Piatt Park
Downtown Cincinnati: 100 Garfield Pl.
Typology: Urban Oasis Brief Background: In 1817, brothers John and Benjamin Piatt donated a “long, narrow plot, under an acre in size … originally intended” to be a public market, but the market was never realized. The land remained open space until it was established as Eighth Street Park in 1868— becoming the first park in Cincinnati (Ricchie, 9). The President Garfield statue was placed in 1915, and thus the space became known as Garfield Park. The space was officially designated as Piatt Park, in honor of the two brothers, by the Park Board of Commissioners in 1940.
Summary: Good public space is responsive, democratic, and meaningful (Carr, Francis, Rivlin, Stone). Piatt Park meets this criteria, as it is the site of collective action, social response, and ritualized behaviors on a daily basis. It attempts to elevate the status of the civic through public art; flanked by presidential statues, reflecting pools, and a sculpture by Stuart Fink, Piatt Park is a site of remarkable installations in a dense, narrow space. Throughout the seasons, the park is transformed into a place for outdoor markets, art and culinary festivals, and planned community gathering. On a daily basis, activity occurs in predictable increments, with brief periods of emptiness. Piatt Park bustles the most during the workweek between 8:30 AM and 2 PM, during which: the 9-5 crowd stroll to work and eat their lunches; the homeless pander for change and share cigarettes; twenty- and thirty-somethings walk their dogs; and old men read the newspaper. Conviviality is evident: passers-by look each other in the eye, greet each other by name if they know it, and engage in small exchanges (conversation, currency, or cigarettes, generally). “Potluck for the People”, a community-based event, occurs in the park every month with much opposition from the City.
Keywords: plaza | urban oasis | bronze statues | historic parks | Cincinnati | public art
PUBLIC SPACE: possibilities and potentialities
PLAN6026 & PLAN5126
Amanda Bastos Dias
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