3433 Oakwood Hills Pkwy
Eau Claire, WI 54701-7698
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Merrill WI
PERMIT NO 24
A Look Back: Revitalizing plaza space while preserving a piece of history
The Mead Public Library plaza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is
nothing if not adaptable.
Mead Library was built as part of a downtown urban
development initiative. Nationally renowned landscape
architect Lawrence Halprin was commissioned to design a
commemorative sunken fountain and plaza for the site – which
functioned well for some 15 years.
The outdoor space surrounding the library has undergone
many changes since its original construction 45 years ago – and
Ayres’ landscape architecture group has been involved with
several of the major ones.
To reinvigorate the downtown, the City removed the pedestrian
mall in the early 1990s to reopen 8th Street to vehicular traffic.
To accommodate the road, the City hired a design team that
included Ayres to reduce the footprint of the Halprin water
fountain plaza by redesigning access to the area around the
fountain and at the library’s main entrance.
In 2018, the City once again
engaged Ayres to redesign
the library plaza to capitalize
on recent redevelopment in
the downtown. As one of the
main anchors downtown, the
City wanted to reinvigorate
the plaza and strengthen the
library’s connection with 8th
Street and the nearby John Michael Kohler Arts Center while
preserving the historic fountain.
To accomplish this, Ayres reoriented the pedestrian circulation
to the library’s new entrance (now located on the north side of
the building), created a direct connection between the library
and 8th Street, removed walls that had obscured views of the
sunken fountain, added green space and plantings to soften the
previously mostly concrete plaza, incorporated design elements
from the fountain into a new street level plaza, and relocated a
local artist’s brass relief sculpture panels.