A whispered plan for design changes to Civic Center is causing much concern among those who care about this beloved and historical gathering place.
Any changes to this most significant of the region’s public spaces should be discussed in the public arena, not just by a few. Civic Center is a designated Denver landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places, one of just 7 percent on the register with the rating of “site of national significance.”
Indeed, it does show the wear and tear of the years. So a year ago, a group of concerned citizens – I was one of them – and city staff met several times to evaluate what was particularly cherished about Civic Center, and how the park could be revitalized.
The Colorado Historical Fund then gave a $56,000 grant to the Parks Department to assess the historical landscape of Civic Center. With advisory board input, the Parks Department developed a master plan for redevelopment of the space.
The resulting findings and proposals were released to the public in a series of meetings, and the Parks Department issued a handsome brochure describing a new master plan that promises the “improvements will restore the historic landscape, structure and infrastructure” of the public space.
But two weeks ago, rumors began flying about a totally different – and very hush-hush – new plan. A few people had seen drawings and a model of this new plan but wouldn’t discuss the specifics of it, saying they were sworn to silence by city parks department officials – and that they feared retribution.
The new concept comes from Daniel Libeskind, architect of the Denver Art Museum’s gargantuan new wing and neighboring condominium residences. Libeskind is also designing a plaza and landscaping between those two buildings. Part of the DAM plan suggests tearing down the perimeter wall around the existing Gio Ponti museum building – even though that wall, and the moat image it reflects, is integral to the celebrated Ponti vision of the museum as a medieval castle, filled with treasures. Libeskind recommended razing the wall to strengthen the link between the museum and Civic Center.
Larry Mizell’s MDC Holdings Charitable Trust provided $75,000 to fund a conceptual plan for Civic Center. (The Mizell Museum is moving into the residential building beside DAM.) Someone thought Libeskind might have great ideas for Civic Center, even though he is not a landscape architect, and approached him to come up with ideas.
To get a broader view of the possibilities, Mizell also flew Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Parks Department manager Kim Bailey to Chicago to see Millennium Park, once “brown ground” but now a popular spot with vendor kiosks, fountains and buildings.
On Jan. 25, a dozen people – including parks staffers, representatives from the fledgling Civic Center Conservancy and the design advisory board – flew to New York to meet with Libeskind. None of them would talk on the record about the meeting.
However, another reliable source who has seen the preliminary drawings and a model described some of Libeskind’s proposed high points for Civic Center. The Greek Theatre and Voorhies Memorial, with the Seal Pond, would remain, but much of the space between would be a large lake, with a bridge spanning it, approximately where the flower beds are now. The lake would be just 4 inches deep, supposedly so it could be drained for special events.
There would be three new buildings, including one with a prow jutting out over Broadway, just as the museum’s new wing extends over West 13th Avenue. The model also includes a 330-foot tower.
It sounds like something far different from the City Beautiful image of Civic Center now. While there are many steps still necessary on the road to any plan’s approval, a public airing is mandatory. Denverites are very vocal and protective about the places they cherish and deserve to know what is afoot.
Civic Center is so beloved, so protected by its landmark and historic designations, that anything outrageous or ill-conceived certainly will be rejected before it comes to fruition.
Sources said the new plan – design drawings and model – had been shown to Hickenlooper and Gov. Bill Owens on Feb. 6. Later that week, I asked to see them. Parks manager Bailey said there was nothing to see, that it was purely “conceptual.”
In a Feb. 8 interview with Hickenlooper and Bailey, the mayor would not comment on the Libeskind proposal. Instead, he spoke of his vision of the park system, of open spaces and quiet places, baseball and other playing fields, jogging trails, beautiful gardens, wild spaces. “I’d like to see parks 66 percent natural landscapes,” Hickenlooper said. He noted there is a $90 million deficit in park infrastructure, which is why some are trying to find ways to make money on parks, perhaps with vendors in certain parks, or corporate “sponsorships” in others.
A public hearing is scheduled on those issues and others for Thursday, March 9, at 6 p.m. at the community room of District 3 Police Station, 1625 South University Blvd.
Joanne Ditmer’s column on environmental and urban issues for The Post began in 1962.
