Located at the heart of the city and surrounded by many of our key civic and cultural institutions, Civic Center has served as Denver’s most significant gathering spot for cultural events, festivals, and First Amendment rallies for over 100 years. It is Denver’s first National Historic Landmark and honoring its history is critical as we envision its future.
Livable Cities Studio worked with the project partners to create a vision for key features of Civic Center that will accommodate its traditional uses and encourage daily active use. Improvements to Civic Center will catalyze new activity and animate the heart of Denver. The transformation of four key areas will fulfill past community-driven planning visions and elevate Denver’s First National Historic Landmark.
Livable Cities Studio led the conceptual design for Bannock Street that reimagines an existing roadway into a new curbless bike and pedestrian promenade and vibrant public space by reinforcing the connections between the City and County Building and Civic Center Park. The historic forms and views of Civic Center are honored in the redesign by extending the space into Bannock to create a large grand plaza, which sets the stage for everyday public life and supports a diversity of activities and large public events such as concerts, festivals, and celebrations. An interactive iconic water feature activates the space for children and public enjoyment while the adjacent garden rooms and shared street provide a new area for gathering and weekly or seasonal events and programs. The Bannock Street Promenade establishes a new event space and extension of Civic Center Park that reinforces its historic importance with new human-scaled elements for the enjoyment of daily use.
Collaborators
Fehr & Peers
Jacobs Engineering
We’ve also created a website to help inform the public more about the project.