An Update on Riverfront Park's U.S. Pavilion
A possible rendering of Riverfront Park's iconic U.S. Pavilion, part of the legacy of Expo 74, with a new high-tech domed structure underneath the cables. (PHOTO: Olson Kundig Architects/Spokane Journal of Business) New renderings were unveiled Friday illustrating a possible future for Riverfront Park. Under this scenario, the U.S. Pavilion, the most iconic piece of the legacy of Spokane's World's Fair in 1974, would be extensively remodeled with a new night-lit superstructure underneath the cables. This is in stark contrast to the last plan we heard, which would have recovered the entire pavilion with a new type of durable teflon-coated fiberglass. Also released were images of a potential new building for the Looff Carousel (which nicely matches the style Fountain Cafe, built in 2013, while more than doubling the square footage) and for a world-class climbing gym that has been proposed by a private developer for the North Bank. It's anticipated that a bond measure will be brought to voters in November to pay for these improvements. We won't lie: the Riverfront Park plans, combined with Walt Worthy's Convention Center Hotel and the remodeling of the Bennett Block and the former Huppin's Building, promise to do more for Spokane than anyone realizes. The next few years are set to bring a lot of positive change to downtown, and we're so excited to be sharing it with you. View more photos after the break. --- READ MORE:
Riverfront Park Ideas Crystallize (Spokane Journal of Business)
Here's the U.S. Pavilion at night under the current planning scenario. Note that the large domed panels could be used for projections for movies and other large events. (PHOTO: Olson Kundig Architects/Spokane Journal of Business)
The new Looff Carousel Building would feature ample glass and a design similar to the new Fountain Cafe that was built next door in 2013. (PHOTO: NAC | Architecture/Spokane Journal of Business)
The proposed world-class climbing gym would be located on the North Bank of the Spokane River, on a site currently occupied by the temporary storage of cars. (PHOTO: Nystrom/Olson Architecture/Spokane Journal of Business)
An early conceptual master plan for the site, which envisions four pavilions, each harkening back to the original U.S. Pavilion, and each highlighting a different element. (PHOTO: Spokane Parks Board/Spokane Journal of Business)