Thompson Park is located in the heart of downtown Overland Park, Kansas and serves as a vibrant green space for gathering, playing and relaxing. The current design of the park is the result of extensive planning with the City to create a vision for its most significant downtown park space. A thorough public engagement process resulted in a park concept and plan that embraces the prevalence of aviation in Overland Park’s past, take cues from the park’s historic carriage house that still remains on-site and look proactively at how this space will be used in the future.

The reimagined park incorporates interactive features to encourage imaginative play, including a splash pad and a play area with a crawl tunnel, climbing structure, spinner, swings and musical instruments. A newly constructed stage features an iconic paper airplane-shaped awning, a nod to the city’s significant aviation history, and offers a venue for the city to host concerts and other entertainment events. The existing carriage house was also renovated and now serves as a modern event space. The paving design surrounding the carriage house was updated using Unilock Artline pavers with a Smooth premier finish in colors that mirror the façade of the house. The same pavers were also used in seating and dining areas to offer a consistent look throughout the park. Not only did Artline offer the right aesthetics for this outdoor space, but these pavers were also manufactured with Enduarcolor™ Technology to offer the necessary durability and performance required for this high-traffic, pedestrian area.

The final design complements Thompson Parks’ historic features while meeting the demands of a bustling downtown environment, offering a beautiful outdoor space for people to visit.