Peasy Love (in memoriam)
Sarah Kate ‘Peasy’ Love was a dedicated participant in the civic and cultural life of the City of St. Louis. A stalwart and creative leader, she was instrumental in the initiation of the revival of the region's greatest urban open-space asset, Forest Park, a major figure in the renewal of the Central West End and creation and development of New City School, and a contributor to the revival of opera in St. Louis.
Peasy raised her family in the famed Central West End, a neighborhood of exceptional architecture, streetscapes, and open spaces first developed in preparation for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. In tandem with the decline of many urban cities in the twentieth century, the landscape languished and lost the splendor of its gilded age amenities, vibrancy, and care. Peasy and her husband Andy were among the first "pioneers" to reinvest in this neighborhood. Decades of neglect and lack of direction caused the once-majestic, 1300-acre Forest Park to devolve into a disconnected series of parking lots, golf courses, and municipal offerings such as a planetarium, ice rink, zoo, and museums. Peasy championed the revival of Forest Park, founding a public-private partnership (Forest Park Forever) with the City of St. Louis that raised the money to update the master plan and restore the prestige of this iconic landscape.
In addition to civic and commercial involvements, Sarah Kate ‘Peasy’ Love was also a generous financial supporter of numerous charitable and cultural endeavors.