EXISTING CONDITION Landscape Condition Landscape Characteristics
This document assesses the condition and integrity of the park space owned and managed by the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department known as Chautauqua Park, which is a part of Colorado Chautauqua NHL. The area associated with Chautauqua Park is generally bounded by Baseline Road on the north, Clematis Street on the south, 12th Street on the east, and Kinnickinnick Street on the west. The assessment of Chautauqua Park excludes the Ranger Cottage and its grounds as it is managed by Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, and the remaining 26-acres of the Colorado Chautauqua NHL, which is managed by the Colorado Chautauqua Association (CCA). Chautauqua Park includes the playground, tennis court and parking on the east side of the Colorado Chautauqua NHL, the park space known as Chautauqua Green, and the features associated with Chautauqua Park. This document assesses the landscape condition and integrity of Chautauqua Park according to seven landscape characteristics: natural systems, topography / spatial organization, circulation, structures, small-scale features, vegetation and views and viewsheds. Natural Systems and Features Colorado Chautauqua NHL is located on a mesa at the mouth of Bluebell Canyon, located above Bluebell Canyon Creek and east of the Boulder Flatirons, adjacent to Chautauqua Meadow. The campus setting, with Chautauqua Park on its north edge, set against the open foothills is a character-defining feature of Colorado Chautauqua NHL. The surrounding natural area and open space is preserved by the City of Boulder and resembles the lands as they were when the chautauqua was founded in 1898. Topography / Spatial Organization Chautauqua Park is the northern space of Colorado Chautauqua NHL, set on slightly sloping gradient and oriented towards the north to Baseline Road and the city. Stone rubble walls at Baseline Road, King's Gate, and Queen's Gate historically defined this north edge, retaining grade at Baseline Road, and were augmented by stone walls and sidewalk and parking improvements added in 2017 to complete this edge. Chautauqua Park consists of two spaces – the playground, tennis court and parking east of the Dining Hall, and Chautauqua Green, defined by Clematis Drive, Sumac Drive and Baseline Road. The center of Chautauqua Green is an oval mown lawn, with mature trees on its east and north edges. Its east edge includes the sidewalk that connects the King's Gate entrance, the Arbor and the Dining Hall. The buildings on its south edge along Clematis Drive, including the Dining Hall and cottages, are oriented towards Chautauqua Green. The playground, tennis court and parking are within an area that was originally fields and associated with a non-extant original playground. All three are contemporary additions.
Figure 1-3. Boulder Flatirons from Chautauqua Green, c. 1919 to 1923 (source: Carnegie Library for Local History)
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