Bienville Square, Mobile, Alabama

Designated area

The park is bounded by St. Francis to the north; Dauphin to the south; St. Joseph to the east; and North Conception to the west.

Summary

Looking ahead, the Mobile 2020 comprehensive plan articulates a vision for the future including more ground-floor retail stores for surrounding buildings, integrated pedestrian paths, and additional landscaping to ensure the square remains the vibrant hub of downtown Mobile.

History

• Federal government turns over Old Spanish Hospital land to City of Mobile; Congress specifies land must be used as public park space (1824)
•  Fire destroys much of Old Mobile, clearing way for new architectural styles (1839); city begins to develop square, adding walkways and landscape (1850)
• President Theodore Roosevelt delivers speech in square about importance of Panama Canal construction for the Port of Mobile Bay (1905)
• Square serves as mass meeting point for shipyard workers during World War II
• Square falls into disuse during 1960s and 1970s; Hurricane Frederic catalyses revival of downtown Mobile, including planting of flowers in Square (1979)
• Lower Dauphin Historic District includes Square; added to National Register of Historic Places (1979); boundaries extended in 1982, 1995, and 1998
• Private consultations (2002) and comprehensive city plan (2009) call for rejuvenation of pedestrian-level shops, new directional signage, tourist kiosk

Surrounding architecture

• Italianate Franklin Fire Engine Company Number Three building (1852), made of stucco over brick, renovated in 1991 with new balcony overlooking square
• Architect Rudolph Benz's Victorian-style Scheuerman Building (1893) and Classical Revival Spira and Pincus Building (1899) also frame square
• Architect Seymour Burrel's Kress Building offers pedestrian-friendly facade; McCrory Building displays linear hard edges typical of Art Deco style (1924)
• Neoclassical Merchants National Bank Building features Deco elements and metal pyramidal roof (1928)

Features and activities

• Central fountain (1890) honors physician and Bienville Water Works president Dr. George Ketchum who brought safe drinking water to Mobile
• St. Andrew's Cross (built 1906) honors Mobile founder and former Governor of French Louisiana Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
• Plethora of live oaks keep park cool and provide habitat for wildlife; radial walkways through park afford stunning views of downtown skyline
• Donated by Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 1941, the bandstand is a central fixture of such annual events as the Bayfest Music Festival, the Gulf Coast Ethnic and Heritage Jazz Festival, and Mardi Gras
• The square's central fountain is annually converted into a decorated, lighted holiday tree

Cesar Chavez Park and Plaza, Sacramento, California

Designated area

Plaza is between J and I Streets and 9th and 10th Streets in downtown Sacramento.

Summary

Surrounded by some of the city's most historic civic buildings, including the Beaux-Arts–style City Hall and Renaissance Revival style Central Library, the plaza continues to serve as the city's gathering place. Some even call it a "front yard" that provides a sense of community within a historical context.

Most recently, an $800,000 two-phase renovation of the plaza begun in February 2012 includes expanding hardscape for the Farmer's Market, enhancing plaza lighting, and lengthening walkways. Improvements are expected to be completed in late 2012.

There's rarely an hour of the day or evening when the plaza is not occupied, whether it's residents or visitors enjoying a meal at the park's Cafe Soleil, attending a wine festival or other special event, shopping at the Farmer's Market, or taking in an evening concert.

