Flamingo Arroyo Trail the Living Arroyo • a Civic Spine PUBLIC ART & DESIGN PLAN
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Flamingo Arroyo Trail The Living Arroyo • A Civic Spine PUBLIC ART & DESIGN PLAN The realignment of the Flamingo Arroyo and the Flamingo Casino under construction, 1946 Created for Clark County Department of Parks and Community Services Kevin S. Berry • Barbara Grygutis • Buster Simpson September 2004 Wetlands created by Urban Las Vegas Water runoff, 2004 1 Artists’ Mission Statement historical concept, which adds continuity to the idea of establishing trails along waterways. The Flamingo Situated in the northern Mojave Desert, the Las Vegas Arroyo is such a place. It is a natural waterway carved Valley shares a unique connection with some of the out in the ground through centuries of water flow major desert regions of the world. Within these hyper- through the Las Vegas Valley. Traditionally waterways arid deserts, a variety of cultures have developed were revered. Water, a vital life source on this planet, innovative approaches which over the centuries is necessary for our survival. Many cultures have used exemplify a sustained graceful cultural relationship waterways as places of baptism, signifying that they with the desert. It is our intention to contextualize a are holy places. Only in the twentieth century, and new paradigm of paradise in this new desert city, and with the advent of industrialization, waterways have the conveyance, the Flamingo Arroyo Trail, will serve as deteriorated into despair, and have been treated as that connector. dumping grounds for waste and trash. It is the goal of this project, along with the creation of the path, to The Flamingo Arroyo Trail Public Art and Design Plan restore the concept of “waterway as sacred place” to introduces the notion of a LIVING ARROYO as a the Flamingo Arroyo. civic spine, which essentially creates a linear park. The Flamingo Arroyo trail will serve as a connector for The Flamingo Arroyo is part of a watershed system habitat and humanity, linking neighborhods together extending over 1,600 square miles, descending from an to create a significant Clark County ammenity. This elevation of 3000 feet at its western edge to 1500 feet report offers a series of processes, approaches and at the east outflow of the valley. Intermittent fluvial methodologies to reinforce a meaningful episodic flows of a once wild Arroyo, have been contained as a journey along the trail and at trailheads and oases. result of recent growth patterns of Clark County. Specifically designed, integrated works of art will play a significant role in creating place and providing a higher The Flamingo Arroyo is a vital artery serving many degree to the overall design. needs of the Las Vegas community. The Arroyo has a rich history that spans from prehistoric times to the The Flamingo Arroyo Trail will serve as a connector for present, revealing the integral nature of water in the habitat and humanity, to innovation and sustainability, desert as tied to the transformation and growth of this linking neighborhoods together, to create a significant metropolis. The evolution of this Arroyo includes the Green Civic Spine. This spine becomes the citizens’ earliest times, when the Arroyo was in its most natural promenade, reaffirming a natural connection between state, existing in harmony with the indigenous people, communities and their sence of place. Through this plants and animals that once thrived here in the high report a series of approaches are offered to begin desert area. the journey of possibilities. Multi-layered stories, with habitats at trailheads and episodic oases begin to Recognizing the importance of the Arroyo as a vital establish this experience as a grounded one, rich in the and valuable asset to the community, Clark County has assets of this place, its history, ecology and poetics. engaged with the community to embark upon creating a multi-use trail system that will lead its users to the The idea of sacred places, places from time immemorial Desert Wetlands Park at its end. that have been revered by human beings, is an important Aerial view of historic Qanats in Persia which mark shafts that lead to underground aquaducts. These “manholes” serve as cleanouts for the accumulation of subterranian silt. 2 The enchroachment of the built environment into together through the trail system. The trail, through the flood plain of the Flamingo Arroyo has created our artwork, could serve as a metaphor for the local an irresolvable engineering dilemma. What would be history of the area, revealing significant influences as if required is the reclaiming of the breadth of what was traveling through time as one travels the trail, telling the flood plain. There are examples of successful Arroyo the story of the Arroyo and the place. restoration in Phoenix, where the land has become a major shared community asset. To reestablish the We wish to celebrate natural phenomena that