Canal Park

In a previous post, I introduced some of the changes happening in the Navy Yard section of Washington, DC, specifically focusing on the temporary public space known as the Half Street Fairgrounds. I want to also highlight a permanent public space that is under construction nearby which will open in November this year—Canal Park. 

Named after an actual canal that was in use in the area during the 19^th century (but since filled in), this park will cover three narrow blocks that used to function as a school bus parking lot. It is a public/private partnership between the DC government and various developers to create a public space amidst new office buildings, retail, and mixed income housing. The park will include fountains, an ice skating rink, a pavilion with a restaurant/cafe, sculptures, and planned events through out the year. In addition, environmental sustainability is incorporated into the design with LEED building standards used for the pavilion, and a storm water collection and reuse system that will provide most of the water needs for the park.

 

One unique feature of Canal Park is its shape. Running north-south from I Street SE to M Street SE, its half block width (from 2^nd Street SE to 2^nd Place SE) is intersected by K and L streets, forming three rectangular blocks in a vertical line. In fact, one can call it a Linear Park based on its form, as well as the fact that this type of form is often a result of re-using a former industrial area in an urban setting. Basically, a plot of land that was hemmed in by roads or other boundaries becomes available for public use and is turned into a recreational area. With the development that has been ongoing in the area, the park will be well served by both permanent residents with new townhouses to the East, High Rise apartment buildings to the Northwest, and office and retail uses to the South and West. Providing this walkable amenity will hopefully add to the area's identity and unique qualities.

Most urban parks are either much larger areas with significant wilderness (such as Rock Creek Park or various regional ones), or they are very small pocket parks that occupy a single plot of land and do not allow as many different kinds of recreational uses. However, Canal Park is unique even compared to other linear parks in DC. Often these types of parks, such as the eleven mile Capitol Crescent Trail, "combine elements of transportation with recreation” which attracts bikers and day time hikers. Since Canal Park is only one fifth of a mile long, it serves a different function. Probably the most famous Linear Park in DC is the National Mall, but its larger scale often leaves many areas appearing empty unless there is a major event, and its relative isolation from the buildings surrounding it makes for a disconnected experience to the city as a whole. Canal Park probably has the most in common (though is much smaller in scale) with Millennium Park in Chicago in that it is focused on creating a space for people to explore and provides unique experiences. Canal Park is also designed to be more densely attended and to connect more with the urban context at its edges.

I'm excited about the opening in November and will be watching closely to see if Canal Park becomes a successful example of urban public space.

HALF STREET FAIRGROUNDS

The Navy Yard is one of the areas of DC where you can see a very dramatic physical change over the past decade, with new office buildings and condos springing up on land where warehouses used to stand. Probably the most well known of these new developments is the Nationals Park. Opening in 2008, it was meant, in part, to help usher in more mixed-use development. Advertisements for planned residences pictured throngs of people enjoying shopping and entertainment. However, the opening of the baseball stadium coincided with the unfortunate economic downturn, and many of the new building proposals were postponed or cancelled, leaving vacant land in a few cases.

This national economic downturn helped give rise to a movement dubbed “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper”. The Project for Public Spaces described this movement as an approach “based on taking incremental steps, using low-cost experiments, and tapping into local talents (e.g. citizens, entrepreneurs, developers, and city staff). These smaller-scale projects are being implemented in a variety of environments, including on streets, squares, waterfronts, and even parking lots.” A parallel development known as Pop-up retail also became more frequent during this downturn, and it emphasized the use of temporary space for interim stores, galleries, or social events.

 

Both trends came together recently in the Navy Yard neighborhood when the firm developing the site directly across from one of the Navy Yard Metro entrances (and a block away from the Ballpark) decided to create a space called Half Street Fairgrounds. The idea was to enclose the lot and have an area inside that offered food, drink, concerts, games, retail, and spaces to sit in the shade, stand and socialize, or hold public events until construction began on their mixed-use project.

 

How has this space worked out? After visiting the site last weekend, I was struck by the relatively small crowds inside. Maybe more people came after the Nationals game in progress was over, but it was not quite the hub I was expecting it to be. Having also visited the site while the food truck festival Truckeroo was in full force (before the current plans were completed), it was definitely a marked change from the crowds seen before.

 

From a design standpoint, the orange, blue, and white metal salvaged shipping containers that form the walls are striking and give a nod to the area's industrial history. The containers also have clear windows on one end, which are meant to engage the streetscape with retail functionality. Unfortunately, the funtion of the windows as designed did not last more than a week before the company that managed the retail portion pulled out of the project, citing poor sales. The executive director, Michael Berman, thought the vending and retail aspects could not work without a complete redesign, although he thought “the space is well designed to serve alcohol products and that the stage, sound, and food trucks compliment that use”. However, the Fairgrounds developer Bo Blair disagreed and thought that a different set of vendors would be successful.

 

I am not sure who ultimately will be correct about the viability of retail at the Fairgrounds, but they both are correct about the success of the entertainment portion since the site looks like one big beer garden, with a few platforms on the edges and bean toss games to one side. Given the relative sparseness of the crowd at the time I was there, this could turn out to be a problem, since the space was designed for large crowds and does not appear to be very interesting without them.

Definitely visit and make your own critique. The Fairgrounds are open daily from 11:30 a.m.