Pedestrian Bridge Gate - Benton Park - St. Louis, MO
Posted by: YoSam.
N 38° 35.869 W 090° 13.327
15S E 741918 N 4275807
This bridge is not over water, but accommodates for the uneven land within the park, and is next to the lake.
Waymark Code: WMQ93E
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/13/2016
Views: 2
County of gate: Independent City of St. Louis
Location of gate: Under the pedestrain Bridge in Benton Park, Bentorn Park Neighborhood, St. Louis
Benton Park is bounded by: S. Jefferson Ave., Arsenal St., Illinois Ave. & Wyoming St.
Gate Artist: Ray Simon
"Architect Ray Simon’s splendid gates in one of Benton Park’s two bridges are the perfect signature for a neighborhood where wrought and cast-iron reign into the 21st century. I like to think of them as memorials to the Indian lovers who took refuge in a channel of English Cave and starved there, rather than leave and be taken captive. Their burial place has been inaccessible since the last time the pond above it emptied into Indian Cave." ~ stltourguide.wordpress.com
Bridge Hunters great photos of the bridge with gates open and shut.
"Benton Park's site was originally set aside for a City cemetery [although never used as such] at the time of the sale of land in the old St. Louis Commons in 1836. Benton Park was created by City Ordinance in 1866 after the founding of Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries in North St. Louis made possible this transformation into a well shaded and popular pleasure area.
"One of the principal attractions is an artificial lake and rustic bridge. In its early history it was difficult to maintain a supply of water in this lake because of its proximity to "English Cave". The lake was drained and all crevasses which had occasioned leakage were filled with concrete." ~ St.Louis-MO.Gov