The City's north-westernmost neighborhood combines German architecture with a river industrial and recreational corridor, and connects to both the Calvary Cemetery Prairie and the North Riverfront Trail. 

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BITTNER POCKET PRAIRIE

​Ongoing efforts in the Baden neighborhood center on a piece of vacant property, of just about half an acre, nestled between Dickman Park to its southwest and Our Lady of the Holy Cross church to its northeast. The property lies where two streams once met and has been a consistent site of water issues, leading to the abandonment of the house, ten years of vacancy and eventual transfer into LRA's inventory. ​In the Spring of 2019, the vacant building at 1049 Bittner was demolished and the site is now being converted to a rain garden that will absorb the excess water and provide a seamless connection between Dickman Park and Our Lady of the Holy Cross's prairie plantings.

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​IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS
GCC Land Management // Missouri Department of Conservation // Forestry Division // DJM Ecological Services // St. Louis Development Corporation // Land Reutilization Authority
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FUNDING PARTNERS
Missouri Department of Conservation // Urban Greening Program // Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District // National Fish & Wildlife Foundation

​OPEN SPACE MAINTENANCE
DJM Ecological Services // GCC Land Management
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DICKMAN PARK

​In the early 2000’s, four new houses were built immediately north of Dickman Park, on former LRA lots. The site design carved out new back yards from a slope and created a steep hill in a portion of Dickman Park, leading to erosion and flooding issues. The Missouri Department of Conservation is providing funding and technical assistance to the Department of Parks to help mitigate the erosion issues through regrading and reseeding. 
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IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS
GCC Land Management // Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry // Missouri Department of Conservation // Native Landscape Solutions

FUNDING PARTNERS
Missouri Department of Conservation // National Fish & Wildlife Foundation

​OPEN SPACE MAINTENANCE
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry // Native Landscape Solutions // GCC Land Management
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HISTORY

Written by Rachel Folkerts, Research Assistant, Washington University (2018)
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In Lee Khroll’s Baden Remembered, one resident describes growing up in mid-twentieth century Baden as “one of the greatest things that could happen to a person.” Another recalls Baden as “heaven on Earth.” Indeed, it seems it was. Residents could find whatever they needed within walking distance. In one square mile there were over 100 businesses, concentrated along Broadway. In the 1950s, Dickman Park, then located where the properties on Dickman Park Road are today, had two tennis courts, a swimming pool and a wading pool, and softball fields.

The Baden Community Garden was developed by the Revitalization of Baden Association (ROBA) and Missouri Botanical Garden.

But Baden has changed over the years. A few months ago, I asked an elementary school student at the Baden Enrichment STEM Center what she would tell someone who wanted to move to her neighborhood. Without missing a beat, she responded, “Don’t come here! There are too many killings.” Today Broadway is full of boarded up buildings, just eight businesses are part of today’s Baden Business Association. Dickman Park, now located next to Our Lady of the Holy Cross Church, is seen by the kids as a field and not a park. Most residents feel that their streets are no longer safe for children to roam and children are not seen sledding between the alleys on Sells and Newby, as they did in past times. There are no longer secret spots for fishing in Calvary Cemetery, or an ice cream shop down the street to satisfy a sweet tooth on a hot summer day.
So, what happened? It is much the same story as that of the rest of north city and north county. It is a demoralizing story that Colin Gordon thoroughly documents in his book “Mapping Decline.” The full account is too complex to tell here, but in essence, decades of institutional racism, evidenced through local, state, and federal policies–and especially within practices like residential security ratings within the realty industry–segregated African Americans to the north side of St. Louis city and county and resulted in white flight from the city and into west county. 
 
The results of these policies and practices are evident today. They manifest visibly as the Delmar Divide: a line that St. Louisans know divides our city into north and south, black and white, disposable and accommodated. Not only is the built environment of north city–its streets, buildings, and parks–visibly worse than that of south city, but the well-being of its residents is decidedly worse. The real tragedy is  that a child in Clayton can expect to live 18 years longer than a child born in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood in north St. Louis.[1]
 
This story is not uplifting. The devastating effects of institutional racism on our city are not acceptable. If there is a silver lining, it is in the hope we have heard from Baden’s residents, who move in or stay for their love of their neighbors, or church, or the beautiful brick homes, and who still believe in the potential of the neighborhood to be a beloved place once again. It is in their conviction that this is not the end of the story. There is also a silver lining in the willingness we have seen from many institutions and individuals–including the City of St. Louis, the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Washington University, Riverview West Florissant Development Corporation, Alderwoman Flowers, and Our Lady of the Holy Cross Church–to act as partners and take collective action to change this story. And it is beginning to make a difference.

In just the last year, Alderwoman Flowers led the installation of a walking trail around Dickman Park and residents got together to form the Revitalization of Baden Association, with support from the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations (SLACO). In partnership with the Urban Vitality and Ecology Initiative, the Missouri Botanical Garden and Riverview West Florissant Development Corporation created a community garden in 2015 and provided professional staff to organize and serve as a resource for local gardeners, as well as to train youth participating in STL Youth Jobs to work in the garden. Today that garden is small but thriving, and in a very real way residents are beginning to see it as a catalyst for change in their neighborhood. Leaders at Our Lady of the Holy Cross are working with UVEI partners to create and implement a landscaping plan on their grounds; hoping to create a community gathering space filled with culture and beautiful habitat space. During a volunteer work day this fall, where students from St. Louis University worked with MBG, WU, and RWFDC staff on several clean-up projects in the neighborhood, a resident came over to say hello. He said that he had noticed the small changes happening and work being done. He while he wasn’t ready to join in yet, he was encouraged by what he saw. I was heartened as well. We may be turning a corner, after all.
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While Baden, like much of the north side, has suffered from the effects of decades of institutional racism, its leaders are ready to reclaim its heritage and revitalize its buildings and landscape. And from what we have seen through this project, the many institutional partners involved in this effort are ready to help.

[1] For the Sake of All: https://forthesakeofall.org/

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TIMELINE
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​2016
Urban Vitality & Ecology Initiative partners and Baden neighbors discuss improvements to Dickman Park. 

YEAR
Mayor's Office of Sustainability installs X acre prairie planting in Dickman Park, as part of the Butterfly Byway.

YEAR
Alderwoman Dionne Flowers and Parks Department install new track and exercise stations in Dickman Park. 

APRIL 2018
Vacant building at 1049 Bittner demolished.

FEBRUARY 2020
Bittner Rain Garden regraded and seeded; Dickman Park problem area regraded and seeded.

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