exist Flamingo Arroyo flood plain would require a paradigm in this high desert region. We intend to create spaces zoning shift, slowly removing all building encroachments where one can become closer to nature, places that into the Arroyo, to a respectful setback. honor the natural world and spaces that are both recreational and meditative. We venture to change We, as Artists, have been chosen to sculpt and shape public perception of the Arroyo, to see it for more the image of the trail, taking into consideration the than just a concrete lined ditch used to dispose of history of the Arroyo and the practical needs of flood and waste water. We hope to create a common the community it serves. Our mission is to design link between neighborhoods and communities by artwork and art amenities that create a sense of place, weaving a thread of artistic enhancements throughout responding to the context of the site, and to provide the Arroyo and trail system. a rich, meaningful experience that brings the user closer to the natural state of the Arroyo and an acute The LIVING ARROYO plan begins by installing awareness of the surrounding desert environment. community awareness and appreciation for the We want to create a place that allows the user to potential of the Flamnigo Arroyo trail. It is imperative Geologic map of the Las Vegas basin contemplate and participate in their relationship to to the success of this project for the community of this earth as well as a legacy for future generations. Clark County and the City of Las Vegas to be involved We wish to emphasize the precious nature of water and engaged in the development of the trail. It is in the desert and to propose ways in which to harness essential that the design of the trail convey to the waste water to create a sustainable habitat along the community a sense that this is their trail, for their use. trail through artistic means. The more the trail is used, the less it will become a “no-man’s” land. Currently the Flamingo Arrroyo is Our artwork pays respect to the natural architectural strewn with garbage. All of the sub-divisions along forms and structures found within the desert botany the Arroyo are walled out of the Arroyo, creating a that exists throughout the Flamingo Arroyo arroyo. land of no stewardship. The object of this plan is to Our goals include bringing nature back into the transform what is currently a dumping ground into a Arroyo and creating a series of desert oases linked valuable community asset, where neighbors want to be. This can be done through design. Beyond that it is important that the community participates in various aspects of the restoration of this natural resource. Kevin S Berry • Barbara Grygutis • Buster Simpson Grid imposed by the Arroyo, into the grid a weave of August 2004 shade and habitat 3 Table Of Contents Artists’ Mission Statement . 2 Nature And Human History . 6 The Flamingo Arroyo Trail Executive Summary . 8 Why Artists? . 9 Flamingo Arroyo Trail Storyline . 10 Trail Design Principles . 11 Trail Design Overview . 13 Design Elements . 14 Additional Elements For Design Consideration . 22 Palette Of Materials . 24 Planning Considerations . 28 Projects . 29 Community Particiaption . 31 Conclusions . 32 Appendix Community Survey And Results . 33 Cover Photo : Fabulous Flamingo, 1950s’; ‘Las Vegas Then And Now’, Chung, Su Kim 4 CLARK COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING FLAMINGO ARROYO TRAIL SYSTEM CLARK COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING FLAMINGO ARROYO TRAIL SYSTEM 5 Nature And Human History Of trade, animal bone and charcoal pit structures have Flamingo Arroyo been found in Wetlands Park, and an underground Prepared by Clark County Department of Parks and home has been excavated. Three groups, the Anasazi, Community Services the Mohave (also called Patayan) and the Paiute left most traces in the valley. Flamingo Arroyo originates in two main branches in the southwest corner of the Las Vegas Valley. Runoff from For 300 years the Las Vegas Valley was the unexplored Mount Potosi and the south end of the Spring Mountain territory of Spain, a fact which would have surprised range cut the Arroyo, which flowed east and became a the valley’s residents. In 1821 war made Mexico single deep gully by the time it passed the Flamingo independent and claim to the Las Vegas Valley passed to Hotel, from which it took its name. The Flamingo Hotel that new country, again beyond the valley’s knowledge. was named by its creator, Billy Wilkerson, who earlier created the Hollywood Reporter and the tropically- History entered the valley through its Arroyos. Near themed Sunset Strip restaurants the Trocadero, Ciro’s New Year’s Day, 1830, on foot, leading pack mules and the Mocambo. along the Colorado River, Antonio Armijo’s Mexican exploratory party turned up Las Vegas Arroyo and Today Flamingo Arroyo disappears into concrete culverts followed it through what is now Lake Mead into a to pass beneath the Strip.