Gary shows off Marquette Park pavilion remodel

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Exterior view of the Recreation Pavilion at Marquette Park in Gary Friday Dec. 9, 2011. | Andy Lavalley~Sun-Times Media

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Workers have transformed the popular Father Marquette statue from a weed-choked, dirt-crusted relic to a clean, welcoming mini-park.

The statue, by sculptor Henry Hering and dedicated in 1921, along with a base built by architects Walker and Weeks, form the gateway to the Marquette Park, long considered the gem of the Gary parks system, said city planning director Christopher Meyers.

The statue and its cement base are now surrounded by garden beds and benches for visitors. Native plants dominate a large garden lined by more benches bolted down, while a crushed, black gravel path wraps around it all and connects to a path that will wind its way throughout the park.

“We wanted to create a place that is welcoming but also gets people to slow down and enjoy the site,” said Joel Baldin, of Hitchcock Design Group, the city’s consultant on the massive $28.4 million rehab of Marquette Park.

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Updated: January 11, 2012 8:04AM

GARY — Bright earth tones and natural light flooding in from new windows made the Marquette Park pavilion a warm shelter from bitter Lake Michigan wind chills Friday.

Gary planning director Christopher Meyers led local media and guests on a tour of the popular and elegant structure that is being extensively remodeled as part of a $28.4 million grant from the Regional Development Authority.

The first phase of the project, including the pavilion rehab, restoration of the oak savannah and an extensive facelift for the Father Marquette statue, will run about $9 million.

“It’s always been a beautiful structure, and I’ve always been impressed with it inside and out,” said City Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, a lifelong Gary resident, from the pavilion’s large ballroom. “It’s just so much brighter. It’s got an awful lot of potential.”

Meyers said most of the improvements came from ideas presented to the city and its consultant, Hitchcock Design Group, in a series of public meetings held throughout Gary and in the ballroom when it was painted in drab grays and whites.

Meyers worked with Hitchcock and Bauer Latoza Studio, a Chicago firm with a local office, to get back to the building’s original color and design schemes.

“Before, the color scheme, it was very muted,” Meyers said. “We took a two-day, several hour meeting to go through, based upon original paint chronology and various aspects of the building” to come up with these colors.

But, the earthy hues are a small part of the changes. Iron grillwork topped with mahogany balustrades wind between floors, and the chandeliers from a 1980 remodeling have been replaced, along with the skylights.

Workers are installing a full-sized kitchen capable of food preparation for hundreds of eaters, and the outdoor dance floor is bordered by a knee-high wall of light brown bricks that match the exposed brick of the pavilion’s interior.

The formal lounge that greets visitors by the front door is also undergoing extensive work, including the addition of a small kitchen and a bar framed by large windows.

The building will be eligible for historic preservation status, but the details, like the windows or wheelchair lifts to make it 100 percent compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act needs, meet current industry standards, said Joanne Bauer, of Bauer Latoza.

The pavilion’s exterior is clean and bright, with tuck pointing and masonry restoration complimenting the interior work.

The rear of the pavilion will also be landscaped with natural vegetation leading to a river walk that wraps around part of the bordering lagoon.