Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park
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Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is an 8 acre (32,400 m2) public park located along the Hillsborough river in downtown Tampa, Florida that opened in its current configuration in 2010. It is adjacent to the Tampa Riverwalk, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa Museum of Art, Glazer Children's Museum, and Rivergate Tower. The park overlooks the University of Tampa's Plant Hall, which is directly across the river. The park is in an area known as the Waterfront Arts District.
Description
Most of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park consists of an open grassy lawn that slopes gently towards the river in a series of wide terraces. Around this greenspace are several fountains, a large playground, a public boat dock, a dog park, several shaded pavilions, an amphitheater, various sculptures, a garden area designed by Dan Kiley, and a small concession kiosk with restrooms. Running along the east side of the park along the Hillsborough River is the Tampa Riverwalk, which connects the park to a series of smaller parks along Tampa's downtown waterfront.
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park regularly hosts a wide variety of events large and small, including music festivals, food festivals, arts and crafts shows, evening yoga classes, temporary ice skating, and many other activities. Though relatively new, the public space has become a popular local destination and has been called "Tampa's town square".[1]
History
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is located adjacent to the former site of Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa's first convention center and general purpose indoor arena which was built in 1965. Both the park and the former building were named for Curtis Hixon, a mayor of Tampa who died while in office in 1956.
After Curtis Hixon Hall was made obsolete by newer facilities and demolished in 1993, the original Curtis Hixon Park was built on the site. This park was not widely utilized due to a poor connection to the river and the rest of downtown, few amenities, and a lack of people in that area of town on evenings and weekends. By the early 2000s, Tampa's long-planned Riverwalk project began taking shape. The city razed the old Tampa Museum of Art building and its adjoining parking garage, which had hemmed in Curtis Hixon Park on the south and limited public access to the riverfront. A new art museum building plus the Glazer Children's Museum were constructed on the north side of the park, while the old park was expanded to the south and completely reconfigured. The current Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park was designed by Thomas Balsley, a New York-based landscape architect. It opened in 2010.[2][3]
