Cleveland: Public Square Redesign

[jborger]

^ And narrow Superior as well?

 

Superior has been narrowed from 77 feet wide to 48 feet wide.

[StapHanger]

^Pretty sure TPH2 means the blocks of Superior on either side of the square, not the ones passing through it.

[TPH2]

^Pretty sure TPH2 means the blocks of Superior on either side of the square, not the ones passing through it.

 

Yes, exactly. Since only buses can traverse the square, car traffic on Superior to the east and west will be significantly less than before (as it has been for the last year). There's no reason that those few blocks of Superior and Ontario adjacent to Public Square need to remain as wide as they are.

[Clueless,Ohio]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dave68]

Great set of photographs!  I enjoy the maturity of the trees and the detailing of the pathways. I am still not a fan of the cafe design size and shape. I much preferred the round design James Corner first pitched.

[Cleburger]

Its like Crocker Park, without all the fiery explosions!

[Clueless,Ohio]

 

I wouldn't know , i've never been there

[Vincent_G]

It differs significantly from Crocker Park in that it is a public place, not a privately owned space that is accessible to the public.

[StapHanger]

I'm such a sucker for high quality hardscape. I can't wait to see this all in person.

 

Question about the last photo: am I being insanely picky, or is the granite curbing along the cobbled walkway laid a bit sloppily? Nothing major, but the joints make it clear the blocks aren't very uniformly leveled.

 

[edited for typo]

[jmicha]

Nitpicky? Yes. But so am I. And that granite is definitely laid poorly.

 

Everything is looking great though. Great material choices which isn't surprising given James Corner's design history.

[KJP]

Public Square Building Instant Capacity With Metroparks' "Loaned Executive" via @SceneSallard

https://t.co/TfAh2ABQKd

[dar124]

Great set of photographs!  I enjoy the maturity of the trees and the detailing of the pathways. I am still not a fan of the cafe design size and shape. I much preferred the round design James Corner first pitched.

 

 

I totally agree about the size of the trees, glad they're as big as they are.  I'm looking forward to them with some leaves and also to see the square with some of the grass on the lawns.

[Husat77]

Does anyone here know what kinds of trees they're using?

[dave68]

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20160320/NEWS/160319791/groups-are-taking-a-long-view-of-public-square

Groups are taking a long view of Public Square

 

Borrowing a Cleveland Metroparks executive to manage a newly re-energized Public Square was a necessary first step to ensure the 10-acre heart of the city comes to life after its June 1 reopening.

 

But the loan by Cleveland Metroparks of its chief marketing officer, Sanaa Julien, to the Group Plan Commission is only a short-term solution, and the square’s planners have yet to devise a permanent plan to guarantee the area doesn’t return to its neglected past.

 

Last week, the Group Plan Commission, or GPC, the nonprofit that has been guiding the redevelopment of the square, announced that Julien will be on loan for the next year as that organization’s CEO of programming and operations. GPC executive director Jeremy Paris said the commission will pay Julien her Metroparks annual compensation of $147,635, plus benefits.

 

What happens after that is up in the air.

[mrclifton88]

From today. I didn't realize the fountain/splash area was so big!!

[mrnyc]

it's just an amazing amount of work. it's going to be great. i can't wait to see it in the summer.

 

 

Does anyone here know what kinds of trees they're using?

 

 

i saw this in an article from last october:

 

'And, in perhaps the most dramatic sign of progress, workers have planted the first 35 new trees in the square, a collection of slender homestead elms, measuring roughly 25 feet high with a "caliper," or trunk diameter, averaging six inches.'

 

 

more:

http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2015/10/double_shifts_keep_public_squa.html

[CornerCurve]

 

July 29 Cleveland Orchestra concert is first public event set for renovated Public Square

 

By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer

on April 12, 2016 at 9:02 AM, updated April 12, 2016 at 9:17 AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The board of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture voted Monday to spend $175,000 to fund a free public concert by the Cleveland Orchestra on Friday, July 29 in Public Square, effectively announcing the first event in the renovated civic space in the heart of downtown.

 

The 10-acre square is nearing completion of a 15-month, $50 million renovation designed by James Corner Field Operations, the same firm that co-designed the popular High Line Park in New York City.

