Busy, busy, busy – and too much of a good thing.
That was my conclusion after attending two presentations Wednesday on New York architect Daniel Libeskind’s proposal for revitalizing 88-year-old Civic Center. Initially, his design – with a major pond, contemporary fountains, glass house cafes, canopied walkways and a soaring bridge – seemed fresh, exciting and imaginative. And it is. It would be a beautiful, exhilarating park – somewhere else.
These amenities were not meant to enhance this cherished, historic public park and gathering place, tucked between Denver City Hall and the State Capitol.
The look-at-me design is a showcase of a celebrity architect’s fertile imagination, not a sensitive enhancement of a city park so special that it is on the National Register of Historic Places, one of just 7 percent on the register with the rating of “site of national significance.”
It is a frivolity superimposed on one of downtown’s last green spaces, 16 acres of Great Lawn, tree groves, Greek Amphitheatre, Voorhies Memorial and Seal Pond, and dazzling flower gardens.
The mission was supposed to be how to enhance Civic Center and “activate” it so that more people would use it more often, and displace the loiterers who seem to take it over much of the time. As a first step, the new, non-profit Civic Center Conservancy sponsored a film and concert series and a farmer’s market this summer, attracting an estimated 6,000 people to what would normally be downtime in the park. Attendance explodes with special festivals, such as this weekend’s Taste of Colorado.
Reflecting how important Civic Center is to the city, an overflow crowd of some 700 people listened attentively and questioned diligently at the public meeting.
Here’s what they saw in Libeskind’s proposed design:
A concave diamond “water plaza” is stretched across almost a third of the park, replacing the current flower beds and a huge chunk of the Great Lawn. Since it’s 6 inches deep, it could be an ice skating rink in the winter, a reflecting pond in the summer, and could be drained for big events. Fountains jetting skyward could aerate the water and diminish the threat of mosquito breeding. Given Denver Parks’ lamentable history of maintaining the fountains and ponds we already have, there were questions about the practicality of so much water in this arid climate.
In the park’s center is a 72-foot “icon” of water, light and perhaps glass, bringing forth comments such as “luminous, shimmering” from the architect.
An airy suspended pedestrian bridge, looking like a whale’s skeleton, rises from the center of the park across Broadway to the RTD station roof garden, linking Civic Center and the 16th Street Mall. It’s a fun silhouette, but one that could greatly diminish the importance of the Pioneer Fountain, State Capitol and other significant civic buildings around the park.
A citizens group (of which I was a member) labored almost a year shaping a Civic Center master plan. One of the things we were most enthused about was to make the McNichols Building, the old Carnegie Library now used by the city tax offices, an integral part of the park, probably as a restaurant. Libeskind incorporated that, and added several faceted glass confections for cafés, snacks and retail. As Civic Center is already surrounded by other restaurants, this seemed like overkill.
There would be a welcome trellis sunshade over the Greek Amphitheatre, and a Festival Court in the empty corner toward Bannock Street. The sculptures in the park would remain, as well as the original balustrades.
How much would all this cost? The issue was side-stepped. A figure of $42 million was dropped once, and never heard again. Officials suggested it would be a mix of public and private dollars, and Mayor John Hickenlooper told me several weeks ago that he already had a couple of major donors lined up.
Everyone on the Wednesday program declared the presentation was a first step. Now it’s up to the public. Get more information and comment at www.denvergov.org/parksandrecreation or attend of of the following meetings, all from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.:
- Sept. 14, Webb Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave.;
- Oct. 2, Denver Public Library, Broadway at 14th Avenue Parkway;
- Oct. 10, Webb Building.
The model will be on display at Humphries Poli Architects, 1215 Elati St. A report on the public comments will be made in January.
New ideas and perspectives are valuable and essential, but a flashy 21st century overlay on historic Civic Center could be woefully inappropriate.
Having a say in the new design is an exciting challenge for Denver, and makes us evaluate what we think is important in public spaces. Join in!
Joanne Ditmer’s column on environmental and urban issues for The Post began in 1962 and now appears once a month.
