In terms of the above designs, would love to pop in and take a closer look (or have Friends of JWJ share them out, it shouldn't be an "if"), but as I've been saying for years, the absolute best model in the world for this space would be Bryant Park in New York. Active uses on the perimeter, flexible green space in the center that's regularly and seasonally programmed. When you're bounded by the St. James building, Synder Memorial, the Main Library, the Western Union Telegraph building, the Federal Courthouse, the Seminole Building, the Skyway, etc., you don't need to overdesign. Add a real stage, permanent food and beverage options at the north end, open up the retail bays in the Main Library to the street, activate Snyder, and make it a true open gathering spot, versus repeating the mistakes of the past and making it a walkthrough plaza.
This! Bryant Park is a great model. Sadly, I don't think JWJ is large enough to pull that off. However, Bryant could be a model for a larger park along the river. Just another reason why we need larger park parcels!
About Bryant Park:
Occupying 9.6 acres in midtown Manhattan, this park was originally a potter's field. Between 1839 and 1900, it was the site of the Croton Reservoir and Reservoir Square, renamed Bryant Park in honor of William Cullen Bryant in 1884.
I was in New York again for a couple of days last week and worked a morning or two from Bryant Park, and I really think the model could work and would be the ideal usage for what is perhaps Jacksonville's single most important block.
When you think of a block bound by City Hall, the Public Library, the Skyway, and the Federal Courthouse, and how it could have managed to fail for the past 50 years despite having the best surrounding context in the city, it's because we've treated it as a passthrough plaza, versus a truly civic space designed to get the community to gather and spend time together.
That's why it's disheartening that there's been so little mass public involvement with the redesign, and also why it's disheartening that nearly all of the final design choices don't really treat JWJ as the gathering spot that has made it iconic dating back to the Civil War. Rather, most of the design choices seem to be centered on a place to walk laps, commemorate, or reflect, as shown below.
On Bryant Park specifically, for years, every time I'm up there, I just can't help notice all the similarities between Bryant and JWJ. The layout. The history of blight. The similarities with the surrounding context. Both fronted by their city's main public library on one end, and a mass transit stop on the other.
A quick note on the size differences. Even though James Weldon Johnson Park has maybe 2.2 acres of space if you recapture the on-street parking on the south, east, and west sides of the park, and Bryant Park is listed as 9.6 acres:
1) The massive New York Public Library and is entrance is considered to be part of the park, and counts toward that acreage
2) With the differences in population and density, you just wouldn't need the same scale, particularly on the perimeters and with the central lawn.
For context, here's JWJ's size overlayed on Bryant Park:
Totally think you could scale down the concept of what makes Bryant Park a great gathering spot and apply it to James Weldon Johnson park in a way that makes the space relevant and unique 365 days a year.
To me, I'd lay it out like this:
Some notes, Bryant vs. JWJ Park:
Main Library Frontage/Outdoor Reading Room/Restored Retail Bays
The City and Friends of JWJ should look closely at how Bryant Park partners with the New York Public Library main branch to truly make the park an extension of the neighboring library. The sidewalks in front of our Main Library are so wide and sprawling that it would not be difficult at all to open the library to the street adjacent to the park, add seating, and feature seasonally curated book racks that can be read freely by those using the park. Like everything else in the park (or any park), the city should look for a corporate sponsor for the area. Here's Bryant Park's outdoor reading area, in conjunction with the NY Public Library:
For larger events, like readings, the larger park could be leveraged:
There's just so much untapped opportunity to strengthen that partnership between JWJP and the Public Library, better program the larger park area, and help enrich our culture, literacy, and appreciation of our shared history.
Additionally, with limited acreage within the park, there's absolutely no reason that any redesign of James Weldon Johnson Park shouldn't include reactivating the Main Street Library's two retail bays fronting the park and exploring every opportunity to turn Snyder Memorial into an active use (bar, restaurant, live music venue, etc.).
