Citygarden is a two-block urban sculpture park opened in 2009 on what had been a forlorn stretch of the Gateway Mall between the Old Courthouse and downtown. It holds 24 large-scale works by artists including Tony Smith, Mark di Suvero, and Niki de Saint Phalle — alongside fountains, wading pools, and grass that visitors are actively encouraged to walk on, sit on, and let kids run across.
It works precisely because nothing is fenced off. The Eros Bendato — Igor Mitoraj's giant bronze head with hollow eyes — has become a city icon for the photo opportunities its scale invites. The park is open 24 hours, has no admission, and is one of the genuinely successful recent civic projects in St Louis.