[by Jane Ford, UVa News]

Take a stroll on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall, and it's evident that residents consider it a community living room. The brick-paved pedestrian area is a stage set for musicians, outdoor dining and promenading as residents visit banks, stores, theaters and music venues.

The mall is an important part of the city's identity, but when city officials conducted a renovation project last year to replace the brick paving and repair other wear and tear that occurred since the mall was put in place in the 1970s, it became clear that very few people knew or remembered the history of its development, said Elizabeth K. Meyer, associate professor of landscape architecture at the University of Virginia.

That discovery led to a collaboration between faculty and graduate students from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, Preservation Piedmont and the Charlottesville Community Design Center to better document the mall's history and development.

During Preservation Week, April 9-17, public lectures, panel discussions and two exhibitions will focus on the history of the Downtown Mall, backed by funding from

the National Endowment for the Arts Design Excellence/Stewardship program.

"More Than Just Bricks: A Social and Design History of the Charlottesville Mall/Lawrence Halprin Associates 1973-1976" will be on display weekdays from April 2 through May 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Charlottesville Community Design Center. This exhibit focuses on the design and process of community participation that shaped landscape architect Lawrence Halprin's vision for the Downtown Mall.

Meyer and Lydia Brandt, an art and architectural history graduate student in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, will give a gallery talk at the exhibit's First Friday Opening on April 2, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The companion exhibit, "More Than Just Bricks: Repairing Community/Halprin Associates' Vision for Downtown Charlottesville," will be on view in the Elmaleh Gallery in U.Va.'s Campbell Hall on weekdays from April 5 to 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit will focus on unrealized plans for the downtown area that stretched from Belmont to Vinegar Hill and from High Street to Monticello Avenue, including documents and drawings that have not been exhibited in Charlottesville for more than 40 years.

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