 

The Public Square project is on time and on budget and scheduled for completion June 1, in time for the Republican National Convention from July 18 to 21, but no schedule has yet been announced for the reopening of the square, or for cultural events there, apart from the orchestra concert.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2016/04/cleveland_orchestras_july_29_b.html#incart_m-rpt-1

[TPH2]

^ Bummer. I was hoping that they would decide to keep it on Mall B. It was a much better venue for the concert than Public Square, IMHO.

[MidwestChamp]

^ Bummer. I was hoping that they would decide to keep it on Mall B. It was a much better venue for the concert than Public Square, IMHO.

 

Certainly better than the old public square, but I'll reserve judgement until we can see how the concert functions at the new public square.  Concert hill might make a great venue as well!

[Enginerd]

Does this also mean there won't be a free July 4th concert? Or will that be on Mall B like last year.

[TPH2]

^ Bummer. I was hoping that they would decide to keep it on Mall B. It was a much better venue for the concert than Public Square, IMHO.

 

Certainly better than the old public square, but I'll reserve judgement until we can see how the concert functions at the new public square.  Concert hill might make a great venue as well!

 

I agree that it's tough to pass judgement until we see the new square, but the geometry of the Mall works better for a concert like this. Plus the slope of the convention center entrance created a perfect way for those in the far back to have a better view. And Public Square also has trees, statues, a cafe, etc that may make sight lines difficult. And the fireworks being blasted from the top of the library made viewing them easier as they were behind the orchestra, whereas on Public Square they have typically been set off from 200 Public Square, so they are to your back when viewing the orchestra (again, that may change depending on how they orient the stage with the new set up.)

[Hts121]

The first public event is after the RNC? 

[BCCLE1]

^ Bummer. I was hoping that they would decide to keep it on Mall B. It was a much better venue for the concert than Public Square, IMHO.

 

Certainly better than the old public square, but I'll reserve judgement until we can see how the concert functions at the new public square.  Concert hill might make a great venue as well!

 

I agree that it's tough to pass judgement until we see the new square, but the geometry of the Mall works better for a concert like this. Plus the slope of the convention center entrance created a perfect way for those in the far back to have a better view. And Public Square also has trees, statues, a cafe, etc that may make sight lines difficult. And the fireworks being blasted from the top of the library made viewing them easier as they were behind the orchestra, whereas on Public Square they have typically been set off from 200 Public Square, so they are to your back when viewing the orchestra (again, that may change depending on how they orient the stage with the new set up.)

 

I was not at the Orchestra/Fireworks on Mall B last year, but have gone to this great free event the CLE for years. Before the fireworks were set off from 200 Public Square they were set off from Tower City. It has only been in the last # of years that 200 Public Square was the site of the fireworks.

 

I think the fireworks were much better when they were set off from a-top Tower City. And of course that meant the fireworks were behind the Orchestra and the people did not have to turn around. Do not know why the switch was made years ago from Tower City to 200 Public Square, but sure would like to see Tower City take them back over.

[w28th]

They switched it when the Terminal Tower exterior was being renovated. Hope they can bring it back this year.

[Paul in Cleveland]

Can't quite tell if that's dirt or the beginnings of grass (assume it's the former) on the northern half of the square, but something's definitely different on the webcam from a few days ago! :-)

 

 

[TPH2]

^ It's grass!

 

[dar124]

I was just getting ready to post the same pic of the square!!!

 

Nice to see the green grass.  Next I'm looking forward to some leaves on those trees!!!

[Hts121]

I never realized how much the layout mimics a butterfly

[Paul in Cleveland]

I never realized how much the layout mimics a butterfly

 

Lol, I noticed that right after the design was unveiled, and I've never been able to UNSEE it. ;-)

[StapHanger]

Pretty much every description of the project includes the word "butterfly." No coincidence it's on people's minds. Just take a look:

 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Cleveland+Public+Square+butterfly

[clvlndr]

Even though, from the air, the new design mimics a butterfly, it remains to be seen how well it actually works at ground level.  Let's see if it really is a more people place than the old design.  Obviously restricting motor vehicles is major (as well as, for some, removing RTA buses, and the people who catch them), but ...  I will say that sitting in the window at the Renaissance last week in between CIFF films, the new pavilion facing the hotel appears rather large.

