Lindenwood Park is 1 of 108 St. Louis parks. This 14.08 acre park was placed into ordinance in 1947 and is located in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood, bordered by Pernod Avenue to the north, Prather Avenue to the east, Lindenwood Place to the south and Jamieson Avenue to the west:
Per the Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Website:
Here is a history of Lindenwood Park as relayed by Mr. and Mrs. Schneidewind of the 6600 block of Pernod.
Lindenwood Park did not exist until after the 1955 bond issue. Then it was a four-block-long by one-block-wide area of woods with sinkholes and kids’ club houses.
Mrs. Schneidewind’s father was instrumental in getting the land (12 acres in all) donated to the city as a settlement with Darst Reality. Darst Realty, owned by then-Mayor Joseph Darst, intended to put 4-family housing units all over the tract, as well as the land north of Lindenwood Avenue and west of Prather.
After five years of lawsuits by the newly-formed Lindenwood Improvement Association, the Darsts offered the following deal:
If they could build 4-family housing units on both sides of Jamieson, from Lindenwood Place south to Bancroft, and along a new street called Wenzlick, from Lindenwood Place to Bancroft, they would donate the then-rugged tract of land that became the park to the city.
The settlement was finalized in court in 1946 through the efforts of James Bialson, an attorney who lived in the 6500 block of Mardel.
The city did not find the money to build the park until the 1955 bond issue which also authorized the building of Fire Station #31 on Donovan in St. Louis Hills. The Lindenwood Neighborhood supported both issues on the bond issue because they wanted the park developed and prior to this, all fire and ambulance responses were generated from Fire Station #35 at Arsenal and Macklind. They wanted a closer fire station for quicker emergency response.
The park development began in 1955 and has continued ever since as new residents have continued to both maintain and improve the park as a valued neighborhood asset. (source)
One can only assume the park was named after the neighborhood and street of the same name. If that assumption is correct, than here's the history on the naming of Lindenwood Place from the St. Louis Public Library Street Name Archive:
When developer Sam P. Rathell platted Lindenwood in 1888, he asked his wife to name the streets, she named this street and the subdivision for her classmates at her alma mater, Lindenwood College at St. Charles, Missouri.
The park is well cared for and well attended by seemingly respectful park goers. Anyone with kids involved in youth sports certainly have spent time here as the ball fields and soccer fields are commonly used.
The corners of the park are nicely landscaped as are the perimeters around the tennis courts and utility building. There are new trees planted within the park to provide shade and interest:
The interior of the park has a playground, picnic pavilion, utility building, roller hockey rink, tennis courts and walking path:
There are also baseball and soccer fields.
The homes that surround the park are extremely well maintained and typical St. Louis beauties.
Congrats to all the hard working volunteers and neighbors who maintain and keep the plantings looking good. Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed.
