Greene Square Park

2016  |  1.6 acres  |  $1,900,000

A $1.9 million restoration has brought new life to Greene Square in downtown Cedar Rapids. For decades, the city’s sole downtown park was in need of a facelift: Large concrete planters along Fourth Avenue served as a barricade rather than a connection between two of the city’s most prominent civic institutions — the art museum and public library — and the large open lawn areas offered little more than a few scattered tables.

Post renovation, the park is a flexible green space well-suited for gatherings and events of all types and sizes with pathways and seating, a major art installation, and an interactive water feature. The design team’s goal was to bring urban sophistication to the space while honoring the park’s history. An axial lawn flanked by a pair of walkways and anchored by 40-foot-long, 26-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall, coil-like sculpture of brushed stainless steel — called Rollic — by sculptor Bruce Beasley of Oakland, Calif., visually connects the park to the two community institutions to its north and south. This work was completed while at OPN Architects.