1882: The Rules Of Lafayette Park

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch of April 18,1882 noted some interesting rules from the City Park Commissioners, regarding the use of Lafayette Park.

“The park is to be open to pedestrians only. No carriage, wagon, wheelbarrow, etc., is allowed, and the bicycle rider is not permitted there without special license.” No mention of Lime scooters, but pretty sure the law would have banned them. The course of a scooter seems even less predictable than that of a wheel barrow. 

“People are required to enter and leave by the gate, and visitors frisky enough to climb the fences or walk or lounge on the grass plots are liable to arrest.”

“Bathing, fishing, discharging firearms, throwing sticks or stones, games of chance, fortune telling, picnicking, any sale of goods, and advertising within the park or on the neighboring streets is forbidden.” That would be bad news for getting word out about seasonal fish fries.

“Improper characters are not allowed in the park at all, and disorderly and offensive conduct, profane or threatening language, loud or unusual noises, sleeping, lounging or lying on the benches are strictly prohibited.” What an improper character was is unexplained, but I suppose you’d know one to see one back then.

“Intoxicating liquors must never come inside the gates.” There was no specific prohibition on intoxicated pedestrians, as long as they remained quiet and vertical. 

“Dogs are tabooed and the ordinance instructs employees to use any means to eject them and other animals from the park.” This is fascinating – in Lafayette Square today a spouse is optional, but a dog seems almost mandatory. It’s  remarkable how well the community tolerates the pets of others, and how few real problems pets cause in the park. Banning dogs would be like banning squirrels – good luck with that! 

Quiet was the order of the day

“Without special permission of the board no person may deliver an oration in the park, pass into or through it in procession, nor play upon a musical instrument. The city hired or licensed professionals to do these things while forbidding amateurs from the same.

“The fine for an infringement of any of these rules is not less than $3 nor more than $100. “ A dollar in 1882 was roughly equivalent to $24.00 today. That creates an effective spread of $72 – $2,400 in fines, without specifically stating which violations would carry what penalty. Good reason to remain silent, upright, sober, single, and moving.

So I tried to come up with a brief accounting of what one could do with reasonable impunity in the park. There is no prohibition on strolling (by oneself), or whistling (unless it was loud or unusual). One could stand still on a pathway, and I see nothing specific regarding the climbing of trees, as long as you didn’t walk on the grass to get to the tree. I now see there was another rule against “breaking, disturbing, or carrying away any bird, animal, tree, plant, etc.,” and those et ceteras often depend on legal interpretation, so forget about climbing a tree. Perhaps you could take photos, although the cameras of the day required a lot of set-up. You might be blocking a pathway to to so. 

Strangely, there was no mention of littering, generally banned, if sometimes ignored, in all cities. A lot less disposable but persistent trash graces the landscape today. White Castle bags, Kleenex, plastic wedding confetti, Bud Light bottles, and cigarette butts are another price of progress

Anyway, a nice day for a walk through the park. It paid to watch your step, however, back in April of 1882. 

Thanks to research sources

To Mark Loehrer both for his terrific St Louis Postcard Project, and his efforts to make our local history more accessible. The three park images I use are from the Postcard Project at stlpostcardproject.com

Also Benjamin Scherliss for a consistently engaging and well-travelled Instagram album. The photo of the Lafayette Park fence reposted to Explore St Louis on November 8, 2017.