The Best Place Of Resort

Lafayette Park.

Forty Acres Of Ground As The First City Park, highly improved and open to the public every day - the best place of resort.

This Beautiful Park is becoming more and ore a favorite place of resort, and really there is not another Park about St. Louis where a better fresh air, a finer breeze, and equal accommodations for visitors can be found.  The grounds are extensive, highly improved, and planted with rare shade trees.  The lawns are large enough to give ample play-room for all the children of St. Louis.  The mammoth Tent in the centre of the Park covers about half an acre of ground, decorated with an abundance of rare exotic plants, the air cooled by a large showy fountain.  Commodious seats are inviting the visitor to try the refreshments offered at this place.  No distilled liquors or beer allowed to be used or sold at the Park.  All other refreshments, as Ice Cream, Lemonades, Native Wines, Coffee, Chocolate, &c., are always on hand, and of best qualities.

Every Sunday afternoon a complete Orchestra will execute the best opera music.

Admission charged at the gate during the Concert.  The Tent is lighted up with gas every night.  Omnibuses running always from the Court House to the gate of the Park.

Edward C. Krausnick,
Superintendent of the Lafayette Park.

-Missouri Republican, August 14, 1859


First, it sounds like a rather nice place to play a baseball game.  Second, the mention of the "mammoth Tent" is significant because it explains this picture:

I had speculated that the tent in the picture could have been baseball related but now we know better.