Play Kiosk opens in June 2018!

Calling all game lovers! Friends of Congress Square Park’s new “Play Kiosk” is open! An opportunity for folks of all ages to enjoy technology-free fun together in a greened space, we have everything from board games to recreational items for your free use through an easy check out process.

This project is made possible through a partnership with Ben and Emily Davis, Portland Container Company founders, and OpBox creators. Supplies in the Play Kiosk are offered with support from the Westin Portland Harborview Hotel, a key sponsor and partner for FoCSP.

Play Kiosk Hours

Thursday & Friday         noon – 3PM
Saturday                           9AM – noon
& During some events!

Games Available (New game are added all the time!)

GAMES FOR GROUPS
Playing Cards
Cornhole
Game of Things
Taboo
Clue
Trouble
Dominos
Yahtzee
Quirkle
Boggle
Bananagrams
Jenga
Sorry!
UNO
Apples to Apples
Scrabble

GAMES FOR PAIRS
Playing Cards
Reversi (Othello)
Checkers
Cribbage
Mancala
Connect 4

GAMES FOR KIDS
Jumprope
Sidewalk Chalk
Bubbles
Etch-A-Sketch

Want to donate to the Play Kiosk?

If you have extra board games, art supplies or recreational items at home and wish to donate them to the Play Kiosk, please get in touch with Dela Murphy, Executive Director, Friends of Congress Square Park (dela@congresssquarepark.org). Items should be in excellent condition and appropriate for public use.

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Thank you to the 60+ people who attended the third and final schematic design public meeting with design firm WRT. We’re excited about the progress of the concept and hope you are too! Thank you for all the great feedback both at the meeting and online. The final schematic design, plus cost estimates will be submitted by WRT at the end of April. We hope to move into the next phase of the design – Design Development – later this summer.

You can view the full schematic design presentation here.

Thank you to our host, the Westin Portland Harborview Hotel!

Did you miss the December 15th redesign meeting? Not to worry!

Portland’s Urban Designer and CS Redesign Project Manager, Caitlin Cameron, will be presenting the WRT/Sarah Sze concept materials to the following city boards/committees in early January for feedback and review. All of the meetings are open to the public.  Join us!

• Disability Advisory Committee: Wednesday, January 4, 11am (Room 24)
• Historic Preservation Board: Wednesday, January 4, 6:45pm (Room 209)
• Parks Commission: Thursday, January 5, 5:00pm (Room 24)
• Bicycle Pedestrian Committee:  Monday, January 9, 5:30pm (Room 209)
• Planning Board: Tuesday, January 10, 4:30pm (Council Chambers)
• Land Bank Commission: Thursday, January 12, 5:00pm (Room 24)

Public feedback on the concept will be collected through January 15th here.  See full WRT/Sarah Sze Presentation here.

Over 100 people attended the latest public meeting of the Congress Square Redesign and Public Art Commission project held on December 15th at the Westin Hotel.  The design team, WRT and Sarah Sze studio, presented the latest iterations of the CS design and public art concepts and solicited feedback from attendees. You can view the full presentation here, or watch the CTN video of the meeting here.

The goal of the meeting was to determine if the concept is moving in the right direction and if it meets our community’s vision for the space, our needs for improved pedestrian circulation and accessibility, and our desired programs. You can read the full vision statement and program requirements here.

Based on past public visioning sessions, the desired “programs” to be accommodated in the new design are the following:

Desired Characteristics:

• Pedestrian Priority (less car dominance)
• Public and Open/Inviting, Accessible (all ages, abilities)
• Neighborhood/Community space

Activities:

• Access to Green Space/Natural Elements/Enjoying Outdoors
• Food/Eating
• Performances
• Events (that activate the entire square ‐ First Friday Art Walk, Markets)
• Play & Education (all ages)
• Other day-to-day uses

Elements:

• Seating (varied types/ conditions to accommodate dining, people‐watching, resting, reading, sun/shade)
• landscaped spaces
• water or natural play feature

This is YOUR park and we want YOUR feedback. Does the concept achieve our programming needs? Is it more accessible to people of all ages and physical abilities?  Is there improved pedestrian circulation throughout the square? Does the design accommodate our desired characteristics, activities, and elements? Is the space flexible enough?

