Friedberg was not brought on board to design the plaza until December 1973, making the plaza a Johnny-Come-Lately to the site. Orchestra Hall had a strong influence on the design of Peavey Plaza. The building’s strikingly modern design, a jolt for many of the orchestra’s traditional audience, was the result of a collaboration between local architects Hammel Green and Abrahamson and New York architects Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates. Hugh Hardy, one of the firm’s principals, wrote in 1973 :

“The park, an extension of Nicollet Mall, should be a series of levels ranging approximately one level below and one-half level above the existing grade. The lower level of the park might be developed as a pond to take care of site drainage.”

Photo © Keri Pickett

By the time that Friedberg came on board, the site of the plaza had been excavated well below grade, and a band of windows in the lower level of Orchestra Hall looked into the depression. While the city told Friedberg that the grade could be returned to street level if that best suited his plans, he decided to work with the depth—and the notion of a water feature. The centerpiece of his design was a 140-foot by 200-foot pool, which could be drained when more space was needed for an event. In the winter, the pool could be transformed into a skating rink. Surrounding this central water feature, Friedberg’s signature viewing terraces created an amphitheatre-like environment – a concept he pioneered in Riis Houses in New York City in 1965, and would again use in Pershing Park in Washington, D.C. in 1979. Finally, providing the connective tissue between the pool and Nicollet Mall, a dynamic cascading fountain served as a beacon inviting visitors into the park plaza. Its water flow diminished the sounds of the city while animating the space.

Groundbreaking for Peavey Plaza was in August 1974, only two months before Orchestra Hall hosted its first concert. The plaza was dedicated on June 10, 1975. The construction of Loring Greenway, which also began in the summer of 1974, was completed late in 1975. Friedberg continued to visit Minneapolis occasionally as work was initiated in the Loring Park Development District, and was brought back in the late 1970s to fill in a corner of Peavey Plaza where a two-story restaurant overlooking the sunken courtyard never materialized.         

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