Lewis Station Park
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St. Helena, California

Lewis Station Park Restoration

A neighbor-led project to restore this downtown pocket park with native plantings, shade, and better seating — in partnership with the City of St. Helena and the Beautification Foundation.

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About

About the restoration

Lewis Station is a beloved downtown pocket park at Church Street and Hunt Avenue, about half a block from Main Street. The land was given to the City by Rosa Lee Lewis in 1975, and community members came together to create a seating area with an arbor and trees. Over the years the trees died and the arbor became unusable — and with no significant improvements in 50 years, this ideally located park is calling for a refresh.

Beginning in September 2025, a group of dedicated residents worked through some fourteen resident and City staff meetings — alongside the City's Parks & Recreation Department, landscape designer Becke Oberschulte, and arborist Bill Pramuk — to shape a thoughtful restoration, developed in coordination with the City's Parks and Trails Master Plan. The plan brings healthy shade, drought-tolerant firewise native plantings, restored seating and facilities, and a more welcoming place to gather. It was presented to the Parks & Recreation Commission in June 2026, and the community is now invited to help bring it to life.

Led by Kathy Carrick, Tracy McBride, and Nancy Morrell (Beautification Foundation), with landscape designer Becke Oberschulte and arborist Bill Pramuk.

Lewis Station Park today — picnic tables, a large boulder, and mature trees on a paver courtyard beside the rail line at Church Street and Hunt Avenue in St. Helena, California
Lewis Station Park today — a beloved pocket park at Church Street & Hunt Avenue in St. Helena.

The Park Today

What's already there

Today the park offers three picnic tables, an accessible bathroom, a plaque honoring Rosa Lee Lewis, an existing Valley Oak, and three other mature trees in its southern corner.

Two railroad artifacts — a Southern Pacific crossing sign and a metal track switch — recall the park's place along the historic Napa Valley rail corridor, and there may also be room for public art.

Two of the park's three picnic tables on the paver courtyard, with young trees and the rail line beyond.
The three picnic tables on the paver courtyard.
The park's small accessible bathroom building, its side wrapped in a large green honeysuckle vine.
The accessible bathroom, wrapped in honeysuckle.
A bronze plaque honoring Rosa Lee Lewis, mounted on a natural boulder in a gravel bed beside the rail line.
The plaque honoring Rosa Lee Lewis.
A historic Southern Pacific railroad crossing sign on a weathered wooden post at Lewis Station Park, with the rail line and downtown St. Helena behind it.
The historic Southern Pacific crossing sign.

About Us

The team behind the restoration

The residents and partners steering the Lewis Station rehabilitation.

Team photo coming soon

[Draft copy coming soon — a short introduction to the people leading the Lewis Station restoration and why this park matters to them. Stephanie will provide the text and a group photo to drop in here.]

In the meantime: the effort is led by residents Kathy Carrick, Tracy McBride, and Nancy Morrell (Beautification Foundation), with landscape designer Becke Oberschulte and arborist Bill Pramuk — in partnership with the City of St. Helena.

The Plan

What the restoration includes

Developed by the volunteer committee with City staff — low-water, low-maintenance, fire-smart, and planted to support native bees, butterflies, and birds.

Highlights of the design

  • A central Coast Live Oak — a majestic California native that will one day give 50+ feet of shade.
  • Firewise, drought-tolerant natives — Arbutus, Ceanothus, and Western Redbud, needing minimal water once established.
  • Shade sails over the picnic areas for cool, comfortable gathering — with a garden arbor as a backup option.
  • New seating — three new benches with backs, plus natural boulder seating.
  • Restored facilities — bathroom refresh, fencing along two sides, and a renewed irrigation system and controller.
  • Sheet mulching & soil enhancements plus a new garbage & recycling station to keep the park healthy and tidy.

The Palette

Signature native plantings

A mature Coast Live Oak with a wide spreading canopy shading dry grass, the kind of tree planned as the centerpiece of Lewis Station Park.Photo coming soon

Coast Live Oak

The park's centerpiece — an iconic California native destined for 50+ feet of canopy and shade.

Learn more →
A young multi-trunked Western Redbud in full summer leaf, growing in a mulched bed beside a chain-link fence.Photo coming soon

Western Redbud

A California native chosen as the park's dedication plant, with vivid spring blooms.

Learn more →
Ceanothus, California lilac, covered in clusters of blue flowers.Photo coming soon

Ceanothus

California lilac — a drought-tolerant native prized for its clouds of blue flowers.

