Chase Promenade

Chase Promenade is the primary pedestrian spine that connects all areas of The Park. The 15’ wide path is planted with Pond Cypress trees, providing a continuous tree canopy that offers park users shelter from the Texas sun. At night, lights set into the tree grates transform the trees into a dramatic sculptural composition that carves its way through The Park.

The Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden offers an ever-changing sensory experience for garden lovers with a variety of native and adapted plant material in exciting compositions of form, color and texture. Botanical signage discusses the merits of specific plants and a series of path lights allow the garden to be enjoyed day and night.

Children's Garden

Located north of the Promenade between the Botanical Garden and the Reading & Games Rooms, the Children’s Garden is 15,000 square feet of play areas and imaginative features. The children’s garden is 220 feet long by 100 feet at its widest point. Features within the park are designed to provide a series of experiences that allow for multiple groups and individuals to enjoy the garden simultaneously. To ensure the safety of all parties, adult guardians will be required to supervise the children in the garden.

The entry to the children’s garden is marked by a playful entry portal adorned with a skin of translucent colored acrylic panels. A winding path of brightly-colored rubberized safety surfacing winds through the garden, providing attractive flooring that also provides a safe, soft surface that prevents injury. An area for strollers and other accessories is right around the corner from the main entry, offering a convenient space for parents to stow the equipment associated with a children’s day in the park.

Visitors entering the park are immediately attracted to the activity of the central fountain plaza. At the center of the plaza, a shallow pool bubbles mysteriously and is the source of a series of arching water jets. Representing the abstracted body of an undulating caterpillar, a dynamic array of the jets extends around the corner and intermittently releases jets of mist. At the terminus of the fountain, a small medallion plaza offers an exciting and rare treat. Periodically the arching jets lower and still, revealing two water fans arranged to mimic the unfurling of a butterfly’s new wings.

The fountain plaza is surrounded by child-scale amphitheater seating and rolling berms throughout the garden create a sense of mystery and wonder around every corner. Travelling west of the main entry children will discover a special play structure, the Storytelling Deck. Floating off the ground, this wood deck is built around a large specimen Oak. The oak is wrapped in a spiral staircase that leads up to the crow’s nest, an elevated platform that invites daydreaming and imagination. The deck is large enough to accommodate large groups of children and is surrounded by a continuous wooden bench. To accommodate special events like puppet shows or plays, the berm adjacent to the storytelling deck can double as a miniature event lawn.

Beyond the storytelling deck, a large abstract play structure invites children to climb and have fun. Designed for children aged 5 to 12, the structure offers a variety of opportunities for motor skill development. Following the loop path, an elliptical sand play area offers small children an opportunity to be involved in the action of the children’s garden. Flush with the paving on the south, the raised wall on the north of the sand area offers parents and older children a seat while little ones play in the sand. A fanciful structure with an upswept “butterfly” canopy anchors the east side of the garden. Designed to accommodate birthday parties and similar events, the building contains a family-size restroom and storage space for park equipment. Plazas under each “wing” feature movable furniture, a water fountain, an outdoor sink and counter space to accommodate group functions. Immediately beyond the structure, a variety of play equipment and a second sand play area create a safe place for toddlers to play away from the older children.
 
Comfortable benches are located throughout the space for parents and children alike. Movable furniture also allows additional flexibility for events held in the garden. An abundance of shade trees provide respite from the sun and night lighting allows play to extend into dusk. A single point of entry and a perimeter fence ensure that parents need not worry that their children might escape their watchful eyes. Along the north side of the garden, an 8 foot tall screen wall planted with vines softens the space and buffers sound from the adjacent freeway ramp.

Reading & Games Courtyard

The Reading and Games Courtyard is a 2,600 square foot garden courtyard located along the Promenade between the Children’s Garden and the Harwood Plaza. Inspired by similar facilities in parks around the world, the Reading and Games Courtyard anticipates a mutually beneficial relationship with the Dallas Public Library and entities with a similar mission to promote education in Dallas communities.

Arts Boulevard

A pair of pedestrian plazas mark the former path of North Harwood Street through the park. To the south, the 3,800 square foot Arts Terrace is a comfortable public plaza near the adjacent Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center. To the north, the 2,900 square foot Harwood Plaza offers public space accessible from the homes and shops of Uptown and serves as an overflow for festivities occurring in the nearby restaurant.

Donor Plaza

A small courtyard east of the Reading & Games Courtyard contains a stainless steel monument commemorating the donors whose generosity enabled the construction of The Park. Immediately accessible from the Promenade and the Harwood Plaza, the donor recognition courtyard offers an intimate space to view the monument or enjoy the day. Central to the courtyard is a stainless steel monument that identifies the individuals and organizations that contributed to the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation.

