MARQUIS MAY 2024

MARQUIS • Serving St. Louis’ Near Southside Neighborhoods MAY 2024 5 White swans first appeared in Lafayette Park in 1872. They were a gift from Spring Groves Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. According to the 1874 Report of the Board of Improvement of Lafayette Park, Saint Louis, a pair of white swans was “placed in the lake, and a house for their accom- modation was constructed on the island in the lake. They multiplied during the last and present years, and at this time are eight in number.” A few years earlier, the lake in the center of the park had been enlarged and improved to holdwater. “Aboat was purchased during the summer, and it was in such demand that the next season another was added. The income derived from the use of the boat by visitors was considerable.” In 1873, a newspaper published a letter by “Stella, the fair visitor fromMemphis” about her visit to Lafayette Park. Thanks The swans of Lafayette Park have a long history B y C arolyn W illmore to Stella, we know that “for a five-cent fare you can take a ride in a pretty boat, three times around the lake.” The stone stairs and landing on the west side of the lake was built with proceeds from swan boat rides. Urban pioneers began restoring homes in Lafayette Square in the 1970s. The park no longer had swans. When Jim and I moved to the Square in 1998, one swan was in residence. That swan, Willie B., had been relocated from Busch Gardens Williams- burg to Lafayette Park in the early ’90s. Suzanne Sessions recalls that a lovelorn male swan had recently lost his lifelong mate and was making life miserable for all the others swans. The vet said Willie B. needed a home — one without swans. He was shipped to St. Louis and spent his first night in Sessions’ basement. Once Willie B. moved to Lafayette Park, he let the other waterfowl know who ruled the roost. Unfortunately, Willie B. met an untimely death when the lake was drained around 2000. Joe Seria and Diane Davitt, two long- time residents of the Square, thought Willie B.’s presence added considerable grace and beauty to the lake. They gifted the park with a pair of female swans in 2007. Samantha and Sophie, who came from Belleville, Illinois, were named after Seria and Davitt’s nieces. The breeder suggested the lake could support more swans, so Seria and Davitt donated three more. Although the swans forage for food in the lake, Seria feeds the swans a balanced diet including poultry pellets and lettuce. The Swan House served as swan housing and an attraction in Lafayette Park. Photo by Benecke Studio, courtesy of Missouri Botanical Gardens. Willie B. reveled in being the only swan in Lafayette Park. Photo by Suzanne Sessions Lafayette Park swans created quite the nest this year. The park has two swans at the moment. They seem to prefer living in the Grotto these days. Each year they build nests and lay eggs. As all our swans are females, there will be no cygnets. This year the girls outdid themselves creating a huge nest of twigs and leaves. At last count there were five eggs.