Patriots Square Park: A Look Back at a Bicentennial-Inspired Creation
The country was festooned in red, white, and blue bunting in anticipation of America’s 200th birthday. Downtown Phoenix was no exception, and the city decided to commemorate the Bicentennial in a special way by creating Patriots Square Park in the heart of Downtown.
What’s the backstory of this park, and how did it evolve as Downtown became a coveted dining, entertainment, and residential destination?
Patriots Square Park was located on Block 77 of the original Phoenix townsite, bounded by Jefferson and Washington streets and by Central and First avenues. Over the years, its landscape evolved from Territorial-era residences to small businesses, including pawnshops, newsstands, bars, and restaurants. Among them was the Busy Bee Café, owned by John Pappas, which was a gathering place for prominent Phoenicians for many years.
But as the 1970s rolled around, the city backed a plan to demolish the dated buildings to create a new 2.5-acre urban park. There was, apparently, little outcry to save the historic structures. The project, with the working name Block 77 Park, was landscaped with palm and olive trees, grassy knolls, and a fountain at its center, surrounded by flower beds.
In the bicentennial spirit, the Revolutionary War-inspired name, Patriots Square Park, beat out runner-up names such as Phoenix Commons and Plaza del Sol. Phoenix Parks Board member Barrie Groen, who headed a name selection subcommittee, told The Arizona Republic that the name is “most appropriate in this Bicentennial year.”
The park’s grand opening in April 1976 featured over 130 exhibits by artists at Patriots Square and Civic Plaza. Included in the show was Gary Slater, creator of the central fountain sculpture in Patriots Square, who demonstrated techniques by making plaster casts of people’s faces.
But the park was underutilized, and in 1988 it was redesigned to include underground parking, food concessions, an outdoor stage for lunchtime concerts, and equipment for Friday evening laser light shows.
Steve Weiss, a Phoenix filmmaker, says that the FAA shut down the laser aimed overhead because it might interfere with Sky Harbor flights. “So, they oriented it at a more horizontal angle toward the northwest,” he says. “One night, I was in my backyard near 15th Avenue and Thomas Road when I looked up and saw a red line heading northwest. It took me a while to figure out where it was coming from.”
After hosting numerous festivals, the park was redeveloped as Patriots Square at CityScape in 2010. A downsized Patriots Square Park, easily accessible by public transportation and featuring open space, seating, and an outdoor performance center for community events, sits within CityScape's commercial landscape of specialty stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
Yet some still have a soft spot for the Bicentennial version and its later redesign.
The 1980s architecture of Patriots Square Park was dated, but it was neglected from the start, according to Weiss. “When the park was activated with lunch performances, festivals, and concerts, it worked. But the water features were shut off, and the anticipated landscaping was never planted, which doomed it,” he says. “Still, it was the only center of the city where, as a community, we celebrated, protested, and grieved. I miss it and can’t really say where that exists anymore in Phoenix.”
Today, CityScape remains a well-known, highly visited Downtown destination and is now home to Valley Metro's Downtown Hub for the light rail. In addition to serving as a key transit connection, CityScape hosts a variety of community-centric events, from movie nights and fitness classes to Jazz Month activations. It's also the starting point for Downtown Phoenix Inc.'s annual Urban Wine Walk.
Douglas C. Towne is the editor of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, www.arizcc.com.