Photo © Keri Pickett

In its coverage of the plaza’s opening celebration in June 1975, the Minneapolis Tribune editorialized: “Peavey Plaza is described variously as a link between downtown and Loring Park, a charming complement to Orchestra Hall, a new attraction for visitors and an oasis amid the big-city bustle. It is all of those, and more. The plaza . . . is a graceful and pleasant place for relaxation, entertainment and community events. Its size . . . and design enable it to accommodate both those who are there for activities and those there for inactivity. . . . The plaza sets a high standard” for developments in the Loring Park Development District.

Peavey Plaza continues to deserve such praise today. While Friedberg’s design is unquestionably Modern, displaying the angular, hard surfaces so characteristic of post-World War II landscapes, he created intimate rooms in the larger spaces, made gentle grade transitions, used groves of honey locusts and a variety of other plant materials, and interspersed pebble aggregate, small tile squares, and other warm textures amidst the concrete to soften the composition and retain a human scale. Peavey Plaza sees less activity in winter months, but comes alive in the summer with organized events and office workers enjoying bag lunches as cascading water from the metal tube fountains and cantilevered-concrete waterfalls provides an auditory screen from the harsh city sounds.

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