Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park

When traveling abroad, it is easy to forget about the treasures in my state. Every Friday, I highlight places, events, and restaurants in my home state- Missouri.

Today is all about Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park.

Malcolm W. Martin Park is a hidden gem in East Saint Louis, Illinois. It is directly across the river from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and provides the BEST view of the Saint Louis arch.

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Malcolm W. Martin
Malcolm W. Martin was born in 1912 in Saint Louis, Missouri. In his early years, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, he went on to develop and help plan D-Day invasion at Normandy during World War II.

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After the war, he made many contributions to Saint Louis including:
*One of the founders of KETC Chanel 9
*One of the founders of Arts and Education Council of Greater Saint Louis
*Trustee of Saint Louis Symphony
*President of Saint Louis Board of Education (1965-1977)
*Chairman of the Saint Louis Committee on Foreign Relations
*Member of the Council on Foreign Relations
*Trustee of the St. Louis Art Museum
*Recipient of the 1984 Saint Louis Award and the National Conservation Award of the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1988
*Chairman of the executive committee of the federal commission of 1987
*Donated over $5 million to the Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis

Many of the awards that he received were directly related to the development of the east bank extension of the Gateway Arch National Park.

Resized_20200717_202312Photo courtesy of Leroy W. Tyler

His Vision & Top Priority
His priority was to make the Illinois expansion of the Gateway Arch National Park before the Gateway Arch was completed in 1965. His idea was to extend the Memorial Park to encompass both sides of the river. This would complete Eero Saarinen’s (the architect of the Gateway Arch) original vision for the Gateway Arch National Park- to have an Illinois component.

After all of this passion, dedication, and generosity, on June 18th, 2005, the park was officially dedicated to Malcolm W. Martin.

Have you been to Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park?