The Project Team is soliciting comments until January 15th.  Please take a moment to complete the survey below and help us shape the future of Congress Square Park!

We’ve learned a lot over the past couple of seasons about the gardens at Congress Square Park – what works, what doesn’t – and want to give a round of appreciative recognition to those who have pitched in to install and care for the plantings. The list of dedicated volunteers from spring planting to fall clean-up includes Noni & Charlton Ames, Ashleigh Burskey, Rosanne & Steve Graef, Joan Grant, Christine Hey, Pandora & David LaCasse, Bree Lacasse & Chris Moore, Joan Grant, Pat O’Donnell, Karen Perry and Beth Streeter.

Some of the planting areas have been more successful than others and we’ll be concentrating on those conducive spots more next season. We’ve just put things to bed for the winter, but they’ll reawaken in May!

Over the next several months, we’ll also be working with renowned horticulturalist Patrick Cullina, a member of the CS design team, on the planting lists for the new redesign for Congress Square. Patrick will begin to discuss an initial plant list at the December 15th meeting of the CS Redesign and Public Art project. Join us from 5:30-7:30 at the Westin Hotel’s Longfellow room.

If  any of the gardening tasks of planting, weeding, watering, deadheading and general tidying up appeal to you, plan to join the gardening team in 2017 to help make a botanical splash at Congress Square Park!

Help us shape the future design of this important public space at the heart of Portland! The design team WRT and artist Sarah Sze will be in Portland for a three-day Storefront Workshop to develop design concepts for Congress Square.

Please join us at any or all of the following public sessions:

Tuesday, October 4
Open House – Initial findings and approaches – Accessibility, Connectivity, Identity
5:00 – 8:00pm

Wednesday, October 5
(Please note Sarah Sze Studio will only be in attendance on Wed.)
Brown Bag Lunch with Artist Sarah Sze – meet the artist and share your perspective
12:00 – 1:00pm

Open House – Presentation of Design Work from Day 2
5:00 – 8:00pm

Thursday, October 6
Open House – Preliminary Concepts
5:00 – 8:00pm

Where: All sessions will be at Think Tank Coworking (533 Congress Street)

How can you participate: All open houses are free and open to the public – feedback will be taken with interaction sessions. Please spread the word to those you think might be interested!

Thank you to our in-kind sponsors: Think Tank Coworking, The Art Mart, Tandem Coffee + Bakery, OTTO Pizza, and Aurora Provisions!

Save The Date!  The design firm WRT and artist Sarah Sze will be holding a 3-day design charrette from October 4th-6th in a storefront in the Congress Square neighborhood. A community open house will be held in the evening on each of the three days. (More details coming soon.)

We hope that you can join us at one or more of the community open houses to add your voice to the mix! This is a wonderful opportunity to provide your ideas to the designers as they begin the process of creating schematic concept designs for Congress Square.  There will be 2 additional public meetings announced later in 2016 and in early 2017 to provide feedback as the designs are further refined.

The goal of the redesign is to create a more accessible and pedestrian friendly urban square that encompasses the public spaces from the park over the the PMA and across High Street. The project team, consisting of the Portland Planning & Urban Development Department, Portland Public Art Committee, and Friends of Congress Square Park, has collected data over the past three years as we’ve implement programming in the space.  This information has all been provided to the designers and we will work closely with them to ensure that community use is at the core of the physical redesign.

Our goal is to enhance what is working today and to improve the physical aspects that are not. For example, we will keep the colorful movable furniture! We will strive to create a space that remains welcoming to everyone and flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of uses from reading a book or painting to larger community events like salsa dancing, sing-alongs, or kitten therapy.

But, there are physical elements that we need to address to make the entire square work even better for our community. For example, the park space is very challenging to enter for many of our neighbors with limited mobility, so we want to make it more accessible to everyone.  The trees and greenery are in raised concrete beds so it takes hours of volunteer time to keep them watered. Plus, have you noticed that you can’t sit in the shade of the trees because of their raised location?  The park looks great during the 6 months that our volunteers tend to the gardens and maintain the colorful tables, chairs and benches, but for the other 6 months out of the year, it is a large empty area with nowhere to sit. The intersection is currently confusing and dangerous for both cars and pedestrians. Some of these issues are currently mitigated by the Herculean efforts of our incredible volunteers, but to make the programming sustainable, we need to make their work lighter.

