ST. LOUIS – The revitalization of Laclede’s Landing continues with the non-profit Pocketparks. A once abandoned lot is now home to a miniature park with disc golf, flowers, and sculptures.
“People are really thankful for something done here and not just a vacant lot,” Pocketparks founder Samantha Smugala told FOX 2.
More than 100 volunteers were helping give the vacant lot an overnight facelift Thursday. The park runs alongside the Mississippi River next to the Katherine Ward Burg Garden.
“I think what’s the most fulfilling thing of being part of a revitalization of a community is seeing people in the parks,” Smugala said.
The grand opening for the park on Thursday night featured live music, a food truck, and a few other vendor stalls. One of those being Gateway Disc Sports, which helped with the park’s transformation by adding the disc golf baskets and giving players a unique location.
“That’s what disc golf really is to me,” Gateway Disc Sports owner David McCormack said. “Really being out there and connecting with the landscape and nature and this is a steppingstone and bridgeway to that.”
Other Pocketparks projects are in the works for 2025.
