Stream Design Landscape Architecture (Stream) was selected by Denver Parks and Recreation to develop a detailed Master Plan and Construction Documents for the “Diagonal” area which is considered to be the heart of Denver’s famed Washington Park. The project includes multiple picnic areas, athletic courts, multi-modal trails, a park road, and parking areas. Stream began the design process by re-imagining ways for vehicular and non-motorized circulation and recreational areas to better accommodate modern needs of the park. The Stream plan accomplishes the goals of preserving nearly all of the mature trees on site, creating recreation and picnic areas that are equally comfortable for intimate gatherings as well as events of 10,000 people or more; and of increasing vehicular parking capacity, circulation efficiency, and bicycle access while reducing the amount of paving.
The plan creates a functioning promenade out of a park road that once needlessly consumed acres of park space, situates several smaller picnic areas among large existing trees, and provides better functionality for large race events that frequently utilize the location. Stream also worked to preserve and enhance the Park’s heritage by providing better connections to the historic Mt. Vernon gardens by creating a more prominent veteran’s memorial flagpole, and by renovating a deteriorated fireplace originally built by the Campfire Girls in the 1930s.