Visiting Laumeier Sculpture Park

One summer around the time I was in the final years of grade school, or perhaps the early years of high school, my aunt took my mom, my siblings, and I to a park that we had never heard of - Laumeier Sculpture Park. After wandering around for several hours, I was absolutely amazed. How could a place this neat have escaped my attention for so long?

As time went on, I started taking my friends to Laumeier on nearly every opportunity I had. Over the years, I've probably introduced a couple dozen people to the park, and though I don't know if any of them have made return trips of their own, I keep taking new people to see this place, which has become one of my favorite places to go in St. Louis.

Laumeier Sculpture Park opened in 1976, the result of a bequest of land from Matilda Laumeier to the people of St. Louis County. The 76-acre park is nestled in the midst of an urban sprawl, yet once you enter the park, you forget that the office buildings and highways surround this quiet retreat. The park is home to over 100 sculptures in various styles and mediums, and routinely receives new pieces and retires some old pieces.

The sculpture for which Laumeier Sculpture Park is probably best known is called "The Way." Made up of huge hollow metal cylinders, all painted stop sign red, this sculpture stands at over 100 feet tall atop a hill near one of the park's two parking lots. Designed by sculptor Alexander Liberman, most first-time viewers of the sculpture are taken aback by its sheer size.

While many of the sculptures at Laumeier Sculpture Park are the only work of their respective artists represented in the park, Laumeier is home to a number of Ernest Trova sculptures. His pieces, typically identifiable by their use of painted metal and sharp angles, are located throughout the entire park, and most visitors who pay attention to the sculpture plaques will quickly identify the Trova sculptures as they come across them.