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Above: The Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park is a building that dates to the 1904 World’s Fair. St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission photo
Below left: Swope Park is home to the Starlight Theater in Kansas City. Greater Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau photo |
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While this practice in the 1930s may have been common, it’s certainly not practiced today. However, our urban parks continue to provide a cooler, green oasis to city dwellers in the summer. If you haven’t visited one of these parks recently, why not pack a picnic, find a shade tree near a lake, sit back and watch the clouds pass by? A variety of amusements or attractions can create a mini getaway for the day.
Forest Park, St Louis
In their book, “Forest Park,” authors Caroline Loughlin and Catherine Anderson state the founding of the park in 1876 was part of a national movement for large urban parks.
“For generations, large urban parks have shaped the growth of major cities and brightened the lives of their citizens,” Loughlin and Anderson state.
Certainly, Forest Park has been a large factor of life in St. Louis for more than 130 years. The 1904 World’s Fair was here. Our museums, including the Saint Louis Art Museum that dates to the fair, are in the park. The world-famous Saint Louis Zoological Park is a favorite family destination for visitors and locals. A myriad of recreational opportunities, plus quiet places for playing and picnicking, are in Forest Park. Here are some of my favorites.
My parents never camped with me in Forest Park, but we did make The Muny a regular summer evening activity. The Muny is an 11,000-seat outdoor theater that’s in its 90th official season. We’d often bring a picnic basket from home or buy a bucket of chicken and stake our claim in the free seats that seems to be a good city block from the stage. No matter. We were watching a Broadway-style musical for free and enjoying time together. It’s a tradition I continue with my family at least once each summer, as do thousands of other St. Louisans.
I have two dogs, and there’s plenty of green space for exercising them at Forest Park. A favorite afternoon outing after exploring the park with my dogs includes a stop at The Boathouse Restaurant at Post-Dispatch Lake. A glass of iced tea and hand-tossed pizza for me, cold bowl of water and doggie treat for them, we sit outside and watch boaters, joggers and cyclists pass by. For more ideas on how to spend a day in Forest Park, plus historical facts about this 1,293-acre treasure, visit www.forestparkforever.org.
Swope Park, Kansas City
Col. Thomas Swope–real estate magnate, philanthropist and life-long bachelor–donated land in 1896 for what would become Kansas City's first and largest park.
Today, Swope Park is home to the Kansas City Zoo, Starlight Theatre, Swope golf courses, Lakeside Nature Center, picnic areas and athletic fields. It’s at the intersection of Meyer Boulevard and Swope Parkway. The city’s parks and recreation department estimates that 1.2 million people visit the park every year. And with such great attractions plus trails and community gardens, it’s no surprise.
On July 11, Party in the Park will give families lots of low-cost activities to enjoy from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. in celebration of National Recreation and Parks Month. For more information on the event, or how to enjoy Swope Park on your next visit, visit
www.kcmo.org/parks.nsf/web/swope.
Lincoln Park, Chicago
Lincoln Park was primarily a forest with stretches of grassland and occasional quicksand until the late 1820s when the Europeans arrived. Today, it’s home to one of the city’s great family attractions–Lincoln Park Zoo–and is the second-wealthiest neighborhood in Chicago.
The community of Lincoln Park is on the north side of town and is named after the 1,200-acre stretch of land along the lakefront from Ardmore Avenue south to North Avenue. It’s anchored by the zoo and DePaul University.
In addition to the free zoo, the park has Lincoln Park Conservatory, an outdoor summer theater, a rowing canal, the Chicago History Museum, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, ponds, and playing field, plus beautiful statuary.
For more information on Lincoln Park, visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com.
White River State Park, Indianapolis
Indianapolis, a city that’s synonymous with racing, has the largest urban state park in the country that provides residents and visitors multiple opportunities to relax and unwind.
White River State Park is Indianapolis’ version of the Mall in Washington, D.C., according to The New York Times. A stunning combination of green space and attractions, the park is in the heart of downtown and is home to the Indianapolis Zoo, White River Gardens, Indiana State Museum, IMAX® Theater, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, NCAA Hall of Champions, Victory Field and the Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial. Take in an Indianapolis Indians game, at Victory Field, named the "best minor league ballpark in America" by Sports Illustrated. The Indians are the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A newer addition to the park, The Lawn is an outdoor concert venue with 5,000 seats. Artists scheduled to perform in July and August include The Fray; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Bonnie Raitt; and The Moody Blues.
Natural areas includes Military Park, which once was a Civil War encampment; Central Canal, offering paddle boat or gondola rides; and Celebration Plaza, a landscaped green space with an amphitheater.
For more information on White River State Park, visit www.in.gov/whiteriver/index.html.
Deborah Reinhardt Palmer is managing editor of AAA Midwest Traveler.
