Boulder staff present Civic Area Phase 2 framework to balance preservation and new programming at Glen Huntington Bandshell

City of Boulder Parks and Recreation staff and consultants presented an update and a proposed framework Sept. 3 for Civic Area Phase 2 that seeks to balance historic preservation with expanded programming and public‑realm improvements in Central Park and surrounding civic spaces.

Shihomi Kuriyagawa, project manager for Parks and Recreation, told the Landmarks Board the phase covers the Civic Area from Ninth to Fourteenth streets and includes the Glen Huntington Bandshell, the Atrium/Library block, the Dushanbe Tea House, the Penfield Tate building and the storage and transfer building. Kuriyagawa said the project team has approximately $18 million in funding identified for the phase and is studying which improvements can be delivered within that budget.

Marcy (city staff) and Abby Stone of Rios introduced a preservation‑centered approach drawn from a 2022 National Park Service‑funded guide, Preserving Landscape Experience in Historic Outdoor Theaters. Stone said the guide’s case studies show how outdoor theaters can adopt modern technical and comfort upgrades while retaining the landscape experience that makes such sites distinctive. Stone summarized lessons from Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the All Hallows (Washington, D.C.) amphitheater, saying preservation groups helped shape upgrades that modernized facilities without eroding the landscape‑first design intent. As Stone put it of Red Rocks, “the integrity of Hoyt's simple plane squeeze between the majestic rocks has endured.”

Marcy outlined a nine‑step framework drawn…