Circumnavigating Bayliss Park

There's a word I don't get to use very often. I've probably chosen a two dollar word when two bits would have done but that's some of the fun.

Just to the north of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum and, by extension, the Historic Pottawattamie County Squirrel Cage Jail lies a very engaging square of green space called Bayliss Park. It has apparently been the subject of a substantial improvement project; I think they did quite well. I'm guessing that this park had remained largely unchanged for several years and received rather limited use. When we were there, there was a wedding party photographer working to pose his subjects to catch the right light and get the updated fountain and dome in just the right spot in the photo.

The fountain and dome are the obvious updates to the park. Lower profile, literally, is the brickwork in the cement walkways from the four corners of the park. It starts in the center of each walkway but soon arcs away, into the grass where a bench awaits overlooking a little flowerbed nestled in the gap between the brick and concrete walks. The bricks then come back and cross the concrete and arc off to the other side. There's an organic feel to this brick and concrete; like a vine winding around a tree or pillar. It's a very nice, inviting effect.

On all sides of the base of the fountain, there are benches set up for conversation areas. On the north, these benches circle sculpture of playful squirrels. In the center of the squirrels, flush with the walking surface are a pattern of holes that, when someone steps on a button, become the water jets for a fountain about kindergarten tall. The button is clearly seen and outside of the fountain so it's not a booby trap sort of thing; it's just fun.

Along the east edge of the park, Veterans Plaza incorporates a low wall and fountain. Along the memorial wall stand three statues, two are seen in my photo. This place communicated very well a reverence for the sacrifice of those lost. Plants and the fountain added color and texture not found in many monuments. The statue of the couple at the wall helped illustrate that it was a place to come and remember, that the names were for reading. Very nicely done.