Historical November–December 2012 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
On Saturday, October 20, hundreds of area residents gathered in Ruth Porter Park, along Delmar near DeBaliviere, to celebrate the opening of a new trail that will provide residents living in this West End neighborhood with vital connections to other communities, parks, universities and public transportation. Ruth Porter Park, once a hub of crime and gang violence, now has a fresh look and a brighter future thanks to expansion of the Great Rivers Greenway District’s trail system in the area.
In 1968, the nine-block park was named in honor of Ruth Porter, a civil rights and fair housing advocate, and was a gathering place for area residents.
In time, however, it fell into a state of disarray and became a dangerous blight in the community. “There was gang activity and drug use,” said Alderman Frank Williamson, a supporter of the Great Rivers Greenway Project.
As he looked over the many significant changes within the park, he remarked, “Ruth Porter is smiling down on us today.” The St. Vincent Greenway will tie together North County near the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus to Forest Park when it is complete.
The newest section that just opened is a 1.3-mile long asphalt trail, which runs north from Delmar and DeBaliviere through Ruth Porter Park and then west to Skinker and Etzel.
When initially planning this section of the St. Vincent Greenway, the staff at the Great Rivers Greenway District was determined to improve the quality of life for residents along the trail, many of whom had avoided the park for fear of their safety.
The District added safety measures to the trail for the protection of area residents – including ADA grading at each intersection along the path, brighter lighting and flattened paths with enhanced visibility for residents, trail users and law enforcement. Mayor Francis Slay, who attended the ribbon cutting, remarked on the progress of the trail, “A number of years ago, I met with [Alderman] Frank Williamson and Joe Palm, the committeeman.
We were out here. Alderman Williamson said, ‘I want you to see Ruth Porter Mall, the park.
This place is in bad condition.’ We walked the length of the park and back.” The mayor told the crowd that after seeing the condition of the park, he and Alderman Williamson and Committeeman Palm reached out to Great Rivers Greenway hoping to get the District involved in a plan to transform and revitalize the West End neighborhood, only to find that they were already hard at work on a plan that would transform neighborhoods throughout North County. “I think it’s something that’s going to really help this neighborhood long-term, but more importantly this is going to be something that families and children in this neighborhood can enjoy in a safer, cleaner environment and one that is going to make this neighborhood safer and better as well,” said Mayor Slay. Joe Edwards of the University City Loop attended, announcing the kickoff of a greenway path alongside the Loop Trolley, a proposed streetcar system that is slated to open mid-2014 and would give residents additional transportation options.
As he reflected on the newest section of the greenway that opened on Saturday, Edwards said, “For many years, we as a community have worked to extend the vitality of the Loop into the City of St. Louis and bridge that artificial city/county border. Today marks a time when we’re going to bridge that north/south border.” Residents attending the St. Vincent Celebration had the opportunity to witness the dedication of a neighborhood peace pole by Bishop Charles White, Jr. of the nearby Mount Carmel Full Gospel church.
The pole, a part of an international movement to inspire conversations and action focused on peace, was inscribed with the words “May peace prevail on earth,” written in Swahili, English, Spanish and Hebrew, to reflect the various cultures of the area.
A variety of organizations turned out to celebrate this addition to the West End Neighborhood, including Better Family Life, which held a farmer’s market; West End Neighbors, which held a neighborhood yard sale to raise funds for a neighborhood police substation, and St. Vincent Greenway, Inc., which held an afternoon jazz festival called “Jazz on the Greenway.” Great Rivers Greenway, as part of its mission to make St. Louis a better place and in support of its commitment to the neighborhoods along the St. Vincent Greenway, broke ground on the next phase of the project at Skinker and Etzel. Once completed, the section that opened on Saturday and the new phase that broke ground the same day will offer residents two community gardens, a splash pad for area children and easy access to more than 9 Metro stops.
Original photograph caption
Ribbon-cutting at Ruth Porter Mall. Full source caption identifies Joe Keaveny, Joe Edwards, George White, Shameem Hubbard, Francis Slay, Jeffery Boyd, Darlene Green, Malik Ahmend, Lewis Reed, Frank Williamson, Alberta Dillard, Carol Klein and Rob Epstein with neighborhood children.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November–December 2012.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2012_11.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
