Visitors to the renovated McClatchy Park later this year could see hints of a roller coaster, carousel and zoo in new playground structures all reminiscent of the sites past as an amusement park.

It will attract parents to bring kids from all over the city, said Dennis Day, associate landscape architect with the Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation. There is so much history in this park.

Sacramento City Council members tonight will consider granting a $2.4 million contract to Goodland Landscape Construction of Tracy to renovate a portion of the 15.2-acre site in Oak Park. If approved this month, work can start as early as April and finish in the fall.

This is the largest investment in McClatchy Parks history, said Day, adding that the park will be 125 years old this year.

The city plans to spend just under $3 million on the park makeover. The proposal calls for a new, greatly expanded playground with a water spray area for hot summer days, a butterfly garden and a picnic pavilion. A new adventure area will have play structures that will resemble a roller coaster, trolley cars and concession stand items, while a new tot area will have concrete animals, a mini train and fun house elements.

A skate park and jogging trail also will be built in response to resident demand. A basketball court will be replaced by a half-size court and a drop shot game court for younger children.

Funding for the project will come mainly from a Proposition 84 state grant and developer fees. Proposition 84, which voters approved in 2006, funds projects related to water quality, natural resource protection and state and local park improvements.

More than a century ago, the site at 3500 Fifth Avenue was an 8-acre amusement park known as Oak Park. In 1913, it was renamed Joyland, which had a three-story wooden roller coaster, a small zoo and a carousel, among other attractions. Fire destroyed most of the rides in 1920, but the park was partially reconstructed.

When Joyland closed in 1927, Valentine McClatchy bought the site. He donated the property to the city for a park on the condition that it be named after his father, James McClatchy, a founding editor of The Sacramento Bee.

The renovation will require that the playground, tennis and basketball courts be relocated, but the other existing facilities the amphitheater, swimming pool and softball field, as well as the farmers market will stay where they are and remain open during the park makeover.

See the original post:
Sacramento considers McClatchy Park makeover

Landscape Architect Tampa - Call: (813) 448-6059
http://landscapingprostampa.com/landscape-architect-tampa AAP Lawncare 4216 S Manhattan Ave, Apt 201, Tampa FL 33611 (813) 448-6059 0 http://landscapingprost...

By: AAP Lawncare

Read the original here:
Landscape Architect Tampa - Call: (813) 448-6059 - Video

It was a single tree a fairly average-size cedar elm that in any other Central Texas landscape wouldnt have seemed remarkable.

But leafless, painted white, seemingly hovering over the middle of Lady Bird Lake and accompanied by 14,000 prayer flags that lined the nearby lakeshore path, that tree became arguably the most-seen work of art in Austin in 2013.

A project sponsored and funded entirely by the nonprofit arts organization Women & Their Work, Thirst was a collaboration between artist Beili Liu, architects Emily Little and Norma Yancey and landscape architect Cassie Bergstrom. Conceived as a symbol of the more than 300 million Texas trees lost to the recent drought, Thirst withstood two floods and drew enormous attention and chatter, with images of it ricocheting around social media.

And in combination with other progressive public arts projects that debuted last year, Thirst also suggested a turning point for art in Austins public realm. In the past year, significant public art projects have been launched at the University of Texas, in East Austin and at the Contemporary-Laguna Gloria.

I think Austin is beginning to get to the point where perhaps we realize we dont have to resort to the standard conventions of public art, says Doug Dempster, dean of UTs College of Fine Arts. Perhaps were beyond the bronze age of considering heroic bronze statues as the only kind of public art.

Just a couple of weeks after Thirst debuted in late September, James Turrells The Color Inside opened on the University of Texas campus. The curvilinear chamber on top of the Student Activity Center is one of Turrells skyspaces, a roofless structure designed to capture a view of the sky.

The structures aperture is surrounded by computer-controlled LED lights that illuminate the walls with changing color during an hourlong program every sunset and sunrise and radically yet subtly alter a persons view of the heavens.

A pioneer in the use of light as an artistic medium, Turrell is one of the most important living American artists today, and the October opening of The Color Inside a $2.1 million project by UTs public art program, Landmarks garnered national attention. And the buzz continues.

