• Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Digital Archives
  • Contact
    • Letter to Editor
  • Find us
Saturday, December 14, 2019
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
San Diego Downtown News
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Downtown Briefs
    • Featured
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Chris Ward
        • Mara Elliott
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Food & Drink Blotter
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Downtown
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Neighborhoods
    • Balboa Park
    • East Village
    • Gaslamp
    • Horton Plaza
    • Little Italy
  • Calendar
San Diego Downtown News
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Downtown Briefs
    • Featured
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Chris Ward
        • Mara Elliott
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Food & Drink Blotter
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Downtown
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Neighborhoods
    • Balboa Park
    • East Village
    • Gaslamp
    • Horton Plaza
    • Little Italy
  • Calendar
No Result
View All Result
San Diego Downtown News
No Result
View All Result
Home Arts & Entertainment Art

Reviving Horton Plaza

January 31, 2014
in Art, Arts & Entertainment, Columnists, Horton Plaza, Neighborhoods, News, Top Story
6
Reviving Horton Plaza

Artist Joe Cordelle’s renderings of how Horton Plaza Park will look once it is completed. (Courtesy Walker Macy)

0
SHARES
115
VIEWS

Delle Willett | Art on the Land

San Diego’s founding father, Alonzo Erastus Horton, wanted Horton Plaza to provide a central, commodious and attractive place for public purpose; where all public questions might be discussed with comfort, open-air concerts might be given, people might rest, and children might play in safety.

Artist Joe Cordelle’s renderings of how Horton Plaza Park will look once it is completed. (Courtesy Walker Macy)
Artist Joe Cordelle’s renderings of how Horton Plaza Park will look once it is completed. (Courtesy Walker Macy)

Back in the early- to mid-1870s, the park was on a small, barren plot of land across the street from the Horton House Hotel. The focal point of the plot was a bandstand on D St. (now Broadway), between Third and Fourth avenues that served as a place to get news of pending railroad projects.

In August 1895, Horton turned the bandstand over to the City to create a more fitting park. It took until 1909 for architect Irving Gill’s Horton Plaza Park and Fountain to be completed. Over time, the pocket park fell from grace, and then came back into the spotlight in 1985 with the construction of Horton Plaza Shopping Center. At that time, the historic park was also renovated to replace the grass and benches with shrubbery in an effort to deter loitering. In 2008, water conservation efforts led to the fountain being shut off and a fence erected around the fountain.

Today, with a budget of $11.7 million, Horton Plaza Park is undergoing a major restoration and expansion that will create an economic catalyst for the surrounding neighborhood and have a transformational effect on Downtown.

Prime consultant landscape architects Walker Macy of Portland, Oregon, is working in collaboration with San Diego’s landscape architects, Schmidt Design Group, Inc., and architects Carrier Johnson + Culture, to realize Alonzo Horton’s original vision of the park.

Active urban public spaces such as Horton Plaza are a major focus of Walker Macy’s work, and the firm is also known for its award-winning waterfront redevelopment, community planning, mixed-use development, and higher education work.

The new plan includes revival of the existing 20,000-square foot historic park as well as the creation of a new, approximately one-acre public plaza created by the removal of the former Robinsons-May building. Combined, the new Horton Plaza Park will cover 1.3 acres.

“Currently San Diego is experiencing significant redevelopment in the core of the city and surrounding the Gaslamp area,” said Chelsea McCann, principal, landscape architect with Walker Macy. “However, what the city lacks is an urban public gathering space that can become the center of the community and serve as a stage for events and activities.

Another rendering of the new plaza, with Broadway seen to the right, and Fourth Avenue in the foreground. (Courtesy Walter )
Another rendering of the new plaza, with Broadway seen to the right, and Fourth Avenue in the foreground. (Courtesy Walker Macy)

“We are designing Horton Plaza Park to become a hub for outdoor public civic and cultural events in the heart of Downtown San Diego. The plaza will be a destination for both locals and tourists, with programming that welcomes people of all ages and walks of life, a place for people to relax and enjoy casual daily activities,” McCann explained.

The historical significance of the park leaves little wiggle room for changes outside historic parameters. The rehabilitation will return the area to grass, reintroduce the iconic early 20th century lighting and refurbish the now-out-of-use fountain, the park’s centerpiece. The new pavers will closely match the original terra cotta colors that Irving Gill used at the time. Even the decorative lighting built into the fountain will be brought back to life.

In its detailing, the plaza draws inspiration from the history and culture of the San Diego region, making it a unique reflection of the community.

The main inspiration for the design is the old Cabrillo Theatre’s arches. Originally opened around 1918, the theater was located on the south side of Horton Plaza. It was demolished in 1982 to make way for the new Horton Plaza.

The form of the semi-circular amphitheater is reminiscent of the Cabrillo arch and provides seating for events. The plaza’s paving pattern is inspired by the tradition of woven basket patterns from the Kumeyaay Native-American people, and the plant palette is inspired by plants popularized by Kate Sessions.

