Kiener Plaza Renewed

"The Runner" returns.

A couple weeks back on May 19 (also our anniversary : ) we made it out to the opening of the renewed Kiener Plaza, another step in the progress of the Arch area revitalization. Along with the restored "Runner Statue," 20 million dollars worth of great updates were made to the renewed space, documented below.

STL's new mayor and friends opened it up...

...with yet another fancy ribbon cutting.

The super cool new playground, nicely fenced in.

Some of the 200 new trees in the park,
and plenty of room for food truck parking just outside.

A new cafe seating area to do lunch or just hang out.

Lots of benches line the park.
These were created to mimic bench styles found at the 1904 World's Fair.

We even got a brand new splash pad to enjoy on hot summer days.

Other features include special lighting to create a moon glow effect at night, and lots of space for events, concerts and more. Overall, they've created a great new multipurpose space downtown, and one of the brilliant new entry points to the Arch grounds when it's all said and done.

Also of note, the CityArchRiver Foundation, which was created to support the overall grounds project, officially became the Gateway Arch Park Foundation as of the Monday after this opening. As stated on their website, they've "transitioned to a conservancy model to ensure that the Gateway Arch and its surroundings are a vibrant, active, well-supported attraction for generations to come." Read more about them and follow the events to come at archpark.org.

We continue to wait in anticipation of the full opening of the Arch museum and grounds, possibly later in the year, but it's been fun to be a part of the history they've been making in giving us all these new spaces. Get downtown and enjoy them when you can.