ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A year-long Tower Grove Park project to restore a creek buried in 1913 will be completed Wednesday. The water will begin flowing in the creek after a grand opening event at 10 am. It will be attended by representatives of the Osage Nation, St. Louis City leaders, and people representing the Taylor and Kindle who funded the project.
The stream will be fed by a potable water source. Stormwater from intakes on
Arsenal Street will rejoin the creek 300 feet below the headwaters just west of the Stupp Center.
The new creek is named Nee Kee Nee, or “revived water” in the language of the Osage people who once inhabited the land. It includes a 1,400-foot-long path with natural play-areas as well as design and an acknowledgment of the Osage people.
The Crawford Taylor Foundation and members of the Taylor family helped provide a portion of the $2 million in construction costs to bring the rushing water back to the surface.
The creek was originally buried in 1913 for sanitary reasons in the southeast corner of the park, a series of bridges give the best sign of where the stream should be.