Enjoy a unique opportunity to experience Citygarden through the eyes of its designer, noted landscape architect Warren T. Byrd, Jr.  Byrd will join us for the reception, share the design inspiration and process for the project and lead a tour of the garden.

Citygarden fills a critical space in the life and the design of St. Louis.  The New York Times noted that in the progress to revitalize the City, "the most original - and conspicuous - step in the campaign is Citygarden."  In its 2.9 acres in the Gateway Mall, Citygarden invites not just the eye but offers a range of sensory experiences.  Among its many features, Citygarden holds 24 works of art, a "spray plaza," a restaurant with a notable local chef, and a limestone wall set against the other park elements recalling the relationship between the Mississippi River and bluffs.  The park's permeable borders invite visitors to enter the space and enjoy.

Not so obvious are the design elements that make the site function.  The majority of plant material is native to Missouri, reducing maintenance needs and creating a crucial building block for the native ecosystem.  Soils were engineered to enhance the survival of the trees, which struggle in tough urban conditions, and to support the stormwater system.  The rain gardens not only serve their purpose - to help filter and reduce stormwater leaving the site - but are also a visible design element of Citygarden's river theme.