The Robert D. Garton Veterans Plaza sort of hides in plain sight in downtown Columbus.
The plaza is bisected by one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, Second Street, at the end of the Robert Stewart Bridge that carries eastbound State Road 46. Thousands of motorists pass through daily, often focused like a laser on which lane they need to be in, angling to get into their desired lane, or watching out for others doing the same.
With all that going on, it’s understandable drivers may not even realize they are passing through a plaza honoring veterans, prisoners of war and those missing in action.
POW/MIA Veterans Committee member Zack Ellison sees it that way. In an article last week written by The Republic’s Mark Webber, Ellison said, “As you drive into town, the Veterans Plaza is not visible and hardly anybody knows where it is. … Unless they are stopped at the traffic signal, it’s tough to pay attention to the two plazas.”
Webber wrote that city officials said they plan to work with the Landmark Columbus Foundation to seek qualified landscape architects interested in redesigning the two plazas. In doing so, we hope the city will take advantage of the work that the committee and backers of the plaza have already done.
“A great deal of time and effort went into our research,” POW-MIA event coordinator Bob Miller told Webber. “We want to make sure our suggestions don’t get lost or overlooked as the design teams are being vetted and the project moves forward.”
The committee provided the city with a range of possible options that could help draw more attention and interest to the plaza, and those ideas should be given due consideration in any plans for upgrades.
To be candid, there currently isn’t a lot to see at the plaza. The addition of any honorary monuments or features could do more to honor those who served. And in that regard, we believe that where public spaces are concerned, members of the public who have an interest in the stewardship, care and preservation of those places ought to be shown tremendous deference. They best know the community they aim to serve and honor through these efforts.
As we have seen in this year’s installment of Exhibit Columbus, the unprecedented inclusion of the public in the “Public by Design” works that will be unveiled next month generated increased interest, energy and anticipation. That’s an excellent example of how public spaces — and public participation in interpreting them — can help build community.
The revamp of the veterans plaza also can do that by including and encouraging stakeholders to share their visions of what this space could be.
Granted, as even its backers will acknowledge, the space has its challenges. In addition to those mentioned at the outset, there also is a lack of immediate parking. The plaza is landlocked and surrounded by busy roads.
Yet it also is accessible to the People Trail and could become a valuable passive park.
We see the prospect here for the plaza to become a greater asset downtown while also furthering its purpose of honoring those who served, including those who never made it back home.
With care, support and input from the community, this plaza has potential.
