457 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
RESTORATION OF ST. LOUIS WORLD’S FAIR SITE 
From the Report of Geo. E. Kessler, to the President of the Louisiana 
Purchase Exposition Co., on the restoration of Forest Park, St. Louis. 
The work of restoration of Forest 
Park, the site of the World’s Fair at 
St. Louis, has proceeded as rapidly as 
possible since the close of the fair. It 
has proven to be of greater extent than 
at first thought. During a considerable 
portion of the three years of work the 
Restoration Department carried over 
fifty teams, and over one hundred men 
using all of the help that could be ef- 
fectively employed. The pay roll of this 
department ran as high as $13,000 a 
month for part of that time. All that 
was contemplated in the beginning has 
been done. Many improvements, which 
were not foreseen, but as the work pro- 
gressed seemed of added value to the 
beauty and utility of the park, have 
been provided. 
The landscape architect in charge of 
the work, George E. Kessler, of Kansas 
City, estimates that the City of St. Louis 
receives the western half of - Forest 
Park, with improvements and better- 
ments which fairly represent $500,000 
of cost. In this estimate are not in- 
cluded the great Art Building of stone 
and steel, and the statue of St. Louis. 
The roads constructed under the plan 
of restoration were ; Forty feet wide, 
314 miles ; thirty feet wide, % miles ; 
Plaza in front of Art Building, 525x60 
feet, ]/% mile. 
These roads were graded and built 
entirely new; The roads which did ser- 
vice in the northern part of the grounds 
during the World’s Fair were removed, 
as they conformed to building lines, and 
could not be used in the plan of restor- 
ation. 
The plan of roadways approved by 
the Board of Public Improvements did 
not specify that the roads were to be 
paved. Previous to the World’s Fair 
there were no paved roadways in this 
part of the park, north of Art Hill. As 
the work of road making progressed, 
the Executive Committer instructed that 
the roads be paved, the material from 
the roads removed being utilized for this 
purpose. As the result, there has been 
put down over 100,000 square yards of 
street paving. This is standard park 
road paving from 10 to 12 inches thick, 
with top dressing of gumbo. At the 
usual prices paid for such road paving, 
this item alone would represent $100,000. 
The paved roadways above referred 
to are in the northern section, where the 
exhibit buildings stood. The southern 
heavily wooded section was thrown 
open to public use in April, 1905. At 
that time the roadways in the southern 
section, between five and’ six miles in 
length, were in perfect condition. They 
have been in continuous use. From 
time to time the Restoration Depart- 
ment has made repairs upon them. 
One of these roadways extends from 
the southeast to the southwest corner 
of the park. It has been a main thor- 
oughfare. Before the World’s Fair, this 
road, with the exception of a short 
length near the cottage on the eastern 
border, was the only paved road in the 
west half of Forest Park. The paving 
was very narrow. The Exposition wid- 
ened and improved this roadway, and 
opened it to public use as soon as pos- 
sible after the fair ended. The top 
dressing has been worn away by the 
two years’ service. This was the only 
roadway not in excellei t condition by 
1907. In the southern wooded section 
the Exposition Company built between 
three and four miles of paved roadway, 
the popularity of which, as shown by 
the daily driving, fully justifies its re- 
tention as permanent park improvement. 
Altogether, the paved roadways which 
remain in the World’s Fair grounds 
amount to about nine miles, all of which, 
with the exception of about one mile 
and a quarter, were built by the Ex- 
position Company, either before or since 
the fair. They are where their value as 
permanent improvements can be seen at 
a glance. At moderate estimate of such 
work, they represent a cost of $158,000. 
■i 
PART OP WORLD'S FAIR SITE SEEN PROM LINDELL TOWER BEFORE THE PAIR, JULY, 1901; FOREST PARK, ST. lI 
