Des Moines Business Record
11-24-07
Next up: Nollen
BY JIM POLLOCK With a number of major downtown projects in place or nearing
completion, some civic leaders have swung the spotlight toward Nollen Plaza.
That project was done nearly 30 years ago, and this group thinks it's time to do it
all over again.
"We thought about it as an opportunity to fix some things that don't work as well
about Nollen Plaza," said Charles Edwards, a dean at Drake University and
president of the Cowles Foundation, "but also as an opportunity to introduce the
idea of using it like (Chicago's) Millennium Park." Edwards envisions a space that
combines art with information about downtown events. The goal is to create
"something people would actually come downtown to see."
Nollen Plaza was developed in conjunction with the Civic Center of Greater Des
Moines, which opened in 1979, but the site is owned by the city. It's bounded by
Locust, Third and Walnut streets and Capitol Square.
Over the years it has been used as a lunchtime spot for food vendors during the
summer, a Friday evening beer party site and a gathering place for concerts,
speeches and other events.
"A real important question up front is what is the purpose and use of that facility,"
said City Manager Rick Clark. "The use of public spaces is quite dramatically
greater than 30 years ago with the Principal Riverwalk, the Hansen Triangle and
Gateway Park; what is the best use of this space? I think what we've got here is
a terrific opportunity brought by the Cowles Foundation to update Nollen Plaza. I
think that's a good idea, a necessary and needed thing."
Although the available space is a small fraction of the land covered by Millennium
Park, Edwards said Nollen Plaza has the potential to become a "signature" for
the city. With the right design, "it becomes an identifier for Des Moines, as
opposed to a space that I don't think anybody feels functions that well anymore,"
he said. "There are fountain issues; the forested area has some problems; there
are cracks in the cement all over the place."
Edwards said the Cowles Foundation's interest is a direct connection to the
plaza's origins. The late David Kruidenier, a grandson of Gardner Cowles Sr.,
played an instrumental role in promoting and financing the Civic Center and the
plaza, a project generally credited with sparking a renaissance downtown.
"We certainly think this is a good time to look at this," said Jeff Chelesvig, the
Civic Center's president and chief executive officer. "We recently embarked on
some renovations on the building, which is now 28 years old. So this absolutely
falls within the scope of what we're doing with the building. We're happy all of
these parties are coming together to make this project happen."
Under its long-term lease agreement with the city, the Civic Center operates and
maintains the plaza. Chelesvig said the Civic Center's primary concern is that the
revitalized plaza reflects the needs of the community and serves the public.
Edwards emphasized the need for public input in the planning process, and other
interested parties agreed.
"There have been some ad hoc proposals in the last couple of years," said Cal
Lewis, chairman of the department of architecture at Iowa State University.
"All of those thoughts will be listened to and brought into the totality of input. They
range all the way from creating a green garden to 'why do we have a green area
that doesn't get used?'"
Lewis was a part of Charles Herbert & Associates when that firm designed the
Civic Center and the plaza. "The plaza needed to be many, many things because
it was the first and only" public gathering space downtown at the time, he noted.
Its next incarnation should serve a more defined but even larger purpose, in his
view.
"Millennium absolutely can be an inspiration," Lewis said. "The groups gathering
in Chicago are larger than the ones in Des Moines, but it's the nature of the place
that attracts people. They come down there specifically to come there; you don't
even have to have an event. We want a place with enough identity and presence
that attracts that level of attention."
Architect Erin Olson-Douglas, hired by the city as a consultant on downtown
redevelopment, is wrapping up her report and considers Nollen Plaza as a top
priority. The streets bordering Nollen Plaza "are recommended as part of a
network for enhanced pedestrian activity," she said. "It's important that the edges
of the plaza help participate in that broader picture."
The most prominent feature of Nollen Plaza is Crusoe Umbrella, a steel sculpture
by artist Claes Oldenburg. "An aspect that's really unique and spectacular about
downtown is the extent and quality of public art, and the umbrella is certainly of
that caliber," Olson-Douglas said. "But modifying or adding to downtown public
art in Nollen Plaza would be really wise and could be very complementary to a
number of things we're doing downtown.
"When we talk about the Pappajohn sculpture collection (expected to be located
in Western Gateway Park) and see the Riverwalk and the historic pieces on the
Capitol grounds, Nollen Plaza has the opportunity and to some extent the
responsibility to participate in that network," she said. "When you look around at
other cities, public art is an outstanding feature of our town."
Olson-Douglas mentioned another city plaza that might serve as inspiration. San
Francisco's Union Square "has been transformed," she said. "It's still a public
plaza, but with more kiosks, cafés and performance spaces - it has really been
reinvigorated."
With similar projects planned in cities such as Toronto and Kansas City, "there's
sort of a trend toward revisiting public spaces that are about 30 years old,"
Olson-Douglas said.
The Cowles Foundation has pledged up to $100,000 toward the design of the
project. "We're hoping the cost of this phase will be less than that so we can use
more of the grant for other aspects of the project," Edwards said. "The total cost
will be dependent on the kinds of ideas and the vision the community has. It
could be quite elaborate or quite simple. The important thing is that it's functional
and yet artistic."
So far, Clark said, "there's no money allocated in anybody's budget to do it. We'd
kind of have to see what the price tag is and the different funding sources that
could be brought to it."
Eventually, a combination of public and other funding sources would have to be
assembled, Clark said. "Downtown a lot of public projects are in fact paid for
through public and private sources," he said, citing the Principal Riverwalk project
as a prime example.
"I also think cost is one of those intentional things you look at in the early
planning," Clark said. "Is the change going to be worth the investment we're
talking about?"