Collected Item: “Tower Grove Park - Near Maury Ave and Arsenal”
Personal Site
Tower Grove Park - Near Maury Ave and Arsenal
Address
38.605905, -90.266653
A few sentences about why you find this location hopeful.
My personal site is no surprise, Tower Grove Park, specifically near Maury Ave and Arsenal. I found a lot of solace there during the pandemic. We were living in a very small studio apartment and could be inside the park with a 1–2-minute walk. As long as I had been living in Saint Louis, I would frequent this park, but it became essential and quite literally saved my life during the 2020 COVID lockdown. After getting sober in August, the park became a refuge beyond just escaping the confines of the apartment. We found community within the park. Met up with old acquaintances, begun new passion projects, decided to go back to school. These little moments all happened at the park, something I feel grateful for every day. There was a proposition in 1955 to place a highway through the park, connecting Morganford and Tower Grove Avenues, in an alleged effort to make the city “more accessible”. There was a massive outcry of neighborhood community members who rejected this plan. Luckily, a provision in Henry Shaw’s dedication of the park determined that the park would always need to be a park, and if the land ceased to be a park it would revert back to the Missouri Botanical Garden. The case was heard by the Missouri Supreme Court in 1965, where it was held that the City of Saint Louis had no legal power or right to build a highway through Tower Grove Park. While the park has had many of its interior roadways expanded, an effort was made during the pandemic to allocate either the west or east end to traffic-free weeks. This is something that made the park even easier and safer to get around during that time. The park has touched thousands of St. Louisans lives and continues to be my personal brightest light.
Contemporary Site - The Public Library
Latitude: 38° 38’ 54.567” N Longitude: 90° 14’ 58.064” W
I may be biased because I work for a library and am dedicating my life to library science soon, but I do think one of the most inspiring and hopeful places is the public library as an institution. The University City Public Library is just one of dozens of public libraries in the St. Louis region. While the history of tax municipalities and city and county borders have resulted in a confusing 3 separate library systems, there is comfort in the fact that St. Louisans have the ability to acquire a card from all 3. I think the history of the public library and the Library Bill of Rights are things that are hopeful in themselves. The author of the provisions of a bill that would allocate tax money to fund public libraries, offering free access to knowledge of those within a municipality, was a Peoria, Illinois native. E.S. Wilcox saw the need to provide books and resources for all, something that each state would soon adopt in their own bills and laws. The public library today offers much more than physical media but is one of the only free public institutions that works to fill the growing lack of resources in our communities, especially in urban areas where there is often a major rift between the rich neighborhoods and the poor ones. During the May tornado that devastated St. Louis, the library I work for was a safe haven not only in the moments leading up to and during the storm, but in the weeks and months following the destruction. For those suddenly displaced and with nowhere to go, the library provided internet, air conditioning and a respite from the chaos. As the weeks went on and some of the neighborhoods nearby that were the most affected saw little to no assistance from the local and federal government, but a huge response from ordinary citizens, neighbors, from throughout the city. These groups used the library to make fliers, research, and as a meeting space to connect with one another. There are community classes offered regularly at the library, and cultural events such as book discussions, author talks and art gallery events. There truly is not one day that I will work without witnessing something hopeful. Whether it’s the small moments of calm and relief in the aftermath of a major natural disaster, or on a regular Wednesday night watching children squeal with excitement and run upstairs to find their next book…the library has the hope that we have been searching for.
Contemporary Site - The Public Library
Latitude: 38° 38’ 54.567” N Longitude: 90° 14’ 58.064” W
I may be biased because I work for a library and am dedicating my life to library science soon, but I do think one of the most inspiring and hopeful places is the public library as an institution. The University City Public Library is just one of dozens of public libraries in the St. Louis region. While the history of tax municipalities and city and county borders have resulted in a confusing 3 separate library systems, there is comfort in the fact that St. Louisans have the ability to acquire a card from all 3. I think the history of the public library and the Library Bill of Rights are things that are hopeful in themselves. The author of the provisions of a bill that would allocate tax money to fund public libraries, offering free access to knowledge of those within a municipality, was a Peoria, Illinois native. E.S. Wilcox saw the need to provide books and resources for all, something that each state would soon adopt in their own bills and laws. The public library today offers much more than physical media but is one of the only free public institutions that works to fill the growing lack of resources in our communities, especially in urban areas where there is often a major rift between the rich neighborhoods and the poor ones. During the May tornado that devastated St. Louis, the library I work for was a safe haven not only in the moments leading up to and during the storm, but in the weeks and months following the destruction. For those suddenly displaced and with nowhere to go, the library provided internet, air conditioning and a respite from the chaos. As the weeks went on and some of the neighborhoods nearby that were the most affected saw little to no assistance from the local and federal government, but a huge response from ordinary citizens, neighbors, from throughout the city. These groups used the library to make fliers, research, and as a meeting space to connect with one another. There are community classes offered regularly at the library, and cultural events such as book discussions, author talks and art gallery events. There truly is not one day that I will work without witnessing something hopeful. Whether it’s the small moments of calm and relief in the aftermath of a major natural disaster, or on a regular Wednesday night watching children squeal with excitement and run upstairs to find their next book…the library has the hope that we have been searching for.
Your name and age (optional).
Kathleen Jochman
Select the semester submitted below.
Fall 2025