Paris has the Champs-Élysées. In Barcelona, it's Las Ramblas. And in Washington, D.C., it's the National Mall.
Sacramento, however, has an underachieving Capitol Mall, a stretch of barren sidewalk and a desolate median that you won't see on many postcards.
Designed in 1911 as the gateway to the city, the mall has stood for years as a mostly unwelcoming thoroughfare running from the picturesque Tower Bridge to the Capitol.
City officials want to change that by enlisting the help of architects from around the world to redefine Capitol Mall.
At tonight's City Council meeting, economic development officials are scheduled to ask for permission to develop a design competition for the mall that acts as the entryway to the state's seat of government.
Working with business owners along the thoroughfare and the American Institute of Architects, the city could launch the competition in six months.
If that happens, the competition could last a matter of weeks – and work based upon the winning designs could begin as early as next year.
"Right now, it's pretty bland," said Councilman Ray Tretheway, who has pushed for the mall's face-lift with Councilman Steve Cohn. "You've got lots of surface roads, but very little traffic. There's greenery, but it's just grass. It could be so much more; it could be the mall of the West."
Some ideas already discussed include:
• Narrowing the grass median and widening the sidewalks to promote cafes and patio settings.
• Planting trees to create a tree canopy along the mall.
• Holding festivals and events along the mall. That could include developing the area near Seventh Street and Capitol Mall into an area where events could be held.
• Building a fountain or other signature piece near the Tower Bridge end of the mall.
• Creating stronger pedestrian links between Capitol Mall and Old Sacramento and the Sacramento riverfront.
"It's very stark, and frankly people aren't using it much," Cohn said. "The key for me is that we want something that will enliven Capitol Mall and tie it to the (Sacramento) riverfront, but also complement what we're doing on the J-K-L corridor and the railyard."
In the past, local efforts to enliven Capitol Mall were hampered because the city didn't even control the street. It wasn't until 2005 that the state relinquished control of the mall – from Tower Bridge to 10th Street – to the city.
As part of that deal, the city was given $1.2 million, which it could use to get the revamping of Capitol Mall under way, said Beth Tincher, a senior project manager with the city's Economic Development Department.
Tincher expects "national, probably even international architects" to participate in the design competition. A local group has been working for a few years on a handful of ideas, but bringing in an outside designer "will focus our efforts and give us a clear direction on how to proceed," she said.
"We have wonderful bookends and a who's who of the region's businesses on the mall," Tretheway said. "It's really worthy of a national competition where somebody can tie it all together and bring out the best of all of its features."
Call The Bee's Ryan Lillis, (916) 321-1085.
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