Civic Space Park

Civic Space Park is an urban park in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona which first opened to the public in April 2009. It is located directly from the main part of the ASU Downtown Campus. It is also located near the Central Station METRO Light Rail and bus transfer stations. The land the park is located on was a combination of old buildings and parking lots before the City of Phoenix began buying the properties. The main building renovated in the project is called the A.E. England Building. Originally opened in the 1920s as a car dealership, it now houses retail space and a community meeting room for special events. In the outdoor spaces, the majority of the park (over 70%) will be shaded, once all the trees have fully matured, through a combination of trees and shade structures. Solar panels covering the tops of the shade canopies produce a combined 75 kilowatts of power. The centerpiece of the park is the US$2.4 million sculpture by Janet Echelmen called Her Secret Life Is Patience. It consists of multicolored fiber nets suspended up to 145 feet (44 m) in the air At night ground-mounted colored lighting changes throughout the season and gives a different appearance to the daytime look. It was questionable whether or not the piece would be built as the leaders at the City of Phoenix changed their minds several times whether or not to build the art piece.