These are some of the design elements that we hope to improve through the redesign, while still keeping the vibrant energy and welcoming atmosphere that you have helped us to create.

In advance of the upcoming redesign, we’d like to hear from you about what you think works well and what could be improved.  Please take a moment to complete our redesign survey. 

Congress Square Redesign Project

The Portland Public Art Committee is pleased to announce that four artists have been selected as finalists for the Congress Square Public Art Commission. The artists will be invited to Portland for interviews with the selection committee, a site visit, and a public presentation on August 8th.

The selected artist’s work will include developing a concept for public art to be sited in Congress Square in collaboration with WRT, the design team selected last month, who will create a concept for Congress Square as a whole.

The Public Forum is free and open to the public, but RSVP by August 5th is required to attend: http://whoozin.com/V4W-DRP-YK69.

The four artist finalists are (in alphabetical order):

• Ned Kahn (Sebastopol, CA)
• Patrick Marold (Denver, CO)
• Matthew Ritchie (New York City, NY)
• Sarah Sze (New York City, NY

The artists are evaluated based on five selection criteria: Relevant experience, Qualifications and record of artistic achievement, Demonstrated ability to coordinate and collaborate with the public and designers, Project understanding, and Artistic merit and aesthetic appropriateness for the project parameters. The Congress Square Artist Selection Committee is comprised of representatives from the Portland Public Art Committee, Friends of Congress Square Park, Maine College of Art, Portland Museum of Art, and the local architecture community.

The finalists will speak at a public forum on Monday, August 8th to be held in the Portland Museum of Art auditorium from 5:30 – 7:30pm. The event will be free and open to the public, though RSVP will be required for capacity reasons, and will include a presentation from each finalist and a question and answer session.

“The Congress Square Artist Selection Committee is looking forward to bringing four outstanding, internationally known artists to Portland. Collaboration is important for this project and these four individuals have worked collaboratively with urban designers and community members in the past. We are looking forward to their presentations on August 8th and hearing feedback from the community,” said Portland Public Art Committee member Alison Hildreth. An online survey will also be available to gather community input about the finalists. Stakeholders and the general public will be invited to provide feedback and participate throughout the design and public art process.

Interest in the Congress Square Redesign project has been high because of the unique opportunity to combine urban design and public art to transform Congress Square into a welcoming, accessible public open space in the heart of the city with a focus on arts and performance.

The Congress Square Redesign project is a public/private partnership between the City of Portland, the Portland Public Art Committee, and the Friends of Congress Square Park.

For more information, please visit http://www.portlandmaine.gov/1113/Congress-Square-Redesign

FoCSP is thrilled to announce that WRT (Wallace Roberts & Todd) of Philadelphia has been selected as the design team for the Congress Square Redesign project.  The WRT team also includes urban horticulturalist Patrick Cullina, graphic designer BlueCadet, and civil and traffic engineers Sebago Technics.  Design work is expected to begin in August or September of this year.

After the interviews and public forum presentations & surveys, the five members of the selection committee were impressed by WRT’s innovative and inclusive public engagement process, creative designs and use of green infrastructure, multi-disciplinary team composition, and respect for the placemaking work our community has done to date.

WRT’s work will include developing a schematic design for the entire Congress Square, in coordination with an artist who will create a concept for public art.  Learn more about WRT and their past projects @ wrtdesign.com.

The artist selection for the public art commission is still under review; finalists for the public art will be announced in June and those artists will be invited to give a public presentation on August 8th.

More info about the Congress Square Redesign Project can be found on the City’s website @ portlandmaine.gov.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced 64 awards totaling $4.3 million supporting projects across the nation through the NEA’s Our Town program. The City of Portland, partnering with the Portland Public Art Committee and the Friends of Congress Square Park, is one of the recommended organizations for an award of $25,000 to the Congress Square Redesign project. The Our Town grant program supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core. The NEA received 240 applications for Our Town this year and will make awards ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.