History and Planning Milestones

• In 1848, city founder John Sutter, Jr. commissioned Captain William H. Warner and famed Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman to lay out Sacramento's original street grid. The following year, 10 "public squares" were dedicated by Sutter for public use
• Once proposed as the site for the California State Capitol building; the idea was abandoned in 1857 when concerned citizens claimed that the idea violated the original deed
• City Street Commissioner John Rider hired noted developer and land designer John Keating to create a park plan in 1872; the main design elements of a central fountain, circular paths, and cross-axial walkways remain today.
• In 1910, Beaux-Arts–style City Hall is completed facing the park. It forms the historic backdrop to the park and open air stage, while the park serves as the "city's front yard"
• In 1927 the central fountain was replaced with the Coleman Fountain, designed by Robert Stackpole a popular Depression–era sculptor.
• In 1985, designated as part of the Plaza Park Central Business District Historic District on the city's Register of Historic and Cultural Resources.
• In 1989, the park played a key role in a downtown revitalization effort to bring more businesses and residents into the city central core area. The Plaza Park Steering Committee, comprising city officials, business leaders, and private citizens, brought in People for Public Places, Inc. to evaluate the park, ultimately leading to development of Cafe Soleil.
• In 1992, city received gift of $250,000 from Grosvenor International and Lundberg International, enabling city to move forward on construction of Cafe Soleil and new restrooms in the park.
• Downtown Sacramento Partnership, established in 1995 as the first property-based improvement district in the state. DSP has since promoted and managed programming for the plaza, including numerous special events like the popular Friday Night Concerts in the Park and the Certified Farmer's Market
• Plaza Park renamed Cesar Chavez Plaza in 1999 in honor of the labor rights advocate and founder and leader of the United Farm Workers of America, the first successful and largest farm workers union

Surrounding Architecture

• Plaza framed on the north by architect Rudolph Herold's 1911 Beaux-Arts–style City Hall and on the south by the newly renovated Citizen Hotel, designed by George Sellon, California's first state architect; both are listed in the Sacramento Register of Historic Resources
• Architect Loring Rixford's 1918 Renaissance Revival style Central Library and 1933 Neoclassical Federal Post Office Building, designed by architect Leonard Starks, to the west and northwest, both listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Sacramento Register, provide evidence of plaza's longevity
• Also to the west is the Tsakopoulos Galleria addition to the Central Library, and the award-winning 25-story Park Tower, designed by the firm Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz
• California Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters, the first building in the nation to receive Platinum LEED certification, frames the northeast corner

Features and Activities

• The Coleman Fountain, by Depression–era Works Progress Administration (WPA) sculptor Robert Stackpole, features three stylized women holding a marble bowl, representing the Sacramento Valley's three rivers
• Statues of Central/Southern Pacific Railroad Central Shops master mechanic A.J. Stevens (1889) and United Farm Workers of America founder Cesar E. Chavez (2001)
• Focal point of annual Cesar Chavez Day March through city (begun 2001) and state Earth Day celebration
• Site of a seasonal Certified Farmer's Market and Friday Concerts in the Park, Fiesta en La Calle, and Raley's Grape Escape food- and wine-tasting event

Washington Park, Denver, Colorado

Designated area

The park is bounded by Virginia Avenue to the north; Louisiana Avenue to the south; Franklin Street to the east; and Downing Street to the west.

Summary

The park captures the spirit of the Mile High City through its use by more than one million locals and tourists each year. Encompassing 165 acres southeast of downtown, the park has two large lakes, 10 tennis courts, a large meadow used for lawn sports such as volleyball and soccer, a lawn bowling green, two of the city's largest flower gardens, and its busiest recreation center. People throughout Denver come to the park, most often to walk, jog, bicycle, use a playground, or hang out and people watch.

Denverites are actively involved with the park — which ties to the surrounding West and East Washington Park neighborhoods as well as the greater Denver parks system — whether it's to help with tree plantings or participate in the development of a park master plan such as the one completed in March 2011.

Park improvements in the works include $1.5 million for renovation of the park's main picnic site at the Mt. Vernon Gardens, the City Ditch, and the park's main entrance to the south. Other improvements outlined in the 2011 master plan include improving control of stormwater runoff; minimizing conflicts among pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists; and rehabilitating the park's other historic structures and features.

History

• Architect Reinhard Scheutze designs park in French country style (1899); city planner George Kessler enhances design with new paths, plantings (1908)
• Bathing beach installed on Smith Lake (1911); city architect F.W. Ameter installs pedestrian and car bridges over City Ditch (completed 1912); Bath House built by Ameter in Craftsman Style (1913)
• Olmsted Brothers design rolling Evergreen Hill, enhance pedestrian paths, and build Lily Pond (1912); Boat House built by J.B. Benedict, (1913), Girl Scouts fund installation of first fireplace grill and picnic area on hill (1924)
• Big Perennial Garden at Downing built by S.R. DeBoer (1918); Mt. Vernon Gardens completed by DeBoer (1926)
• Field House, former residence of local poet and journalist Eugene Field, moved to park's northwest edge by Titanic survivor and philanthropist Molly Brown (1930)
• Architecture firm Anderson Barker Rinker designs modern Recreation Center (1971); park added to National Register of Historic Places (1986)
• Cultural Landscape Assessment and Preservation Plan identifies park buildings, features needing renovation, and landscape and structure preservation plan (2003)
• Park master plan completed in 2003, updated 2011; outlines park's future preservation and development goals

