When the floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina receded and an army of truckers hauled the debris away, the people of New Orleans found something unexpected amid all the tragedy and loss: opportunity.
For all its charm and vitality, New Orleans had a mess of problems. So the Bring New Orleans Back Commission proposed that the post-Katrina city be designed to address them – everything from the lousy schools, the crummy mass-transit system and the shortage of bicycle trails to the legendary sidewalk filth and aggravating traffic.
Sure, they said they’ll do what it takes to bring back the best of New Orleans – the fun, the food, the music. But they’d like to create a city that works better than the one buried in muck last August.
Who wouldn’t?
Joe Poli of Humphries Poli Architects of Denver said it shouldn’t take a crisis to spark that kind of healthy civic discussion, although there’s nothing like the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history to focus everyone’s attention.
So in the interest of civic betterment, how about a simulated calamity here …
Imagine that it’s 2010 and an earthquake has leveled Denver. The Cash Register building is nothing but rubble. (Now, now, it’s not polite to cheer even in a fantasy disaster.) After 50 years of construction, reconstruction and re-reconstruction, the Mousetrap has been reduced to twisted steel and crumbled concrete. Where to begin?
Start with the natural landscape, Poli said. Maybe find a way to make the city’s scarce water more meaningful.
That’s a polite way of suggesting that given a second chance, we might not choose to put a six-lane highway adjacent to the South Platte River.
It also explains the appeal of one of my favorite places, Confluence Park. In post-earthquake Denver, I’d bring that back no matter what.
That’s just the beginning.
I’d rebuild Larimer Square, City Park, the Denver Art Museum and its fabulous new annex, the Tattered Cover, the Mayan Theatre, the entire Highline Canal trail and the Cherry Creek trail, although I’d repatriate the Denver Country Club’s section of the creek once and for all.
I’d fix Colorado Boulevard so that crossing it on foot or on a bike is not death-defying. I’d eliminate parking at Invesco Field, Coors Field and the Can so that people could stay to the end of events without being stuck in traffic for hours. And I’d do something about the Broadway and Colfax bus stop so that people don’t have to stand on the urine-stained sidewalk watching drug deals while they wait for their buses.
I’d bring back the lively Highlands neighborhood, Old South Gaylord, South Pearl and the Central Platte Valley. The Buckhorn Exchange and El Chapultapec get the nod, the Donkey Den the boot. Restoring Red Rocks would be crucial.
Schools would be built on campuses integrated with public libraries or recreation centers so the whole community would feel invested in their maintenance and success. Nordstrom would open a store downtown, where it belongs.
That’s still not enough, though.
“The secret is to have a little more magic,” Poli said, “to have more of those places that take your breath away.”
OK, so maybe we can’t replicate Notre Dame Cathedral or the Sydney Opera House … a few great shops and cafes like those along the streets of Paris would go a long way toward producing minor magic on the tedious 16th Street Mall.
How about a terrific outdoor market like in Seattle, an urban oasis like Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, a few stunning downtown plazas with dramatic public art like Chicago, and a playground where kids could wade in a fountain in the summertime and ice-skate in the winter.
Also, the city could use comfortable, convenient bus service to the mountain towns, more public places to enjoy the view of the Rockies, and a whole lot more flower gardens.
Maybe even a stand that sells La Popular tamales on the first floor of the new Post building.
Hey, I can always dream.
Diane Carman’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at 303-820-1489 or dcarman@denverpost.com.