Demand to view The Color Inside has been so strong, in fact, that UT officials have had to extend the reservation system to see the piece even though original plans had been to dispense with reservations a month after the piece premiered. (Viewing The Color Inside is free, and the work is available for viewing any time the Student Activity Center is open. Reservations to see a sunset light sequence are needed and can be made online at turrell.utexas.edu.)

Meanwhile, during the wildly popular East Austin Studio Tour in November, the citys Art in Public Places program launched Tempo, the citys first temporary public art initiative.

Go here to read the rest:
Public art takes a leap forward

Posted: 12:41 am

This rendering shows what the southwest view of the intersection of Avenida Bernalillo and the access road to Interstate 25 will look like when a planned landscaping project is complete. (Courtesy of the town of Bernalillo)

Bernalillos southern entry point from Interstate 25 is about to get a makeover that will replace mounds of earth with natural landscaping.

Town officials awarded a contract to Lee Landscapes on Dec. 23 to redo the corners of Avenida Bernalillo from the I-25 interchange to South Hill Road.

The intersection was reshaped a few years ago as part of a larger project to widen the freeway between the town and Albuquerque. That work left what Mayor Jack Torres calls an ugly berm.

Designed by landscape architect firm Morrow, Reardon, Wilkinson, Miller, the makeover will take advantage of the natural contours of the remnants of arroyos, using traditional building materials and native plants, said Maria Rinaldi, director of community planning and development.

It will include planting dozens of native trees and shrubs, spreading gravel and mulch, and installing lighting and irrigation, monument signs and concrete and adobe retaining walls.

Adobe work will be done by a crew from Bernalillos Youth Conservation Corps, a program that provides vocational and life skills to young people between 14 and 25 years old by teaching them traditional building skills.

Bernalillo received $275,591 in Federal Highway Administration funding toward the makeover and provided $68,898 in matching funds from gasoline tax revenue.

Rinaldi expects landscape work to start within a few weeks and last about three months. It is not expected to disrupt traffic flow, she said.

Read more from the original source:
Makeover to redo Bernalillo-I-25 entry

MARTIN KAY

Martin Kay, who lived in Key West for nearly 20 years, died peacefully at home on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013. He was surrounded by friends and family including husband Jon Allen of Key West and brother Roger Kay of Chelmsford, England. A designer, real estate developer and landscape architect, Martin was a well-known and beloved wit and friend in his adopted hometown.

Martin, 60, was born in London and earned a diploma from the prestigious Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Gifted with a love of flowers, people and design, Kay opened Arcadia Flowers in West London. The successful shop grew into the stylish boutique VASE Flowers in central London. Adding stationery and gift packaging to his sought-after floral arrangements, the company eventually opened five shops in London.

Working with partner Jon Allen, Martin later helped create Jouralle, a fashion footwear brand for women. Martin developed marketing concepts, branding and designed lines of shoes for the company. Jouralle was sold to British Shoe Corporation, the U. K's largest maker of women's footwear which distributed Martin's designs worldwide.

Martin's heart and his flair for people and design found their truest home in Key West. Martin and Jon bought the languishing Island House guest house in 1999. The couple's combined talents for retailing, marketing, management and design transformed the property into a sophisticated and popular resort for gay men which OUT Traveler, along with a score of other gay publications and websites, call the best gay men's resort in the world. Jon Allen credits Martin's charm and style for much of the resort's early success.

Tangible accomplishments aside, Martin's innate kindness and humor won the hearts of many in Key West. Friends said he made them laugh and made them think. He loved to bring friends together and made visitors lifelong enthusiasts for Key West. "People choose Key West as their home for lots of reasons," said Jon. "One of the top reasons has to be the amazing people who live here: creative, quirky, warm, charismatic. Martin was surely one of those people."

Plans for a memorial for Martin will be announced in the coming weeks.

Editor's Note: A portion of the obituary was deleted from Sunday's newspaper. This is the corrected version.

See original here:
Obituaries

The latest reports commissioned for 10 historic Mare Island properties focused heavily on the future of trees on two sites.

The city Architectural Heritage and Landmarks Commission zeroed in Monday night on cultural landscape evaluation reports by landscape architect Denise Bradley on Alden Park and Farragut Plaza Monday night. Developer Lennar Mare Island hired Bradley to assess several landscapes considered "contributing resources" by the National Register of Historic Places, before any future work is done.

