EXTRA Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park

LOCATION:  600 North Ashley Drive, Tampa, FL 33602

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT:  Thomas Balsley

BUILT: 2010

SIZE: 12.5 acres

CURRENT USE: Public Park

PHOTO CREDITS:  Randy Van Duinen, Architectural Photographer

Located on the bank of the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa, the new Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park opened in January 2010. The Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is a destination – a venue for everyone.  It is an urban space designed to host intimate gatherings and large-scale events; a place that will be the focal point of a Riverwalk that connects many of our city’s greatest cultural assets with an inspiring view of the University of Tampa minarets. 

Landscape architect Thomas Balsley brought more than 30 years of experience in the design of quality urban spaces to the table. His plan strategically compliments two museums, the Tampa Museum of Art and the Glazer Children’s Museum. There is a dog run, complete with K-9 artificial turf and climbing structures; a modern playground equipped with a NEOS360 play structure, the first in the Southeastern United States; a Great Lawn for special events, complete with ‘family rafts’; terraced lawns; and two interactive fountains. All this was planned around an open space with infrastructure to accommodate special events and stages requiring power for lighting and sound. The park was also the first completed expansion segment of Tampa’s reclaimed water system into downtown.

As a destination, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park opens the river to the people, and places value on the urban portion of our river.