Henry C. Beck, Jr. Park, Dallas, Texas
MESA , Dallas, Texas
Landscape Designer, Spindrift Al Swaidi

The Henry C. Beck, Jr. Park, built in 2004, is a vest-pocket, infill park. It is a private project for public use in the tradition of Zion and Breen’s Paley Park in its size and intimacy. This park is a retrofit to the 1965 modern, white, marble-clad building and is a tribute to Henry C. Beck, Jr., one of Dallas’ great and innovative contractors of the 1960’s. Bush-hammered concrete, found in Beck Park, is an example of his contribution to the building world.
The placement of the park is significant as a link between two sections of downtown Dallas: the developing Arts District and the business section. It responds to its neighbors, the Edward Larabee Barnes/Dan Kiley Dallas Museum of Art and a more traditional luxury hotel. It adds vitality to major thoroughfares at its edges and also serves as a foyer to the building property and the individual building tenants at the ground level and first floor. The building has developed a “coolness” factor since it houses the Fashion Industry Gallery, a hip and well-heeled restaurant, and the highly-respected Beck Construction firm. The sloped site was an asset since it allowed the landscape architect to respond to each level intimately: intrigue at the edges, calm in the center, and action from the upper-level building views. Henry C. Beck, Jr. Park successfully, simultaneously, and safely provides relaxation, play, sound, shade, a meeting spot, a runway, and a free space to enjoy lunch.
Holistically, the park is beautifully uncluttered, and in its detailing, “Beck Park” is a fine tribute to Mr. Beck who successfully and consistently integrated the industrial and the aesthetic. The execution of the concrete work, overseen by the landscape architect, architect and structural engineer, is perfectly smooth, crisp and tight at its own joints and at the connections to other materials. There are actually very few materials used in the park and these include water; concrete with a smooth and bush-hammered finish; Pennsylvania bluestone, both slabs and crushed; aggregate; bronze at the railings; and simple integrated wood seats. The plant choices and placement are also intentionally spare and specific: turf at the sloped lawns under the existing large Live Oaks; English Ivy at the base of walls; and an incredible mass of October Glory Maples concentrated at the interior court. The Maples benefit from a sub and surface drainage system, and the aggregate surface allows a free exchange of water and oxygen to the root zone. Moveable café tables, chairs and trashcans are placed outside each morning.
The Dallas citizenry are benefiting from the philanthropy of its private business owners. The Beck family, intending a tribute to the great works of their father, has generously given an island in the growing archipelago of a much needed downtown Dallas park system.