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Cathedral Area Historic District

Bismarck, ND

This project was a great example of consensus building and compromise among residents of this particular neighborhood and the community as a whole. The design of a four block segment of Washington Street was tabled for the past 50 years due to the conflicts of a street widening project through a neighborhood that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood contains a vast eclectic mix of architectural styles and Elm tree lined streets that contribute heavily to the special sense of place that exists today.

KL&J developed a public input and design process to listen to all the important issues and collectively offer alternative solutions. We assembled a diverse group of citizens from neighborhood residents to architectural historians and traffic engineers to provide ideas and challenge design concepts. This group became known as the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC).

KL&J teamed with RDG, a diverse firm of landscape architects, sculptors, and planners, to focus on the overall design and function of streetscape elements and historic preservation throughout the project. Over the course of one month, the design team held four public input meetings and SAC meetings, as well as a unique public design forum called a charrette, where the public was invited to share in the design development of the project. It was from this public input process and charrette that the Bismarck City Commission unanimously approved the design recommendations.

KL&J and RDG prepared construction documents for the streetscape and historic preservation elements along Washington Street and throughout the Cathedral Area Historic District.

Key design elements included:

• Traffic analysis
• Development of a context sensitive colored turn lane and crosswalks
• Architectural period pedestrian lighting
• Stone monuments that signify the entrances into the historic district
• Historic tree protection details and methods
• Development of a district icon that symbolizes the tree lined streets
• Design and development of custom sculpted tiles that serve as a walking history lesson of the district
• Neighborhood park concepts
• Historically sensitive signing and traffic control devices

This project was the first in Bismarck city engineering history to receive a letter of commendation from the State Historical Society of North Dakota.