Gwen Giles Park

Overview and amenities for Gwen Giles Park

Gwen Giles Park
Gwen Giles Park by Mark Groth

The park was placed into ordinance in 1959, it was formerly known as Catalpa Park named after the elegant tree with the long seed pods and large heart shaped leaves common in these parts and native to a very small area in Southern Illinois/Missouri/Arkansas/Kentucky and Tennessee along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The Catalpa is one of the most quintessential Midwestern American trees truly native to this center part of the country, and has since spread throughout the Eastern U.S.

The Park was re-named on March 22, 1986 in honor of Gwen B. Giles, the first black and first woman to serve as City Assessor.

Giles was also a local civil rights leader in the turbulent and pivotal late 1960's, and the first black woman to serve in the Missouri Senate.

Ordinance Year: 1959

Size: 5.35 acres

Park Type: City Park

Maintained By:
Parks Division

Related Neighborhoods
West End

Related Wards
Ward 10

Sports Grounds

Sports and Recreation Facilities

Park and Amenities Map

Photos

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