Issue: Proposed Pavilion in Frontier Park

Frontier Park is within Historic District boundaries and is the connection to the river that brought Founder Louis Blanchette and Lewis & Clark to this site. Forward thinking citizens from previous decades also realized that a green opposite bank was important to the river vista and they worked to ensure that development would not mar the view across the river.

The Katy Depot was moved in 1977 from a previous location to become the centerpiece of Frontier Park.

Citizens enjoy the park as a beautiful place to view the river, walk the dog, enjoy the green space.

The reenactors of the Lewis & Clark Heritage Days currently use the location of the proposed pavilion as parade ground.

Preserve Frontier Park as a passive scenic park in our Historic District on the Missouri River.

Updated March 5, 2009

Compare photos on the left to those on the right; beautiful green vistas to the river are in jeopardy as Council considers a huge block of concrete and a pavilion structure in Frontier Park.

Frontier Park offers a scenic connection to the river and is a draw for our area. Both Main Street and Frontier Park attract visitors who frequent our shops and restaurants.

The St. Charles City Council voted to amend the Proposed 2009 City Budget adding $200,000 to build a Permanent Pavilion in Frontier Park. The Pavilion would be a 125'x60' structure with a 145'x80' concrete pad, located between the Katy Depot and the stage according to Councilman Ermeling's quotes in the Post-Dispatch...and might likely be over 25' tall. It is intended to reduce the cost of erecting a tent for the few groups who want shelter for their festival beer gardens. The bill to approve the budget was introduced on November 18 as Bill #9813 and a Public Hearing was held on Tuesday, December 2. Read more about public hearing. >> Council passed the budget bill on Dec 2; it is expected that the Mayor will veto the pavilion item in the bill and Council will vote to uphold or override the veto on December 16.

Frontier Park is an integral part of the Historic District. Main Street and Frontier Park on the Missouri River are a single unit in the telling of the story of St. Charles. The river brought our Founder Louis Blanchette in 1769 and Lewis & Clark in 1804. The river and Main Street portray the story of the settlement of Les Petites Cotes, the eventual establishment of Main Street and the birth of St. Charles. The Historic District is a source of pride for all the citizens of St. Charles and everyone is served in preserving and protecting our valuable historic assets. Frontier Park was designed within the Historic District boundaries to be the community’s connection to the river and one of the focal points for visitors in the Historic District.

Frontier Park was the result of much hard work on the part of visionary St. Charles citizens who began the process in the 1940's. In the 70's, the park became a reality. The Katy Depot was moved from its original location and placed prominently as a centerpiece of the new park. Frontier Park is part of the Main Street Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970. It is also located in the zoned Historic District and subject to Historic Landmarks Preservation and Architectural Review Board review and the Issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness as to the appropriateness and design of any structures. A pavilion of 11,000 sq ft cannot be designed to be either architecturally compatible or appropriate in a historic district.

The saving grace of many cities is their connection to a river—the goal is often to enhance the citizens' experience of the waterway, even at the expense of condemning and clearing structures from the riverfront. See St. Louis, and Louisville, Kentucky, and Sioux City, Iowa and any number of other cities who have made use of their water exposure. They have had structures removed at great expense to share the river among citizens and the public as an open green and welcoming vista.

Frontier Park is a passive scenic park featuring a beautiful vista of the river. We walk our dogs along the paths, sit on the benches, enjoy the view of the river. One can always find shade under one of the many trees and the park is never crowded unless there is an event in progress. A big roof covering a significant part of the park and blocking views of the river is aesthetically moving backward toward a past when the river could not even be seen from a river town.

Using public dollars to build a shelter as a substitute for the festival or beer garden tents while ruining the experience of the park on all the other days of the year is wrong.

St. Charles has an obligation and responsibility, not just to its citizens, property owners and visitors, but it has an obligation to the State of Missouri as custodian of Missouri’s Historic Places, and it has moral obligation to the entire nation. As one of the first group of districts to be placed on the National Register, we are recognized and revered. We are nationally recognized and we are obligated to current and future generations to preserve our historic assets which by all standards include preserving the historic environs and our relationship to and the visual connection with our founding on the Missouri River.

Among the groups who worked on the Strategic Plan for the city of St. Charles, a common and oft repeated emphasis was placed on our historic assets. Trading our green space and river vista for a permanent pavilion on a huge slab of concrete would be counter to the sentiments expressed by the citizens and detrimental to our city's Historic District assets.

In opposition to the proposal for a pavilion are the Parks Board, the Convention and Visitors' Bureau, the Riverfront Issues group of the Strategic Planning effort, Mayor York, South Main Preservation Society, Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Council and Mayor, please vote no to funding this pavilion in Frontier Park.

The proposed pavilion would be located between the Katy Depot and the stage at the foot of First Capitol Dr. according to Councilman Ermeling's suggestion.

The proposed pavilion is almost 50% larger than the Depot and the stage combined and would dominate a large portion of the river vista. The black rectangle above is a scaled representation of the proposed pavilion according to Coucilman Ermeling's quotes in the Post Dispatch.

Pictured is a pole barn used for a beer garden in New Melle, 60'x80'; the proposed pavilion is much larger. A structure with a roof span such as that proposed is incompatible within the historic districts and adjacent to our prized Katy Depot.

At one time, it was controversial to build campfires in the park for the encampments as they left spots on the grass. Today, the Katy Trail through the park has been widened to accommodate large trucks as they deliver beer and heavy carnival equipment...the trucks sometimes mire in mud due to rain, leaving ruts. The proposed pavilion would include additional concrete for trucks. In order to preserve the beauty of Frontier Park as a supporting element within the Historic District, members of the city's Strategic Planning groups spoke of the possibility of developing a fairground for the city in another location to accommodate events that are more intensive.

The citizens enjoy the green space of Frontier Park as a place for walking, biking and enjoying the river view. The beautiful scenes in the photos at the left of the page show slices of the park without clutter. A better use for improvement dollars in Frontier Park could include placing electric lines underground to reduce clutter and enhance the beauty of the park.

Just say no to a beer garden pavilion
in the Historic District!