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101 Things to do with a surface parking lot.

January 7, 2009 10 Comments

Goodness knows Spokane has its fair share of shortsighted surface parking lots. Even historic buildings have been razed to the ground in their favor.

“His legacy is going to be a surface parking lot,” said Halvorson, President of the Spokane Preservation Advocates. “Wendell Reugh has been making money off of real estate investments in Spokane for 20 years. He’s going to end up taking his money, moving to California and leaving a hole in the center of downtown Spokane.”

Another much loved concrete property pimp is Seattle-based Joe Diamond.

But until we revolutionize our transit system and development landscape to rid ourselves of the scourge in favor of high density mixed-use green buildings, here are some thoughts for repurposing in the meantime:

  1. flea market
  2. go karts
  3. ice skating rink
  4. Hoopfest courts
  5. car wash
  6. slip ‘n slides
  7. tent city
  8. rave
  9. C.H.V.N.K. jousting
  10. lemonade stand
  11. beer bike relays
  12. hoola hoop contests
  13. farmer’s market
  14. public lecture
  15. puppet show
  16. raised bed community garden
  17. four square tournament
  18. summer fashion show
  19. carnivals
  20. cartwheels
  21. pogo stick
  22. outdoor concert
  23. playground
  24. pancake stand
  25. festival
  26. bouncy castle
  27. park(ing) day art installations
  28. egg toss
  29. rocket launching pad
  30. fireworks
  31. displaying the AIDS quilt
  32. bake sales
  33. animal adoption event
  34. inflating/landing hot air balloons
  35. egg toss competition
  36. chalk art
  37. clothing exchange
  38. the hokey pokey
  39. food carts
  40. red rover, red rover
  41. mass picnics
  42. blood donation center
  43. petting zoo
  44. hopscotch
  45. cardboard haunted houses
  46. flower stand
  47. cooking demonstrations
  48. kiddie pools
  49. juggling tournament
  50. skate park
  51. archaeological dig
  52. demolition derby
  53. Christmas tree corrals
  54. outdoor movies
  55. green houses
  56. swing sets
  57. dumpster trash analysis
  58. stencil art
  59. book exchange
  60. pumpkin carving contest
  61. auction
  62. composting facility
  63. recycling center
  64. public debates
  65. spitting contests
  66. graduation ceremonies
  67. jump rope
  68. bartering bazaar
  69. human chess
  70. bicycle repair tents
  71. flying kites
  72. ski swap
  73. Pod storage units
  74. bean shelling
  75. labyrinth
  76. line/square/contra dancing
  77. voter registration
  78. aquaculture
  79. flash mobs
  80. outdoor church services
  81. weight loss challenge course
  82. birthday party
  83. pep rallies
  84. murals
  85. tai chi
  86. roller skating
  87. birdhouse making workshop
  88. hay bale maze
  89. graduation ceremony
  90. patio
  91. urban meditation
  92. igloo construction
  93. museum
  94. cross-country skiing
  95. comedy
  96. rain water collection
  97. massage circle
  98. bonfire
  99. sand box
  100. book exchange
  101. chain mall boycotts
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10 Responses to “101 Things to do with a surface parking lot.”

  1. jon January 8, 2009 at 9:14 am

    102. slam poetry
    103. urban four square

  2. Bart Mihailovich January 8, 2009 at 10:36 am

    104. mimes

  3. Jacob Campbell January 8, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    105. Donuts in the snow

  4. ellensee January 10, 2009 at 9:34 pm

    Wherever do you get that creative streak? Wonderful ideas. The City snow removal division is really ticked off at diamond parking for neglecting to maintain their lots during the snow… I learned a lot at a neighborhood alliance meeting yesterday.

  5. N December 15, 2009 at 5:27 pm

    Howzabout we get a crowd of random people, and half of them are in on the joke-they don’t know what they’re doing there or they’re there for a market or something. Then someone with a boom box starts playing a song really loud and that half of the people launch into choreographed song and dance. One of my crazy ideas.

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