Allen plaza inspired by nature

Project at City Hall includes fountain, stream, native plants
 

11:23 PM CST on Thursday, December 2, 2004

By STELLA M. CHAVEZ / The Dallas Morning News

ALLEN – When the lights turn on during Allen's annual tree lighting ceremony tonight, residents will notice a different look at City Hall.  This week, workers put the finishing touches on a $1.57 million plaza that will serve as a centerpiece to the city's government complex, which includes City Hall, the library and the police department.

Inspired by the city's past and its natural features, the plaza includes a 20-foot-diameter fountain in which water spills onto a 265-foot-long winding stream bound by carved limestone walls, boulders and native plants.  "There is a lot of detailed work," said City Manager Peter Vargas, whose office looks directly out to the plaza. "It's not just a lot of rocks. It's really a sculpture."

The idea for a public plaza arose six years ago when plans for a new city hall were under way. Initially, city officials thought about building the plaza in conjunction with City Hall. But they decided to expand the police department to two stories instead.  

Construction on the plaza began in August 2003.  Dave Baldwin, a Plano landscape architect who was part of the original design team to work on City Hall, invited stone sculptor Brad Goldberg to work on the plaza with him.

Together they came up with the idea to create something that reflected the city's history and natural creeks that run through the city.  "It's really quite symbolic of Allen's beginnings," said Mr. Goldberg, who envisions children placing miniature boats in the stream to watch them float.

Allen evolved from a settlement around a dam built in the 1870s on Cottonwood Creek. The creek was a water source for the steam engines that traveled north and south on a nearby railroad line.  The stone used for City Hall is the same used for the plaza, which gradually slopes down.

Workers are still finishing the landscaping, but once completed the plaza will have more than 7,000 plants. The trees include bur oak, Eve's necklace, Shantung maple and bald cypress.  "It's a real mix of native trees, shrubs and ornamentals," said Mr. Baldwin. "We used native plants that you'd see around creeks in the area."