Landscape Information
Located approximately four miles east of downtown, this 14.4-acre linear park weaves together portions of Wade Park, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), and the museum’s Fine Arts Garden to connect two sections of Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) campus. Following a 2013 design competition, CWRU, CMA, and The Cleveland Foundation engaged Sasaki to develop the greenway, with construction completed in 2018.
The 300-foot-wide 2,200-foot-long park runs from the CWRU Maltz Performing Arts Center at the west to the Tinkham Veale University Center at the east, complementing the north-south axis established in 1928 by the Olmsted Brothers connecting the CMA and Wade Lagoon. Linear and curvilinear paths navigate around mature deciduous trees, including sycamores and oaks. A promenade knits together distinct areas, including the Fine Arts Garden, athletic fields, and a sunken, central lawn enlivened with a partially terraced slope. The eastern portion of lawn features the Chinese Cultural Garden (1985), with its orderly rows of cherry trees and a marble pavilion. The sinuous Harrison Dillard Trail wends past the garden, leading north to the Wade Oval and south to the Wade Lagoon. Sasaki introduced an allée of honey locust trees, which ascend the sides of the sunken lawn. While interrupted by the Fine Arts Garden, the allée continues east towards the Tinkham Veale University Center. The trees will ultimately shade seating alcoves that line its edge. The greenway includes a low cantilevered bridge that overlooks the Doan Brook, which flows under the site.
