Access and Linkages
Recognize the value of our people's rich heritage. It is important to understand who we were, who we are, and who we are yet to become. We are doing this by informing the public of the city's history, "then and Now", sponsoring programs and promoting pride in Duluth's history and traditions.
Comfort & Image
As soon as you enter the park, the water spout is visible from all angles. The sound of the splash can be heard throughout the space. The amphitheater stage is visible from every spot inside the park. The amphitheater is designed to function as a theater but not feel like a theater when it is empty. People use the amphitheater for picnics, small parties and sunning lawns. All the walls in the park are 18” high for seating during large events, but are spaced so patrons can bring chairs, blankets, cushions, or lounges to lie out and enjoy the space.
The City Hall looks down on the space and the Police Department is across the street. Duluth has added bicycle and horse mounted police just for the Town Green. The space feels very safe because it is not bordered by traffic or roads. It is enveloped by structure, and it slopes to the center. Mothers are so comfortable that they let their children run free.
Usages & Activities
The Town Green has been in place for over a year and has had dramatic impact on the identity of the City and the attitude of its citizens. Since its completion, various large and small events have taken place in the space that has created lasting impressions on the citizens.
• The annual Fall Festival now has a highly functional space to accommodate the over 40,000 visitors that attend the three day event. The space helps accommodate over 100 tents and food service set-ups. The amphitheater provides continuous entertainment for thousands of patrons spread out in the amphitheater.
• The City has begun to stage concerts and events continuously in the amphitheater including the highlight event of a “Three Dog Night” concert that drew over 10,000 people onto the Green.
• Citizens have chosen the Green to hold weddings, family reunions, and birthday parties.
• The interactive fountain has become a greater attraction to adolescent youth than the swimming pool.
• Local families meet at the Green with a local photographer to make their Christmas card pictures.
• The senior class of Duluth High School chose the park for their prom picture set-up. The school also organized their graduation to take place in the park.
• A “dinner theater” on the Green is planned to open next year.
• The local “Aurora Theater” performs an annual play for the community.
• The High School has moved its Annual “Peach Farm Jazz Festival” from the football field to the Town Green.
• High school and middle school children hang out at the green after school.
• Orchestra students practice under the gazebo as they wait for lessons at Huffman’s Violin Shop.
• An annual Christmas Tree Lighting, Easter Egg Hunt and July 4th fireworks event have been established on the Green.
• The city set up an ice skating rink and Winter Wonderland Carnival for three months. It drew thousands of Georgians who had never ice skated outdoors.
• A series of movies called “Flicks on the Bricks” occur every other Saturday night during the summer.
• This continuous influx of people has prompted the opening of a soda shop to capture the market.
Sociability
Citizens of Duluth now bring their friends to the Town Green and point at it with pride as the identity of their City. The Town Green has had the profound effect of bringing the citizens of suburban Duluth into the center of town to a special place and providing a venue where citizens can interact and reconnect as a community. What was a dilapidated group of old repair shops and a parking lot is now a green oasis and rest spot. It feels good to be there whether you are alone or at a large gathering. It has become the social backyard/playground for the community.
Duluth’s Green epitomizes the way to recreate a sense of community and place that will lead to the renaissance of a small town. Businesses are returning; new residential units are being developed, activity is increasing and the center of town is once again "the place to be." Duluth’s Town Green permanently connects citizens to a special place in their own special community.
