Steinberg Skating Rink and Forest Park: Attractions that make St. Louis Great

For more than 45 years, Steinberg Skating Rink in Forest Park has been filled on winter days with skaters of all ages and skill levels.  Last night, my wife and I took our oldest daughter, Sarah (age 6), to Steinberg to practice skating and have a little time away from her two younger sisters.  We had a great time.  

I love watching young children learn something new.  Sarah is quite coordinated, but, at first, she fell a lot.  By the end of the evening she was moving quite well without our assistance.  Steinberg is a magical place.  

In November 1957, through the generosity of the Steinberg Charitable Trust, Steinberg Skating Rink opened in beautiful Forest Park.  The ice rink not only offers skating but also includes the Steinberg Café which boasts a full food service – beer and wine are also available.  Etta Steinberg, honoring her late husband and investment broker, Mark C. Steinberg, determined that a skating rink would properly memorialize her husband due to his twin interests in youngsters and sports.  The initial cost of almost $1M was shared between the trust (2/3 contributors) and the City of St. Louis (1/3 contributors).

Among St. Louis’ affordable attractions, Forest Park is preeminent.  In 1876, Forest Park was created from 1,371 acres of land west of downtown St. Louis. By the 1890s, the public park was widely used for recreation with bicycle paths, baseball diamonds and lawn tennis courts. An expanded lake provided parkgoers with an opportunity for boating in the summer and skating in the winter. Funds were raised to develop the St. Louis Zoo by the Forest Park Zoological Association.The western half of the metropolitan park was used as the site for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. Today, the Saint Louis Art Museum occupies one of the few remaining structures built for the Fair. The Missouri Historical Society is comprised of the new Emerson Electric Center and the Jefferson Memorial Building. The building was the first memorial built to honor Thomas Jefferson and was funded with proceeds from the 1904 Fair.A natural amphitheater near Art Hill was developed as The Muny in 1917 with proceeds from a theatrical production called the Pageant and Masque which was performed on a stage built over part of the Grand Basin.In 1936, an Art Deco-style Conservatory opened in Forest Park. The Jewel Box is surrounded by rose gardens, lily ponds, statuary and monuments and houses seasonal displays.The site of a razed Mounted Police Station became space for the McDonnell Planetarium which was completed in 1963. In 1984, the city sold the Planetarium to the Museum of Science and Natural History. The building, renamed the St. Louis Science Center, is connected by a highway overpass and tunnel to its new headquarters, south of Forest Park.Private donors to Forest Park Forever paid for the $1.1 million restoration of the World's Fair Pavilion. The current renovation is the first of three scheduled phases of Forest Park Master Plan. Forest Park is used by more than 12 million visitors a year. Forest Park Forever was founded in 1986 to work in partnership with the Department of Parks, Recreation & Forestry to rehabilitate and maintain the Forest Park as the "Crown Jewel" of the metropolitan area. Forest Park is the site of the annual Great Forest Park Balloon Glow and the Great Forest Park Balloon Race.