Today’s feature is a recently discovered photo collection – about 45 images of Lafayette Park. They date from sometime after the great tornado of 1896. The trees were slowly reestablishing themselves by 1903. Although the twister took out virtually every old growth tree, some of the smaller ones bent enough to survive the storm. The loss of canopy provided an unintended benefit for today’s observers, however. We get a more unobstructed view of the streets and homes surrounding the park. Close inspection has its rewards.
A few to whet your appetite
I’ve extracted and cleaned up a few details from the series, to give you an idea of the richness the collection holds. The first is of a couple strolling by the Benton statue. Note the cool lighting. It would be a major upgrade for the city to install historic lighting to replace the scattered gooseneck sodium vapor lights in the park (sigh.)
Here are some men and boys, all in hats. This is a view south, toward the grotto on the Mississippi Avenue side.
Below is a look at what is now the Kern Pavilion site, then the caretaker’s cottage. In front are the three guns from HMS Acteon, presented to the park just six years earlier (1897.)
Taking advantage of the lack of mature trees, post-tornado, this is a view north toward Park Avenue, taking in the stretch of houses from Benton Place all the way to Mississippi Avenue.
This is the park path, looking south along the lake. There was no shortage of benches in Lafayette Park, and the pathways were of well-kept crushed limestone. Also note the familiar fence which surrounds the lake. Here also is the recently rebuilt bandstand, which remained until the early 1950s. The base is still there, awaiting the bandstand’s third iteration.
Finally, ladies and girls in their Sunday best pause at the rock garden fountain on the Missouri Avenue side of the park. The rock garden lasted until 1952, when it was filled in. Today with its paving stones and handsome plantings, the low spot is still called Lafayette Park’s rock garden. You can easily pick out the Abbey, formerly the Lafayette Park Presbyterian Church, and 1525 Missouri Avenue in the background.
The origin of this photo series
Park superintendent Leonard Hunt took these photographs, sometime around 1903. This may have been part of a submission for review by the landscaping judges at the following year’s World’s Fair. Each photo is a well-matched combination of two individual shots, merged into single images, looking something like today’s panoramic photographs. This must have taken some patience. These shots by the park superintendent were anything but routine.
The collection has aged, and the original images have faded and blued somewhat over time. I resisted the urge to doctor them, in the interest of conserving their authenticity. Nevertheless, there are fascinating images of ponds, rock gardens, gravel walkways and iron fences. You can pick out the caretaker’s cottage and bandstand. Activities include children skating in the winter, and various strolling visitors in the summer. Photo 11 shows how the current rock garden area was once a pond with a dramatic fountain. Number 14 features one of the gaslights that dotted the walkways. #22 is the horse watering cistern near the Park House, turned into a planter, much like today. #34 features the Northwest gates at Mississippi and Park Avenues. Photo 51 is of Mr. Hunt holding a goose.
A little historical background: Leonard Hunt (1836-1913) served as Lafayette Park Superintendent for 33 years, from 1872 through 1905. He took on the unenviable task of rebuilding Lafayette Park following its destruction by the 1896 tornado. His dedication to this work resulted in the park winning an award for landscaping excellence at the 1904 Worlds Fair. Coincidentally, the fair also signaled the emergence of Forest Park as the newly preeminent jewel of the parks system. Hunt resigned when park oversight passed from the original Lafayette Park Board of Improvement to the St. Louis City Parks Department in 1905.
After the Fair
This collection of photographs was presented to Hunt’s widow in 1924 by William Clark Breckenridge (1862-1927), a well-known St Louis area historian. They were later donated to the State Historical Society on the UMSL campus, where the collection resides today.
Please take a few minutes to browse the collection, and let me know what you think about the Lafayette Park of 1903.
Try this link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/74anqzbpa68cblbyuccs2/h?rlkey=ci3d9noo0a7q7h4cwkukkm1rh&dl=0
Mike,
The wide paths and rolling hills of the 1903 park gives one a sense of both old and new at the same time.
A lovely article for this week of Thanksgiving.
I’m grateful for your friendship and your history lessons.
Dan H
Hi, Dan; Thanks for making the day of a local history wonk. And strong dittos on the long-standing friendship part. Wishing you all the best.
What a surprise find , Mike . I’m confused about the identity of the current agency which has them . The Mo. Historical Society archive is on Skinker Blvd. – not at UMSL . At the same time, the St. Louis Mercantile Library is at UMSL and also there is a branch office of the State Historical Society . SOO many societies !! Better more than less .
Hi, Tom;
Yes, Mike Boyd caught it as well. I’ve modified the essay to reflect the true home of the collection – The State Historical Society on the campus of UMSL. Distinct shade of difference. Thanks for the catch.
Hey Mike,
Another good one. Thanks.
As fact checker guy here, when you say the photographs are held by the Missouri Historical Society at UMSL, do you mean the Mercantile Library? Are these a different collection from that other batch of post-cyclone panoramic shots around the park?
Good catch, Michael; I meant the State Historical Society, which is indeed on the grounds of UMSL. Sorry for any confusion on that – I’ve made the modification on the essay.
Bravo Mike. thanks for digging this up.
Keep on keepin’ on, Sir Michael.