Downtown Park Honored by Landscape Architects

New Downtown Park honored with prestigious Award of Excellence from American Society of Landscape Architects

PALM SPRINGS — This community’s Downtown Park, a 1.5-acre public open space, is the heart of the city’s ambitious re-development and revitalization of Downtown Palm Springs. Its beauty has not gone unnoticed. The Downtown Park will be honored with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Award of Excellence next month in San Francisco.

Palm Springs Downtown Park offers a shady oasis for residents and visitors near the Palm Springs Art Museum and the vibrant retail hub along Palm Canyon Drive. Sited on the grounds of the historic Desert Inn, the first sanatorium resort in palm Springs, the design draws on Palm Springs’ legacy as a destination for health, nature, and pleasure seekers.

A grand opening ribbon-cutting and community celebration was held Oct. 21, 2021, to mark the completion of the city’s new Downtown Park on Museum Way and Belardo Road adjacent to the Forever Marilyn sculpture.

“The City Council has long envisioned the park as a wonderful venue and central hub for arts, culture, relaxation and enjoyment for residents and visitors alike,” then-Mayor Christy Holstege said at the time. “We can’t wait for our Palm Springs community to begin using and loving this fantastic new amenity in the heart of downtown.”

The park, designed by Los Angeles-based RIOS, was chosen for the prestigious nationwide award by jury panels representing a broad cross-section of the profession, including the public and private sectors and academia. A total of 28 winners were chosen out of 508 entries.

“The goal with this now much-loved park was to create an inviting urban oasis for residents and visitors alike to enjoy,” Interim City Manager Teresa Gallavan said in a statement.“The City of Palm Springs is delighted the American Society of Landscape Architects recognizes the extraordinary design elements of this park and we thank RIOS and our Engineering staff for their incredible work with this project.”

The award will be presented at this year’s ASLA conference, Nov. 11-14 in San Francisco.

“Many of this year’s winning projects were focused on reconnecting communities to landscapes, illustrating the important role landscape architects play in creating places for communities to live, work, and play,” said ASLA President Eugenia Martin, FASLA. “From equitable community gathering spaces to addressing climate change, these winners represent the cutting edge of our industry.”