Park Design, Features

• Scheutze's curvilinear loops provide smooth circulation through park; grove tree plantings spaced to afford spectacular views of mountains west of park
• Built in 1867 and added to National Historic Register in 1977, City Ditch provides evidence of park's history and modern-day sustainable commitment
• J.J.B. Benedict designs boathouse and pavilion in the Italianate Style , featuring shallow hipped roof and facades with illuminated eaves (1913)
• Sculptor Mabel Torrey's "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" honors poet Eugene Field (1919); George Carlson's bronze "Early Day Miner" depicts local history (1980)
• City architect S.R. DeBoer's Martha Washington Garden features flower beds in the style of her gardens at the Mt. Vernon Estate (1926)
• Largest flower garden in Denver, Victorian-style Perennial Garden, includes elliptical lawn and symmetrical flowerbeds with 15,000 flower varieties (1917)
• Park connects to city bike trails at Exposition Ave., Marion St., Louisiana Ave.

Ecological Restoration, Sustainability

• Parks department tree survey begun (2000); 2007 Arbor Day tree planting event brought out 700 people who planted 300 trees
• Park meadow areas being naturalized with native grasses and wildflowers to reduce water consumption; lake shore restoration focuses on historic lake design
• Park conservation practices include reuse of irrigation water through city ditch system and water-saving measures for swimming pool, showers, faucets, toilets
• Other sustainability practices address park plant diversity, water quality issues

Union Station, Chicago, Illinois

Designated area

First envisioned by renowned architect Daniel Burnham, the station provides a grand stage where Chicago's history and energy come together for millions to enjoy. Beaux-Arts facades, soaring columns, marble floors, brass lamps, and the striking Great Hall create a setting, featured in films such as The Untouchables, that invites commuters and tourists alike to stop and take it all in.

Following a public meeting in December 2011 with more than 200 people in attendance, the May 2012 Master Plan Study balances the improvements in bus connections demanded by suburban commuters with the broader goal of accommodating an expected 40 percent increase in ridership by 2040. Currently handling 32 million passengers a year, Union Station is not just a historic and beautiful space, but also an aesthetically pleasing interchange for 120,000 daily passengers and passersby.

History

• Plan of Chicago by architects Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett includes vision for consolidated passenger and express freight rail hub at Union Station (1909)
• Architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst and White manages construction costing $75 million; work takes 10 years (1925) because of World War I delays
• Chicago Daily News (1929), Post Office (1932) buildings use station air rights north and south of the Concourse Building
• "L" train station removed (1958); Concourse Building demolished (1969)
• Amtrak assumes full ownership of station in 1984; five-year, $32 million renovation including new escalators and redesigned food court completed 1992
• Three-year, $40 million renovation includes doubling of seating capacity for Amtrak passengers, new restrooms, replacing exterior concrete barriers with bollards (begun 2010)
• Air-conditioning restored to Great Hall in 2011 for the first time since 1960, leading to increases in public use of the Great Hall and additional revenue to Amtrak from private events held at station

Station design and features

• Beaux-Arts building design, by Chicago city planner and architect David Burnham, features elegant facades made from Bedford limestone
• Great Hall incorporates Corinthian columns, Tennessee marble floors, brass lamps, 219-foot barrel-vaulted skylight
• As first and only double stub-end station in U.S., trains enter and exit from separate sides, delivering Burnham's vision of station as a national hub
• Name of former railroad company owners, Chicago Union Station Co., etched on windows to the Canal Street colonnade
• Sculptor Henry Hering's opposing figural statues, one holding a rooster and the other an owl, signify station's 24-hour activity
• $25 million infrastructure improvements update Great Hall's mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems (completed 2012)

