Quote:
Originally Posted by jedikermit
I wonder if St George will ever do anything to try and create more density in town, or if they'll just keep sprawling all over the place. I'm down there about four times per year, and there's not a whole lot going on for the Fastest Growing Metro Area in the country. A lot of sprawl, yes. But not a whole lot happening in what should be their "downtown" area.
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The New St. George Town Square Celebrates Community—Past, Present and Future
By Becky Jackson
“When I was a boy growing up here, everything started downtown. Farmers changed irrigation water turns to the chime of the Tabernacle clock. There was a red light on top of the Tabernacle that would flash in an emergency. Citizens seeing this would call the operator to find out what the emergency was and act accordingly. The Christmas season and every major holiday started downtown and spread out from there. Downtown was where families gathered for community picnics, concerts and 4th of July celebrations. It was where they enjoyed the company of their friends and neighbors and engaged in social and recreational activities. Everybody apparently felt a part of it. I’d love to recapture that.”
Mayor Dan McArthur
In 2004, Mayor McArthur, along with city manager Gary Esplin, and members of the St. George City Council began the process of rethinking St. George’s historic downtown. What if we could create a central meeting place—a place to gather and celebrate and a place that would mirror the heartbeat of the people of St. George—past, present and future? They agreed that (1) they wanted to create an opportunity for citizens to rub shoulders and to connect and (2) that it would start downtown and disseminate out into neighborhoods. In planning the Town Square, efforts have been made to incorporate the rich heritage. “You can attach yourself to a community,” said McArthur, “when you know its history.”
In 1861, the three hundred families sent by Brigham Young to colonize and establish a Cotton Mission in Dixie found an arid and desolate landscape. Only their ability to obtain and harness water allowed them to survive, which was not an easy task. Bridges and ditches were frequently destroyed, fields were continually flooded and crops and acres of farmland were washed downstream whenever the Virgin River raged.
Since water was, and still is, an important part of this community, water features became integral to the St. George Town Square and to other downtown enhancements such as the Historic Water Walk. Brooks Pond and underground springs are slated to feed the Water Walk which will travel south down Main Street, past the Opera House, the St. George City offices, Zions Bank Plaza and the recently constructed Main Street Plaza building. An irrigation ditch will be simulated at many points along the pathway. Waterfalls, ponds and other water features will tie in many of the historic and important business centers along its route.
The Design
The ideal place for the St. George Town Square was determined to be the block between 100 South and Tabernacle Street with east-west coordinates between Main Street and 200 West. Historic buildings on three sides—the Woodward School, the Tabernacle and Community Arts Center—would serve as anchors. The new Washington County Library, to be completed by January 2007, will be the fourth anchor. All buildings feature the same color scheme and, in some cases, the same sandstone rock masonry.
Woodward School, built in 1901, was named in honor of George Woodward who devoted his time and means to make the dream of better educational facilities a reality in St. George. Committed to education, the early settlers formed the first school within days of their arrival with nothing more than a tent, a few books and writing slates.
Less than a year after St. George was settled, residents were directed by Brigham Young to build a building as soon as possible which would be commodious, substantial, and well furnished with a seating capacity of 2,000. This building should be an ornament to the city and a credit to its people’s energy and enterprise. During the thirteen long years of construction on the Tabernacle, most of the workers had not yet built suitable homes for themselves. They received food as their only compensation.
Realizing the need for a place of higher education, the citizens of St. George petitioned the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for funds to help them realize this dream. The Church contributed $20,000 and the people of the St. George Stake provided the remaining $35,000 in funds, materials and labor. The St. George Stake Academy, later called the Dixie Academy, is the precursor to Dixie College and currently serves as the Community Arts Center.
A Town Square to Enjoy
James Dotson, the city’s consultant and project manager on the St. George Town Square and the landscape architect firm of Gillies Stransky Brems Smith in Salt Lake City have taken special care to design a visually appealing, historically accurate and soil compatible park-like atmosphere. Game tables featuring chess and checker boards will be available as well as furniture that can be grouped and rearranged for patrons to relax in and enjoy.
