District gets land for park



Man's dream for riverside park is closer to reality



BY PATRICK J. POWERS



News-Democrat



EAST ST. LOUIS -



Malcolm W. Martin would look off the balcony of his downtown St. Louis apartment before he died last year and dream about a bigger future for the Mississippi River's east bank.



Martin's dream: Complete the vision of Eero Saarinen, architect of the Gateway Arch, by creating lush park space that straddled both sides of the Big Muddy. A riverside park would provide breathtaking views of the St. Louis skyline, while serving as a spark for future development.



That dream will come a little closer to reality today.



The Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis -- a group Martin founded in 1968 to pursue the vision -- today will transfer 34.1 acres of riverfront real estate and $2.5 million to the Metro-East Park and Recreation District for creation of the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park.



"We're leaving (Martin's) dream in the hands of the Metro-East Park and Recreation District," said Marshall Heir, president of the Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis. "We think they're good hands. We're more than happy to do this."



The Illinois Department of Natural Resources already committed a $400,000 grant to assist with development of the new park.



Initial ideas for the park include an interpretive center, observation decks, multiuse trails, picnic tables, terraced lawn seating and wildflowers. The land already contains the Gateway Geyser, a fountain that can shoot water more than 600 feet into the air -- about as high as the Arch, which is 630 feet tall.



"This will be our first regional park, and never in our wildest dreams did we expect this to be as great as it is," said Jerry Kane, board president for the Metro-East Park and Recreation District. "Our goal will be not just to maintain it for perpetuity, but to add to it annually."



Most importantly, Kane said, the district will strive to stay true to Martin's dream.



"(Martin), being a bachelor, had no wife or children, so this project, in effect, was his child," Heir said. "He had a great determination to fulfill this dream. Malcolm always saw the fate of St. Louis and all the Missouri side tied to the Illinois side."



The St. Louis native for more than 30 years worked to fulfill Saarinen's dream. The Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis in the late 1960s purchased 50 acres of riverfront property from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad with plans for the park.



In 1984, the group lobbied Congress to pass legislation that would dedicate the land as part of the national park system. "Unfortunately, the Interior Department was not that wild about the idea of national parks in cities," Heir said. "So the funding never came through."



It didn't stop Martin and the Gateway Center of St. Louis. The group raised $4 million in private donations and committed to building the tallest fountain in the world. The Gateway Geyser fired its first shot on May 27, 1995.



The geyser operates twice a day, at noon and 1 p.m., between mid-April and mid-October, shooting 8,000 gallons a minute more than 600 feet into the air on a windless day. It -- along with the striking view of downtown St. Louis -- will serve as the focal point of Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park.



Contact reporter Patrick J. Powers at ppowers@bnd.com or 239-2562.

East St. Louis riverfront land earmarked for park

Linda S. Lawson

Of the Suburban Journals

East St. Louis Journal



St. Louis Philanthropist Malcolm Martin, envisioned the same sense of beauty on the east side of the riverfront that stands across the river. And, 10 years ago, he financed a geyser, considered one of the largest in the country, on the riverfront that sprouts water every day during the summer months. Even still he wanted more.



Now, his dream is one step closer.



On June 7th, the Gateway Center officially transferred title assigning stewardship of the Gateway Geyser and its surrounding 34.1 acres of grounds to the Metro East Park and Recreation District.



In addition, Gateway Center has provided $2.5 million in funds to help transform the grounds into a true memorial park and help to maintain it for years to come.



The park will be named after Martin who died a year ago. It will encompass the Gateway Geyser ? the soaring fountain developed by Gateway Center and feature the region's most spectacular views of the Gateway Arch and downtown St Louis skyline. The move is one more significant milestones in the revitalization of the East St. Louis riverfront. Details of the agreement and preliminary plans were revealed at a ceremony held Saturday.



"We welcome the opportunity to publicly express our gratitude to the Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis and to IDNR, and are eager to begin the process of bringing the dreams of visionaries like Malcolm Martin and Eero Saarinen (creator of the Arch) to life," notes Jerry Kane, president of the Metro East Park and Recreation District.



"We look forward to working with the State of Illinois, IDNR and the City of East St. Louis to create a memorial park that will become a prime tourist attraction in Southwestern Illinois and will help to contribute to the revitalization of the East St. Louis Riverfront. This project is the first regional park in the Metro East Park and Recreation District, and we're confident it will be the premier park in our system."



The event also featured remarks by Joel Brunsvold, director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which recently provided a $400,000 grant to MEPRD to assist with the development of the park.



MEPRD has developed preliminary plans for the use of those grant dollars to begin the process of transforming the site. Initial ideas include an interpretive center, observation decks, a 9-11 memorial, multi-use trails, picnic tables, terraced lawn seating, interpretive signage, wildflowers and much more.



The Gateway Center board also has expressed interest in having MEPRD develop an elevated platform viewing area, the model for which was created during Mr. Martin's final years.



Potentially to be funded as a separate project by Gateway Center, it would provide amazing views of the downtown St. Louis skyline, as well as a terrific vantage point to view the Gateway Geyser.



Mike Buehlhorn of the MEPRD said the next step in the process would be to take care of the some of the initial work that will be covered by the IDNR grant, such as adding security fencing around the property, more lighting and creating access drives and parking.



A 10-foot tall sign, developed by HOK to mark the official entrance to the park.



A mock up of the sign was unveiled at the event, to illustrate that this project is indeed moving forward, will be installed later this summer.



Also on hand for the event were State Representative James Clayborne, Jr.; Madison County Chairman Alan Dunstan; St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay; Joel Brunsvold, director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Thomas Schlafly, secretary/treasurer, Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis and Mike Buehlhorn, executive director of the MEPRD.







