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Mill Creek Valley- Pillars of the Valley – ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Winner
May 3, 2024
Photo By Great Rivers Greenway / Suzy Gorman
The floor at the Pillars also shows the outline of the original houses at Mill Creek Valley Neighborhood
Photo By Matt McFarland
The Pillars light up at night and enhance the atmosphere of the stadium and the plaza
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Developers: St. Louis City SC ; Great Rivers Greenway
Designers: Lamar Johnson Collaborative (Lead); Damon Davis (Artist); David Mason & Associates (Civil Engineering); Introba (Electrical Engineering); Reed Burkett Lighting Design (Lighting)
Site Size: 0.7 acres
Photo By Matt McFarland
The planting strategy utilized native plants to create the ‘rooms’ with a mix of formal and informal arrangements. Plants provide structure and seasonal interest throughout the year
The Brickline Greenway is a 14-mile urban greenway and green cultural network that spans across the downtown core of St. Louis, MO. The segment of the greenway from Compton Avenue to 20th Street was once a vibrant neighborhood known as Mill Creek Valley. In 1959, in the name of urban renewal, the city exercised eminent domain, demolished the site, and displaced nearly 20,000 residents, a majority of whom were Black. Until the time of its demolition, Mill Creek Valley housed a lively community and featured densely packed residential row houses, commercial establishments, organizations, and churches.
Pillars of the Valley Plaza traces the neighborhood’s legacy both physically and symbolically and sheds light on its complex history through the integration of hardscape and landscape interventions that vary in subtlety. One intervention, a powerful public art installation called “Pillars of the Valley” anchors the site and links the greenway segment along Market Street from CITYPARK to Harris-Stowe State University. The installation, by a St. Louis resident and nationally acclaimed artist, Damon Davis, manifests the idea to “uncover and excavate the things that were buried.” A set of eight black granite pillars, each featuring a white limestone wedge set in the top half, represent hourglasses frozen in time.
Photo By Matt McFarland
This series of images are photographs of the major design elements of the landscape, including plaza, nods to history of site, and project materiality
The Brickline Greenway at CITYPARK is the second completed segment of the greenway. It comprises the 12-foot- wide greenway, featuring a brick centerline that provides wayfinding and the landscape adjacent to the new MLS soccer stadium, including the “Pillars of the Valley” plaza. The art installation, as well as the design of the landscape adjacent to the stadium, commemorate the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood that once thrived in this location. Historic lot lines derived by overlaying a Sanborn Fire Insurance map on an aerial of the context plan are accentuated in the design through the repetition of seat walls and rows of shrubs. An organic, bermed planting bed cuts through the rows of shrubs on the north side, adjacent to the stadium, and provides a sense of contrast to the design as well as screening to utilities at the building facade. Historic lot numbers have been engraved into concrete bands and granite paving to strengthen the connection to the historic Mill Creek Valley neighborhood and symbolize the homes and lives of past residents who once called this area home. Each pillar is etched with quotes from former residents, narrating their experiences in Mill Creek Valley and highlighting the significance this place holds to them. Adjacent to the pillars is a granite plinth that showcases a statement by the artist, a map of the former neighborhood, and the names of the residents who once lived on this block.
Photo By Matt McFarland
Uniquely situated along a CITYPARK, it stands as the first known public monument addressing the racist policies leading to Mill Creek’s displacement and demolition, inviting visitors to engage with the city’s past, present and future urban planning decisions
Pillars of the Valley Plaza represents the inaugural phase of the expansive Brickline Greenway, a 14-mile cultural network scheduled for completion in 2030. Originating two decades ago as a greenway project connecting St. Louis’s Gateway Arch National Park grounds to Forest Park, it underwent a transformative international design competition in 2018. The winning design expanded the greenway to link North and South St. Louis neighborhoods, broadening its original East-West Central corridor focus. This shift aimed for greater city-wide equity and incorporated art to celebrate regional cultural heritage.
During the Brickline Greenway Framework’s completion, the first segment’s design and implementation unfolded, traversing the historic Mill Creek Valley. Here, the narrative of the Valley emerged, shedding light on its complex history. A local artist collaborated with the design team to employ art in commemorating former residents, exposing this impact of discriminatory planning tactics on this predominantly Black community. The inclusive community engagement and design process informed the final concept. Construction, initiated in 2022, concluded in 2023. The plaza officially opened to the public on Feb. 16th 2023, marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by living Mill Creek Valley residents. This project reflects a fusion of urban planning, cultural celebration, and community engagement, embodying a vibrant transformation of historical narratives.