The southern half of the park mirrors the north almost beat for beat: a second reflecting pond, a matching gateway, and curving promenades that bow the same way in reverse, so the entire design pivots on the steel at its heart. This is the calmer side, the route most walkers take back toward downtown with the monument falling behind them. None of the greenery is accidental. Every rank of trees, every pond, and every bending walk was drawn by the landscape architect who partnered with the Arch's designer on the original winning competition entry, a plan that pointedly refused to let any path run straight. Money lagged for years, so the planting filled in slowly across the 1970s, hardier trees standing in for the originals.
Everything on this side of the Arch has a twin. You're on the south grounds now, and if this stretch feels familiar, that's the point — the South Reflecting Pond off to your right answers the north one pond for pond, the South Gateway answers the North Gateway, and the paths bow in the same slow curves, just flipped, the way the two halves of a face match. Stand still here and the whole park balances on the steel in the middle.
This is the quiet half, the walk home. From here the path eases back west toward the Old Cathedral and Kiener, the Arch riding at your back the whole way. Most folks hurry it. Don't. Notice that not one of these walks runs in a straight line — they bend and bow the whole way home. None of this green is an accident. There was a hand behind every tree and every pond on these grounds — a landscape architect who worked shoulder to shoulder with the man who drew the Arch itself, and whose half of this place took the longest, slowest time to grow. Boone's got the tale of him — including why not one of these paths will run straight. And this is where I leave you — the Arch at your back, Kiener just ahead. Thanks for walking St. Louis with me; I'm Ranger Quinn — take good care of yourself out there. Keep to the paved trail, and let Boone tell you one last story for the road.
Photo: NPS · Public domain
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