Wiswall Park is a historic village “square” in Ballston Spa that has functioned as a center for passive use, recreation and events. It is host to events such as the farmers market, Christmas tree lighting, car shows, bird house festival, concerts and movies. Daily activities include book and newspaper reading, walking through the park while shopping or dining in local stores, outdoor eating and simply sitting to enjoy the passive setting.
Studio A was commissioned to design upgrades to the park to restore its facilities. The parks uses presented a challenge to Studio A’s landscape architects to not only restore the park, but to achieve a plan that accommodated daily uses as well as special events. As such, a flexible multi-use plan was developed that also respected the historic nature of the site.
The design features a new pedestrian circulation system sympathetic to todays daily use patterns to accommodate access to secondary businesses and parking. An historic “spring” was relocated to a prominent park corner as a focal point. The walk pattern creates a circular area in the park in which the Village’s Christmas tree is located and a new outdoor pavilion for hosting concerts and performances. Of utmost importance, however, the design provides for flexible lawn areas surrounded by the walk system to accommodate “multi-purpose” events and vendor staging areas. Lighting, signage, street furniture and hardscaping improvements were also planned into the park upgraded.
Project was completed in Spring 2025.
