Downtown Interpretive Plan Is Intended to Further Position Downtown Janesville As a Vibrant Neighborhood Where Commerce, Culture, Entertainment, and History Intersect
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Downtown Interpretive Plan 1 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 An Introduction to Placemaking ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Overview of ARISE and ARISENow ........................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Interpretive Vision......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Interpretive Plan Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Interpretive Themes .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Grit, Determination, ............................................................................................................................................................................. 11 and ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Tenacity ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Innovation, Invention ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14 and the ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Entrepreneurial Spirit ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Quality of Life ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 and ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Recreation ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Guest Experience ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Historic Downtown Janesville Experience .............................................................................................................................................................. 27 Findings & Conclusions................................................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Findings and Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 30 2 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Introduction 3 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Overview There is a renaissance happening in Janesville, Wisconsin. It is a transformation of place, a multi- faceted reimagining of what a city can look like and what a city can offer. In other words, a place is being made. It is also a partnership among community members dedicated to the idea that the spaces we live, work, and play in should reflect the vibrant cultures, histories, and stories of its people past and present. The city is on the rise; won’t you join us? 4 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI An Introduction to Placemaking Placemaking is broadly defined as a civic engagement minded design approach to public spaces. It is a deliberate, collaborative process that seeks to design cities as destinations, promoting the collective well-being of its residents and visitors, and creating a sense of place based identity. It is an all-inclusive process that seeks to inspire pride in a place, spur reinvestment, and create a vibrant place to live, work, and play. 5 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Overview of ARISE and ARISENow ARISE is a bold, strategic vision for downtown Janesville’s long-term future, solidly grounded in community engagement and focused on feasible action steps. It is the city’s downtown riverfront revitalization plan passed by the City Council in 2015. ARISE stands for Rock Renaissance Area Redevelopment and Implementation Strategy. The goals are as follows: Make the downtown the heart of the community and a fun, vibrant and healthy place to live, work and visit for a wide spectrum of people. Preserve the historical character and authenticity of the downtown. Celebrate the Rock River as one of Janesville’s greatest asset. Facilitate new investment and redevelopment with a market driven and action oriented strategy. ARISENow, (not to be confused with ARISE), is a private-public partnership formed in 2016 that strengthens the implementation of the City’s ARISE plan as well as supports other key activities and organizations working to transform downtown Janesville. 6 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Interpretive Vision The Downtown Interpretive plan is intended to further position downtown Janesville as a vibrant neighborhood where commerce, culture, entertainment, and history intersect. 7 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Interpretive Plan Overview This plan is a guidance document designed to support those interested in creating a unique sense of place in our Downtown. It can be a resource for developers, business owners, artists, private citizens and event organizers. This plan serves as a storytelling point of entry for individuals, businesses, community organizations, citizen groups, and governmental entities interested in pursuing historic, cultural, or artistic initiatives in Award Winning, Historic Downtown Janesville. This plan should be used in conjunction with the Downtown Development Guidelines prepared in 2016 by the City of Janesville Historic Preservation Commission and the ARISE Plan adopted by the City of Janesville on February 23, 2015. Our goal is that this resource will help inspire creativity and help cultivate future projects that will continue to make Award Winning, Historic Downtown Janesville a destination of choice. 8 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Interpretive Themes The ARISENow Steering Committee commissioned this plan through the Rock County Historical Society to help assist and guide creative projects, public and private, in the City of Janesville for storytelling. When we tell a story, we help create a sense of place. Based on research and resources available, the following themes were identified that connects the Downtown to the entire city: Downtown is the “Heart of Our Community” I.) The People and their Stories The heart of our community, full of energy and memory across time. II.) The River The artery of our community, integral to our way of life past and present. III.) Creativity The lifeblood of our community, a force that unites us throughout the years. 9 Interpretive Plan: City of Janesville, WI Each of these core themes were crafted with placemaking in mind and should be inspiration for artwork, signs, information, architecture and more. From these themes three narratives have been identified that provide further context for storytelling. They are as follows: Grit, Determination, and Tenacity: The Stories of Janesville’s People, Places, and Times Innovation, Invention, and the Entrepreneurial Spirit: The Stories of Janesville’s Businesses, Hometown Changemakers & Their Impact Quality of Life and Recreation: The Stories of Why Residents Enjoy This Community and Choose to Call Janesville Home. For example, at the RCHS Campus located in the Look West Neighborhood and walking distance to the downtown, the renovation of the Carriage House focused on innovation by placing a clear acrylic window into the basement to show how the Tallman Carriage House was built and functioned. In another example the ARISE style for the TownSquare introduced different materials than were used on Main Street to provide some element recognizing the industrial development of the city. What follows are examples of storylines that can be developed in downtown