President Street Park, Baltimore

Jack Sullivan's LARC 440 Urban Design Studio study Baltimore this Fall semester

October 20, 2015

President Street Park, Baltimore
LARC 440 Urban Design Studio
Jack Sullivan, FASLA, Instructor

President Street Park is located between Pratt Street, Lombard Street and Baltimore Street, parallel to President Street at the eastern end of the Inner Harbor. It has been referred to as “The Fallsway”, a late-1980’s conception of a promenade along the historic Jones Falls channel. Intended as a pedestrian-focused place for both active and passive recreational, it never quite met expectations. Compromised by heavy traffic and marginalized by inadequate relationships with adjoining buildings, The Fallsway never attracted the crowds of visitors and downtown workers that populated the Inner Harbor with its many museums and entertainment venues. Over time, it had a limited appeal due to a lack of thoughtful programming and maintenance, and the concept of a “promenade” eventually deteriorated into a service alley.

Our challenge was to re-think the value of this urban space, re-conceive how this landscape can connect with nature and with people, and invite the city to re-invest in this bit of real estate as an integral part of the larger Inner Harbor environment. Students were invited to “think outside the box” and explore the possibilities for this highly visible urban park.

This four-week process included a site visit, an interim review with three design professionals, and a final review with three architects and four landscape architects from the Design Collective, Inc., Baltimore, and two representatives from the Baltimore Downtown Partnership.

Hangyang Liu, student in LARC440, came up with the concept seen in video above.