Forest Park’s Next Chapter
Date Posted: January 30, 2025
Posted In: News, Organizations,
From St. Louis Business Journal: Like many St. Louisans, Fred Ruhrwien has fond childhood memories of Forest Park. His family didn’t have a car until he was 12, so Ruhrwien’s father would borrow one to take the family to the park from their home in north St. Louis in the late 1930s.
“We’d watch that fountain change lights for half an hour,” he recalled, referring to Kerth Fountain and its reflecting pool that lights up at night at the base of Government Hill.
After retiring from then-McDonnell Aircraft Corp., Ruhrwien volunteered from 2003 to 2018 at Forest Park Forever Inc., the nonprofit conservancy formed to restore, maintain and sustain the park in partnership with the city of St. Louis. He led bus and walking tours. Despite being legally blind, the 95-year-old still leads the occasional bus tour for his fellow residents at an assisted living facility, adding that he relies on his memories.
Lesley Hoffarth, president and executive director of Forest Park Forever, said the 148-year-old park has created many generational memories.
“For people who live here, it’s such a great anchor. For people who are visiting, it’s just jaw-dropping gorgeous,” she said.
Much has been written about Forest Park’s past. From her office in the park’s Visitor and Education Center, Hoffarth envisions part of the future. As Forest Park Forever raises $85 million in donations to make the Steinberg Skating Rink a year-round attraction – along with the 22 acres around it referred to as “the Glade” – the park’s leadership also has a list of “next-up big ticket items” over five years.