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<br />of flowering trees on the road edge of the complex which then <br />lines the drive into the parking lot. Key buildings near the <br />green grass squares can be designed as benches to make the <br />grid map more visible. This idea was originally proposed for <br />a square along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington but, unfor- <br />tunately, the sculptures of the Capitol and the White House <br />were left out. In this solution, the buildings have a functional <br />use as seating. <br /> <br />b. Natural flora and rock garden with pathfinders <br />sculpture. <br />At the tip of the point looking down on the confluence, <br />the team proposed a serpentine walk that meanders down the <br />slope to a lower tier. The ramp-like path is borderd by the <br />flora and geologic materials of the region and the lower tier <br />forms a bowl or amphitheater which looks out toward Colo- <br />rado National Monument. Along the path and seated at a <br />curving wall around the lower tier of the site are sculptures <br />of significant pioneering figures who are connected to the <br />development of the region. They are peering out into the <br />distance, some standing and some sitting. They can be com- <br />missioned over a period of time and might include some of <br />the early trappers and explorers who used the ford of the Colo- <br />rado River near Grand Junction and who made significant <br />discoveries in the area, such as John C. Fremont or Marcus <br />Whitman. They might also include local figures connected to <br />certain achievements like the founding of the Colorado <br />National Monument by John Otto. The figures help to anchor <br />the space, reinforcing the sense of contemplation which the <br />space should evoke (see figs, 1-3). <br />The concept is to create a space that retains a feeling of <br />the natural character of the region at the time of discovery <br />and which encourages the visitor to pause and to look out <br />upon the region. It offers a contrast to the more commercial <br />orientation of the fruit products market on the top of the hill <br />or the more straightforward informational character of the <br />interpretive center and observation tower of the State Park <br />office adjacent to the fruit market. <br /> <br />Figure 1. <br />Gury Monument, Boston, Massachusetts <br /> <br /> <br />...... <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />20 <br /> <br />At the apex of the bowl space on the lower tier would be <br />a compass set into the paving stones of local rock. Bronze <br />inserts by local artisans could provide pictorial symbols of <br />different landmarks in the distance. On the hillside above the <br />bowl there would be plantings of bushes and wild grasses. At <br />the top, adjacent to the orchard City grid parking lot, would <br />be an open area that might also be planted with wild grasses <br />with a trellis along the edge. This trellis might be repeated <br />in the same design on the other side of the river in the River <br />Vista Park (see figs, 4-6). <br /> <br />II. River Vista Park <br />Adjacent to the bridge, but separated by the highway from <br />the main part of the City of Grand Junction, this riverside <br />site can provide the anchor of amenity which can encourage <br />the redevelopment of the junkyard areas behind it, It is cur- <br />rently a barren site which is the first vista that motorists see <br /> <br /> <br />.. 11 <br /> <br />., , <br /> <br />~ ,. <br /> <br />Figure 3. <br />., Chelsea Conversation", Chelsea, Massachusetts <br /> <br />Figure 2. <br />Watch Hill, Rhode Island <br /> <br />')'~~ <br /> <br />.ii: .' .p~~ <br />,r 'i~ <br />'.. <br /> <br />~ <br />, <br /> <br />~~ <br />f \ <br /> <br />I -: <br />J <br />'4IUt..I <br /> <br /> <br />.- <br /> <br />