From paver to Park…what now?
The Friends of Bell Street Park (FoBSP) Art and Activation’s November 17th Community Workshop at the Belltown Community Center kick-off was a big success starting with the a Bell Street Park street paver installed in 1910, moving to Nate Cormier and Amanda Bailey’s (SvR Designs) graphic presentation of Bell Street’s reinvention as a world class street Park to the main event as the participants enjoyed wine and cheese – a request for the community input for a five year plan for art and activation in The Park.
The FoBSP (part of the Friends of Belltown Parks) was recently awarded a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant by the City of Seattle to obtain community input and develop ideas for the park. The goal is to create a five-year plan for art (temporary and permanent), events and programming with City/County rule/regulation preliminary approval and identified funding sources for Bell Street Park.
Proposed ideas include the following categories:
- Visual Art
- Performance Art
- Unique Events to Host
- Signage
- Furnishings
- Kiosks
- Promoting Sustainability
- Making the Park a Fun Place to Be
- Bringing Belltown’s History Alive
- The Future of the Park
There will be another Community Workshop and a final vetted Community Open House between now and February 2015. In the meantime, post your ideas and suggestions on www.bellstreetpark.com, FaceBook.com/BellStreetPark, twitter.com/BellStreetPark, and/or info@bellstreetpark.com.
History: Bell Street Park was first proposed in the 1998 Belltown Neighborhood plan and opened on April 12, 2014. The project converted one traffic lane and reconfigured parking to create a park-like corridor through the heart of Belltown that includes landscaping, better lighting, and four blocks of open space.
Paver: Seattle City Council Bill Number: 10989/ Ordinance Number: 23444, passed February 21, 1910, “providing for the improvement of…Bell Street…from Third Avenue to Second Avenue…by paving the same with vitrified brick laid upon a proper concrete foundation.”
How did this Bell Street reclaimed paver land in Cape Cod patio?
This community project is funded by a Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund grant.