BOOK

DURATION
4 months, January 13th–April 24th 2025

SIZE
9” x 10.5”

ADVISOR
Amy Auman

ROUTES/ROOTS: THE LIVING HISTORY OF FOREST PARK
Routes/Roots is a book about the dynamic history of Forest Park in St. Louis, MO. I came to this topic because I have experienced the sense of community in Forest Park firsthand as someone who has frequented there for the past 3 years. Last fall, I hosted a community engagement project called Small Talk, where I spoke to members of the public about their experiences in the park.

I found their responses to be overwhelmingly positive, but when I began to research the park, I uncovered a racist and exclusive past. I pivoted to include a much wider variety of information in my book—touching on race, social dynamics, ownership, and the role the park plays within St. Louis as a whole.

I worked with Small Talk participant Frank Trampe and historian Heidi Kolk to carefully select articles and photographs from archives across the city.

The design reflects this complex story using color coding and map icons to guide the viewer through the various sections of the book. The footnotes are my own personal notes, an attempt to “fill in” the information that is missing from the official archive of Forest Park. Each section (Origins, Civic Voice, Access, Nature) contains a historical timestamp, a scholarly article and interviews from Small Talk.

The final book is 206 pages, perfect bound. The cover is screenprinted on chipboard. Colorstock pages are GF Smith paper. To see more about the process, please visit this Figma space.

(click any photo below to view gallery as a slideshow)

Sophia Palitti

Index

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