Commitment to sustainability

• Lighting upgraded with energy efficient bulbs and motion sensors, saving station $336,402 and reducing carbon footprint by 4 million tons each year (2011)
• Reduced-voltage starters installed on all 12 escalators in station, reducing energy consumption by more than 20 percent while improving escalator service
• Clear bags used for all waste; garbage collection staff separates all recyclable materials from bags for on-site compacting and daily collection by city

Chicago Botanic Garden. Glencoe, Illinois

Designated area

Located at 1000 Lake Cook Road, 20 miles north of Chicago near the Edens Expressway.

Summary

An integral part of the local community, the garden's community gardening program — called Windy City Harvest — distributed fresh food to an estimated 65,000 families, reaching a population of nearly 400,000 people. In 2011, the garden's 500 classes served kindergarteners through PhD students.

The garden is more than just a local treasure, but also a global trendsetter with Chinese, English, Italian, and Japanese design influences. It has collaborated with the United Nations World Environment Programme, Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI), England's Royal Botanic Gardens, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Land Management.

First developed by John Simonds and Geoffrey Rausch in 1963, the garden's Master Site Plan is still being realized through the "Keep Growing" 10-year strategic plan that envisions further education and outreach programs. A new Horticulture Center is being planned to house the more than 250,000 plants that cycle through the garden's current production facilities each year.

History

• After first two plans rejected by Illinois court for poor planning, creation of Forest Preserve District of Cook County establishes largest forest preserve district in the U.S.
• Inspired by Beijing's Imperial Gardens, landscape architects John O. Simonds and Geoffrey Rausch create first "green blueprint" (1963) and master plan (1968); garden opens in 1972
• Noted architect Edward Larrabee Barnes' Education Center opens (1976), creating first space for botanical collection, education and research
• Chicago Horticultural Society creates 1981 Master Site Plan, ambitiously expanding Simonds's original commitment to public education and research
• TV-ratings heiress Gertrude Nielsen funds architect Geoffrey Rausch's Heritage Gardens (1983); plantings classified by family to honor botanist Carolus Linnaeus
• One of only 17 public gardens accredited by the American Association of Museums, recognized for its living collection of 2.5 million plants, as well as for   its professionalism, public service, and planning excellence (2008)

Design excellence

• Landscape designer Koichi Kawana designs Sansho-En garden to reflect tranquil Japanese feudal gardens (1982)
• Architect Geoffrey Rausch models 1983 Heritage Garden after world's oldest botanic gardens in Padua, Italy
• Landscape designer Dan Kiley's Esplanade (2005) bridges Italian Heritage Garden with 1993 Visitor Center by fusing classic European and modern architectural styles
• Four preserved natural areas blend seamlessly into the gardens: 100-acre McDonald Woods, Dixon Prairie, Lakes and Shores area, Skokie River corridor
• Krasberg Rose Garden (1985) displays nearly 5,000 roses, including one bed chronologically ordered from oldest wild rose to newest hybrid
• Architect James van Sweden's New American Garden-style Evening Island features sweeping, naturalistic views and Dutch-crafted Butz Memorial carillon

Education and outreach

• Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School offers 500 classes for more than 116,000 people; serves 80,000 children, two master's programs, and one PhD program offered in conjunction with Northwestern University
• Lenhardt Library stores 110,000 historic documents and scholarly journals
• College First program offers paid field ecology internships, college preparation, and career mentorship for 20 Chicago Public Schools high school students each year
• Garden programs distributed 45,138 pounds of fresh food reaching 398,000 people, totaling 70 percent of all community market sales to low-income Chicago families

Sustainability

• Chosen by United Nations Environment Programme as North American host of the 2008 World Environment Day celebration.
• Collecting 10,000 seeds from each of 1,500 native tallgrass prairie plants as part of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Millennium Seed Bank Project; Plants of Concern project monitors rare species in northeast Illinois
• Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center, designed by architecture firm Booth Hansen, awarded LEED Gold certification (2010)

Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana

Designated area

Square is bounded by Chartres Street to the northwest; St. Anne Street to the northeast; Decatur Street to the southeast; and St. Peter Street to the southwest.

