Peavey Plaza

Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Designed by M. Paul Friedberg

“We proposed a solution which has become to be called the ‘park plaza.’ Truly an American form, a mixture of the American green square and the European hard space.”
- M. Paul Friedberg, Process Architecture (1989)

During the successful urban renewal projects of the 1960s, the city of Minneapolis hired landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg to design Peavey Plaza to connect with Nicollet Mall, the city’s new downtown pedestrian mall.

While the plaza was designed as a “front yard” for the Minnesota Orchestra’s new concert hall, Peavey Plaza became an urban oasis for downtown inhabitants. Waterfalls absorbed city noise and small garden “rooms,” delineated by groves of honey locusts, created a sense of human intimacy that softened the modern angular surfaces. Today, pressure to further develop downtown threatens the survival of Peavey Plaza. The public needs to understand the site’s significance, or else it will see the plaza’s original Modernist design destroyed. more...

Photo © Keri Pickett

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Peavey Plaza
Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota

education partners

Additional Sponsors

American Society of Landscape Architects’ Indiana, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Minnesota, Northern California, Texas, Upstate New York, and Washington Chapters • Astorino • Charles Butt • Design Within Reach • Topher Delaney • Sandy Donnell & Justin Faggioli • Fathom • Tom Fox • Hillman Foundation • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Lorraine Osmundson • Richard T. Murphy • National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast, Southwest, and Western Offices- with funds from the Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation of New York, Dodge Jones Foundation Intervention Fund, and Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Fund • James Richards • Seibert & Rice • Diana & Bruce Shuman • Ann Stack • SWA Group • TBG Partners • Michal and Jeffrey William Tincup • Unilock Inc. • The Woltz Charitable Trust


Peavey Plaza Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, Minnesota Designed by M. Paul Friedberg Intro history threat help learn “We proposed a solution which has become to be called the ‘park plaza.’ Truly an American form, a mixture of the American green square and the European hard space.” - M. Paul Friedberg, Process Architecture (1989) During the successful urban renewal projects of the 1960s, the city of Minneapolis hired landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg to design Peavey Plaza to connect with Nicollet Mall, the city’s new downtown pedestrian mall. While the plaza was designed as a “front yard” for the Minnesota Orchestra’s new concert hall, Peavey Plaza became an urban oasis for downtown inhabitants. Waterfalls absorbed city noise and small garden “rooms,” delineated by groves of honey locusts, created a sense of human intimacy that softened the modern angular surfaces. Today, pressure to further develop downtown threatens the survival of Peavey Plaza. The public needs to understand the site’s significance, or else it will see the plaza’s original Modernist design destroyed. more... Photo © Keri Pickett	Boston City Hall Plaza Boston, Massachusetts Estates Drive Reservoir Oakland, California Heritage Plaza Heritage Park Fort Worth, Texas Kaiser Roof Garden Kaiser Center Oakland, California Lake Elizabeth Allegheny Commons Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Manhattan Square Park Rochester, New York Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Kent, Washington Miller Garden Columbus, Indiana El Monte Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Pacific Science Center Courtyard Seattle, Washington Parkmerced San Francisco, California Peavey Plaza Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, Minnesota Home \| Map \| Exhibit \| Artists \| Press
education partners Additional Sponsors American Society of Landscape Architects’ Indiana, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Minnesota, Northern California, Texas, Upstate New York, and Washington Chapters • Astorino • Charles Butt • Design Within Reach • Topher Delaney • Sandy Donnell & Justin Faggioli • Fathom • Tom Fox • Hillman Foundation • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Lorraine Osmundson • Richard T. Murphy • National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast, Southwest, and Western Offices- with funds from the Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation of New York, Dodge Jones Foundation Intervention Fund, and Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Fund • James Richards • Seibert & Rice • Diana & Bruce Shuman • Ann Stack • SWA Group • TBG Partners • Michal and Jeffrey William Tincup • Unilock Inc. • The Woltz Charitable Trust

Peavey Plaza

Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, Minnesota

Designed by M. Paul Friedberg

Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota