Skyline Park, Arapahoe Street from 15th to 18th Sts, Denver, CO
From CollabLandWiki
Location
Skyline Park is a 3.2 acre park that runs along Arapahoe Street from 15th Street to 18th Street in Denver, Colorado.
Demographics
Population of Denver in 2006: 554,974
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Aerial Photos
 looking north |
 looking south west |
 looking south west |
 looking north east |
 looking west |
Designer
The original park was designed by Lawrence Halprin and was completed in 1976. The park was redesigned by Thomas Balsley Associates, and was reopened in 2004.
Projection Plan
History
The original design was by Lawrence Halprin in 1973. It became a signature landmark for the Denver area however, through mismanagement and neglect the park soon became a lure for drug dealers, runaway teens and the homeless.
In the design Halprin used nature as an inspiration and tried to capture Colorado’s rugged beauty. The walkways meandered through man-made steps and ledges on a rhythmic course. The design had a cascading fountain, reminiscent of the red rock outcropping found in the Denver area. The clusters of deciduous shade and fir trees, and seating areas recreate the natural beauty found in Colorado.
In 1997 and 1999 two firms came forward and proposed the complete remodeling of Skyline Park. These proposals were rejected by public protest.
In 2002 Thomas Balsley Associates proposed a third design that would focus more on preserving Halprin’s intentional design.
Design and Programmatic Goals For the Redesigned Park
There were five issues that needed to be addressed in the design done by Balsley Associates. The five issues included: poor visibility from the street, circuitous movement through the whole park, problem with troubled youth and adults, lack of connection to the surrounding area and maintenance and infrastructure problems.
Balsley decided that it was necessary to remove the inoperable fountain, since it would be too costly to repair. The berms were lowered to allow for more entry ways to be spliced into the park. There was also a need to widen the existing walkways.
Approximately eighty percent of the existing vegetation was either diseased or damaged and needed to be removed and replaced in the new design.
The decrepit fountain in the park was the focal point for years, so Balsley Associates changed the focal point to being the white granite steps in the middle of the park.
Strengths of the Redesigned Park
The redesign of the park addressed all five of the issues that were previously mentioned. One of the greatest improvements of the park was the lowering of berms and creation of open space. This allows for the city to safely hold summer concerts in the park.
The overall safety of the park was improved which brought more people into the park. The buildings surrounding the park have changed over the years and the new park successfully integrates the park into its context.
Weakness of the Redesigned Park
Some people still reject the new design because of lack of consideration of Halprin’s original design.
Thomas Balsley had too grand of a vision for the $6.5 million budget so when all was said and done the park cost an approximant $9 million. The lack of funding caused the park to take seven years to complete.
Success or Failure
Halprin’s original design failed because of the lack of maintenance and use.
The new design by Thomas Balsley Associates is considered a success because it successfully fits into downtown Denver. The park is now a destination point because it is now home to numerous festivals and concerts, has its own coffee and concession stand complete with a pavilion and kiosk.
AutoCADD Maps
Hansmann Park is a neighborhood park located in Moorhead, Minnesota. The park is one square block in size which is comparable in size to Skyline Park.
Gallery
 Shows clock tower in background |
 One of the fountains in the park |
 The park now contains planters |
 The plaza allows for concerts in the park |
 December in Denver |
Cities Back From The Edge Reading
Roberta Gratz discusses in the article Cities Back from the Edge, how downtowns in small town, America are disappearing at alarming rates. Their uniqueness and distinctiveness are being overcome by “big town” corporations. The typical small town businesses are being lured out of the downtown by bigger highways, and cheaper renting rates. This obviously makes sense to a business owner, however, in our opinion creates a vacated hole in the downtown. A post office was discussed as being a social place however, with postal offices being moved near the big highways and out of the downtown this aspect of socialization is usually lost.
When a town is considering infrastructural improvements the idea that there should be no breaks along the downtown sidewalks should be implemented. Having a parking ramp between stores creates an awkward gap that breaks up the downtown atmosphere. Having continuous storefront of business creates more opportunities for people to walk and interact with their surroundings. Gratz even goes as far to say that there shouldn’t be any parking downtown. We disagree with such a statement; our culture depends on automobiles for transportation, this we feel will hurt businesses since people from outside the city limits will be less likely to come into that specific part of town.
Gratz stresses that cities have to preserved. We agree with her statement that historic buildings should be preserved and slightly remodeled instead of completely torn down to make room for a Walgreens. This helps to preserve the “small town feel” when you are walking downtown.
BASIC POINTS
• Ocala, Florida is author’s hometown
- Lost its courthouse, post office and library downtown like many other towns in the country
• Those areas were social gathering places
- In place are strip malls and gas stations
• Reworking downtown should focus on reducing automobile traffic through proper infrastructure. - Two way traffic, on street parking
- Generous sidewalks - Removal of parking ramps
• Eliminate parking for mass transit
• Organization to help preserve downtown buildings
• Modest investment for downtown retail
- Cheaper rent if the downtown is vacating
References
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=skyline+park%2C+Denver%2C+CO
http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=128
http://www.tclf.org/landslide/2002/halprin/skyline_history1.htm
Gratz, Roberta Brandes, and Norman Mintz. Cities Back from the Edge: New Life for Downtown. John Wiley and Sons, 2000. Section Four: Downtown Essentials. 235-294.