Summary

Lying in the heart of Adrien de Pauger's 18th century plan for New Orleans, Jackson Square is the cornerstone of the city's strong planning tradition. As the center of nation's first municipal historic district, as well as the first business improvement district, the square has been constantly improved by colonial generals and modern mayors alike, while still preserving its historic features.

From 18th century military parades to the 2010 season kick-off party for the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, Jackson Square has remained a hotspot of civic activity for nearly 300 years. Jazz musicians, street artists and the world-famous Café du Monde continue to attract locals and visitors every day to the festive atmosphere of the square and adjoining streets created by Tarot-card readers, living statues, hotdog vendors, magicians, musicians, and artisans.

Three centuries of planning

• French engineer Adrien de Pauger lays out first plan for New Orleans; architect Louis Pilié designs square in image of Paris's Place des Vosges (1721)
• Military general and architect Allison Owen prevents destruction of Spanish Colonial buildings framing square (1895)
• Vieux Carré Association, a preservation society, formed (1926) to protect colonial French, Spanish, and American buildings
• 1927 Great Flood stirs city to strengthen levee, blocking view of river from square
• Square designated National Historic Landmark (1960)
• On October 24, 1958, the City of New Orleans Department of Parks and Parkways became the stewards of this magnificent piece of U.S. history
• World's Fair (1984) prompted a "restricted use" policy ensuring the integrity of the park's history and infrastructure for generations to come
• Department of Parks and Parkways has repaired the 160-year-old original ornate iron fence and improved landscaping and promenades in the square
• To counter plans to build Riverfront Expressway, Mayor Moon Landrieu orders preservation study; waterfront "Moonwalk" restores square's river access (1976)

Square design, features

• Sculptor Clark Mills's statue of Battle of New Orleans hero and future president Andrew Jackson, for whom the square was named in 1815, erected in 1856
• Iron fences, walkways, benches, and Parisian-style landscaping remain intact from original design by Baroness Micaela Almonester-Pontalba in 1851
• Popular pedestrian mall area around Square created when three surrounding streets — Chartres, St. Peter, and St. Ann — are closed (1971)
• Flagpole, commemorating city's transfer from Spain to France to the United States in 1803, symbolizes square's rich cultural history
• Throughout 1930s, Works Progress Administration (WPA) repainted facades, renovated surrounding buildings, and improved landscaping around the square

Historic surroundings

• Named for French King Louis IX, St. Louis Cathedral on Chartres Street is oldest continually operating cathedral in U.S. (1794)
• Spanish Colonial Cabildo (1799) and Presbytere (1813), also on Chartres Street and in National Register of Historic Places, frame the square and pedestrian mall
• Baroness Pontalba hires architects James Gallier and Henry Howard to design Parisian-style apartments along St. Ann and St. Peter streets (1850); said to be oldest apartment complexes in U.S.

Village Green, Bar Harbor, Maine-

Designated area

The Green is bounded by Main Street, Mount Desert Street, Kennebec Street, and Firefly Lane.

Summary

The development of Acadia National Park, which provides a year-long scenic backdrop for Village Green visitors, was the impetus needed for changes undertaken by the Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association. For a number of years the bandstand was the green's only amenity, but a visit by President William Howard Taft and his subsequent speech from the site in 1910 spurred a desire for further development.

In the 1920s, Beatrix Farrand, a nationally renowned landscape architect whose projects include the Rose Garden at the White House, designed the pathways, the rebuilding of the bandstand in a new location, and the landscaping arrangements seen today. The steady infill of quaint inns and cafes that surround the green, as well as the century-old tradition of free summer concerts at the bandstand, solidified the Village Green's picturesque charm and friendly atmosphere.

Today, visitors dash in and out of the businesses around the green, pausing for a short time to enjoy the well-manicured grounds or relaxing for an afternoon under the tree canopy while they use the free Wi-Fi. The bisecting pathways encourage people to cut through the park instead of walking around it, whether to grab lunch or catch the Island Explorer from the green's bus plaza.

