The more poking around on the internet I've done the more significant this skate park seems to me. From what I've seen on the web this entire park was built through donations, fundraisers and volunteer work. And, as I currently understand it, this was all done without securing any permits or asking permission to build the park. While I love the appropriation of wasted space to build something positive for the community, the process is foreign to me. My wife has worked as a city planner so I'm used to hearing about the rigmarole required to build anything public. Creating first, and not bothering to ask permission later, does seem like a very St. Louis attitude though. St. Louis is home of the City Museum whose existence doesn't seem possible in this litigious age.
When the bridge sheltering this park is finally torn down the park, of course, will be lost. Surprisingly, to me at least, there is no free and public skate park currently in St. Louis to compensate for the loss. There is a development, however, in the works to fill the void. The Kingshighway Vigilante Transition (KHVT) has set up a nonprofit organization to raise money to build a new park on Morganford Street. All they need is money.
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