McDonnell Park is a county park in unincorporated Central St. Louis County, between the cities of Overland,

St. Ann According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

, Creve Coeur and

Maryland Heights Maryland Heights is a second-ring north suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 27,472 at the 2010 census. The city was incorporated in 1985. Edwin L. Dirck was appointed the city's first may ...

, in the U.S. state of Missouri. The park is named in honor of James S. McDonnell, founder of

McDonnell Douglas Aircraft The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...

History

McDonnell Park was originally referred to as the Adie Road Parksite when purchased in 1977. It was declared a county park in 1978. In 1980 the name was officially changed to James S. McDonnell Memorial County Park in honor of the late founder of

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...

. The house in the southeast corner of the park is the Park Ranger's/Area Manager's office.

Amenities

* Fitness and bike trail: The 1.6 mile trail winds through the park and has 16 fitness stations which include parallel bars, isometric squats, balance beam, chin-up bar and stretch station. It is suitable for jogging, running, walking,

skating Skating involves any sports or recreational activity which consists of traveling on surfaces or on ice using skates, and may refer to: Ice Skating *Ice skating, moving on ice by using ice skates **Figure skating, a sport in which individuals, ...

and

biking Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

. *

Amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

: A natural amphitheater can seat over 200. * Shelters and picnic tables: The park features two main shelters with water, electricity,

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

pits, and restrooms. McDonnell Shelter is named after James S. McDonnell, and Lindbergh Shelter is named after

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

. Multiple picnic tables surround the shelters and are scattered throughout the park. * Playgrounds: McDonnell Park consists of two playgrounds, one near Lindbergh Shelter in the northwest corner of the park and one near the McDonnell Shelter in the middle-south area of the park. *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

court: Sand volleyball is available near the Lindbergh Shelter.

Events and usage

Park facilities can be rented for reunions, weddings and other activities. McDonnell Park has been host to the annual Fords Unlimited Car Show for over 20 years.

External links

St. Louis Country Parks & Recreation
{{STL Parks Protected areas of St. Louis County, Missouri Parks in Missouri