Henry Lay Sculpture Park - Louisiana, MO

17533 MO-UU
Louisiana, Missouri
573-754-4726

The Henry Lay Sculpture Park is a component of Saint Louis University's Lay Center for Education and the Arts located near historic Louisiana, Missouri. John McElwee, a Revolutionary War hero, and his wife, Rhonda Black, first settled this farm property in 1832. McElwee and his 12 grandchildren are buried on the property in the McElwee-Stewart-Carr Cemetery. Henry Lay, an alumnus of Saint Louis University School of Law, purchased the property in May 1996 and the Lay Center for Education and the Arts is the culmination of his dream of establishing a place where literature and art are combined with the beauty of nature to stimulate learning and imagination.

The Henry Lay Sculpture Park is funded by The Lay Family Foundation and St. Louis University and is located on approximately 20 acres surrounded by a 300-acre natural refuge with lakes, streams and wooded hills. A well-maintained path takes visitors on a 40-minute walk through a Maple Grove, the McElwee Cemetery, and most importantly past a number of sculpture pieces by nationally and internationally known artists including Wendy Klemperer, Devin Laurence Field, Bing Cheng, Ron Fondaw, and Brian Rust.

Visitors, especially children, to the Henry Lay Sculpture Park will have the opportunity to read, play on, and picnic in “Story Woods.” Emilie (pronounced Uh-meel-yuh, photo right) the story keeper and her garden of books, greet guests as they enter this play land of art, literature, and nature. A collaboration between artist Michelle vandenHeuvel and Henry Lay, “Story Woods” is a set of tablets of literature near the sculpture where various artists interpret them in natural settings.

Visiting the Henry Lay Sculpture Park
Visiting Hours
April - December: Thursday - Sunday: 10 am - dusk
January - March: Closed
There is no charge to visit the Henry Lay Sculpture Park.