In 1984, Musikfest was introduced as a nine-day festival in a city known for its musical heritage. The festival took advantage of the restored Victorian Main Street, its adjacent parks, and the charm of the colonial buildings. As it grew from five outdoor “platzes” (performance venues) to fifteen platzes in the downtown Historic District it’s audience expanded to over one million annually, bringing much needed patrons and publicity to struggling retail district. The use of a variety of public spaces, including ones perilously close to active railroad tracks demonstrates the opportunities for former industrial cities. As the festival organization grew it created a 65,000 square foot cultural center in a former banana distribution center, and ultimately a 10 acre campus at the foot of the former steel company’s blast furnace array, a project that includes a contemporary performing arts center. The author shares the design processes for buildings and campuses that exhibit the best practices in creative placemaking, and have been a major component in contributing to the city’s revival.
STRONGER THAN STEEL is a passionate outreach to architects, planners, artists, arts organizations, community leaders and public officials to design urban spaces for community connectivity. With ArtsQuest, the parent non-profit that presents Musikfest and the arts programs developed over 30 years, generating over six billion media impressions globally, Parks notes that the arts have a significant influence on a city’s brand. That brand is attracting investment, artists and creative workers to the community.