Learn more →
Arbutus, a drought-tolerant evergreen with smooth reddish bark.Photo coming soon

Arbutus

An evergreen with handsome bark and berries, low-water and firewise once established.

Learn more →
Coming in later phases: a drinking fountain, water-bottle refill station, dog water bowl, bike rack, interpretive signage, a dog-waste station — and hopefully public art.

Visualize It

Maps & the concept plan

The committee's conceptual plan for the park, and where Lewis Station sits in downtown St. Helena.

Hand-drafted site plan for Lewis Station Park at one-eighth inch scale, showing four multi-stemmed Arbutus, five Western Redbud, one Coast Live Oak and eight Dark Star Ceanothus laid out between the railroad fence line, Church Street and Hunt Avenue, along with proposed shade sails, benches, boulders, a paver patio, the restroom, and a recycling and garbage station.

The park plans

The California native, drought-tolerant plants are chosen to support native bees, butterflies, and birds and once established, may need little to no irrigation. The plantings can be expanded with even more natives over time, serving the community as a native plant demonstration garden.

Conceptual planting plan for Lewis Station Park showing proposed live oaks, arbutus, redbud, ceanothus, three new benches, boulders, waste and recycling bins, and shade sails, bounded by the railroad tracks, Hunt Avenue and Church Street.

Conceptual plan

The committee’s proposed planting, seating, and shade design — a central Coast Live Oak, native Arbutus, Ceanothus and Redbud, new benches and boulders, and yellow shade sails over the picnic area.

Lewis Station Park NAPA VALLEY RAIL CORRIDOR ST. HELENA

Where to find us

Lewis Station Park sits along the historic rail corridor in the heart of St. Helena.

Save the Date

Community mulching & planting day — this fall

A hands-on day to get the new plants in the ground and the beds mulched. No experience needed; all ages welcome.

Fall 2026
October
Tentative
Date to be announced
Mulching & Planting Day

Community Volunteer Day

Neighbors come together to plant the firewise natives and spread mulch across the new beds. Tools and guidance provided.

Sign up to be notified

An exact date hasn't been set yet — sign up above and we'll send the details.

Stay in the Loop

Get updates

Sign up to hear about volunteer days, planting dates, and progress on the restoration — or email us at lewisstationsthelena@gmail.com.

Progress

Status updates

Follow the restoration from first idea to planting day. We'll keep this timeline current as milestones are reached.

August 2025

Neighbors begin planning

Residents kicked off the effort with roughly ten community meetings, plus four sessions with City staff and a consultation with arborist Bill Pramuk, to review ideas and identify the park's needs — over 50 volunteer hours in all.

June 15, 2026

Presented to the Parks & Recreation Commission

The volunteer group presented the plan to the Commission, with input from Public Works staff.

August 11, 2026

Approved by City Council

The St. Helena City Council authorized accepting donations and pursuing the renovation — with letters of support from residents and community organizations. View the Council meeting record →

Fall 2026

Planting, irrigation & community mulching day

City staff install the new plantings and irrigation, neighbors gather for a community sheet-mulching day, and the new benches and boulder seating go in.

Winter 2026 – Spring 2027

Restroom, shade & fencing

Restroom exterior restoration, shade sail installation, fence repair, and hopefully public art complete the project.

Community Support

Backed by the community

The restoration has broad neighborhood support.

At the August 11, 2026 City Council meeting, the plan drew letters of public support from neighbors and community organizations before the Council voted to move it forward.

St. Helena Historical Society Western Monarch Society of Napa County 11 letters of support

Support

Support the park

Contributions go toward plants, irrigation, mulch, shade, and materials for the restoration. Any amount helps.

Why your support matters

  • A natural park in the center of downtown — for residents, visitors, employees of nearby businesses, children walking home from school, and young adults looking for a place to gather.
  • A welcoming, shaded respite in nature for individuals and groups, with accessible seating and a bathroom for anyone who needs a place to rest or picnic.
  • A point of community pride — an attractive park with real historical significance.
  • Quality infrastructure designed to last, setting the stage for more native planting across our environment.

Questions, or prefer to give another way? Email us at lewisstationsthelena@gmail.com.

Make a contribution

Gifts are made through the Napa Valley Community Foundation.

Donate online

Gifts to the Lewis Station Fund are held by the Napa Valley Community Foundation and granted to the City of St. Helena for the park. Opens in a new tab.

Community Voices

Share what you love about the park

Lewis Station belongs to all of us. Tell us your favorite memory, what you're most excited to see, or why this little park matters to you — we read every submission, and favorites are shared below.