Liberty Park Library and Master Plan

Liberty Park Master Plan
City of Spokane Parks was excited when the opportunity arose to relocate the East Central branch library into Liberty Park. Liberty Park was originally conceived as a destination park rivaling Spokane’s Manito Park in size and scope. Construction of Interstate 90 split the park in two and significantly altered its functions and accessibility to the public. The City later made renovations to the park with construction of the Liberty Park pool and a softball field. These elements anchored the highest use of the park with the rest fighting a battle with unused spaces, urban camping, vagrancy and vandalism.

Following the decision to relocate the East Central library branch into Liberty Park, AHBL was selected to update the park’s master plan, helping reimagine the park as a vibrant community destination. Through extensive public engagement, AHBL identified a community desire for a mix of active and passive recreation amenities, including sports courts and fields, inclusive playgrounds, climbing features, a dog park, picnic areas, and a disc golf course. The resulting master plan thoughtfully integrates these amenities with the park’s natural basalt landscape, creating a cohesive, accessible, and sustainable vision that honors Liberty Park’s historic character while meeting the needs of today’s community.

Liberty Park Library
Due to Spokane’s dry climate, meadows were identified by the AHBL Landscape Architecture team as an ideal solution for the Liberty Park Library. The American Meadow is a relatively new landscape approach in Spokane, but its benefits are well established across much of the Midwest, Plains States, and Eastern U.S. Better suited to Spokane’s dry climate than traditional lawns, native meadows provide valuable habitat and food sources for pollinators, birds, and wildlife while improving water infiltration through deep root systems that require little supplemental irrigation once established. They also significantly reduce maintenance costs and environmental impacts, needing only one or two mowings per year and eliminating the need for most herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Additionally, native plants store more carbon in the soil, helping mitigate climate change. Liberty Park’s meadow has surpassed expectations, evolving beyond its original tall fescue and yarrow mix to include a variety of native wildflowers such as anemone, bellflower, clover, and vetch, creating a vibrant landscape that will continue to mature and diversify in the years ahead.

Teaming Partners

• Owners:
  • City of Spokane
  • City of Spokane Parks and Recreation