Tower Grove Park Archives
Take a trip down memory lane and explore the rich history of the Park with us and uncover fascinating stories that will enrich your understanding of this beloved place.
National Arbor Day (Friday, April 26, 2024)
April 2024
National Arbor Day was on Friday, April 26!
Did you know that Tower Grove Park is a Level II Arboretum, one of only four in St. Louis to hold this accreditation certified through ArbNet? Tower Grove Park’s canopy includes nearly 7000 trees of 350 different taxonomies.
In the first few years of the Park’s founding, around 10,000 trees were planted, with varieties shipped in both locally and from nurseries far and wide. As you can imagine, some tropical species that were of special interest during the early Victorian Era of the Park did not thrive and survive in our region. Former Superintendent James Gurney Jr. diligently documented his correspondence with various companies while securing species. The example featured here is from a local company called Westover Nursery Co., dated November 23, 1932.
Check out the other Level II Arboretums in St. Louis, including Forest Park, Forest ReLeaf, and Washinton University. Our friends at Bellefontaine Cemetery have earned the distinction of being a Level III Arboretum, the only one in St. Louis!
Grand Entrance 1800s
April 2024
Imagine Tower Grove Park with no trees. Well, you don’t really have to imagine it – take a look at this photo of the Grand Entrance from early in the park’s founding in the late 1800s. Notice the lack of a developed canopy that is now synonymous with the Park, a Level II Arboretum? Most trees take about 20-30 years to reach maturity in their growth, so even though trees were immediately planted on this former prairie land from 1868-1872, they took decades to provide the canopy cover we see today.
As we celebrate Earth Month (all April), Missouri Arbor Day (April 5) and National Arbor Day (April 26), we honor the trees of Tower Grove Park that bring us welcome shade and fresh air to breathe. We also send our thanks to our Forestry staff now and throughout history for caring for this precious resource.
Women’s History Month: The First and only Female Superintendent (Director), Bernice “Bunny” Gurney
March 2024
This Women’s History Month, Tower Grove Park would like to honor our first and only female Superintendent (Director), Bernice “Bunny” Gurney, appointed in 1943. Ms. Gurney led Tower Grove Park for 33 years, the longest of any of the Park’s Directors, and was the third in her family to be Superintendent of TGP, preceded by her father, James Gurney Jr., and grandfather, James Gurney Sr., who was promoted from Head Gardener when Henry Shaw passed away.
Having grown up in the Director’s Residence, Ms. Gurney had a special connection to Tower Grove Park. Among her many impactful contributions, she is remembered for fostering a lively sense of community through the creation of many war-time programs, including youth and family recreation events like theater, square dancing, Junior Achievement courses, group exercise and more.
Upon her departure in 1976, the board sent her a retirement letter outlining her many achievements. “You have managed the usage of the park well, made the public feel welcome, always putting the people first, having believed Henry Shaw’s words that it is a “place of beauty to be enjoyed by St. Louisans in all walks of life.” You have worked patiently and constructively with group leaders as they planned a multitude of events of every description - weddings…festivals, family and group picnics. Patiently, you have listened to their promises to clean up after their party and just as patiently, you have dispatched a crew to tidy up after their parties were over…Bernice Gurney, you have served Tower Grove well. Henry Shaw would be proud of you. You have kept his park a beautiful, attractive, desirable place, appealing to the general public and loved by every generation who have been fortunate enough to enjoy its many features. As members of the Board of Commissioners, we express our deep gratitude to you for your leadership and join your multitude of friends in wishing you many happy years of retirement.”
Ms. Bernice Gurney is pictured in Photo 1 at the Director’s Residence in the Park, where she grew up (year unknown), in Photo 2, with her family as the child on the left holding a kitten and standing on a lily pad, circa 1910, in Photo 3, with the Board of Directors in 1978 (on far right), and in Photo 4, at the Memorial Home on Magnolia in 1993.
African American composer and band leader, Joseph William (J.W.) Postlewaite
February 2024
As we celebrate Black History Month, Tower Grove Park would like to honor the renowned African American composer and band leader, Joseph William (J.W.) Postlewaite. Postlewaite's all-black band was a prominent fixture at the Music Stand of TGP during the summer Sunday concert series in the 1800s. Although no surviving visual or printed documentation remains from his band's performances, historical financial records, like the 1881 ledger entry indicating a payment of $56 per performance which is a payment of $1,693.27 today, shed light on their presence.
J.W. Postlewaite holds the distinction of possibly being the first documented musician in St. Louis to have his musical compositions published. His repertoire of at least 36 pieces, encompassing waltzes, marches, and various dance-friendly genres, played a pivotal role in shaping the foundations of ragtime music. His earliest published composition dates back to 1845, and he continued to create works through 1880.
Postlewaite's talents extended beyond music, as he ventured into entrepreneurship by owning a music store, a coffee house, and operating a publishing company.
A highway through Tower Grove Park
January 2024
If your New Year’s resolution is to spend more time walking outside in the park, you can be very thankful that the 1962 plan to build a highway through Tower Grove Park was shut down! City planners aimed to alleviate traffic by connecting Morgan Ford to Tower Grove Avenue through a depressed 4-lane highway. The battle played out in court, neighborhood meetings, and more, and was diligently documented by then Park Director Bernice Gurney in a file labeled, “A Short History of the Dastardly Plot to Violate Henry Shaw’s Intent as Donor of Tower Grove Park by Constructing a Highway That Would Devide the Park and Pollute the Air You Breathe.”
The plan was ultimately (thankfully) squashed in 1965 when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the city could not build the throughway due to Shaw’s smart deed, which protected the park against such measures. His will stated “that no portion of said park shall ever be used for any other purpose than those appertaining properly to such a public park.