Upright electric luminaries, whose patterns are derived from the native grasses of the region, will circle the amphitheater-style arch. An interactive water feature will provide activity and draw people to the plaza.

Three pavilions will offer retail space and uses not yet determined. Each will have an extended shade lattice covered in vegetation. The largest of the pavilions will also include public restrooms.

Shade trees are planned for both the eastern edge along Fourth Avenue and the southern edge, adjacent to the Balboa Theatre.

A rendering viewpoint with the corner of Fourth Avenue and Broadway in the foreground. (Courtesy Walker Macy)
A rendering viewpoint with the corner of Fourth Avenue and Broadway in the foreground. (Courtesy Walker Macy)

This project is the result of a complex public-private partnership negotiated by Civic San Diego, working on behalf of the former Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego, and Westfield Horton Plaza. It is consistent with goals within the adopted 2006 Downtown Community Plan, which guides the development of the urban parks, open spaces and historical resources in the Downtown area.

The partnership also provides for the maintenance, operation and programming of the site by Westfield for 25 years. With construction documents completed in 2013, the opening is planned for late fall 2015.

The project will be a significant achievement for all team members, including Walker Macy – Urban Design and Landscape Architecture; Carrier Johnson + Culture – Design collaboration and Architecture; Schmidt Design Group – design collaboration and planting; Heritage Architecture and Planning – historic preservation; Nasland Engineering – civil; Kanrad Engineering Inc – electrical; Aquatic Design Group – water feature design; HLB Lighting Design – lighting design; Hope-Amundson Structural Engineering – structural; MA Engineers – MEP; CompView – audio design.

Have a question about Horton Plaza Park? Email Civic San Diego project manager, Mark Caro at caro@civicsd.com.

—Delle Willett cut her teeth traveling as the daughter of a career Navy man. A graduate of USD with a BFA in hand, her career in marketing and public relations has flourished for over 30 years. An active volunteer for various local organizations, she currently works as a freelance publicist and writer when she’s not traveling the world with her husband, a retired airline pilot. Delle can be reached at dellewillett@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Next Post
Food and Drink Blotter February 2014

Food and Drink Blotter February 2014

Comments 6

  1. Pingback: Reviving Horton Plaza | Top San Diego News
  2. Pingback: » the quartyard sd urban
  3. San Diego Landscape says:
    6 years ago

    As a landscape contractor, I would definitely give my thumbs-up on this article. Thanks! I will be sharing this with my friends.

    Reply
  4. Pingback: Reviving Horton Plaza – San Diego Downtown News
  5. Pingback: How San Diego’s Downtown Scores on 12 Point ‘Vibrant Downtown’ Test
  6. Pingback: How San Diego’s Downtown Scores on 12 Point ‘Vibrant Downtown Strategies’ Test

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow us on Instagram!

  • Congrats to this years winners  Pick up the Best of Downtown issue at our bins around town
  • Our favorite skyline          Tomorrow is the first Friday of the month  which means a new issue of  sd downtownnews comes out  Be sure to grab a copy to stay up-to-date on all things Downtown           sddowntown  sddowntownnews  downtownsandiego  sandiegoskyline
  • Read about how  cloakandpetal and  theseanyfoundation are teaming up to help children with cancer  from our March 1 issue  Link in bio for more stories  and be on the lookout for our next issue coming out April 5                sddowntownnews  downtownsandiego  localnews  fightingcancer
  • Have you read the latest issue of  sd downtownnews  Don   t miss stories on the Honeymoon Bridge  Valentine   s Day in  littleitalysd and more             downtownsd  sddowntownnews  littleitalysandiego  sandiego  valentinesday
  • Happy rainy Monday Downtowners        last night our editor Albert Fulcher attended An Evening with the Yale Whiffenpoofs in Balboa Park  The event was held to rebuild the Honeymoon Bridge
  • Have you picked up the latest  DowntownNews  Visit our website to view a list of our local drop spots under the    find us    tab on our top menu bar          DowntownNews  DowntownSanDiego  Downtown
  • The first 2019 issue of SD Downtown News is out tomorrow morning  In the meantime  get caught up on stories from last issue including a profile on a Bankers Hill pilot and his upcoming world peace mission  Head on over to our website  link in bio
  • The San Diego Downtown News is now on LinkedIn  Follow us to stay up to date on your local news and watch-out for job opportunities from the San Diego Community News Network  linkedin com company san-diego-downtown-news

San Diego Downtown News

© 2019 San Diego Downtown News. All rights reserved. • San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN)

Navigate our site

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • A&E
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
    • Art
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Downtown Briefs
    • Featured
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Food & Drink Blotter
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Downtown
    • Sponsored Links
    • Expert Advice
  • Neighborhoods
    • Balboa Park
    • East Village
    • Gaslamp
    • Horton Plaza
    • Little Italy
  • About
  • Contact
  • Calendar
  • Advertising
  • Archives

© 2019 San Diego Downtown News. All rights reserved. • San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN)

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In