Milestones

• The Grand Central Hotel, built in this spot in 1873, is demolished by the city and the land leased to the Village Improvement Association in 1899
• During 1920s famous landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, a founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects, re-envisions the green; her designs remain to this day
• In 1999, local landscape architect Sam Coplon begins a six-year renovation plan for the Village Green; includes new granite seating wall along Main Street, construction of  Island Explorer bus plaza, tree pruning, replanting flower beds

Historical Artifacts, Modern Amenities

• Bar Harbor's original street clock from 1896 on eastern edge of the green near Main Street
• 17th century tiered Italian fountain with 21 spigots, donated by John Livingston (1909), restored 1992 by distinguished sculptor Clark Fitz-Gerald after not operating for 30 years
• Bus plaza occupying a portion of the Green on Kennebec Street is the central staging area for the free Island Explorer, which provides transportation to places of interest throughout island including Acadia National Park
• Historically appropriate lighting, benches, free Wi-Fi encourage visitors to stay and enjoy Village Green's beautiful serenity year-round

Center of Culture, Events

• Saint Saviour's Episcopal Church, built in 1878, sits west of the Village Green on Mt. Desert Street; oldest, largest, and tallest building on Mount Desert Island; added to the National Register of Historic Places (1995)
• Cafe This Way, 14 1/2 Mt. Desert Street, is a "Fresh and Lively" restaurant located adjacent to Village Green; serves an eclectic menu from a white summer cottage
• Acadia Hotel, built 1884 as a private home, still retains its "homey place" charm; anchors historic corridor across Mt. Desert Street
• Art shows, including Art by the Sea in June and Art in the Park in September, highlight local artistic talent and fill green with art, much of it depicting the local landscape
• Winter tree lighting and Santa appearances at green in December a favorite of residents

Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon

Designated area

Park fronts Willamette River between Naito Parkway to the west; Northwest Glisan Street to the north; and Southwest Harrison Street to the south.

Summary

More than just a green corridor through the city, the park's design includes a diverse range of features, from the Battleship Oregon memorial to 100 cherry blossom trees surrounding the Japanese–American Historical Plaza. In addition to attracting hundreds of daily users for recreation and relaxation, events like the quirky Saturday Market and June Rose Festival bring nearly one million people to the park each year.

Recommendations for the future of the park were developed during a master plan update completed in 2003. The 30-month process generated a 20-year strategic plan that focuses on accommodating increased recreational activity along the riverfront. Several features of the master plan, including an interactive water play area that became a reality in the Bill Naito Legacy Fountain, have been implemented.

New development inspired by and located next to the park includes RiverPlace. The first phase, finished in 1985, included a marina, condominiums, a hotel, restaurants, and an office building. Later phases followed, adding townhouse units, an athletic club, and retail and restaurant space.

History

• Olmsted Report (1903) and Bennett Plan (1912) emphasize need for urban greenway to preserve Willamette riverfront
• Thirty-two foot high, $2.7 million seawall built along river to stem flooding (1929)
• Construction of 1943 Harbor Drive Freeway restricted pedestrian access to riverfront
• Oregon State Highway Department proposed Harbor Drive expansion; Oregon Governor Tom McCall halted expansion and called for a waterfront park (1968)
• Harbor Drive permanently closed in 1974; architecture firm Wolff Zimmer Gunsul Frasca drafts $20 million Downtown Waterfront Park Master Plan (1975)
• After 1978 park opening, a 1982 management study implemented changes to oversee booming park usage
• Park renamed for Oregon Governor Tom McCall (1984)
• Master Plan updated in 2003; 15- to 20-year plan includes expansion of Saturday Market hardscape and landscape improvements

Design features

• Architect Robert Perron's Salmon Street Springs (1988) and Bill Naito Legacy Fountain (2009), named for Portland civic leader, provide interactive waterworks
• Tree-lined Central Lawn provides open space for events hosting, such as July Waterfront Blues Festival and Portland Brewers Festival
• Sculptor Lee Kelly's Friendship Circle features two 20-foot steel towers protruding from base, playing electronic music by composer Michael Stirling
• Founder's Stone, honoring Portland founders William Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy, provides historical context for all of downtown Portland
• Architect Robert Murase's Japanese–American Historical Plaza features Japanese art and sculptor Jim Gion's Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience

