City seeking input on Heritage Park restoration, public meetings May 8th and 9th

The city is at last taking a look at options to save Heritage Park on the Trinity Bluffs in Downtown. What follows is a press release from the city explaining their request for input, and details of the actual meetings. We encourage anybody in the city with an interest in saving Heritage Park to attend.

City Leaders Seek Ways to Restore, Improve Heritage Park

The Amon Carter Foundation, Downtown Fort Worth Inc., and the Heritage Park Steering Committee are working together with the City of Fort Worth not only to develop a plan to restore the Heritage Park Plaza but also create a vision for transforming it into an important Fort Worth destination.

The steering committee, convened by the city, has been meeting since March 2009 with officials from the city’s Planning and Development and Parks and Community Services departments to begin the planning process. Those meetings have included public workshops with Project for Public Spaces Inc. and a Steering Committee meeting with landscape architect Laurie Olin of OLIN studio. Mr. Olin is a former associate of Lawrence Halprin, who designed Heritage Park Plaza.

As a result of that planning process, a two-day community workshop has been scheduled for May 8 and 9. The workshop will provide the community with a history of the area and an opportunity for participants to work together in small groups to design solutions and present their ideas. The workshop is being conducted by OLIN.

The information shared and ideas developed during the workshop will be used to help the city decide on a plan of action for re-opening Heritage Park Plaza.

Heritage Park Integral to Fort Worth’s History, Culture

Heritage Park Plaza was commissioned in the late 1960s by Streams and Valleys, a nonprofit organization committed to the beautification and recreational development of the Trinity River, to commemorate the nation’s bicentennial. The plaza, which sits on a steep bluff overlooking the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River, was designed by renowned landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. The location, just north of the Tarrant County Courthouse and just west of the Main Street Bridge, also is the approximate site of the frontier military post of Fort Worth established by Major Ripley Arnold in 1849.

The plaza consists of a series of tiered outdoor rooms and is part of the larger 112-acre Heritage Park which sweeps down to the river bank. Construction of the plaza is primarily concrete but incorporates water elements that migrate through each room. The most striking portion of the plaza is an elevated walkway parallel to the Trinity River that provides a spectacular view to the north.

Heritage Park is owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department. The construction of the plaza was funded primarily with private donations. It was closed in 2006 for public safety.

Public Input Sought for Heritage Park Restoration

Who/What:
Heritage Park Study Workshop and Open House

When:
Friday, May 8, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Where:
Norris Conference Centers – Fort Worth
304 Houston St.
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Map

Why:
This two-day event is an opportunity for the community to discuss and formulate a vision for the future of Heritage Park, including ideas for restoration of the plaza. The first day includes an overview of the site, its opportunities and constraints. This will be followed by a community-driven session where participants will work together in small groups to design solutions and present their ideas.

On the second day, ideas from the previous day will be presented and next steps will be discussed. Officials from the city’s Planning and Development and Parks and Community Services departments will be on hand to answer questions. The workshop will be facilitated by Philadelphia-based landscape architecture design studio, OLIN.

Seating will be limited, so send an e-mail to Randy Hutcheson at the City of Fort Worth to RSVP.