and other such details. Saturday morning proved to me that a small group of individuals with borrowed tools from Operation Brightside can make a big difference. While I want to work on long term planning for capital improvements in the park I also want to see how far we can get in the short term. As local residents begin using the park we’ll get a better idea of what improvements/changes are relevant to those who use the park. My goal is to take Lucas Park from a homeless-only park to a park enjoyed by all.