Camden Harbor Park, Amphitheatre & Library Grounds, Camden ME

Clients Camden Public Library Board, Independent Commission, Citizens Advisory Committee, and Camden Conservancy for Harbor Park & Amphitheatre

Heritage Landscapes successfully completed important planning and implementation projects for the Camden Library Grounds and Amphitheatre. Landmarks by Fletcher Steele 1928 to 1931, regarded as the first Modernist landscape in the USA, and adjacent Harbor Park, by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., Olmsted Brothers 1930 to 1935, these landscapes are the green heart of the community. The project challenge was to provide access while respecting the historic character and details.  Focused projects achieved:

  • Bridge deep divides to achieve community consensus
  • Provide universal access and rehabilitate F.L. Olmsted Jr. designed Harbor Park
  • Improve Atlantic Avenue safety at crosswalk
  • Partially restore Fletcher Steele’s Garden Amphitheatre
  • Partially recapture Steele’s Meadow landscape
  • Rehabilitate Fauns Garden and install Steele’s Compass of the Winds

Our comprehensive highly documented planning report created the foundation for preservation and renewal of these community treasures that are heavily used by locals and tourists. Overcoming community conflicts through extensive open dialogue and solution testing, the phased work revitalized these historically significant designed landscapes. A maintenance calendar itemizes annual efforts to sustain landscape character and use. Success is marked by respect for heritage, upgrading universal access and receiving community and professional acclaim for these iconic landscapes.

 

WORKS:

Fauns Garden restoration, 2006; Harbor Park & Camden Amphitheatre, rehabilitation, partial restoration, 2004; Independent Commission community consultation, 1999 to 2002; Library Grounds & Meadow rehabilitation, 1999; Atlantic Avenue rehabilitation, 1998; Camden Garden Amphitheatre and Harbor Park Historic Landscape Report and Preservation Treatment Plan, 1997.

TEAM:

Heritage Landscapes, Fauns Garden and Camden Amphitheatre, 2006 with Dave Jackson, Camden Conservancy Director; Harbor Park Rehabilitation, Camden Amphitheatre partial Restoration, with TreeKeepers consulting arborist; Library Grounds & Meadow construction documents with Kerry Hardy; Atlantic Avenue construction, with Coffin Engineers; Historic Landscape Report, with Robin Karson, Charles E. Beveridge, PhD., landscape historians.

QUOTES:

"I cannot say strongly enough what a pleasure it is to work with Heritage Landscapes and how fortunate we all are to have had your dedication, knowledge and creativity on these projects."
Richard Anderson, President, Camden Conservancy for Harbor Park & Amphitheatre

“A small space. . . may serve to present a choice refreshment to a city, provided the circumstances are favorable for an extended outlook upon natural elements of scenery." Frederick Law Olmsted, 1895