On a beautiful sunny early summer morning, hundreds gathered at Harley-Davidson to officially cut the ribbon on the new 4.8-acre Davidson Park, at 3700 W. Juneau Ave. (though it’s best accessed from Highland Boulevard).
A project of the Harley-Davidson Foundation, the accessible park converts a swath of parking lot into perhaps the most unique public gathering space in the city.
Designed by London’s Heatherwick Studios – which also designed New York’s popular Vessel and the stunning reimagining of London’s formerly industrial Coal Drops Yard into a mixed use development – along with Milwaukee’ HGA, the park includes paths, playgrounds, performance and event space, a beer garden area, contemplative space, lawns, hills and more.
Three years ago, the foundation worked with a number of neighborhood residents, businesses and others to help ideate the space at what was once the motorcycle manufacturer’s main factory – as well as its birthplace.
That sprawling complex is no longer a factory, having served in more recent years as offices, service and dealer training facilities and other Harley departments. Harley plans to repurpose the complex.
The announcement of the park was the first phase of that initiative.
"Davidson Park is a testament to the power of collaboration and listening," said HGA’s Principal and National Corporate Market Sector Leader Peter Balistrieri. "Voices from all over the Near West Side – from Potawatomi leaders to local students and community groups – played a crucial role throughout the process. This is truly a park for the community, by the community."
The park manages to feel both large and intimate at the same time. It covers a large area and is based on a large circular central space with concentric paths with seating for events. But it also has berms cut through with short paths that provide interesting vistas.
There are delineated areas, too, like a large playground, a market/beer garden area off in one corner and small contemplative areas with plantings that help create a feeling of being nestled within the park.
There are trees, 120 native specials and 100 perennials, including species sacred to the Forest County Potawatomi, whose Wgema Campus is nearby and whose Greenfire Management Services was the general contractor on the project.
Not only a massive upgrade from a huge sea of asphalt parking lot, Davidson Park – which sits across a driveway from a simpler green space called Harley Park – is beautiful, useful, forward-thinking and could be a game changer for the Near West Side, which tomorrow will cut the ribbon on the mixed-use Concordia 27 project.
Other exciting opportunities in the area include a new state office building on 27th and Wisconsin that could, hopefully, be a mixed-use facility, the conversion of the former Wisconsin Avenue School into a hotel, conversion of a former medical building across from Concordia 27 into senior housing and the ongoing effort to renovate and reopen the old State Theater, where a new cafe is expected to open soon.
“Davidson Park has been an extraordinary collaboration between the studio and local partners, schools, artists and the Forest County Potawatomi community, to transform an uninspiring concrete parking lot into a new public park and events amphitheatre for Milwaukee,” said internationally respected architect Thomas Heatherwick, who is the founder and director of the studios that bear his name.
“Created for the local community, with the community's collaboration and help, it's a place where people can come together with friends and family to enjoy some of the wildness of Wisconsin's incredible nature, listen to the state's best music, or experience the energy of a motorcycle rally.
“Harley-Davidson has been part of Near West Side's history for over 120 years and the park is a natural next chapter in their joint story. As the plants grow and mature, the intention is that the space increasingly honors both the heritage of Harley-Davidson and gives the residents something to not just enjoy, but to feel proud of."
Here are some of the features of the new park:
The Hub and Foundation Stone
The Hub is the central feature of the park, a multi-purpose events space for concerts and other performances and gatherings. The sunken amphitheater is about 272 feet wide with tiered seating with the history Harley buildings as a backdrop on two sides.
On the other sides, you’ll see greener spaces with trees and plantings, which are part of the park’s green infrastructure, using bioswales, permeable pavements and cisterns to manage stormwater. The park is pursuing an effort to become one of the first SITES-certified green projects in the state.
The pavements were created from 10 types of locally sourced brick, weathered steel and natural timber.
The four-foot Foundation Stone at the center of The Hub was designed by local artist Megan Huss, a MIAD student.
Main Street
This is the main walkway through the site, connecting all the major park features. It is wide enough to host food trucks and events like craft fairs and farmers markets. It is adorned with festoon lights that can change colors to provide a celebratory vibe at night.
Union Plaza
The main pedestrian entrance on the southeast corner of the park from Highland Boulevard is the roughly 11,000-square-foot Union Plaza that connects to both Main Street and The Hub. This, too, is a flex space perfect for a wide variety of uses.
There is a 10-foot-tall weathered steel sculpture that riffs on Harley’s logo, as well as a container bar called the 1903 Tavern, a reference to the year Harley was founded in a shed across the street. The tavern, which will serve veer, seltzers and non-alcoholic drinks, is a partnership with Molson Coors, whose offices are across Highland Boulevard. Proceeds will support the park.
North and South Lawns
There are two lawn areas: the approximately 7,600-square-foot North Lawn and the South Lawn, also called the Picnic Knoll, which has picnic benches, is about 5,750 square feet.
Little Legends Playground
Running along the Highland Boulevard side of the park is the 6,000-square-foot Legends Play Area, with wooden log climbers, stepping stones, hillside climbing and other features. It is designed for children ages 1-12.
Viewing Hills
There are three hillside viewing hills along the south side, overlooking The Hub, each about 2,300 square feet. They will offer great views of events but can also serve as relaxing spots to chill.
Potawatomi Serenity Garden
The result of a collaboration between the Forest County Potawatomi and the Harley-Davidson Foundation, the Serenity Garden is based on the geometry of the medicine wheel, a significant symbol of for many Native American tribes.
A central grandfather stone is located is surrounded by four quadrants of medicinal plants – tobacco to the east, cedar to the south, sage to the west, and sweetgrass to the north. Visitors are encouraged to use the garden for contemplation, reflection and meditation.
I’ve now had a chance to experience the park in both rainy and sunny weather and it has been striking and interesting on both occasions. It reminds me of the incredible parks that have helped reinvigorate downtown Chicago and I hope it will do the same for the Near West Side neighborhoods like Concordia, Martin Drive and Avenues West.
