Forest Park is one of the largest city parks in the United States. The park, which lies in St. Louis , in the Midwestern state of Missouri , includes a zoo, museums, and lagoons for boating.
Forest Park covers about 1,300 acres (526 hectares) on the western edge of St. Louis. The park is the site of the Jewel Box, a building that features flower exhibits; the Missouri History Museum; the St. Louis Art Museum; the St. Louis Zoo; and the St. Louis Science Center, which includes a planetarium and a museum of science and natural history. Every summer, the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis—commonly known as the Muny—presents musical comedy and concerts in an open-air theater in the park.
A series of lagoons allows boaters access to a number of bodies of water in the park, including the Grand Basin. Art Hill, near the art museum, is a popular winter sledding destination. Other attractions in the park include athletic fields, cycling and hiking trails, golf courses, an ice rink, and picnic areas.
In 1874, the Missouri legislature passed acts to create Forest Park and two other area parks. The park—called Forest Park because most of its land consisted of forest—opened to the public in June 1876. At the time, the park was part of St. Louis County. The city annexed (acquired) the park the following year.
Hundreds of temporary buildings were constructed in the park for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition. The fair marked the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase . In this transaction, the United States bought from France a vast area of land west of the Mississippi River , including what is now the state of Missouri. Only a few original structures remain from the fair. They include the main section of the Palace of Fine Arts, now part of the art museum; and the Flight Cage, now part of the zoo.