Citizen engagement

• Downtown Plan Citizen Advisory Committee, composed of 18 private citizens, propose creation of tax increment-funded Waterfront Urban Renewal District (1972)
• Riverfront for People, founded by Allison and Bob Belcher and Jim Howell in 1969, has fought for public access to the Willamette River waterfront for more than 40 years
• Citizen-based research organization Portland City Club conducts civic salons and publishes reports, including 1969 analysis calling for creation of waterfront park
• Waterfront Park Master Plan updated from 2000-2003 through citizen workshops, surveys, and public meetings with attendance averaging 500 people

Buffalo Bayou, Houston, Texas

Designated area

Three of Bayou's sectors (West, Downtown, East) extending approximately nine miles between Shepherd Drive and Turning Basin Overlook Park.

Summary

Despite a century of road building surrounding Buffalo Bayou, increasing numbers of bikers, hikers, and dog walkers today take advantage of the 20 miles of trails that weave through central Houston's section of the waterway. This includes the reconstruction of the Sandy Reed Memorial Trail by the City of Houston and TXDOT.

Special events like the Buffalo Bayou Regatta, now in its 40th year, and the annual Kid's Day bring thousands more people to the bayou every year. The annual Freedom Over Texas Fourth of July event brings more than 100,000 attendees to Buffalo Bayou Park.

A $30 million gift from the Kinder Foundation, the largest private donation for park development in Houston's history, catalyzed the launch of a $55 million renovation of the Bayou's Downtown Sector in mid-2012. The Buffalo Bayou Park: Shepherd to Sabine Project is expected to be complete in late 2015.

History

• Land speculators August and John K. Allen purchase 6,000 acres of bayou land; first Houston street grid oriented to bayou's course rather than cardinally (1836)
• Mayor Horace Baldwin Rice envisions a circle of parks around Houston connected by a system of landscaped boulevards (1910)
• July 1912 popular vote approves $250,000 bond for land purchase; Houston Parks Commission hires landscape architect Arthur Comey to produce park plan (1913)
• Oil tycoon Joseph Stephen Cullinan hires noted landscape architect George Kessler for park commission (1914); Kessler's 1923 death halts plans
• Mayor Oscar Holcombe appoints Rice Institute Professor Lindsay Blayney to chair 100-person citizen committee to develop planning guidelines (1921)
• Hogg Family sells 1,500 acres of land to city for park space (1924); investor William C. Hogg becomes first City Planning Commission Chairman in 1927

Design and features

• Allen's Landing Memorial Park, site of the first Houston settlement, features text-based artwork providing historical context; promenade and terrace mimic 19th century port
• Artist Jesus Bautista Moroles's ziggurat-style Houston Police Department Memorial (1990) hosts mayor's annual wreath-laying ceremony, honoring slain police officers.
• The free-access 30,000-square-foot Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark (2008), is the first world class, in-ground skatepark in the region.
• Artist Jaume Plensa's "TOLERANCE" consists of seven steel figures made of characters from nine different language scripts, representing the seven continents
• Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade features a pedestrian bridge to downtown Houston; artist John Runnel's stainless steel boat sculptures, color-changing lights calibrated to lunar phases
• Ten-acre Sesquicentennial Park features artist Mel Chin's "Seven Wonders" sculptures, cascading waterfall fountain, semi-circular events lawn

Public and private support

• Buffalo Bayou Partnership created in 1986 after Mayor Kathy Whitmire's Buffalo Bayou Task Force concludes private funding needed for park improvements
• Hurricane Allison causes millions in flood damage; alerts Houston civic leaders to need for a buffer zone along Buffalo Bayou (2001)
• Rosemont Bridge (2011) gives park users convenient access to Spotts Park, Cleveland Park, and Memorial Drive by connecting recently completed hike and bike trails on the north side of Memorial Drive with existing Buffalo Bayou trails systems
• Funding for Rosemont Bridge was provided by the City of Houston's Memorial Heights Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #5 and is part of a Capital Improvement Project that includes the Old Sixth Ward trail connector
• Less than $1 billion of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership's 20-year, $5.6 billion strategic plan involves public funds, reflecting the enduring commitment of Houstonians to the Bayou