Farragut Plaza is a grassy area surrounding the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard's Administrative Headquarters Building (Building 47) and sits adjacent to Alden Park between Railroad and Walnut avenues.

Bradley said there are no plans to develop Farragut Plaza. The cultural landscape report recommends replacing the plaza's existing trees, except the historic Bunya trees.

Commissioner Pearl Jones Tranter and resident Sarah Nichols suggested recreating a former trellis with wisteria.

Some Alden Park report recommendations called for the removal of trees that could be hazardous to the Chapel. Trees removed in recent years were taken out for that very reason, Bradley said. Recommendations included replanting trees -- possibly not eucalyptus -- along the property's outer edge.

Nichols advocated for the replanting of eucalyptus trees.

"(In the 19th and 20th centuries,) eucalyptus trees were considered this miracle plant for windbreak.

"So, if you were to do a very aggressive removal of those trees, you would have a very detrimental downside in terms of the climate and wind coming into the officers' mansions areas," Nichols said.

Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or jyork@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @JYVallejo.

See the original post here:
Historic Mare Island parks assessed for future treatment

To bring your garden into focus, find a place where your eyes can rest.

Focal points are a gardens visual resting spots. In the flashy riot and exuberance of a summer garden, they lead the eye through it all, gently imposing order on a view. At every season, a tall, carefully placed urn, a sparkling birdbath or a handsome specimen shrub doesnt steal the glory from the rest of the garden it enhances the scene by giving it direction.

The most common mistake people make is, they try all these different varieties of plants, and their backyard ends up looking like a tossed salad, says Mike Miller, a landscape architect at Ewseychik, Rice & Miller in Longwood, Fla. We use a broad, simple palette, he says, and create focal points.

Finding a focal point and settling on an appropriate plant or architectural element to achieve the desired effect may take some thought and effort. Some designers actually give their clients a large, empty picture frame and ask them to walk around with it, defining the important views.

Taking pictures of your garden will also reveal the places that naturally attract your eye as well as spots that need to be screened from view. Youll be able to forget about an annoying utility pole if you plant a screen of evergreens and place an arbor strategically in your line of sight.

Peggy Krapf, a garden designer in Toano, Va., near Williamsburg, works hard on the details in her clients gardens. One suburban garden seemed to have all the right elements but simply did not feel welcoming.

There were all these little bits, she says. They had nice plants and paths and a fountain, but they were like separate thoughts. Visitors were not sure where the garden began or how to approach it, and the existing paths hurried them along without encouraging them to enjoy the experience along the way.

Krapf needed to unify the garden. She first suggested a proper garden gate. The 4-foot-high gate, flanked by evergreen shrubs, makes visitors pause a little before entering the garden, allowing them to take in the scene.

Krapf then placed a bench at the end of the path, creating a destination, and moved a few shrubs to make the fountain the focus of the view from the porch. In another clients garden, she designed a curving stone bench to put in one corner. The bench draws visitors out to enjoy the flower beds up close and takes the sharp edge off the corner of the property.

In her own large country garden, Krapf put a garden bench at the end of an axis, about 50 feet from her front door. The bench occupies a space with raised flower beds on either side and invites her to sit there and admire her blooms.

See the original post here:
Get to the point with your garden design

Shiplap Walls, Finished Yard | The Essex House, Episode 8 (2013)
Master carpenter Norm Abram visits Essex #39;s last shipyard. Host Kevin O #39;Connor and general contractor Tom Silva build shiplap barn board walls and a mantel. L...

By: This Old House

Here is the original post:
Shiplap Walls, Finished Yard | The Essex House, Episode 8 (2013) - Video

Insight New Mexico - Baker Morrow
V.B. Price talks with renowned landscape architect Baker Morrow about trees in the Albuquerque cityscape. Morrow was the lead on a number of major projects t...

By: NewMexicoMercury

See the rest here:
Insight New Mexico - Baker Morrow - Video

Kline Fitness Center - Expansion Construction
GoPro video tour of the Dickinson Kline Fitness Center Expansion construction site with Scott Nobel, Director of Capital Projects, Construction and Planning....

By: Dickinson Athletics

See the article here:
Kline Fitness Center - Expansion Construction - Video