The Nancy Collins Fisher Pavilion

The restaurant designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners is a simple, open garden pavilion that physically and visually connects visitors to the surrounding park landscape. The restaurant is designed to allow the glass façade to fold back and open to a covered surrounding dining veranda and onto The Park's Promenade in the temperate months of the year.  A system of skylights and ceiling coffers will allow natural daylight to infuse the space from above, further enhancing the visitors’ connection to their environment.

Muse Family Performance Stage

Sharing the same architectural design features as the restaurant pavilion, the performance stage will provide a unique venue for a wide variety of performance groups and entertainment. When no performances are scheduled, the stage will provide a shaded picnic pavilion for The Park’s visitors and provide a commanding view of the Great Lawn.

East Lawn

Located on the section of the park between Olive Street and Pearl Street, this 7,800 square foot lawn provides a secondary location for park events and activities. The East Lawn is conveniently accessed from Olive Plaza to the west, the Promenade to the north and a secondary pedestrian path to the south. It features strong adjacencies to the dog park, botanical courts and the iconic water feature.

The Groves

Oak groves along the perimeter of the park provide an architectural rhythm along the streetscape and insulate the remainder of the park from the activity of the street. The groves span the length of the park’s south side and third of the east side. The groves are 25 feet wide and are separated from the street by a pedestrian walk and a generous planting bed. The groves are defined by the repetition of architectural elements. A canopy of specimen Red Oak trees defines the length of the groves. The groves are furnished with a series of pendant light fixtures and wood benches that reinforce the architectural nature of the space. Connections to the adjacent pedestrian sidewalk are provided at regular intervals along the length of the groves.

Icon Fountain

Conceived as a signature feature of the park, the Icon Fountain is prominently located near Pearl Street and creates a striking image of the park as motorists drive west along the Woodall Rodgers Freeway. Inspired by the sculptural form of a calla lily, the fountain is a tall structure of stacked glass and features three separate water events – a reflecting pool, a “rain” event and an interior cascade.

 
The fountain is surrounded by a shallow “membrane” pool that encourages children and adults to stomp and splash around. Set over dark stone paving, the pool reflects the sky and the icon fountain, creating an ever-changing and complex composition of light, shadow and reflection. Cascading from the top of the fountain, a fine curtain of rain splashes onto the basin below and drifts onto the surrounding plaza as the wind changes. Controlled by a computer linked to an anemometer, the rain cycles on and off intermittently and offers a wide variety of experiences throughout the day.
 
Openings on the sides of the fountains allow visitors to experience the interior, where water cascades down the interior face of the fountain, creating a delightful white noise and a cooling mist. Night-time lighting amplifies the ambient mist and washes the feature in an ever-changing display of light. The fountain has been designed with state-of-the-art filtration and mechanical systems to ensure the safety of the public and the long life of the feature.
 
The fountain is set in a 2.000 square foot elliptical plaza ringed that features granite paving and a continuous perimeter of bench seating. Ornamental plantings anchor the space in the surrounding garden space of the park.

Olive Street Plaza

Protected from Olive Street by a series of ornamental planting beds, this 3,200 square foot pedestrian plaza features an interactive fountain and provides a safe, comfortable space in the heart of the park for people of all ages to enjoy. The plaza is accessible from all sides and seamlessly connects to the performance pavilion to the west, the restaurant to the north and the oak groves to the south. Rectangular in shape, the plaza is approximately 80 feet long and 40 feet wide and can accommodate a wide variety of programmed and non-programmed activities.

 
The focal point of the plaza is the 60 foot long and 20 foot wide “membrane” pool, a quarter-inch skin of water over a plane of stone paving. The thin layer of water provides enough depth for children to splash and play without creating any safety risks. The simple composition of the pool is punctuated by vertical jets of water arranged in an asymmetrical composition. The jets are choreographed to rise and fall throughout the day, creating a dynamic kinetic installation that provides a different experience every time one visits the park. The fountain may also be completely turned off to create additional plaza space for special events.
 
Ample seating is provided by a series of benches along the east edge of the park and a continuous seat wall along the north edge of the park. Gentle sloped walks connect pedestrians to the Promenade, Olive Street and the groves to the south. Stairs also connect the plaza to the performance pavilion to the west and the restaurant terrace to the north. All areas are paved in attractive concrete pavers and site furnishings made of architectural concrete provide comfortable, durable and beautiful architectural accents. A combination of interactive fountain lighting, architectural uplights and in-grade LED tiles create ambient light that make visitors feel safe and secure throughout the night.

My Best Friend's Park

At 4,000 square feet, My Best Friend’s Park provides a comfortable environment for dogs to socialize and play off of their leashes. The dog park, made possible by the Boone Family Foundation, has a single entry to the west that features an enclosed staging area where owners can leash or unleash their dogs.

Great Lawn

With a 3,000-person capacity, The Park's Great Lawn will be host to many events, including weddings, concerts, performance art, festivals, sports games and the occasional kite flight. 

Dallas, TX
Currently - 03:51PM
February 04, 2012
54 °F