Petra Park
Sophisticated and urbane new plaza with eating areas and performance art space, is a fitting memorial for Petra Stanley, who died of cancer in 2016.
Fairfield, IA | 2021
Press: Playful Petra Park: A Vacant Space is Reinvented as a Community Plaza
The former empty lot has been transformed, with welcoming red benches and raised planter boxes around the perimeter, a long central “harvest table” for dining or visiting, and tall wooden pergolas. The center pergola surrounds an oak leaf sculpture by noted Fairfield artist Dale Divoky, who was inspired to use the oak leaf theme because this area was once an oak savanna. One of the park’s most popular features is a mirror with a barre, a tribute to Petra’s love of dance.
Petra Park was designed to be as low-maintenance and sustainable as possible. The freestanding planters showcase ornamental grasses and native plants that need minimal care. The wooden structures are built with cypress, a very durable wood, similar to teak, and much of the furniture was built from recycled plastic. Plumbed for water and wired for electricity, Petra Park was designed to be multi-functional, with an open area where a stage could be set up for musical events and a south wall that could be used for summer movie viewing.
