Saint Louis Art Museum Art Hill

For more than 100 years, the Saint Louis Art Museum has stood atop Forest Park as a physical and prominent reminder of the 1904 World’s Fair. The museum and its site, known now at Art Hill, served as the fair’s center piece and became the focal point of the 1,200-acre park. Following the fair, however, most of the site fell into disrepair without thought for its future use.

To honor the fair’s centennial celebration, a park-wide revitalization effort brought improvements to Art Hill that would restore the space to its former grandeur, and create a new iconic front door to the museum. Fine Arts Drive was narrowed and converted into a granite-paved terrace of the grandest scale surrounding the historic statue of the city’s namesake, King Louis IX. The timeless design of the plaza is simple with details reflecting the Beaux Arts vernacular of the museum.

SWT Design was the prime consultant and designer selected for this prestigious project. The firm led a design team of landscape architects, urban designers, architects, engineers, and lighting designers.

Due to the civic nature of the project, the design team faced many challenges from public review and historic preservationists. The need to engage art conservators, archeologists, and historians added to the unique nature of the project.

2007 Honor Award
St. Louis Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects

2008 Merit Award
American Society of Landscape Architects Central States