Hobo Park Becoming Lucas Park Again

After a 3rd Saturday of work in the park I think it is finally becoming a place where all will feel welcomed. Sorta.

One homeless man told me it is like having someone come into your living room and rearrange the furniture without consulting you. I can see that. This park, known to many as hobo park, is home to many. Now they feel like we are taking it away. Others see it like one of those decorating shows where someone comes into your home and gives it a much needed makeover.

I have no desire to make Lucas Park a homeless-free zone. However, I don’t want it such that it is used only by the homeless. Just like the housing projects where the concentration of poverty can be hard to overcome for those in it, the same is true for hobo park.

One of the biggest problems is the continual delivery of food to the park by well meaning church groups. Last night I headed past the park on the way to the store. A church from Fairview Heights Illinois was there passing out food from a church van. We simply cannot have our small urban park be the dumping ground for the region’s food donations.

Some say these groups need to open shelters & soup kitchens in their own backyard. Perhaps, but I do think a downtown is the best place to serve the needs of the homeless. This is not to say that all services must be in a downtown, just most. We do need to have services outside of downtown.

This can also help the homeless. For many this becomes a lifestyle that is hard to break free of. With transitional housing near a bus line away from downtown it can be easier for some to get & keep a job. The park/shelter model is just not conducive to getting beyond being homeless.

The trick will be is to figure out how to focus the many people who want to help by bringing vans of food to Lucas Park. Can we get them to work in conjunction with established places for feeding the homeless? One of the reasons the homeless congregate in Lucas Park is they want to be nearby when the groups bring food. This is not a good pattern.

The city has been trying to crack down on this by insisting any food be packaged food so they know how it was prepared. I’m not sure of the best solution to still have groups from all over the region contribute to the solution. Right now I feel like many are just contributing to the problem.

On Saturday we had a BBQ for those of us that worked in the park. We had one homeless guy help for several hours so we were glad to share with him. As we were eating another guy came up and asked what we were giving out. “Sorry, the food is only for those that helped clean up the park, ” we said. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

Work remains. We are taking a needed break this coming Saturday with work resuming on Oct 11th & 25th.  A lot of the work involves changing perceptions on the part of residents, the homeless and those seeking to help the homeless.

I asked one neighbor if she ever brings her dog to the park.  She indicated no because she didn’t want her dog bit by a rat.  I’ve never seen even a field mouse in the park.  I have seen a few squirrels but that is it, no rats!

To see photos from all three Saturdays click here.

Lucas Park Events Being Planned

Two events are in the early planning stages – a Halloween event in October and a design charrette in November. This is basically a save the dates post.

Saturday October 25, 2008 we will have a “family friendly” event in the park with face painting, a series of costume contests (kids, adults, dogs), games and such. The event will run 4pm-8pm.

On Monday November 17, 2008 we will have a design charrette to look at the park long term with the goal being to get ideas to incorporate into an official master plan. This event will be held from 6pm-9pm
at the soon to open Crepes in the City at 500 N 14th (between Lucas Park & Washington Ave, on 14th).

A clean team crew from St Patrick’s Center has begun power washing the sidewalks and stone benches — it looks amazing! Crews have also started looking at problems with the sprinkler system. Once dark lights are working again. This park is now becoming a park for all downtown’s residents – owners, renters and homeless.

Details on the events to follow – stay tuned.  A website will be up soon to communicate upcoming events.
This Saturday September 27th we’ll have our third clean up morning.  Edging of the sidewalks will continue as will paining of the wood benches.  Stop by to help or just enjoy the park.  We start at 8am and go until noon.

A Walk In The Park, Lucas Park Day Two

Last Saturday a team of volunteers descended on downtown’s Lucas Park and began cleaning up years of accumulated leaves, grass grown over the sidewalk and playground gravel no longer in the playgrounds. Neighbors have noticed the change. The Post-Dispatch took notice. The homeless also noticed.

Thursday I had lunch with the homeless man I met on Saturday. We had a great conversation. His job interview went well with a follow-up phone interview since.

Since last Saturday more and more downtown residents have used the park. I’ve been there a few times talking to friends as they are walking their dogs. Nobody is running the homeless out, we just want to feel like we can use the park too.

So this Saturday morning starting at 8am we will continue the park cleanup & beautification work started last week. We will finish the edging of the sidewalks, rake twigs and stuff from under the trees and paint the wood slats on the benches. At some point some of the wood slats will need replacement. All are welcome to join us.

At this point we are thinking we’ll have something each Saturday. Eventually that may turn to the creation of flower beds. Working with others we’ll need to get greater input to create a community-based plan for the park. For now we are sticking with taking care of deferred maintenance items.

Our small group met on Thursday evening to make plans for Saturday. After we met we all walked over to Lucas Park. Yes, all of us walked there. I had walked down from my place 2+ blocks away — took me more than a half hour. One homeless woman was upset by us being in the park, “You’ve got to be homeless to be here,” she said. We are invading their territory. Sorry but it is a public park, we all have the same right to be there.

Recognizing the growing number of kids downtown we thought a Halloween party would be a good idea. We are still working on the details but save the date of Saturday October 25th from 4pm-8pm. Face painting
is one of the items being planned. Stay tuned for more specifics as we get closer to that date.

This Saturday morning come join in the fun of helping clean a great little urban pocket park.

Prior posts:

• Sept. 14, 2008; A Great Morning at Lucas Park.
• Sept 10, 2008; Help Tidy Up Lucas Park Saturday Morning

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.

Help Tidy Up Lucas Park Saturday Morning

Lucas Park, located North of the Central Library downtown, has seen better days.  One a fancy Victorian pocket park serving private residences in the immediate vicinity.  As the houses were raised for factories and warehouses the park’s users changed.  With the Gateway Mall and the Arch grounds thiss small park got overlooked.  Maintenance is deferred like many city parks.

The day to day trash gets picked up but the less obvious does not.  Two playground areas have a small gravel that has spilled out of its areas onto the adjacent sidewalks.  Leaves, twigs and dirt have also collected in places such as around the steps to the sunken area.  These items all contribute to an unkempt look that discourages many residents from using the park.

The homeless are there too, which is fine by me.  I have no problems sitting in the same park as the homeless.  By improving the maintenance we hope to encourage more people to use this as what it has been since the start — a charming pocket park serving area residents.

This Saturday morning (9/13/08) at 8am we’ll begin the work.  We’ll have tools & brooms.  All are welcome to help.  We are thinking this will take a few hours but come for the time you can spare.  We are planning to BBQ when the work is done.  We’ll have stuff for burgers but bring what you like.