 

Speaking of our transit system, has any long-term solution been reached for RTA's bus locations?  For the near term I'm assuming the south, SE routes will continue to terminate on south Ontario adjacent to the casino.

[dave68]

Does anyone have a guess on where the stage for the orchestra will be set up in this new configuration of Public Square? 

[TPH2]

If it were me, I would have it on the north side in the middle facing south. 

[327]

People go wherever they have reasons to go.  I expect there will be less people on the square than before, by design, since those bus routes had previously given so many a reason for being there.  Programming could draw new people in but we still haven't heard much about that.  Thanks to the Mall, we already have a sense of how much pedestrian traffic is generated by grass.

[TPH2]

People go wherever they have reasons to go.  I expect there will be less people on the square than before, by design, since those bus routes had previously given so many a reason for being there.  Programming could draw new people in but we still haven't heard much about that.  Thanks to the Mall, we already have a sense of how much pedestrian traffic is generated by grass.

 

That's the point though. Even without programming, the square offers more than just "grass."

[Pleco]

I believe tonight is the first night they've lit the northern half of Public Square. If not, it's still always nice to see it from overhead.

Here's a screenshot from the webcam:

[mrclifton88]

Walked over to Public Square today and took it all in from the Soliders and Sailors monument.  I have to say, the combination of the really nice weather, all the pedestrian activity, and the numerous people excitedly praising the renovation next to me made me really happy about how this turned out.  Cant wait to see it open!

[StapHanger]

Thanks for this!  Looking very good. Happy to see the trees appear to be alive. Not sure why so many of the ginkgoes are bent near the top, though. Hopefully they straighten themselves out (literally).

[YO to the CLE]

Wow that looks great!

[Flee2theCleve]

Looks like a skateboarders paradise

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[surfohio]

Looks like a skateboarders paradise

 

Probably fitting that the local skating org is "Public Square Group."

[seicer]

I'm sure they will be adding in the brass notches so skaters can't use the seats and railings as ramps and rails :)

[3 Dog Pat]

Based on these pictures, I think people will get the same feeling about Public Square that they did when Jacob's field opened, "This is so nice....its hard to think its in Cleveland"

 

I heard that so many times back then, and it wasn't people knocking CLE.  It was just that it was so much more than they expected, and it was done so well.

[ArtMasterCLE]

I agree with you, Punch. I think the redesigned Public Square, like Jacobs Field offers great urban design and quality execution. Like The Jake, it will offer fresh vistas of the city from a space that is designed to enhance pedestrian enjoyment of the surrounding city. This will be the kind of public space that has the ability to elevate Clevelanders' image of their hometown while encouraging additional private investment in the urban core.

 

In short, this is a game-changer.

[dave68]

Has any word been announced whom/what the cafe will offer?  What is the official opening date of Public Square?  Will additional plantings happen in the raised beds where the mulch has been added?  I look forward to seeing the space occupied by human scale and how we end up interacting in the space.

 

[ws966112]

Outdoor art coming to Public Square and the Mall before Republican National Convention (Photos)

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A $1.5 million grant to the nonprofit LAND Studio from the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation of Cleveland will kick off three years of temporary outdoor art installations on the renovated Public Square and the Mall, starting just before the Republican National Convention.

 

Beginning in June, the Italian art collective Cracking Art, based in Milan, will install hundreds of colorful plastic meerkats, wolves, swallows, frogs and snails on the Mall and at the Cleveland Public Library and adjacent Eastman Reading Garden.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2016/04/outdoor_art_coming_to_public_s.html#incart_river_home

 

Everything about this confuses me

[Flee2theCleve]

I openly admit to not being any sort of fine art expert - but seriously?  Can the featured animals at least be species indigenous to NEO?

[SixthCity]

Ummm...

[old edale]

^ that shot of the meerkats lined up on the convention center roof? Uh- is this a belated April Fools Day prank? I know art is in the eye of the beholder, but between this and the cheesy installation proposed for the mall, maybe there should be someone else calling the shots on public art in Downtown Cleveland.

[Urbanophile]

Between this and the terrible proposal for Mall C, I'm really beginning to think that LAND Studio knows absolutely nothing about good public art. This is horrible and tacky. Is there even a way to stop this from happening, or are we just inevitably going to look like a tasteless and tacky city to the RNC visitors?