Being out of town for so long, and perhaps thinking too fondly of the free museums in St. Louis, I managed to forget that the taxpayer-subsidized Missouri Botanical Gardens charge admission.
For quite some time I have felt that the Botanical Gardens, as a publically funded institution ought to do more for the region's public spaces. Tower Grove Park, though wonderful as it is, really ought to be better integrated into the Botanical Gardens, and the Gardens into the park. The birds don't see a difference, but sadly the powers-that-be do.
Why can't an organisation with a huge endowment, vast membership, public funds, and an oft-repeated claim of international fame lose its walls? Let people walk through. Open it to everyone. That rusted cyclone fence on Alfred has got to go.
I think while away from St. Louis I was affected by the Singapore Botanic Gardens without realizing it.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens are not only beautiful, but like the Chinese and Japanese Gardens on the island... they're free.
The garden has walls, but the gates are usually open.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is like a public park, only better. In my pride, I somehow forgot that my hometown botanical garden is a private non-profit.
It looks like the apartment hunt is over. I'm going to be a resident of Southwest Garden, and a neighbor to a walled off botanical garden. How do I go about mobilizing a wall wrecking crew? Spraypaint, wirecutters, and trucks are not acceptable options, but some sternly worded letters might happen.
Of course, MoBot charges admission and has a reason for putting up walls. Why does the Zoo have so few entrances? There's a wall behind Animals Always. Grrrr....
i don't think MOBot is meant to be used as a public park. their mission is to "discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life," not to provide kickball space for the general public. i would hate to see a football land in the coy pond or a baseball smash through the climatron. a few more entrances would be nice, but the wall is historic and, IMHO, attractive. also, i doubt that vandalism is of much concern in singapore.
ReplyDeleteAdam
The wall is historic, but the cyclone fence is not. The wall doesn't need to go, but the doors along it ought to be open, not locked.
ReplyDeleteThe Singapore Botanic Garden also has walls, but you're right, vandalism is less of a concern.
I'm not at all suggesting kickball in the gardens, just as I wouldn't suggest it next to the Jewel Box in Forest Park. I'm suggesting the gardens be more accessible and Tower Grove Park and the surrounding neighborhoods a bit more embraced.
I always like to bring up the wall as an example of conflict in the thinking of urbanists/preservationists.
ReplyDelete'Monied elites, please do not wall off spaces and cut off parts of the city...unless you have built a really old wall, then we would like to save it.'
Actually, the wall is wonderful. There are plenty of holes in it. It's just a matter of making those holes publically accessible.
ReplyDeleteThe bigger conflict is the cyclone fence and barb wire next to Tower Grove Park and Southwest Garden. That's got to go. Extend the wall, just get rid of the barb wire.