Peavy Plaza (1975)

Peavey Plaza

1100 Marquette Avenue

Landscape Architect: M. Paul Friedberg (New York City), 1975

Renovation by New History and Coen + Partners, 2019

Peavey Plaza was an instant hit. Downtown workers on lunch break and children of all ages enjoyed its water works and multiple subterranean levels. Its next-door neighbor, the Minnesota Orchestra, used the plaza for special events. In 2008, the nonprofit Cultural Landscape Foundation declared the plaza a “marvel of modernism,” and in 2013 the plaza was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

But by the 21st century, the plaza was showing its age, and the city could not afford much-needed maintenance. Due to mechanical problems, the fountain was turned off and the 28,000-square-foot pool was drained. The plaza’s many concrete steps and islands were cracking, and some of its trees had died. Then, in 2013, the renovation of Orchestra Hall pushed out into the plaza’s east side.

Charting a course for Peavey Plaza has been challenging. A 2011 plan addressed a variety of maintenance, water system and accessibility concerns, but proposed dramatic alterations to the space, including filling in the plaza’s steps and levels. Then, in 2013, the Minnesota Preservation Alliance and the Cultural Landscape Foundation won a lawsuit that challenged implementation of that plan, sending the city back to the drawing board.

After much study and debate among stakeholders, a team of consultants, consisting of the architecture firm called New History and landscape architects Coen + Partners, developed plans that balanced the various interests. The water works have been repaired, and a new pool has less than an inch of water over a dark granite base, offering the appearance of a pool but with the community benefits of a splash pad and about 90% savings on water consumption. Improved sight lines and lighting make the space safer for all populations. New ramps enable persons with mobility challenges to access the multiple levels. Ash and linden trees that are vulnerable to disease have been replaced by more robust varieties. Areas covered with both turf and paving materials are permeable, and water for plants is collected underground and recycled through the fountains. Peavey Plaza’s new incarnation is an improved and more sustainable version of its old self.