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A Civic Center for Denver

Thursday, November 1 at 6:00 PM

This Speakout has not been edited.

By Claire Shepherd Lanier

Denver's Civic Center Park has always been a work in progress. Inspiration for the park is frequently credited to Mayor Robert Speer. However, this reminder of America’s “City Beautiful Movement,” was not the brainchild of a single individual. It has been the product of many creative minds.

Today, once again, we have the opportunity to envision Denver’s symbolic center. David Owen Tryba Architects and Bill Mosher of Trammell Crow have been retained by the Colorado Historical Society to explore several alternatives for the location of a new Colorado History Museum. The location preferred by the Historical Society is Civic Center Park, situated between the State Capitol and the City and County Building. The Carnegie Library also borders the park. It is a neoclassical building donated to the city in 1909 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The library was converted into office space in the 1950s and the name changed to the McNichols Building.

For over a century, nationally known artists, architects and public officials have engaged in a dialogue about the appearance and use of the civic center area. Early inspiration for the park’s design came from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Many visitors, including our own Mayor Speer, left the fair with the desire to return home and create public spaces of equal distinction in their own cities. Colorado historian Tom Noel tells us that in1904, Henry Read, then chairman of the Denver Art Commission, began promoting the idea of a well-planned and beautifully designed civic center as a symbol for the city. With the Mayor’s support, the members of the Art Commission began the process of searching for nationally known designers and architects to work toward this vision.

Included in the distinguished group were Charles M. Robinson, credited with coining the term “City Beautiful;” the Olmsted Brothers, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., designer of New York City’s Central Park; Edward Bennett, a student of Daniel Burnham, architect of the 1893 World’s Fair and landscape architect Saco DeBoer, creator of the 1924 Civic Center Expansion Plan. Each presented different designs for the park but there were common features. The concept of two companion buildings, the Carnegie Library and a museum in the park, was a thread that ran through the designs of many of the park’s early planners.

Recently, dialogue about the park has resumed. It has been acknowledged that Civic Center Park is an eyesore in need of public attention. Daniel Libeskind, designer of the new Hamilton Wing of the Denver Art Museum, injected his creative energy into the discussion. Libeskind’s recommendations were, predictably, imaginative and considered by some extreme. As a result they have been effective in galvanizing much needed public attention and comment.

A lively, thriving civic center is a metaphor for a vital city. Tryba Architects and Trammell Crow have responded to this challenge by proposing a Civic Center design for the new history museum with the potential to re-vitalize our downtown public space.

At recent meetings, open to the public, Tryba and Mosher presented plans that meet the programmatic requirements for the new museum. This would be accomplished by renovating the Carnegie Library and adding an above ground building to the south. That new building would replicate the library in mass and scale. The idea of creating a twin structure has historic precedent as has been noted. Extensive gallery and office space would be hidden under ground, allowing the space above to remain an open lawn. The plan is remarkable because of its respect for the existing historic structures and landscaping in the park. An added benefit of the proposal is that the Carnegie Library would be returned to its former splendor. By choosing the Civic Center alternative as the location for the new Colorado History Museum we have an opportunity to re-activate this symbolic space in Denver’s dynamic urban core.

Claire Shepherd Lanier, Ph.D., teaches architectural history at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

READER COMMENTS

I recently had an appointment downtown near Civic Center Park in one of the municipal buildings. The only parking lot I could find cost $3 per 20 minutes. That is appalling. If that is normal, it is more appalling.

Lets turn Civic Center Park into a underground parking garage.

Posted by Yaakov Watkins on November 2, 2007 11:03 AM