As Chrissie Hynde says . . . (sort of)

WAY. To. Go. SEA-A-TLE!


The city, unusually, did the very right and exciting thing by choosing, from four world-class finalists, James Corner Field Operations to redesign the Seattle waterfront post viaduct.
Wow, maybe this little town really might grow up to be a city!

JCFO is so great that I'm tired of hearing about them. If my brother, who lives in New Yawk Cityaa, jingles the iphone one more weekend to rhapsodize about how beautiful High Line Park is I'm going to hop on a red-eye and go right there. And that's who we got: The guys who transformed New York City's railway viaduct into a downtown 1.5-mile refuge of pathways and plantings, waterfront views and benches for taking it all in.

Details, details: the team will have $6 million and a two-year contract for our waterfront transformation on nine new acres of public space (about the same size as the Sculpture Park.) But we'll have to wait (oh man!) because the viaduct won't be removed until six years from now. That's just mean.

These guys also designed a pier park in Philadelphia that lets people traipse on down to and get close with the Delaware River.


JCFO is a team group, and in Seattle that includes Mithun, The Berger Partnership, Herrera Environmental Consultants and Jason Toft.


We'll have to be patient: Final design deadline is 2015; construction by 2018.
Let's all make them welcome. Have them over to dinner, drinks. Do your part.

Photo is High Line Park detail.