Completed in September 2019, the Howard Street Promenade and Pavilion Project at Riverfront Park restored the U.S. Pavilion into a flexible-use event space with the capacity to host exclusive events from the Hoopfest Nike Center Court championship games and the Bloomsday Awards Ceremony to a summer concert series and Pig Out in the Park.
Highlights include the elevated experience, constructed of 35-foot site cast concrete columns, and gathering spaces which offer sweeping views of the Spokane River and Spokane skyline. The U.S. Pavilion also includes 476 LED light blades secured to the iconic cable structure which can be programmed and synchronized to music providing a unique event experience. Additionally, the project includes 20,000 SF of fully remodeled, indoor, flexible event space including: a new kitchen, elevator, meeting spaces, performer green rooms and public restrooms. The second level of the U.S. Pavilion includes 3,600 SF of administrative office space for the Riverfront Park staff.
The Howard Street Promenade provides connectivity north and south of the U.S. Pavilion project from the Rotary Fountain across the Spokane River to the north end of Riverfront Park. The Howard Street Promenade includes utility upgrades such as electrical and communications distribution, domestic water mainline and storm utility infrastructure, unique landscaping features, pedestrian and wheel-friendly surfaces and another resurrected relic of Expo ’74: the Expo ’74 Butterfly.
This project was especially meaningful for Garco. CEO Tim Welsh had the fortune to be a part of the original U.S. Pavilion construction for Expo ’74. Working on the new U.S. Pavilion was a privilege our team, and really felt like a family affair.
This project has earned several awards:
- 2019 HUB Build Northwest, Special Projects Category
- 2020 IES Illumination Awards See page 26 here.
- 2020 National DBIA Award of Merit for Civic/Assembly Projects and 2020 DBIA Best of Architecture Design. Read more here.
- 2020 ENR Northwest Regional Landscape/Urban Development Best Project. Read more here.
- 2020 AIA Washington Council Civic Design Awards. Read more here.
- 2020 AIA Spokane Design Awards, Honor Award the People’s Choice Award for projects over $5 million. Watch the virtual program here.
- 2020 CMAA Project Achievement Award and Project of the Year, learn more here.
- 2020 National Recreation and Parks Association’s (NRPA) Innovation in Park Design Award. Read more here.
- 2020 BD+C Reconstruction Awards, Bronze
- 2020 ENR’s Best of the Best, Landscape/Urban Development. Read more here.
- 2021 ASLA Washington, General Design | Public Ownership, Honor Award.
- 2022 ASLA Professional Awards: Honor Award – General Design. Read more here.
