Henry Shaw, an English immigrant who arrived in St. Louis in 1819 at the age of 19, became a prosperous business man and was able to retire by the age of 39. In 1840, he purchased a 2,000 acre tract of land that was, at that time, a vast prairie located outside the St. Louis City limits. He built his country home on this tract of prairie in 1850 and named it the Tower Grove House. Henry Shaw was also the designer and developer of Tower Grove Park. The 289 acre park was originally part of his vast prairie estate. In 1868, Shaw donated the park as a gift to the citizens of the City of St. Louis with the stipulation that it would always remain a park. Tower Grove Park is modeled after the many pleasure parks Shaw studied in Europe, with beautiful pavilions, curving "carriage" paths, a model sailboat lake and appealing art in the form of statues. Today it is a National Historic Landmark, one of only seven parks in the nation with that designation!
Amenities: playground, children's wading pool, bird watching, open air picnic sites with capacities ranging from 20 to 125, 13 beautiful early 20th century pavilions that can be reserved and have capacities ranging from 18 to 200, softball fields, baseball fields, soccer/football fields, corkball fields, horseshoe pits, a grass tennis court, hard-surfaced tennis courts, carriage and pony rides by reservation, the Piper Palm House can be reserved for special events, such as weddings, receptions and parties.
Tower Grove Park
7257 Northeast Drive
St. Louis, MO 63110
314-771-2679 (Park Office)
St Louis City Parks Webpage, Tower Grove Park Facebook page, Tower Grove Park Website