Parking spots across St. Louis transformed into creative spaces as part of PARK(ing) Day

Businesses and residents in such areas as The Grove, Central West End, Cherokee Street, downtown, and more presented their reimagined parking spots.

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Parking spots across St. Louis were transformed into miniature parks as part of a worldwide movement called PARK(ing) Day. Put on locally by ParkLouie in collaboration with volunteer event organizers from SWT Design and CBB Transportation, the day celebrates an effort to reclaim public spaces.

Businesses and residents in such areas as The Grove, Central West End, Cherokee Street, downtown, and more presented their reimagined parking spots. Along Manchester Avenue, Arbolope Studio, a local landscape architecture, urban design, and public art practice created “Gravel Art, Picnic, and Post Cards.”

“One day you take over a parking spot, you make it a public space. That’s kind of what we do as a profession,” the studio’s founding principal, L. Irene Compadre, says. But participating in what she likens to a “one-day installation” also served as a chance to work on a larger art project the firm has in the works.

Setting up at 7:30 a.m., the team had a few ideas for how to transform the parking spot into a creative space. “In the end, we kind of took our patio and brought it out here. We built a box,” she says, referencing the wooden box with blue polka dots. They're inviting passersby to write responses to questions such as "What do you love the most about St. Louis?"; "What needs work—how can our community do better?"; "How would you describe St. Louis to a friend who has never visited?" The project is called "Dear St. Louis, Sincerely St. Louis" and in a few months, the firm will use those responses to create a public artwork in the center of downtown. "We thought this was a nice public space that we can make, and we could test some things for this public art piece," she says.

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Photography by Darian Stevenson

“PARK(ing) Day is a great opportunity to promote the benefit of more safe, public spaces for neighbors to have fun in community with each other,” St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones said in a press release.

Want to check it out yourself? Head to one of these spots. (But note that the open time for each one varies.)

  • Plants, Games and Chalk Zone 7:30 a.m.–7 p.m., Kaitlyn Poehlein, St. Louis ASLA and SWT Design—Maryland Plaza and Euclid Ave
  • Dog Park, Bikes, and Flowers: Heather Testa, BrandThisPlace—Maryland Plaza and Euclid Avenue Intersection
  • E-Bike Display 8 a.m. start: Erin Godwin, Forest ReLeaf and STL TreeLC–1200 Market and 13th Street
  • Refreshment Stop and Running Info, 9 a.m.–7 p.m., Bob Dyer, Running Niche–4131 Manchester Avenue
  • Gravel Art, Picnic and Post Cards 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Anu Samarajiva, Arbolope Studio–4178 Manchester Avenue
  • Financial Literacy Games and ParkLouie Info 10 a.m.–1 p.m., St. Louis Office of Financial Empowerment & ParkLouie–225 N Euclid Ave.
  • Plants & Patio 9am start: Dorothy Jones, Bespoke - 2650 Cherokee St
  • Resource Supplies: Jaqui Rogers, The Village Resource Fair and Education Summit – Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. & Whittier
  • Plants & Desks 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Alexis Hitt, NEBULA—Cherokee St. & Jefferson
  • Flowers and Plants 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Jessica Douglass, Flowers & Weeds—Cherokee Street & Compton
  • Art 10 a.m.–12 p.m.: Con Christeson, Red Chair Studios –2319 Cherokee Street
  • Matt Thenhaus, The Fortune Teller Bar—2635 Cherokee Street
  • Kathryn Austin, King Bee Lofts—1709 Washington Avenue
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