The Fairgrounds Park dates back to 1856. The Civil War interrupted the annual fair and the park was used as Union encampment known as Benton Barracks. The park also was a horse racing park at one time. After the war the fairs continued until 1902, and stopped again in order to prepare for the 1904 World Fair. In 1908 the St. Louis Zoo took over the park. After The St. Louis Zoo moved to Forrest Park. Now all that remains of the zoo buildings at Fairgrounds Park is the front facade of the bear pit.
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"Fairground Park is a municipal park in St. Louis, Missouri, that opened in 1908. It was originally a privately owned facility, first used by the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association for the St. Louis Exposition from 1856 through 1902. However, the Civil War interrupted the annual fair when the Fairgrounds were used as a Union encampment known as Benton Barracks.[1][2] The annual exposition ceased in 1902 as preparations for the 1904 World's Fair began.[3]"
"The Fairgrounds originated in 1856 with the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association. In the early 1880s, the association fell upon hard times and was replaced with the St. Louis Fair and Jockey Club.[2] In 1901, Cap Tilles, Sam W. Adler, and Louis A. Cella, the principal owners of Delmar Racing Track, purchased the St. Louis Fairgrounds.[2] Since 1892, the partnership had been purchasing race tracks across the St. Louis area, with Delmar Track becoming the main competitor to the St. Louis Fair and Jockey Club. By the turn of the century, the competition won out, with Tilles becoming President of the new association.[4]
However, the revival of the Fairgrounds suffered another blow with the abolition of gambling on horse racing in Missouri in June 1905.[5][6] Governor Joseph W. Folk was elected in 1904, running as an anti-gambling, progressive reformer.[7] Folk signed the Anti-Breeders Act, directly leading to the permanent closure of the St. Louis Fairground Track.
In 1908, after protracted political debate, the abandoned 132-acre (0.53 km2) fairground was purchased from the association for park use by St. Louis for $700,000. The park was dedicated on October 9, 1909.[citation needed]
All of the former fair structures and zoo buildings were removed except the bear pits of the old zoo and the amphitheater. In 1912, the amphitheater was removed and replaced by the city's first municipal swimming pool, then said to be the world's largest. This was replaced by a new pool in 1958 as part of the 1955 bond issue program,
which also provided lighted ball diamonds and hardsurface tennis courts.
At the corner of Grand Boulevard and Natural Bridge Avenue, the facade of the old bear pits still stands at the park's main entrance."
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