The historic Jensen’s Point along Route 66 in Pacific, Missouri, will host a grand reopening and dedication May 30.
According to an invitation, the Jensen’s Point grand reopening will be at 2 p.m. The landmark is east of Pacific and west of Exit 261 from Interstate 44 west of St. Louis.
The ceremony will include the presentation of colors, the national anthem, a prayer by a local pastor and speeches from Pacific’s mayor and a Pacific alderman, the St. Louis Municipal Park Grant Commission and Wayne Winchester, the site’s former owner. A ribbon-cutting will conclude the event.
The city of Pacific was awarded a $350,000 grant to help buy Jensen’s Point in January.
Pacific also received a $15,000 grant from the Great Rivers Greenway and $20,000 from the city tourism commission. The Ozark Trail Association also pledged 250 hours of supervised volunteer labor to help clean up and restore the site, including one brush-clearing session in November. The city of Pacific also was slated to spend $65,000 on restoration efforts.
Winchester, owner of Wintec Pharmaceuticals, bought the property in 1991. He grew to love the long-neglected property, and he fenced it to keep vandals and transients at bay until the city came forward with a buyout offer in 2014.
Eventually, the city wants to link Jensen’s Point to several cycling and walking trails.
Jensen’s Point was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939. The landmark was named after Lars Peter Jensen, the first manager of Shaw’s Garden, aka Missouri Botanical Garden, and president of the Henry Shaw Gardenway Association that designed to beautify Route 66 in that region.
(Hat tip to Kip Welborn; image of Jensen’s Point Lookout shortly after it opened)