Ecological protection and restoration

• Activist Terry Hershey and then-Congressman George H.W. Bush lead effort to halt U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposal to channelize Bayou (1969)
• More than 1,700 volunteers helped restore three natural bayou tributaries
• "Mighty Tidy" trash skimmer picks up 1,500 pounds of debris per skim (begun 2003); winner of 2004 Environmental Protection Agency Gulf Guardian Award
•  HCFCD Pilot Project, completed in 2010, removed more than 1,000 cubic yards of silt by creating flood benches upstream of the Sabine Street Bridge and reused it in other project; invasive vines were removed and vegetation was managed
• Clean and Green Program's community service workers collect and recycle more than 1,000 cubic yards of debris each year

Ritter Park, Huntington, West Virginia

Designated area

Park extends south of 13th Avenue to McCoy Road between 8th and 12th streets.

Summary

When the land was purchased in 1908 by the City of Huntington, original plans called for an incinerator to occupy the space, but the gracious donation of an additional 20 acres by Charles Ritter, a local lumber magnate, convinced the city to build a park instead.

Recent additions include the nationally acclaimed playground noted for its climbing boulders, zip line, bongo drums, and a new dog park that opened in June 2012. As a contributing property to the nationally listed Ritter Park Historic District, which includes the surrounding Craftsman, Colonial, Classical, and Tudor Revival homes, the park provides, according to one area resident, a "sense of place and the feel of home."

History

• Park officially opens September 11, 1913
• During 1920s, local landscape architect Gus Wofford hired by city to design and oversee construction of new park amenities, most of which still exist today
• Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers used to construct amphitheater in nook of a slope, rose garden with articulated stone retaining walls, ornate 8th Street entry gate
• Bridges that cross streams, tennis courts, greenhouse, picnic facilities all result of Wofford's hard work that continued into 1930s
• Ritter Park Historic District formed (1990)
• Huntington citizens rally in 2011 to win $100,000 award from PetSafe's "Bark for Your Park" Contest; dog park officially opens June 16, 2012, to much fanfare

Amenities

• Nationally renowned Rose Garden built 1934; includes more than 3,500 rose plants; numerous weddings and events held in garden throughout year
• Garden comprises four levels; bordered by stone walls allowing for benches to be placed strategically throughout
• Retired assembly line worker Truman Watts hired as rosarian (1989), renewing garden's popularity; leads to nomination as an All-American Rose Selection Garden
• American Rose Society provides Watts with a selection of roses to test each year before the start of the growing season
• The Island Playground, built near 12th Street, sited on land once occupied by Lake Chaposcanwe; composed of features designed to mimic naturalistic objects, such as climbing boulders, dinosaur sand pit
• Fountain at 10th Street entrance serves as a welcoming landscape feature and a stunning backdrop for photographers
• Eleven tennis courts, four covered in winter; venue for numerous regional tennis events
• Daughters of the American Revolution log cabin rebuilt (1922); home to meetings of the DAR's Huntington Buford Chapter
• Fifteen hundred-seat amphitheater used for local concerts and plays during spring, summer, fall months
• Mile-long jogging track, 2.5-mile biking path

Historic District, Community Involvement

• Ritter Park intricately linked to surrounding architecture (1913-1940) of the National Register of Historic Places Ritter Park Historic District
• Historic district residences in many designs including Prairie Style, American Colonial, Foursquare, Italian Renaissance Revival, Georgian Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, and homes combining Craftsman and Bungalow styles
• Park maintained by Greater Huntington Park & Recreation District and supplemented by countless volunteers involved with special events, tree plantings, other activities
• Commitment to Smart Growth principles has reduced stormwater runoff and erosion

Special Events

• Annual Ritter Park Easter Egg Hunt held since 1935
• Residents bring their dogs for pledge walk, Walk and Wag 5K, in May
• Graffiti in the Park Car Show in June showcases hundreds of antique automobiles
• Huntington Art and Music Festival held in August
• Numerous tennis tournaments including West Virginia Open Indoor event in December