We are pleased to announce that four design teams have been selected as finalists for the Congress Square Redesign project.  Twelve submissions were received for the design contract, four will proceed to round 2 of the selection process which will include interviews with the selection committee, a site visit, and a public presentation.

The four finalist design teams are (in alphabetical order; click on the name to view the finalist applications):  CRJA – IBI, Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture, Terry DeWan & Associates with Olin Studio, WRT.

The scope of work will include developing a schematic design for the entire Congress Square in coordination with an artist who will create a concept for public art.  The artist selection for the public art commission is still under review and will be announced in the Spring.

The finalists will speak at a public forum on Wednesday, May 4^th from 5:30-7:30pm at the Portland Museum of Art auditorium.  Each finalist will present about their past relevant experience and thoughts on the opportunities for Congress Square, followed by a question and answer session. The public forum will create an opportunity for the community to learn about the prospective consultants, and provide input on the finalists by completing a public survey ranking the finalists following the presentation. The City wants to hire design professionals that the community will be excited about and who will be good partners with the City,  selected artist, and community.

The event is free and open to the public, but RSVP will be required for capacity reasons.  Click here to RSVP today!

The project partners -the Planning & Urban Development Department, the Portland Public Art Committee and the Friends of Congress Square Park – are excited about the unique opportunity to combine urban design and public art to transform Congress Square into a welcoming, accessible public open space in the heart of the city with a focus on arts and performance.

We hope you join us on Wednesday, May 4th at the PMA!

Note: The City currently has funds to develop schematic level concepts for the Congress Square intersection and public artwork.  The concepts developed by the winning design team and artist will be used to help raise money to implement the project.  You can visit the project webpage to find a full history of the redesign project: http://www.portlandmaine.gov/1113/Congress-Square-Redesign

We are thrilled to announce that the City of Portland’s Planning & Urban Development Department, in partnership with the Portland Public Art Committee and the Friends of Congress Square Park, has issued an open call for landscape designers and visual artists for the Congress Square Redesign project. The City has released two Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) to hire a design team and an artist to concurrently develop schematic designs for the Square (Park and the intersection) and an integrated public art commission. This project presents a unique opportunity for collaborative urban design and public art, with the design team and artist to be chosen simultaneously.

We are excited to take this next step towards a high quality re-design that creates a more accessible public space with community use and public art at its core and that prioritizes the pedestrian experience.

Responses to the open call will be collected until 3pm on January 28, 2016. Applicants will be reviewed by the selection committee and finalists will be invited to a site visit, interview, and public forum to present their work. The public forum, to be held in March, 2016, creates an opportunity for the community to learn about the prospective designers and artists and to provide input about the finalists.

The City currently has funds allocated to develop schematic level concepts for the Congress Square and to cover for the artist fee. The design concepts will be used to help raise money to implement the project.

Information about both RFQs (Congress Square Public Art Commission RFQ–Bid #4016 and Congress Square Redesign—Bid #3916) are posted on the City of Portland website (http://www.portlandmaine.gov/1034/BidsRFP-Search). To obtain a copy of the RFQ you must contact the City Purchasing Office at 207-874-8654 or jrl@portlandmaine.gov.

Through the generous support of Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community grant and in partnership with Project for Public Spaces, FoCSP hired Dextrous Creative to conduct an evaluation of park use during the summer of 2015.  The project sought to assess the impact of placemaking interventions (new amenities and arts programming) largely installed in late June with the launch of the Heart of the Community Grant.

Objectives of the project included gaining a better understanding of the following:

• Who uses Congress Square Park
• When do visitors use the park
• Which interventions were most successful
• How do visitors use the park
• What activities or features are most popular

As stated in our evaluation report, “The diversity of Congress Square Park’s visitors and events are key to its vibrancy and success.  Low-cost interventions and amenities installed over the past two summers in the park have turned a forgotten corner within Portland’s Arts District into a thriving and busy gathering and event location.  The park’s renewed vitality has fostered new friendships across generations, cultures and sparked dialogue about the nature and importance of public space in the heart of downtown Portland.  Further improvements to address deferred maintenance will only enhance user experience in the park and accessibility for individuals with mobility impairments as word spreads of the park’s rebirth.”

Check out the full report here.