Sister Marie Charles Park is 1 of 108 St. Louis parks . The park is located in
. The park makes up 3 of the total 2,956 acres of parkland in St. Louis. Placed into ordinance in 1982, the park is right along the banks of the Mississippi River near Broadway and Elwood Avenue.
This is one of those parks that is a real bummer to visit, not because of the condition or anything like that, but because of the fact that this is a place where all male trysts occur in broad daylight. I would be remiss in speaking about this park if I didn't mention this fact. It is brazen and straight up creepy. There is a predatory, disgusting feel to the whole scene that takes place in the parking lot of this park. Upon your arrival, you will be met with stares from mainly old men, but some younger guys too. Rainbow stickers on some cars, others not. This is not a welcoming site. When I got out of my car with camera fully visible and starting taking photos, only a few trucks/cars took off. The others stayed just staring straight ahead in their vans, trucks and a couple cars. The stream of traffic continued on my visit, with people doing kind of a drive-thru type thing, slowing down, making eye contact, some stopping some moving on.
This could be dealt with a simple camera and signage that says, "smile you are on film". Seems simple, right? This should be the work of the city government and park's dept to maintain civility on their property, no? Public safety is at risk here. This is not a happy place.
Anyhow, the park is located literally right along the river, affording great views of the Mighty Miss.
There is basically a burm of grass to the east of the railroad tracks that run along the bluffs.
sits atop the bluffs, as do some senior living apartments.
The park has a few places to sit and watch the barges go by and there were lights installed, most destroyed.
Update 01/14/14: I am trying to locate the correct info on how the park was named.
The park's dept and the city should take a stand and put an end to the negative behaviors on display here.
