An often overlooked memorial
A marker sits on the ground near the Kennett Street entrance to Lafayette Park. It looks like a headstone – concrete chipped by decades of reckless mowing; brass long ago gone green with age. “Creative Play Area” is inscribed on the plaque, and it’s a puzzle, as it overlooks a blank stretch of grass and a large shallow concrete dish. Yep, you’d have to be creative indeed to see it as a special play area. But it didn’t always look this way. The simple marker memorializes a playground once installed here, as well as the man behind it
By 1954, Albert Preston Greensfelder (1879-1955) had been a champion of park and playground development at the local, state and national level for over 25 years. AP helped launch the Missouri State forest system, and the purchase of Washington State Park, Rockwoods Reservation, and Creve Coeur Park.
Although neither a hunter nor a fisherman, Greensfelder was a recreational visionary. He noted that if St. Louis County didn’t then buy available park space to develop around, “it will eventually have to buy it by the square foot instead of by the acre.”
AP opposed incarceration as legal punishment. He stated, “Human beings constitute the greatest wealth in any community. Man builds great cities and imprisons millions of his own kind in them. We build jails first and recreational facilities last, yet when we show visitors around our cities, we take them to the parks, not the prisons.
In 1954, the aging developer spearheaded passage of St. Louis County Prop 6, a $4,500,000 bond issue for acquisition of additional park land. At the time, there were only three parks in the county system; Jefferson Barracks, Sylvan Springs and Creve Coeur Lake. He wanted to acquire Tilles Park from St. Louis City and develop Babler State Park.
Greensfelder’s local roots
Echoing his middle name, AP was born on Preston Place in Lafayette Square. His family relocated to Olive Street Road in St. Louis County when he was still a boy, and his father founded the St. Louis County Bank. Young AP rode a horse three miles to the Mount Olive School. He graduated from Washington University with a degree in engineering in 1901
It was a boom time to be a graduate engineer. He was soon engaged in construction of the Terminal Railroad of St. Louis, the special train that would shuttle visitors to the 1904 Worlds Fair. He joined Fruin-Colnan Contracting Company in 1906, serving as president for thirteen years and CEO for another nine.
His extracurricular accomplishments were many and notable. In 1930, he was a representative to the International Congress on Building and Public Works in London, and in 1939, a similar Congress on Housing and Town Planning.
Greensfelder was president of the Associated General Contractors of America, and the Society of Engineering Contractors, was University City Plan Commission chairman for 25 years, St. Louis County Plan Commission chairman for six years, and held board positions on the Recreation Committee of the Metropolitan Plan, Missouri Planning Commission, Missouri Conservation Commission, the National Capital Park, and Mississippi River Parkway Commission.
A parting gift to Lafayette Park
At 74 years of age, the irrepressible Greensfelder organized Experience, Inc. This group of retired business professionals mentored younger people in business development, as well as design and execution of civic improvements. Unfortunately, he died shortly after, in early 1955.
In November of 1955, the estate set up by AP Greensfelder endowed the City Board of Public Service with a $7,500 gift. The board announced that it would use the funds to place “the newest creative type of playground equipment” in Lafayette Park. This playground would then be dedicated to his memory.
And so it was. Seven months later, in late June, 1956, the AP Greensfelder Creative Play Area was dedicated in the park. Palmer Baumes, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, and Mrs Edward Brungard, Director of Public Works gave short speeches. When Mrs. Blanche Greensfelder cut the ribbon, nine year old Kurt Turpen of 1540 Mississippi Avenue thanked her on behalf of the neighborhood and gave her a certificate of appreciation. Then 250 children raced to be first to use the new equipment. Lafayette Park was chosen because it was the park in which Albert Greensfelder played as a child. The Post-Dispatch wrote that the whole concept was the work of psychologists, to “give children a chance to use their imaginations.”
Postmodern design in a Victorian era park
Here are two views of the new playground in 1958, from photographer Arthur Proetz.
Lafayette Square’s king of concrete art, Bob Cassilly, would have appreciated the highlight of this new installation; a ten-ton spiral concrete slide.
There were arc-shaped ladders, an accordion shaped climbing apparatus, and the “Fantastic Village.”
The Fantastic Village was a creation of Virginia Dorch Dorazio. Of 320 entries, it won a creative playground design contest sponsored by New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1954. Commercialized by a company called Creative Playthings, it sold for $1,395.00, (shipping extra). It consisted of five precast concrete and steel block forms with abstract cutout designs, ladders and poles. It could be assembled in any number of ways.
The original units were painted in bright primary colors. This combination of cutting edge abstract design and color would have been a tough sell in historic Lafayette Park later in the 20th century. I was unable to identify a contemporary example of Fantastic Village still in use, so have to assume that it’s now extinct. It was definitely a product of its postwar time.
Epilogue
The fountain is all that remains of the original area. It spouted water and kids played in it during hot St. Louis summers. It was a rougher park then, and an occasional broken beer bottle in the water feature lacerated bare feet. As a result, the city had to shut down the fountain permanently.
AP’s widow, Blanche, died a mere six months after dedication of the Lafayette Park play space. The Greensfelder estate became two trust funds, valued at over $1.2 million; one for the benefit of public planning and civic development, and the other to promote development fo more public parks, playgrounds and conservation projects.
AP Greensfelder is considered to be the father of the St.Louis county parks system.
Several park volunteers planted some smoke trees near the Mississippi Avenue recently, 50 feet or so from the Greensfelder marker. They leaned on their shovels and smiled as the kids from Lafayette Prep recessed to the newer and far safer playground space near the Kern Pavilion. It was one of the last of our good autumn planting days, and the laughs and shrieks of the children were a perfect compliment to some easy digging in remarkably good city soil.
Sources
St Louis Globe-Democrat; January 3,1954; Page 45 – Profile of AP Greensfelder; April 25,1956 – “Children’s Fun Village” Completed on South Side; June 30,1957; Page 3 – “$1.2 Million Trust Funds Created For Public”
St Louis Jewish Light; August 25,1971; Page 7 – “AP Greensfelder Called Father Of County Parks System”
St Louis Post-Dispatch; November 1,1955; Page 3; June 28, 1956; Page 29 – “Fantastic Village Play Area Dedicated” Staff photo of spiral slide from same issue.
Cultural History of Fantastic Village from Mondo Blogo, a wonderfully random blog http://mondo-blogo.blogspot.com/2012/03/creative-playthings-catalog.html
Design Museum Foundation; https://designmuseumfoundation.org/blog/2017/06/08/history-play-part-2/
Cultural Ghosts Blog; http://culturalghosts.blogspot.com/2014/09/ Sep 25 2014 Anonymous blog ended too early, in 2017. Specialized in forgotten and unreported past Culture
Mike,
Once again, a great little story. Turns out, the playground was christened the year I was born. I especially like your ending about the smoke trees and children recessing.
Dan H
Great quote and could we get that slide back?
. . . We build jails first and recreational facilities last, yet when we show visitors around our cities, we take them to the parks, not the prisons.
Thank you for sharing, I always told our Children that I had a cement slid you’d go inside to slide I’m 70 yrs old and know I can show them
Great story; I wondered about that historic marked every time I turned that corner toward the playground. Now I know! I have to say…while I understand the safety concerns, a return of the splash pad (several other city parks have them) would be a boon!