ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Enter Tower Grove Park from Kingshighway and you’ll be greeted by construction on the West Gatehouse.
“You are going to see new windows, new doors, new roof, and a whole new interior on it,” said Tower Grove Park Executive Director Bill Reininger.
Built in 1870, the Gatehouse has been unused for several years. This project will reverse deterioration, increase accessibility, and transform the building into the park’s educational hub.
“We’ll be able to to house our community engagement coordinator and two members of the Missouri Department of Conservation team here together and utilize this for education purposes for kids and nature lovers in the park,” Reininger said.
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The park hosts more than 20 educational events each year and this new hub is just a short distance from several natural resources.
“From here, in just a short walk, they can experience different habitats within the park. From prairies to woodlands to streams. Do bird walks, all those types of things,” Reininger said.
The most striking change will be to the roof, which will return to its original color of bright purple thanks to new slate tiles.
“What’s really hard to see now because of that aging is that there are actually big T-G-P letters within the roof system,” Reininger said. “So, it will be purple roof with green letters on it which will pop out very clearly as you drive down Kingshighway or just walk in the park.”
The project is expected to cost $1.3 million and is being funded by donations. Work is expected to be completed in the Summer and the building ready to be used by Fall.
This is just one of many renovations in Tower Grove Park as it celebrates 150 years. They’ve also just exposed a stream that has been buried for more than 100 years on the east side of the park. They are using that dirt to level ballfields on the west side in hopes of preventing water from gathering during heavy rain.