Perimeter Gate, Art
In terms of creating a physical boundary surrounding the park, others might disagree, but I think it's brilliant how Bryant Park is above grade, and enclosed by a (nice) gate around the perimeter. Not only does it give the park a sense of being its own place (rather than a walkthrough), but it also allows the park to be better secured and closed off if need be.
Here she is last week:
I don't think the park necessarily needs to be elevated like Bryant Park, but I do think something as simple as having a perimeter gate puts you in a better position to secure the park and, even more importantly, allows you to fund its continued upkeep by giving you the ability to close it off for occasional private events.
I'm also a sucker for having some sort of central art piece or fountain at the front entrance to the park as well.
Here's Bryant Park's fountain:
Friends of Hemming Park got absolutely dragged through the mud back in like 2018 for suggesting an expensive antique carousel as a long-term goal, but I thought the idea was brilliant.
Central Flex Space
Unlike the rigid designs featured in many of the proposed revamps for JWJ, in the interest of making the park a true civic gathering spot, as appropriate for a Presidential speech as it is for a spring farmer's market as it is for sunbathing in the summer as it is for a concert in the fall as it is for ice skating in the winter, I really think we should rebuild the park with maximum flexibility in mind.
We don't need the full scale of the Bryant Park central lawn to recognize what a key part it plays in the park's success.
Here it was last week:
Here it is on a random day with light-weight movable furniture in place:
Here it is for a movie night:
I just don't see the same flexibility with a lot of these designs proposed and reviewed in a handful of poorly advertised public workshops (during working hours):
Instead, they're rigid and fixed.
Sponsored Stage, Semi-Permanent Food and Beverage Spaces
Another thing that Friends of Hemming Park (the original incarnation) really got right was the need for a permanent, sponsored stage. They had a $100k commitment in place from Community First before we canceled the whole idea because they were courting sponsors at Black Sheep. Again, this not only provides a permanent amenity that you can program around, but opens the door for limited revenue generation as well.
Here's Bryant Park's stage in the spring:
Doesn't need to be large enough to host the Stones or Taylor Swift, but if you could bring in acts comparable to what the Landing was doing, or host the symphony, or have an annual local battle of the bands, or whatever, it's consistent programming getting people excited about the park and breathing life deep into the heart of the CBD.
Similarly, having semi-permanent food and beverage options in the park (like the OG Friends of Hemming Park were working on with the Black Sheep group) would go a long way toward establishing the park as an anchor civic space where you can always count on certain things being there. Wouldn't need to be elaborate, expensive, or large.
Here are some examples from Bryant Park:
Similar to what we're talking about with the Riverwalk, this would also present the opportunity to serve alcohol, in branded cups, in an enclosed area, with a portion of proceeds being pumped right back into keeping the park clean and programming it regularly.
Seating/Retail Bays:
Even though Jacksonville's central business district is not Midtown Manhattan, like Bryant Park, JWJP should serve as the area's town square.
Whether it be food trucks or relatively low-cost stalls like the ones at Bryant Park below that you could rent out on the cheap for arts markets, farmers markets, seasonal concessions, special events, etc, just having that continuous, dependable, rotating retail presence (particularly on weekends) gives people a reason to come back. Look at how successful Riverside Arts Market has become. A huge part of that simply comes down to locals knowing that, without fail, they can go down to RAM on a Saturday morning and have plenty of choices available to them.
In terms of seating, I also love how Bryant Park has the combination of branded shaded tables to lend to that sense of place (Hemming Park had quite a few of these years ago but moved away from them) and lightweight movable furniture for flexibility based on what's going on in the park.
All of this is just a needlessly long way of saying that:
1) We should think of James Weldon Johnson Park as what it truly is, and has been historically - Jacksonville's town square
2) Thus, JWJP's central purpose shouldn't be for commemorating, or reflecting, or wandering through gardens alone with our thoughts
3) Instead, JWJP should be redesigned with one concrete purpose in mind - to provide a compelling reason for locals to gather in the heart of the city, 365 days a year, and engage with each other in meaningful activity and discourse
Bryant Park is such a great model for this.
And, like anything else, we get exactly one chance to get it right.
Deeply upsets me how badly the general public has been iced out of the discussions.