Email: llawson@yourjournal.com

I kind of wish it was better planned. It was just thrown off to the side of the fountain. I mean, something that had the fountain in the center, and then things radiating outward. I guess this is ok for now. I'm hoping they'll build something to balance it out, on the other side.

JMedwick wrote:That park is pathetic. What is the point of building a park with no other development around it? I mean who will use this thing? I got an idea ESTL, why not try and build a base of streets and sidewalks and lots with infastructure to maybe get some people in the area before designing grand parks?

Actually, I went to the riverfront to take pictures and I wasn't the only one there. Many people go to the East Riverfront for views of the skyline. The park will definitely be crazy on July 4th weekend. I have no doubt it will be used, and people from the Casino Queen will stop by, I'm sure. I agree though , it needs more around it, but that's what the riverfront plan is for. It seems people on the Illinois side hold a slightly less stigmatic view of the East Riverfront.



An interesting, and delightful moment happened on my trip to St Louis for the fireworks on one July 4th. There was a traffic jam on the freeway, and on the streets in East St Louis going to St Louis. My friends and I were on the metrolink, but we were late. We noticed people , white and black, stopping their cars all over East St Louis, grabbing their folding chairs, and plopping them out on the sidewalks to view the fireworks. People for once, weren't looking at eachother, but at the fireworks, on July 4th of all days.

Parks are less of a risk, and greatly cheaper to build, and they increase land value. Not to say you're wrong, but they're just points I'm adding. I agree with you, more retail, residential, and commerce is needed, no doubt.

It's not very difficult to access, if you take the Eads bridge, the Metrolink, or walk accross. It's difficult if you take the interstate.

Here's a better rendering.

Man's dream of riverside view of Gateway Arch moves forward

Work expected to begin in spring

BY JIM SUHR

Associated Press



EAST ST. LOUIS - On a scrubby stretch of land in this decaying city, Mike Buehlhorn looks with envy at the towering Gateway Arch across the Mississippi River -- at least the portion of the glistening landmark he can see over the concrete levee wall and rusty railroad boxcars.



But the regional parks official says he sees far better days for -- and from -- this field.



As early as this spring, he says, truckloads of dirt are to begin fashioning much of this 34-acre swath of land into a park that will eventually boast a four-story tall, multi-level overlook from which, Buehlhorn says, folks may see the stainless steel arch, all of it, in its true splendor.



The development would fulfill the vision of Malcolm Woods Martin, who until he died in 2004 at the age of 91 sought to achieve what the arch's architect, Eero Saarinen, always wanted -- a sprawling park on this side of the Mississippi to complement and marvel over Saarinen's masterpiece, now 41 years old.



"This is going to be huge," says Buehlhorn, whose Collinsville-based Metro East Park and Recreation District last summer was given the land for the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park by Martin's 38-year-old foundation, along with $2.5 million to help transform the site.



The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has also given Buehlhorn's agency a $400,000 grant to help develop the park, but he can't say for sure how much the price tag ultimately will be: "It's going to cost quite a bit of money, no question."



Buehlhorn says getting the whole thing done may take two to three years.



"It's going to be a jewel on the Mississippi," he submits of the project, approved by the City Council here Jan. 12.



The 31-acre park's focal point will be the 11-year-old Gateway Geyser, which twice a day from mid-April through Oct. 15 puts on a 15-minute show by shooting water skyward nearly as high as the 630-foot arch, weather permitting.



The observation platform will offer good looks of the arch and geyser, as well of river traffic that includes barges. Plans also call for a terraced amphitheater, a cultural interpretive center commemorating this city's history and people, and sweeping greenspace linked to nature trails.



Buehlhorn believes the park in this city of 31,000 could draw several hundreds of thousands of guests each year, perhaps many of them seeking a respite from the Casino Queen riverboat moored just to the north along the riverfront.



Karen Cason, chairman of the city's community development committee, said the park "truly will be a milestone project for our city, and we look forward to seeing it take shape."



"It will be a huge step in the continued revitalization of our riverfront," she added, convinced locals "will experience a renewed sense of pride as they watch individuals from all walks of life flock to this unique park that will come to life right in our own backyards."



Many here agree the city could use such a shot in the arm.



Once a thriving community that had been home to glass manufacturers and other industrial companies, East St. Louis has withered into one of the nation's poorest cities since the decline of smokestack factories and the exodus of whites in the 1960s.



Many crumbling buildings are within easy view of the planned riverfront park. Schools here were broke for years. The deed to City Hall once went to a man to cover a multimillion-dollar judgment over a jail beating before the city got the building back on appeal. Voter fraud has been nagging, lately evidenced by last summer's federal convictions of five locals -- including the head of the local Democratic Party -- on charges they schemed to buy votes in the November 2004 election.



The city has even been the butt of televised jokes: A character on an episode of the Fox cartoon "The Simpsons" once termed East St. Louis last on his list of 300 "livable" American cities, coming in right below the show's fictional setting of Springfield.



Still, the city has much to celebrate.



This is the adoptive home of famed dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham, the woman behind the "Dunham technique" that melds movements from traditional dances in Africa and the Caribbean. Track legend and Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee was born and reared in this town, where a youth center now bears her name. Late jazz great Miles Davis grew up here, as did NFL Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow. Tennis Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors? Yep, born here, too.



Many of those connections eventually may appear in the park's planned interpretive center.



"Many have looked at this property, but Malcolm Martin made the decision to buy it. He had the right dreams and the right plans," Buehlhorn says, eager to see the city get positive attention from the park. "I hope it'll be a catalyst for them. It's time for somebody not to knock them."



On the Net: Metro East Park and Recreation District: http://www.meprd.orgGateway Arch: http://www.stlouisarch.com/

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