Forest Park
The history
Opened in 1876 and half again the size of Central Park — the grounds of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the 1904 Olympics, the first held outside Europe. The World's Fair pavilions are gone but the Art Museum, built as the Palace of Fine Arts, stayed.
In brief
Forest Park is a public park in western St. Louis, Missouri. It is a prominent civic center and covers 1,326 acres (5.37 km2). Opened in 1876, more than a decade after its proposal, the park has hosted several significant events, including the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and the 1904 Summer Olympics. Bounded by Washington University in St. Louis, Skinker Boulevard, Lindell Boulevard, Kingshighway Boulevard, and Oakland Avenue, it is known as the "Heart of St. Louis" and features a variety of attractions, including the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, The Muny, and the St. Louis Science Center.
Read more →The archival photograph