The many trees, both existing and those to be planted, will add to the ambiance and shade. The designers of this project have planned for a patch of cotton and fruit trees on the square indicative of crops planted by early settlers. Historic street lights will illuminate and enhance the square.
The current Washington County Library will be removed once the new library is in operation. Built in the 1980’s, the community has outgrown the facility which also does not fit with the architectural design of the other buildings in the square. This location will be used for a splash pad, a recreational water feature composed of several holes that shoot water to varying heights (similar to the one at the Gateway Plaza in Salt Lake City). Another water feature planned for the square is designed to symbolize the confluence of the Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers.
The current Washington County Library branch on Main Street sits on what used to be St. George’s parade grounds—a field where marches and public gatherings were held. The new square is designed to bring back that tradition with new parade grounds designated for the space north of the new library.
Adjacent to the new parade grounds will be festival grounds planned to host St. George’s traditional activities such as the annual St. George Arts Festival, First Night (New Years Eve Celebration), and will also feature concerts in the park. Another event the mayor would like to initiate is the showing of old movies that were filmed in southern Utah.
Bordering the parade grounds and facing west will be a concrete stair-step style amphitheatre. This will accommodate concerts or performances to take place either in the amphitheatre with the audience sitting on the parade grounds, or visa versa.
The old Woodward Gymnasium, currently residing next to the Historic Woodward School building and home to the St. George Musical Theatre is slated to be torn down. It does not architecturally fit in with the surrounding buildings, and also needs a significant amount of work to meet current earthquake standards. The St. George Musical Theatre is relocating to another location in the area but not on the square.
Community Economics Squared
One of the objectives of the St. George Town Square is to complement downtown businesses by drawing in greater numbers of people. “A town that doesn’t have a vibrant, growing downtown is one that’s dying on the vine,” said McArthur. “A vibrant downtown is the key to a successful city. We’re coming full circle back to a great downtown.”
Businesses such as Blue Bunny Ice Cream and Main Street Travel specifically chose their locations based on the plans for the St. George Town Square. , “Ice cream is an impulse item,” said Karin Tomcik, Public Relations and Assistant Manager for the St. George Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor. “We are dependent upon foot traffic.” Obviously, they hope the flow of people coming to and from events held at the St. George Town Square will have a positive impact upon their business.
Downtown business owners generally concurred with Main Street Travel’s Darlene Bolander. “We are hoping that when it’s all done, it will be well worth it,” she said, “that traffic to our business will increase and make up for the deficiencies we’ve experienced as part of the construction.” Businesses in this area have been affected by construction during for three years now. First they had to overcome the construction of the round-about at Main and Tabernacle, then the construction of the Main Street Plaza building and then the reconstruction of St. George Boulevard.
“Not many communities have the opportunity to reinvest in their downtowns,” said McArthur. “The St. George Town Square could not have been possible without everyone working together.” Collaborative efforts of the city, county, state, school district, private business owners and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have been a key factor in making this dream into a reality.
The St. George Town Square is funded from Redevelopment Agency money. For a period of seven years the city, county and school district were willing to forgo a portion of the property tax revenues derived from businesses in the immediate area and to reinvest it downtown. The budget for both the water walk and the square is roughly $4 million. Despite increases to construction costs since the initial budget was composed in 2004, the city is sticking closely to the proposed figure, cutting back to accommodate when the need arises.
Images of children splashing in the water, a young adult engrossed in a book under the shade of a tree, families happily attending community events together—both in the past and the future—are the pictures that became a vision of the St. George Town Square.
Related:
The Historic WaterWalk on Main Street has begun. This WaterWalk will include a pond up above town, a nature park at the top of Main Street, stylized ditch down Historic Main Street which will branch off into a series of fountains. It will terminate at newly designed Town Square. This Town Square will include the WaterWalk, feature gardens and interactive water features. Along the walk will be placed bronze figures highlighting the achievements of residents throughout the history of St. George.
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