Let there be WATER
On May 18th Evanston’s Fountain Square, located at Sherman Avenue and Davis Street in downtown Evanston, was dedicated and turned on for the season. City residents of all ages joined the Mayor and other city officials for the dedication. Click here to view a video of the fountains turning on!
“I just love the open concept, the table, the chairs, it’s a place to come and sit.” – Susan Lane of Evanston, who came to experience the fountain with her daughter.
“This is amazing,” – Grace Rivera, age 6, an Evanston kindergartner, told her family that the water was not that cold once you got used to it
Chicago Tribune Article // May 22nd, 2019
Process of Placemaking
Focused on placemaking and the revitalization of Downtown Evanston’s most prominent public space, the Fountain Square Renovations project was initiated in 2014 and included substantial public input from all age groups, including listening sessions, workshops, and design charrettes. Numerous public meetings were held to envision alternatives, establish goals and priorities, and build consensus on what ultimately became the preferred concept: a central gathering space that is universally accessible, respectful and playful; installation was complete in fall of 2018.
Teska is so honored to have led the outreach and urban design for this exciting and transformational project in our hometown of 45+ years. Many thanks to Evanston’s visionary staff, the Downtown Evanston organization, local Veterans and our dedicated engineering team at CBBEL and Waterworx!
“We’re very excited to do an official dedication for the community,”
– Lawrence Hemingway, Evanston’s director of parks, recreation and community services
“We have a beautiful, beautiful center of downtown Evanston,”
– Evanston Mayor, Steve Hagerty
The new, rectangular fountain is zero-depth and has 20 fountain jets within a granite paved plaza. The fountain is programmed to run on a variety of settings that change throughout the day and night. Fountain programs are choreographed with jet heights and lighting effects to celebrate special events and holidays. In addition to the new fountain, the renovated Square includes a veterans memorial wall, a new public plaza space south of Davis Street, a curbless street, street lighting improvements, traffic signal updates, landscaping, outdoor furniture and special lighting effects. The plazas are designed to accommodate visitors of all ages and abilities. The new design allows people to move freely throughout the square; curbless streets support a variety of downtown festival arrangements and movable tables and chairs encourage people to make their own spaces.
