Casa Grande City Hall

CITY HALL PLAZA PROJECT

The Casa Grande City Hall Plaza is based on the elements and culture that were woven together to make the community. In 1878 Casa Grande begins as a com-munity when work on the Southern Pacific Railroad stopped and five people remained. The resulting town was named Casa Grande from the "Great House" prehistoric Indian ruins. The rich cultures of the community: African American, Anglo, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American are apparent throughout the com-munity.

The Entry Wall forms the gateway into the City Hall Plaza. The tapered shape reflects how Casa Grande Monument was built. The wall has five openings with each opening representing an element of the community: Agriculture, Community, Culture, Mining, and Transportation. Each opening contains historic photographs which represent these elements. Residents selected photographs from the Casa Grande Valley Historical Museum's collection.

The paving pattern forms a basket. Where the Entry Wall columns reach the paving, colored concrete warp threads of the basket which lead to the entry door of City Hall reflecting how the elements wove together.

Two stone faced columns flank either side of the entry door referencing the beautiful stone buildings throughout the community. The stone fountain/sculpture represents the five elements of the community that combined to make Casa Grande. Five stone lines rotate around the central core.

Five shade trees grace the plaza. The tree grates detail five species of wood that were used to build the Casa Grande Monument. In studying the monument, the wood found was not from trees grown locally. The closest place to obtain these tree varieties was approximately fifty miles away, which demonstrates how badly the people wanted wood. The wood was used as beams and included: Cottonwood, Juniper, Mesquite, Ponderosa Pine, and White Fir.