Ilus W. Davis Fountain
The mall across from City Hall was named after the man who served as mayor of Kansas City during the 1960s and is associated with city growth and progress. The park encompasses a north-south axis between City Hall and the Federal Courthouse and adds softness and color to the government district, often referred to as the Civic Mall.
At the south end of the park, a small fountain with short jets sends water cascading down a stair-step style waterfall that feeds a large, shallow reflecting pool. The park contains flower beds and more than 350 trees, including flowering crab, large red oaks and ginkgoes. The City Employees Memorial sits on the east side of the mall along Locust Street. The Bill of Rights monument sits in the northeast corner of the park while a statue of Ilus W. Davis stands in the southwest corner.
First conceived and planned in the 1990s, the park cost about $15 million to build, including land acquisition and demolition of existing structures. The money came from local tax revenues, gambling revenues, federal funds and the local business community. Architect Cindy Frewen-Wuellner of Sasaki Associates, the architecture firm that designed the park, said, “It is a great place for civic events, which was one of our missions.” The park is modeled after Post Office Square in Boston, a heavily used public area. Frewen-Wuellner decided to embrace the contour of the land which consists of a 36-foot rise rather than build retaining walls. The park was built by Vanum Construction Company of Kansas City, KS
