The Thurman Gateway Project - recipient of the Mayor's Sustainable Neighborhoods Small Grant Competition grant



Jeanette McDermott, co-creator of Sustainable in St. Louis,
with a big thumbs-up for sustainability!

The Thurman Gateway Park Project is proceeding rapidly and this page is designed to inform neighbors of our progress. Check back often for updates. 11/9/13 update  9/21/13 update   9/8/13 update

The Thurman Gateway Park Project is a prairie restoration being installed along Thurman Avenue between DeTonty and Lafayette Streets, at the highway 44 underpass. You can see my original vision for the prairie restoration articulated here.

Kudos to the St. Louis City employees. We couldn't do
this without your help.

The Thurman Gateway Park Project was made possible by a grant to the Shaw Neighborhood Improvement Association from the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, St. Louis, through the Sustainable Neighborhoods Grant Competition. See the details of our grant proposal here. Additional funding is being sought from a variety of sources, including Operations Brightside's Neighbors Naturescaping grant and our alder persons.

Progress update: Site preparation is underway. The grass has been treated and unsightly weeds, weed trees and dead shrubs have been removed by the City of St. Louis Forestry Department. The large green concrete barriers have not been removed. They will eventually be replaced with more decorative barriers but Thurman Avenue will NOT be opened to automobile traffic between DeTonty and Lafayette.

Next steps: We need volunteers for three activity dates:
October 10th - general clean-up of the Gateway area
October 19th - planting the prairie with live plants
October 26th - finish planting the prairie with live plants and a "Seed and Stomp"

Project leaders for the Thurman Gateway Park Project are:
Monte Abbott - SNIA Beautification Chair
Jeanette McDermott - SNIA 1st Vice President

The Thurman Gateway Park Project Volunteer Committee is comprised of:
Monte Abbott
Lauren Arend
Chuk Byington
Emmett Coleman
Christina Dames
Sheri Goldsmith
Elaine Kidwell
Jeanette McDermott
Brian Rain

The following organizations are assisting with the Thurman Gateway Park Project as well as the larger Thurman Underpass Project:
Mayor's Office of Sustainability
City of St. Louis Urban Forestry Department
City of St. Louis Street Department
Missouri Department of Transportation
Sustainable in St. Louis
Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri Extension Service
Nine Network of Public Media
Botanical Heights Neighborhood Association
Shaw Neighborhood Improvement Association
SNIA Beautification Committee
Urban Improvement Corporation
dtls Studio
The Nature Institute
Wild Ones
Missouri Master Gardeners
Missouri Master Naturalists
Missouri Prairie Foundation
Faith in Action
SLU's Make a Difference Day volunteers

The Thurman Gateway Park Project is a part of a larger project that began as the Thurman Underpass Design Competition begun in 2012. See the winning design for the underpass project here.

Currently the neighborhood organizations for Shaw and Botanical Heights are working together with Alderman Steve Conway and Alderwoman Marlene Davis, the Garden District Commission, MODOT and the City of St. Louis Streets and Forestry Departments to complete the Thurman Underpass project. The finished project will create a new pocket park that connects the two neighborhoods and is accessible only to pedestrians and bicyclists.